For years, consumers have had the ability to take their audio CDs and record them to tape or even rip them to their computer for use with their digital media players. With the release of DVD discs, consumers started to encounter more issues with their ability to take their videos and then encode them for use with digital devices such as their PC or media players. This was because of the rise of digital rights management (DRM) and various copy protections placed on the media.

This issue is coming to a head again because recently the US has gone after a number of overseas software companies that sell software that allow users to rip DVD and Blu-ray media regardless of the DRM. The most recent incident resulted in . Several other companies decided to shut down their DVD and Blu-ray ripper software as a result of this.

Why This Problem Exists

For years and years, when a consumer purchased a book, video or audio, it was considered their property and they could do with it as they pleased as long as it was not distributed for commercial purposes. In the 1990′s, the copyright holders (namely record and movie studies) began to crack down on the perceived piracy that was hurting their sales. This generated the DMCA to try and deal with copyrights and emerging technologies. (You can read a at the US Copyright offices if you want to bore yourself.) While it protected the rights holders, it essentially removed many of the previous rights on consumers. Now you could have that disc but only play it in ways that the studios deemed you could.

The issue is that media consumption is changing. For instance, many people use devices such as tablets to watch their videos on the go. The problem is that if you own the Blu-ray, you don’t have the right to view that movie on a non-supported device. Now the studios sidestep this somewhat by offering digital copies through services like iTunes, Ultraviolet etc. The problem is that this doesn’t always work. For instance, several recent movie purchases I have made came with digital copies, but only in a 1080p HD format. That format could not be viewed on the original iPad used by my son. Thus, he is unable to watch those videos on his digital device and constrained to the Blu-ray player even though we have rights for a digital file.

What’s the Solution

Frankly, there is no good solution under the current copyright system in the US. As a writer, I understand the perspective of both the consumer and the rights holder. I don’t want people just getting my book and distributing it without me earning some money. I do need to live and eat as well. But then again, I also want people to be able to view my book in the way they would like to.

DRM is the big issue that plagues the system. Multiple studies in the past have shown that . Placing the rights management on the files just hurts the consumer that wants to legitimately support the artists and use their media. This is one of the reasons that Apple moved away from the use of DRM in the iTunes store and moved to a watermarking systems. Instead of preventing people from copying the files, the files are tag with who has the permission to use the file. Distributing the file outside of their personal use now allows the copyright holders to track down the source of the illegal use.

Now I know that this type of system will not thwart pirates who would just remove any watermarking technology, but frankly they are already thwarting the existing DRM. Instead, the system puts the burden on the legal users and its a problem to treat your legitimate customers as potential thieves.