DRM
From MobileRead
DRM means Digital Rights Management and is both a mechanism and an idea. It generally intends to enforce a restriction on a user in what they can do with a particular file.
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Overview
DRM as applied to eBooks is generally a code that must be present in order for the reader to be able to open an eBook. The code may be locked to a particular device, or may be locked to a range of multiple devices. In other cases it is locked to a user. There is no standard implementation for DRM.
DRM is supposed to protect the author and publisher of eBooks (or eMusic and other electronic media) from pirating and other illegal activities. Some opponents call it Digital Restriction Management and claims it goes far beyond illegal activity and restricts items that are both legal and reasonable use.
Some eBook formats do not support DRM and even if a format supports it there may be eBooks in that format that are not controlled by DRM.
A given reading device may have multiple DRM schemes for the various formats it supports. Some formats, most notably MOBI have a restriction on dedicated reading devices that they will not permit their software to be used on a device that supports other formats using DRM.
Library Use
DRM is often used by libraries that loan eBooks and in this case the DRM offers a time limited license to the person checking out the book. The library monitors the number of licenses it purchased and controls checkout just like a physical book except that there is no need to return the book since it will expire.
Current eBook formats that support time limited checkout include PDF, ePUB and MOBI. Audio formats that support time limited checkout include WMA.
See EBook Lending Libraries for a list of Libraries and eBook reading devices that support library checkout.
Impact on TTS
Visually impaired readers often use a TTS (Text To Speech) engine to read the text on the page for the reader. This ability is also used by readers who are attempting to read a book that is not in their native tongue to help learn the language. However DRM can have an impact on the use of TTS since it may block external applications from being able to use the data. For more information see Daisy publication. Note that the disabilities act in the USA provides provision of legal access (including breaking DRM) to permit reading books which is in favor of TTS but if the eBook is also sold as an audio book then DRM may be used to disable the TTS feature. Note that this applies only to a disabled user needing this feature and is not carte blanche permission to break DRM.
Removing DRM
In many countries it is not legal to remove DRM from an eBook. This related to copyright in the sense that it is illegal to copy or distribute copyrighted material without permission except in certain limited cases, such as quoting a section in another work. In the USA the DMCA act prohibits DRM removal. However, proponents of the doctrine of "fair use" feel that removing DRM is a reasonable way to allow fair use. Typically a program that removes DRM requires that the user input the correct ID that was used to apply DRM in the first place, so the program cannot be used to universally remove DRM from any eBook in that format. The distribution of a program like this and its use may be illegal in the country you live it. Typical target formats include LIT, MOBI, Adobe ePUB, some Adobe PDF and eReader. There is no known method of removing DRM from other common formats such as LRX.
See Also
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMCA Digital Millennium Copyright Act Wikipedia article
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Rights_Management Wikipedia DRM article
- http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap12.html - the chapter on DMCA as related to DRM from the US government.
- Free DRM test book "Around the world in 80 days" is a MOBI eBook that can be used to test the DRM feature of your eBook reader before actually purchasing any books.
