TorrentFreak

Following reports that security features were damaging the playing experience of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, today CD Projekt will release an update to remove all DRM from the game. But while the company informs TorrentFreak it was pleased to avoid a pre-release on this major title, as promised it will monitor and go after illegal file-sharers.

A subset of Garry’s Mod users have been noticing a hugely annoying bug lately. Upon launching the game they get the message that it’s “unable to shade polygon normals,” after which the Steam-run game quickly crashes. In a response to thousands of complaining users, the game’s creator has now admitted that the bug is actually a feature, but one that only affects those who pirated the game.

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.

This week a man reported himself to an anti-piracy group, confessing to breaking the DRM on more than one hundred movies and TV shows, in an attempt to draw attention to unhelpful copyright laws. Now the anti-piracy group has taken the time to respond, not yet to the man in question, but to the press.

A citizen is so tired of his country’s copyright laws he has reported himself to an anti-piracy group. In his written confession, the ‘pirate’ admits to copying more than one hundred purchased movies and TV shows for his own use – legal in Denmark – but breaking DRM on the same is an act forbidden under Danish law.

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.