Digital Rights Management (DRM) and Star Wars

Many of my friends have heard me complain (OK, rant) about DRM.  DRM officially stands for "digital rights management," but I prefer "digital restrictions management."  The most common use of DRM is for video like Blu Ray discs and Netflix.  DRM software enforces the restrictions imposed by the seller.  You only get to use the media in the way they intended, no matter how much money you spent to buy it.  You don't fully own that disc you just bought.  Want to skip the previews?  Sorry.  Want to skip the copyright notice?  No way.

Of course, DRM doesn't stop the professional copiers.  People in various countries will take one legal disc and press duplicates that are completely identical, bypassing all the copy protections.  DRM value: zero.  Semi-professional pirates find various ways of bypassing the protection, including ripping from the HDMI output with hacks to remove the copy protection there, and then they share the videos online.  DRM value: none.  Regular owners who want to copy the movie to their iPad to watch in the car can't.  Yes, some discs offer alternatives that may or may not work offline.  DRM value: consumers annoyed.

But let's look at the worst impact of DRM ever:  Star Wars.

In particular, have you ever wondered why Princess Leia had to send the Death Star plans with R2D2 instead of transmitting them to another ship?  Or why they never made copies and sent them with multiple courriers?  Clearly the plans were encumbered with the nastiest DRM ever invented.  Want to copy them?  No way.  Want to transmit them without destroying the original?  Nope, not allowed.  Want to analyze them to find a design flaw allowing you to destroy the Death Star using small fighters too small to be considered a serious threat?  No problem, but only if you watch the Imperial Secret Documents crawl first.

So remember, DRM isn't just about stopping those nasty consumers from watching movies they've legitimately purchased on multiple devices.  DRM is also about preserving the Empire.  Support DRM to help destroy the last vestiges of the Republic.

Happy Star Wars Day.  May the Fourth be with you.