Viacom wants more not less DRM

VIACOM'S CEO Philippe Dauman announced today that the company has no intention of delivering DRM-free digital media to the public.

His remarks were made during an address at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference on antipiracy measures. Despite Apple’s move away from DRM in its iTunes Plus section, Dauman insists that the companies should be installing more DRM safeguards to combat piracy.

Dauman stated that antipiracy measures such as DRM restrictions and watermarking, “will usher in an unprecedented period of creative output across the globe.” To prove his point, Dauman pointed out that Viacom is already the leader in delivering digital content to mobile devices.

In addition, Dauman complained that it is far too easy to copy music and other digital media illegally. Viacom fully supports “fair use” of digital media, according to Dauman, but only if the artists and creators are properly compensated for their work.

He would like content aggregators, ISPs, hosting companies, and other site operators to further collaborate with corporations to suppress piracy. However, new laws are not needed. Dauman cited an argument made earlier this year by the movie industry that basically says that new laws that restrict how ISPs manage their networks would not help the fight against piracy, but actually hurt it.

Dauman also mentioned his company’s copyright suit against competitor Google’s YouTube website. The suit, “promises to be a landmark case that will clarify the rights and responsibilities of all media and content owners in the digital age.”

Viacom’s stand in favor of more DRM and antipiracy technology is an interesting departure from the growing trend away from DRM. Apple’s iTunes Plus was announced earlier this year where buyers are able to download songs with no DRM technologies attached for an increased fee. Amazon.com just announced a beta version of their own DRM-free music store.

While the model up until now has seen shifts away from DRM, Viacom has dug in its heels against the flow. While the amount of pirated media content on the internet is at an all time high, one wonders if Viacom’s stand will have any impact. Most likely, no. Dauman’s example of Viacom’s lead in the mobile device media does make some sense in having DRM on video sent to those mobile devices, but there is hardly a demand for low quality pirated video.

In addition, Dauman calls for more DRM and better DRM software, but he includes no information as to how this software could be implemented that would not infringe on “fair use.” As is, DRM is not conducive to fair use, and there is no solution on the horizon. µ