Last week the gaming giant Ubisoft announced their latest DRM invention. In order to play purchased games customers have to be connected to the Internet at all times. Game developers are skeptical of this new anti-piracy solution, but could it actually be a step in the right direction?
Avatar, the long-awaited science fiction epic from James Cameron will launch this week, but already some lucky individuals have seen the movie. The same cannot be said of attendees at a 3D preview showing in Germany yesterday though. The movie’s DRM ‘protection’ system failed and the video could not be decoded.
Audio DRM has all but dissapeared from MP3s. Apple said earlier this year that there would be no more DRM on music available via the ITunes music store. However, as prolific writer and blogger Cory Doctorow has found out, they still require DRM on their Audiobooks.
In order to force a change in the law, last month a man reported himself for breaching copyright more than a hundred times, hoping an anti-piracy group would take him to court. The group’s lawyer said they would respond by today – they haven’t – so the Danish copyfighter is now reporting himself to the police.
China’s Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office has booked a huge victory by preventing the country’s youth from accessing more than 4 million copies of pirated teaching materials. According to the vice director of the office, such materials “harm the healthy development of the country’s youth.”
After buyers of the X-Plane flight simulator complained about its DRM, the makers came up with a convenient alternative. Instead of having to insert the DVD each time they want to play, they can now buy a $29 USB drive instead. When confronted with this pricey ‘improved’ DRM, the developer fails to understand that he’s only screwing legitimate customers.
Apple is known for the stringent guidelines it applies when deciding which software it allows in their App Store – BitTorrent is one of the things on their ban list. Apple argues that BitTorrent is often used to infringe copyrights and that such applications are a no go for the App Store, forcing developers to go underground.
For years the RIAA has defended the use of DRM, much to the dislike of millions of honest customers who actually paid for their music. Now, in a shocking turnaround, the outfit seems to have come to the realization that DRM does more harm than good and has officially declared its death.
During the last few days a virus scam targeting torrent site users has reappeared. Internet users receive an email informing them they have been monitored by anti-piracy company MediaDefender on various torrent sites. Although a log file is included to ‘prove’ infringements, it contains what is being described as a “banking trojan”.
Soulseek is one the greatest music sharing networks that most people have never heard of, with a particular specialty in electronic music. Unfortunately, for nearly a year those using versions of the official client have been exposed to a highly critical vulnerability which can leave them open to remote takeover.
The movie industry leaves no stone unturned in its quest to eliminate movie piracy, particularly illegal camcording in theaters. Unfortunately, it’s the public that has to deal with the negative consequences. In some parts of the world, it means that you’ll have to wait a few extra weeks or months before a movie premieres.
