Standardization in DRM – Trends and Recommendations

Abstract

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is one of the most heavily debated technologies currently. Several attempts are being undertaken to introduce DRM technology into mainstream products. Despised by consumers who fear for their right to fair use, e.g. enabling backup copies for personal use, it seems to be considered a necessity for a profitable content business in the digital age by many content providers. Its benefits, drawbacks and even implications to society itself are fiercely debated among and between consumer advocates, media power houses, governments, consumer electronics (CE) industry, IT vendors, service providers, and individual consumers alike. The very nature of DRM and the conflicting opinions of consumers and content providers surrounding it make it an extremely difficult topic to constructively discuss, let alone agreeing on. Technology standardization, on the other hand, is a process characterized by reaching industry consensus. A significant number of interested parties with varying backgrounds collaborate in standardization in order to define technologies that serve the interests of the entire group. In short, technology standardization is a consensus driven activity for the common good. DRM seems to be a perfect case study for standardization. In this paper, we analyze the effects of standardization of DRM. We first take a look at standardization in general, its purpose and functions, and its relation to patents. We then discuss a particular case of DRM standardization by using the example of the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). In the OMA, a multitude of different stakeholders such as operators, handset manufacturers, technology and content providers work together to meet the requirements from participants of the various content businesses. We set out to illustrate that the technology to enable a successful deployment of Digital Rights Management for real-world implementations is best developed in an open standardization forum. II Standardization II.1 Framework and Definition Standardization itself is a well known concept. Ever since industrialization began , standards of one form or another came into existence. With the ability of 854 Note: The views and opinions presented in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily of the organizations that employ them. 855 Nokia.