Digital Rights Management (DRM) is what allows rights holders or authorized distributors to establish and enforce the conditions under which users can access and use the digital content they create. This is why more and more people and companies in the digital creation landscape are deciding to adopt this management system.
If you are a content creator, whether you are an individual, company, media outlet, or multimedia distributor, and have content to protect, this article is for you.
In it, we tell you what it is, how it works, and why it is important to adopt DRM (Digital Rights Management) measures.
DRM – Digital Rights Management: What is it?
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a set of technologies and access control systems used to protect and manage the copyrights of digital content. DRM or Digital Rights Management works as a program that allows content owners to limit and control the use of their digital products, such as music, movies, e-books, and software.
The rise of these digital rights management (DRM) measures is due to the fact that they are a direct response to the increase in piracy of digital products that has accompanied the widespread adoption of the Internet. It is enough to remember how this phenomenon affected cinema and music, where the traditional application of copyright was already a challenge.
In short, DRM or Digital Rights Management is a system widely used in the publishing world, as well as by famous content distributors such as Sony, Netflix, Spotify, or Microsoft, but also by smaller content creators to protect their multimedia products, for example, when it comes to knowing how to claim copyright on YouTube.
How Does Digital Rights Management Work and What is it for?
Generally, DRM or Digital Rights Management is based on the use of codes that prohibit the copying of content or limit the number of devices from which a digital product can be accessed. These technologies also include applications to restrict what other users can do with their material or encrypt digital media, which can only be accessed by those who previously have the decryption key.
Also included as a measure to protect copyright are the various license agreements that may require users to read and accept when they are going to use their product. This type of agreement is accepted the first time a user accesses a website, shares files, or downloads content, which helps organizations protect their assets from unauthorized use.
This allows content creators and other copyright holders to:
- Prevent or restrict users from editing or saving, sharing or forwarding, printing, or taking screenshots of their content or products.
- Establish expiration dates on the media, preventing access to users beyond the date or number of times set for them to be accessed
- Limit access to the media to certain devices, IP addresses, or locations, for example, limiting the content only to people in Spain.
- Place watermarks on documents and images to identify the ownership and identity of the content, as is the case with Content ID on YouTube
Why is it Important to Implement DRM (Digital Rights Management)?
The ultimate goal of DRM (Digital Rights Management) systems is to protect the copyright holder of their content and prevent it from being distributed or modified without their consent. In very simple words, it is like taking control of digital content away from people and entrusting it to a computer program. Therefore, it is important to have this technology so that management is more efficient.
On the other hand, as digital products are so easy to distribute and exchange, especially through p2p files, torrent link websites, or with other forms of online piracy, it is essential to have a tool that helps combat this cybercrime. DRM systems are the answer to this need.
The most Important Benefits of Digital Rights Management or DRM
Knowing what digital rights management systems are for, it is clear that it is crucial to implement Digital Rights Management or DRM technology in your platforms or content.
And it is that, using this management will provide you with various important benefits such as those that we tell you below.
Protection of Intellectual Property
The implementation of DRM technologies helps you demonstrate that the content is your property, but it is also essential to safeguard the rights of use and the income that these products can produce.
Control of Access and Distribution
It provides you with the necessary tools so that you can adapt access to different audiences, which in turn makes the market segmentation better and the distribution more selective.
Guarantee of Income
By being able to exercise a more strict control over the unauthorized distribution of your creations, DRM – Digital Rights Management makes it possible to maintain the income streams from the contents, as well as comply with the requirements to monetize on YouTube and other platforms.
Legal Compliance
These DRM systems also make it easier for you to comply with the rules and laws on copyright and license agreements that are in force in our country, which can save you possible fines.
Privacy and Data Protection
In addition to protecting the content, as a DRM can also restrict access to your confidential digital content only to authorized users, it also reduces the risk of suffering a data leak.
Consumer Confidence
The use of DRM in services also benefits you because it increases consumer confidence, thanks to the fact that you will be demonstrating a strong commitment to protecting the data and privacy of users.
Balance between Sharing and Controlling
Although many oppose DRMs because they think they restrict the use of digital products, the truth is that these technologies allow creators to share information with third parties while maintaining control over its use.
Monitoring and Tracking
In addition to protection, a Digital Rights Management (DRM) provides information on how your content is being used, helping to detect possible security breaches or unauthorized activities.
Deterrence of Piracy
As these digital rights management systems make it more difficult for unauthorized users to benefit from the illegal distribution of content, it is a powerful deterrent.
Examples of DRM (Digital Rights Management) Usage
Finally, now that you know what Digital Rights Managements is, how it works, and the benefits it can bring you, we want to show you some examples of this kind of technology.
Streaming Platforms
Spotify implements a DRM to protect the music of artists and ensure that only authorized subscribers can access the content. Similarly, Netflix uses a DRM to protect its movies and series, offering a wide library of high-quality multimedia content to its subscribers.
Electronic Books
Amazon Kindle uses a DRM (Digital Rights Management) to protect the digital books (ebooks) of authors and publishers, allowing writers to self-publish and distribute their works safely.
Software and Applications
One of the best examples is Adobe Acrobat Pro, which uses a DRM to protect documents in PDF format, allowing creators to control the access and use of their files. Similarly, Apple’s iTunes implements DRM to limit the number of devices that can play the acquired audio files.
Multimedia Content
Some video platforms such as YouTube use very sophisticated digital rights management systems to allow streaming, but at the same time prevent the download and redistribution of content. In this way, it is sought that, whether it is paid advertising, such as YouTube Ads, or organic, it is always protected.
Business Documents
Solutions like Digify make it possible for companies to protect and track their confidential documents, controlling the access and distribution of sensitive information.
Electronic Magazines
Publishers are very likely to use a DRM to control access to their publications, allowing different levels of access depending on each user’s subscription, such as reading on screen, printing a limited number of copies, or accessing specific sections.
Having a DRM – Digital Rights Management system allows you to protect your intellectual property, control access to your digital content, and ensure the security of your copyrights.
If you are looking for support to achieve this, at 2btube we are experts in content protection as experts in social media management.
Contact us without obligation and we will help you through the necessary tools to take care of your content!