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Walmart Caves On DRM Removal

Posted by kdawson on from the just-kidding dept.

cmunic8r99 writes in with an email he received from walmart.com yesterday evening about the pending shutdown of their DRM services (which we discussed a while back). Walmart has reconsidered and won't be shutting off its DRM servers after all. They are still moving to an all-MP3 store, but won't break all the DRMed music its customers have already downloaded; this because of "feedback from the customers."

5 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Presumably... by Gewalt · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They do not have the rights to take such actions as you propose. Only Apple/iTunes was smart enough to get that written into their contract.

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    Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
  2. DMCA exemption by sunderland56 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wouldn't "Disabling a DRM format that is obsolete" be a good candidate to add to the DMCA exemptions?

  3. The real price of DRM by initialE · · Score: 4, Interesting

    For consumers, living in constant doubt of their content. For providers, servers that they will have to run, like, forever. And the admins who maintain them.

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    Starbucks, Harbuckle of Breath.
  4. Re:Presumably... by electrictroy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Do it anyway. It would be fun watching tiny RIAA try to sue billion-dollar Walmart.

    In my view all Walmart would be doing is simply trading "broken items" with new working items. Just like trading a broken radio for a working radio. That's called good customer service, and Walmart would gain far more money from their happy customers, then they'd lose against a mosquito like RIAA.

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    The government is not your daddy. Its purpose is not to raid middle-class neighbors' wallets and give it to you.
  5. Re:Wal-Mart by gsgriffin · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Agreed. Those of us in America should live outside America for a while. I got back from living in South Africa for over a year. I wish they had more lawsuits! You heard me right. It because of lawsuit and the threat oif lawsuits that companies take us into consideration and have to build things safer. Ever bought a toaster outside of the US. You'll burn you hand the first time you use it. Not in America. The only toasters you find will be more carefully designed and labeled. Why because of the threat of lawsuits. We still get cheap products. The unsafe products are shipped from China to other parts of the world. Hate the laywer. Like the eventual product.

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