CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH BIHAR

PROJECT-TOPIC
“Digital Rights Management"

Submitted To Course Instructor

Submitted By Student

Dr. Digvijay Singh Dharam Deepak Vishwash

Assistant Professor, School of BA.LLB.(Hons)
Law & Governance 9th Semester
5th Year
Subject-Intellectual Property Enrollment No. CUSB1713125013
Right
Course Code – Law (500)

1|Page
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project consumed huge amount of work, research and dedication. Still, implementation
would not have been possible if we did not have a support of many individuals and
organizations. Therefore I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of them.
In preparation of my assignment, I had to take the help and guidance of some respected
persons, who deserve my deepest gratitude. As the completion of this assignment gave me
much pleasure, I would like to show my gratitude to Dr. Digvijay Singh, Course Instructor, of
Central University of South Bihar for giving me good guidelines for project throughout
numerous consultations. I would also like to expand my gratitude to all those who have
directly and indirectly guided me in writing this project.
Secondly I would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me a lot in finalizing
this project within the limited time frame.
Many people, especially my classmates have made valuable comment suggestions on my
paper which gave me an inspiration to improve the quality of the project.
At last but not the least, a big thank you to the college library, writers of the book and sites
which gave me an expanded form of information about my topic.

DHARAM DEEPAK VISWASH

2|Page
 INDEX

1. Introduction.......................................................................................4-5

2. Functionalities of Digital Rights

Management....................................6

3. Components of Digital Rights

Management.......................................7

4. Working of Digital Rights Management..........................................8-

5. Uses of Digital Rights Management………………...…………...10-

11

6. Benefits of Digital Rights Management………………………....12-

13

7. Challenges of Digital Rights Management…………………………

14

8. Licensing……………………………………………………………..15

9. Conclusion…………………………………………………...………16

3|Page
 1. INTRODUCTION

Digital rights management broadly refers to a set of policies, techniques and tools that guide
the proper use of digital content. A DRM plays important roles in several processes that are
involved in the flow of content. The major functionalities of this DRM system are: packaging
of the raw content for easy distribution and tracking, content protection for tamper-proof
transmission, delivery of content offline on CDs and DVDs and delivering content on-
demand over peer-to-peer networks. Thus a set of standards related to various aspects of
DRM are practiced in order to ensure fairness, interoperability and also for the consumer
confidence.

Digital rights management (DRM) is the adoption of technology and systems to restrict the
use of copyrighted digital materials. DRM tools are designed to protect the rights of the
copyright holder and prevent unauthorized modification or distribution. While stealing or
copying content is an age-old phenomenon, modern technology has made piracy
exponentially easier. With a few clicks of a mouse, many copyrighted images, videos, and
audio files can be shared or downloaded from the Internet often without proper permission.
From Napster to bootlegging and “borrowing” art, this activity is widespread and costly.

Common DRM techniques include restrictive licensing agreements in which digital access to
digital materials, copyright and public domain is restricted to consumers as a condition of
entering a website or when downloading software. Encryption, scrambling of expressive
material and embedding of a tag, which is designed to control access and reproduction of
information, including backup copies for personal use. DRM technologies enable content
publishers to enforce their own access policies on content, such as restrictions on copying or

4|Page
viewing. These technologies have been criticized for restricting individuals from copying or
using the content legally, such as by fair use. DRM is in common use by the entertainment
industry (e.g., audio and video publishers). Many online music stores, such as Apple’s iTunes
Store, and e-book publishers and vendors, such as One Drive, also use DRM, as do cable and
satellite service operators, to prevent unauthorized use of content or services. However,
Apple dropped DRM from all iTunes music files around 2009.

The rise of digital media and analog-to-digital conversion technologies has vastly increased
the concerns of copyright-owning individuals and organizations, particularly within the music
and movie industries. While analog media inevitably lose quality with each copy generation
and in some cases even during normal use, digital media files may be duplicated an unlimited
number of times with no degradation in the quality. The rise of personal computers as
household appliances has made it convenient for consumers to convert media (which may or
may not be copyrighted) originally in a physical, analog or broadcast form into a universal,
digital form (this process is called ripping) for portability or viewing later. This, combined
with the internet and popular file sharing tools, has made unauthorized distribution of copies
of copyrighted digital media (also called digital piracy) much easier.

5|Page
 2. Functionalities of Digital Rights Management

DRM system manages the appropriate use of content. The major functionalities of this system
are numerous. They include facilitating the packaging of raw content into an appropriate form
for easy distribution and tracking, protecting the content for tamper-proof transmission,
protecting content from unauthorized use, and enabling specifications of suitable rights,
which define the modes of content consumption. DRM systems must also facilitate the
delivery of content offline on CDs and DVDs; deliver content on-demand over peer-to-peer
networks, enterprise networks, or the Internet; and provide ways of determining the
authenticity of content and of rendering devices. Supporting payment over the Internet for
content usage is another function of DRM as is providing appropriate remuneration for
content creators and producers. DRM systems must also monitor the usage of content and
ensure that they are in accordance with the rights, track payment and ensure they are in
accordance with the usage of content, and manage security and privacy issues appropriately.

In addition, a DRM system should facilitate the personalization of the content, tailoring
content to certain preferences of the consumer; be interoperable; supporting different formats
of content in a transparent manner; and should handle various levels of content granularity.
Granularity of a DRM system refers to the size of the unit (chunk) of content that can be
independently selected, delivered, and consumed (e.g., a chapter from a book, a particular
song/track from an audio album, or a scene from a video). Among the major desired features
of a DRM system are ease of use by content creators, producers, and consumers; robustness
to the circumvention of usage rules; fairness of content usage policies; transparency in the use

6|Page
of content from a variety of content providers and services; fair tariff for different types of
content consumption; and innovative means of pricing and payments.

3. Components of Digital Rights Management

Digital Rights Management separates content from the rights. This allows the content to be
distributed or downloaded freely. However, it cannot be consumed without a valid license,
which has a proper rights object. The rights object, or just rights, specifies the permission for
the various ways the associated content can be used. The same content could be associated
with different usage rights specifying different modes of content consumption. This provides
flexibility, ease of management, and use of content. Content delivery, or distribution, falls
into two major categories: offline and online. Offline distribution consists of distributing
packaged content on a portable media such a CD or a DVD. Online content delivery could
consist of e-mailing to consumers or being placed on a content server. The content and rights
could be combined together into a DRM message or sent separately in an e-mail. The
delivery of the content from the content server can be one of two modes: download or
streaming. In the download mode, the content is obtained by the device either along with the
rights object or separately from it. It is stored locally and then rendered in accordance with its
associated rights object. In the streaming mode, there is no storage of the content at the
device.

Many of the DRM schemes allow the content to be unencrypted and to be freely distributed.
They ensure the legitimate and proper use of content by making the consumption of content
only in conjunction with appropriate rights objects. There are several other schemes that use
added measures of security to protect the content against unauthorized access and use. A
simple protection technique is to use encryption of the content. Encryption uses an algorithm
7|Page
and a key to scramble the information. The key for decryption to recover the original
information is provided to legitimate consumers.

4. Working of Digital Rights Management

Most of the time, digital rights management includes codes that prohibit copying, or codes
that limit the time or number of devices on which a certain product can be accessed.

Publishers, authors, and other content creators use an application that encrypts media, data, e-
book, content, software, or any other copyrighted material. Only those with the decryption
keys can access the material. They can also use tools to limit or restrict what users are able to
do with their materials. Since the dawn of the digital age, copyright holders have been
attempting to address the piracy problem. This was initially software-based, i.e., trying to
stop people copying computer games and operating systems. As music, film, television and
sports moved into the digital world, rights holders needed to find lightweight, non-intrusive
and effective DRM technology solutions to protect their intellectual property.

Early forms of DRM technology included putting physical limits on how often something
could be copied or required users to type in product keys, which inevitably ended up in the
public domain. However, the concept of preventing people from exceeding fair use, stopping
piracy and protecting content went to another level with the move to digital media and the
need for digital rights management. There are a number of different uses of DRM, meaning
that DRM technology is very flexible and can be used to create a great variety of usage

8|Page
policies. The same DRM principles apply for any kind of video-enabled devices including
smart phones, computers, tablets and gaming consoles. DRM systems can also protect non-
audio visual assets such as software, byte-codes, eBooks etc.

A rights object, or rights, clearly specifies the permitted ways the associated content can be
used by the consumer or device. Each rights object has an associated syntax and semantics,
which is specified by a rights expression language. Rights expression languages enable
expressing the terms and conditions of content usage in a clear and unambiguous manner.
Prominent efforts in the development of such languages are the Open Digital Rights
Language (ODRL) initiative and the Extensible Rights Markup Language (XrML). The rights
manager is responsible for creating the rights objects and for packaging the rights with a key.
The content adheres to a format, known as DRM content format. The content, together with
an associated rights object, is referred to as a DRM message. The consuming device renders
the content in a form based on the rights object included in the message. In the absence of a
rights object, a default set of rights is applied. The content provider can define explicit rights
for various cases. There are several different types of usage rights: expiration date, which
specifies the date beyond which the content cannot be rendered (played); starting date, before
which the content cannot be played; ending date tied to starting date, which specifies that the
content is valid for a certain number of days from the date the content is first used; counted
playback, which specifies a certain number of times the content can be played back; device
types, which specifies the devices on which the content can be played; and media operations,
which specify if the media could be transferred to a CD or transferred over the network to
another device.

9|Page
 5. Uses of Digital Rights Management

DRM content in used for range of digital media formats, such as music, images, videos, and
e-books, to proprietary business assets, database subscriptions, and software.

With digital rights management software, the creators and rightful owners of these works can
safeguard against the chance that their assets and content may be copied, edited, or used in
ways that they did not intend. Here are some common use cases for digital rights
management:

i. Media Companies: - In the media industry, DRM technology helps musicians,

movie professionals, authors, and other creators to combat unauthorized use of
their content. If people can freely share this type of content, the artists and
producers will struggle to earn an income for their creations.
In the late 1990s, Napster rose to infamy through its peer-to-peer file sharing
platform, making it easy for anyone to download pirate music. Today, the Apple
iTunes Music Store uses DRM technology to ensure people can only play music
on authorized devices or read iBooks on Apple devices.
ii. Technologies Companies: - A report from DataProt found that 57% of computer
users admit they have pirated software in the past. In the age of software-as-a-
service (SaaS), it’s imperative for technology companies to protect their valuable

10 | P a g e
 software products from piracy. Due to this obvious threat, digital rights
management is an essential, omnipresent facet of software in 2021. For instance,
Microsoft users must acquire a personal user license and input their unique key
before installing any Windows or Office software on their personal computer.
iii. Enterprise: -Typically, enterprises rely on DRM content to protect critical data,
especially during product design documents and M&A (merger and acquisition)
plans. Through good digital rights management software, an enterprise can rapidly
deploy new campaigns and product concepts or expedite new market adoption and
growth, all while staying compliant with regulatory laws.

iv. Agencies: - Agencies take responsibility for their client’s creations and
campaigns, so there is a high expectation for data security and privacy. Whether
it’s a product launch, rebrand, or new sales page, you need to be sure you can
guarantee asset security. Many agencies use DRM content to streamline
workflows, as they can approve items directly in the platform, and enhance the
level of brand consistency across the campaign, even when working with in-house
personnel and outsourced contractors.

11 | P a g e
 6. Benefits of Digital Rights Management

Digital Rights Management isn’t only about data, information, or content security. There are
several ways you can benefit from investing in a robust DRM solution:

A, It helps monetize digital content more effectively: - Widespread privacy of digital content
hampers monetization to a significant degree. Users are likely to opt for free access, even if it
is unethical unless there are the appropriate checks and balances. Today, OTT platforms
ensure that nearly every consumer worldwide can access their desired content ethically. And
DRM helps to reinforce this. Another important benefit is restricting content to select
audiences, such as age-specific content consumption or consumption, as per regional
censorship laws.

B. It maintains your right to ownership: - Without DRM, it would be difficult to track down
the original source/author amid global distribution. This is particularly true for enterprise IP,
where a question might arise around the source’s authenticity. While consumer-facing
multimedia content is easier to tag in terms of ownership, scientific, technical, and industry-
specific content assets require a clear stamp of ownership and a controlled line of distribution
to ensure its proper usage.

12 | P a g e
i. It helps to enforce copyright laws: - Even if you’ve labeled an image as “not
meant for commercial use,” search engines make the image readily available to
every PC owner in the world. Even if the image is copy-protected, someone might
take s screenshot and embed it without requisite reference/payment. A DRM
technique like watermarks enforces copyright laws in real-world use cases.
ii. It raises awareness: - In the digital era, users can become desensitized to issues
around content ownership, revenue generation, and accountability of access. The
physical restrictions that are naturally in place when you borrow a book from a
library and make one or two photocopies no longer apply. A user might extract a
heavily researched essay from a pirated eBook and share it publicly on their
personal website, it would take only a few minutes. When users face DRM
restrictions, they gain a much-needed awareness of author rights and fair usage
policies.

iii. It aids in compliance with regional laws: -Regulations might state that users can
open a file only in a specific location. This applies primarily to governments,
government agencies, and government contractors. DRM techniques control how
and where the user chooses to open a file.

13 | P a g e
 7. Challenges of Digital Rights Management

Everybody do not agrees with digital rights management. For instance, users who pay for
music on iTunes would love to be able to listen to the song on any device or use it in
whatever way they wish.

On the other hand, businesses that pay thousands of dollars for a high-value industry report
are willing to use DRM so that their competitors are unable to get the same report for free.
Some critics of DRM have pointed out that this creates an unfair advantage for businesses
that have money to burn because smaller operations may not be able to afford the information
that they need to grow their businesses.

However, DRM technology is not a perfect solution. Even if copywrite holders incorporate
digital rights management code into their product, the public may discover a way to work
around it. For instance, if they make their content playable only on one player, some users
will inevitably try to figure out the decryption keys and then create another player that can
play the copyrighted content. Users then download the new player in the hopes of
circumventing the DRM encryption.

14 | P a g e
 8. Licensing

The license contains the rights object, which contains the terms and conditions related to the
usage of the content. The license also contains the key required to unlock the content in case
it is protected. Using a key seed, which is known only to the content owner (producer) and
license provider (manager), and a key ID, a key is produced using a key-generation process.
This key is used by the content owner/producer to encrypt the content when needed. The key
is also packaged along with the rights object to generate the license.

Only upon meeting the terms and conditions in the license is the use of content enabled. The
license could be packaged along with the content or sent separately. The delivery of the
license could be implicit, in which case the user will not be aware of the license delivery
process. Or it could be explicit, in which case the user has to actively participate, perhaps by
filling out some forms and providing relevant information. The license is nontransferable.
The license could be renewed upon a request, subject to satisfactory conditions of content
usage and payment. The license could be revoked when the terms of the license are violated,
which renders the content unusable.

15 | P a g e
 9. Conclusion

Digital Rights management is intended to provide a framework and a set of policies,

technologies, techniques, and tools for the management of the appropriate and fair uses of
digital content. It could be a valuable tool for content creators, developers, and producers as
well as for consumers. There are not many commercial systems currently in operation. There
are many open issues related to DRM that need to be addressed before it can have widespread
use. A set of standards related to various aspects of DRM are still being worked on in order to
ensure fairness, interoperability, and consumer confidence.

Digital assets comprise a substantial portion of the content that people consume and interact
with on a daily basis. The digital world opens up the door to a whole new realm of
possibilities when it comes to protecting sensitive information, including intellectual
property. Far gone are the days when authors needed to be concerned only with consumers
running a book through a copy machine. In today’s digital world, digital rights management
is imperative for companies spanning every industry to protect their information assets.

16 | P a g e
17 | P a g e