Apple has expanded its ever-growing entertainment empire beyond television shows to offer digital downloads of full-length motion pictures through its iTunes store. iTunes now offers over 75 movies, and it is expected that current offerings will swell within the next year. The same controversial Digital Rights Management (DRM) rules that have long been applicable to iTunes music offerings, known as FairPlay, will also apply.
FairPlay controls copyright-protected music and videos by limiting the number of computers consumers can use to play the content and by restricting copying. DRM is intended to protect copyright holders, but has faced controversy, as many argue the limitations it imposes on the use of legitimately-acquired content do not match fair use rights granted by copyright law – DRM thwarts the legal copying as well as the illegal copying.
It is exactly this controversy that lead iTunes and EMI group to offer the entire EMI music catalog free from DRM for a higher price last April, which leaves many wondering about the prospects of DRM-free movies being offered. According to Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs, the likely answer is no – unlike music industry with its history of using the DRM-free CD format, video has never been distributed DRM-free. Rather, video content has always been regulated by the Content Scramble System (CSS) to prevent copying.
Vol. 53, June 2010