Beej's Bit Bucket
a day ago
- DRM on e-books prevents legitimate purchasers from keeping or transferring their copies to other devices.
- DRM-protected books are inevitably pirated shortly after release, often by stripping the DRM or using methods like OCR.
- Attempts to make DRM stronger (e.g., blocking screenshots or cameras) are easily circumvented and lead to overly restrictive measures.
- Even requiring computers to block writing copyrighted words in any order is ineffective, as people can type in reverse and then fix the text.
- The author argues that DRM is a losing battle and authors should not use it, as it harms paying customers without stopping piracy.