Microsoft to lose the handset DRM battle

INDUSTRY OBSERVERS have highlighted the advantage that Apple may gain in the fledgling movie download sector as a result of FairUse4MW - a hack which removes the DRM (Digital Rights Management) from .wma files.

The INQ would argue, however, that this weakness is far more important in the mobile handset arena. Chiefly because only a madman would pay to download tracks from iTunes using a regular mobile phone.

The data transfer fee could be as high as £20 alone. Trivial compared to 99 pence for the track.

Hence, until now, the chief rivals in the mobile DRM protection game have been Microsoft and the OMA (Open Mobile Alliance). But if Windows DRM loses its appeal because it can be efficiently hacked, then the OMA will emerge as the clear leader.

A report in The Business claims that the hack will prove to be good news for Apple's new film download service.

But the publication seems to have overlooked its own story back in September 2005 which trumpeted the fact that France Telecom's Orange would be one of the first mobile operators to release a handset using version 10 of the Windows Media Player.

As the hack's author, Viodentia, explains on the Doom9 forum, the hack only works with files purchased and protected by WM10 or WM11. However, WM10 has proved popular with a number of independent music sites offering legal downloads to mobile phones.

Worse still for The Beast of Redmond is the fact that hackers have already issued a patch to counter Microsoft's patch for its DRM protection. µ

L'INQS
Doom9
Pirates menace BSkyB

See Also
Windows Media Player DRM cracked
Microsoft patches DRM real quick