New DRM-Free Label Announced

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Posted by ryuzaki0 on Wednesday August 15, 2012 @12:57PM from the seal-of-approval dept.

jrepin writes "Awareness has been spreading among individuals, businesses and other organizations that DRM is a completely unnecessary restriction of freedom, and it drives people away. As that awareness spreads, going 'DRM-Free' becomes more and more valuable for patrons. To really build upon that image and to provide a resource for people to learn about why being DRM-Free matters, a logo was created for suppliers to proudly advertise that their files all come unencumbered by restrictive technologies. Some among early adopters are O'Reilly Media, ClearBits, Momentum Books, and ccMixter."

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That will last about five minutes by kriston · 2012-08-15 13:01 · Score: 1

Wow. That's gonna last about five minutes before they have to turn the lights off.

--
Kriston
1. Re:That will last about five minutes by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-15 13:11 · Score: 1
  
  Naw, in the phreem-arc-it tradition of the United States, a multi-national corporation with major ties to the government will either sue in order to make it illegal to brand anything as DRM-free, or make sure it is legal to brand DRM contaminated crap as being DRM-free.
2. Re:That will last about five minutes by cpu6502 · 2012-08-15 13:43 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  You mean like they made it illegal to brand "GM free" foods? Yeah. Lovely country we have here... the government sure does protect us from those bad companies selling tainted food. We might actually be better-off without the 3-letter agencies.
  Here's another site I want to nominate for the DRM-free logo. They even hand-out free books for download:
  http://www.baenebooks.com/
  http://www.baenebooks.com/c-1-free-library.aspx
  
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3. Re:That will last about five minutes by hawguy · 2012-08-15 13:49 · Score: 1
  
  And another site that sells DRM-free eBooks: http://www.smashwords.com/
4. Re:That will last about five minutes by viperidaenz · 2012-08-15 13:49 · Score: 1
  
  They probably already can... since technically the files being provided are restricted by the license and the DRM software only attempts to enforce those licenses, not apply additional restrictions.
5. Re:That will last about five minutes by DadLeopard · 2012-08-15 15:37 · Score: 1
  
  They have another way to get free DRM Free ebooks also, All the CDs that were included with the hard back books are available for download either as an ISO file or as individual titles at http://baencd.freedoors.org/ There are a lot of good books there!
6. Re:That will last about five minutes by interkin3tic · 2012-08-15 16:12 · Score: 2
  
  I don't think this is similar enough to foods to where that comparison is apt. Corn is corn, if you're going to buy an ear of corn and notice it's GM, you can buy a different one that's not GM, and it will taste basically the same.
  
  Buying music, however, not many consumers buy based on label. Songs are exclusive. I can't choose to buy "Gimmie Shelter" by the rolling stones from a DRM-free label, I could only buy it from the label that has the rights to that song. So there's no branding advantage to DRM free there.
  
  "Organic" or "non GMO" are also labels people care about. I'm cynical that "DRM-free" has as much appeal. I could be wrong, I've done no surveys on that subject.
7. Re:That will last about five minutes by Dekker3D · 2012-08-15 23:02 · Score: 1
  
  I can't speak for others, but this label (if applied correctly) is a dream come true for me. I've been pretty careful about buying anything these days because being careless will end you up having spent half your money on DRM'd crap that you'll lose access to for whatever silly reason at whatever time -someone else- thinks is okay. Or not, and some server just b0rks. Or your internet connection flakes out and you spend hours without half your media.
  The DRM-free label will get me more interested and trusting in products that would otherwise be too mainstream (indie stuff isn't DRM'd as often nor as badly) and untrustworthy for me. That seems like a "mission accomplished" at least: if you get even one more customer by putting on a neat label, it's worth it, right?
8. Re:That will last about five minutes by Hatta · 2012-08-16 01:14 · Score: 1
  
  Organic and non-GMO are labels people care about because they've been marketed to effectively. With the right marketing, DRM-free would have as much appeal. It should be even easier, because using DRMd products has actual negative consequences, whereas the organic label just means it costs more and you should be smug about it.
  
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9. Re:That will last about five minutes by Khyber · 2012-08-16 04:15 · Score: 1
  
  "You don't really believe that any food crops from the last couple centuries are genetically identical to their wild ancestors, do you?"
  Hi, I work in the industry of agriculture.
  You're a moron. Good day.
  Most nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers) are EXACTLY the same as they were two centuries ago.
  
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10. Re:That will last about five minutes by mcgrew · 2012-08-16 04:17 · Score: 2
  
  We might actually be better-off without the 3-letter agencies.
  Like EPA, FDA? Nope, I can't agree. You like dirty air and lakes, and no labeling in food AT ALL? No mandated testing of new drugs?
  Some 3 letter agencies I agree with; ATF, TSA, NSA, sure. Get rid of them. Let me get my pitchfork...
  
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  Free Martian Whores!
11. Re:That will last about five minutes by swx2 · 2012-08-16 05:54 · Score: 1
  
  Going to have to call bullshit on that. Potatoes arrived in Europe from the "New World", then planted in the US from plants brought over from Europe. Irish potato famine destroyed one breed, but not others. If they were genetically identical, no species would've been safe, but that's obviously not the case.
12. Re:That will last about five minutes by mcgrew · 2012-08-16 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  History repeats itself. Back in the late '80s or early '90s, computer users rebelled against software (especialy games) that had DRM, for the same reasons people are rebelling against it now (the pirate version is superior to the paid-for version) and after a couple of companies that refused to remove DRM went bankrupt, the others folded and DRM was dead, only to come back in the late '90s when the industry had a new generation of suckers.
  As to music, you notice that that's one place where DRM went away? You DO have a choice when you want "gimme shelter". You can buy it on iTunes, you can buy a CD, or you can download it from a pirate site for free and not have any of DRM's faults.
  The DRM title's competition is the Pirate Bay. DRM never has worked, never will work, and cannot work.
  
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13. Re:That will last about five minutes by mcgrew · 2012-08-16 06:54 · Score: 1
  
  the DRM software only attempts to enforce those licenses, not apply additional restrictions.
  
  Bullshit. In the first place, I don't "licence a movie," I buy it. The license is between the copyright holder and the distributor. I signed no contract, I traded cash for merchandise. Yet the DRM on a DVD forces me to watch unskippable piracy ads (despite the fact that pirates never see those ads and I PAID for the damned thing) and often trailers and other crap as well.
  It's perfectly legal for me to copy a song off of an LP to a cassette as long as I'm not selling or otherwise publishing that cassette.. But DRM prevents (well, tries to) me from copying that movie to my hard drive so I'm not put out by having to watch those stupid antipiracy warnings or worse, ten minutes of unskippable ads for other movies.
  DRM applies any damned restriction the publisher wants, your constitutional rights as a customer and any licensing agreements you agree to be damned.
  
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  Free Martian Whores!
14. Re:That will last about five minutes by cpu6502 · 2012-08-16 08:15 · Score: 1
  
  >>> if you're going to buy an ear of corn and notice it's GM, you can buy a different one that's not GM, and it will taste basically the same.
  Except that it has no label, because the corporations lobbied the government to outlaw "no GM" labels. The whole point of this thread is that corporations will likely lobby to outlaw "no DRM" labels too, in order to protect their business.
  
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15. Re:That will last about five minutes by viperidaenz · 2012-08-16 09:53 · Score: 1
  
  If you don't want to watch unskippable anti-piracy warnings, watch a pirated copy.
16. Re:That will last about five minutes by NoseyNick · 2012-08-24 11:42 · Score: 1
  
  I've got no problem forcing GM foods to be labelled "this food has been genetically modified", as long as organic food is forced to be labelled "this food was sprayed with organic shit" ;-)
  
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Ugly by rebelwarlock · 2012-08-15 13:09 · Score: 4, Insightful

That logo is hideous. Who's going to be putting that on their packaging?
1. Re:Ugly by TheSilentNumber · 2012-08-15 13:15 · Score: 1
  
  Have you seen the fair trade and organic foods labels? Also uglp. Apparently they managed to get a list of first adopters that aren't all nobodies, which is pretty cool
2. Re:Ugly by cpu6502 · 2012-08-15 13:50 · Score: 2
  
  I don't see anything wrong with it. It's a circle with
  DRM
  FREE
  in the middle at a ~30 degree angle. It's clean and effective, and I'd certainly buy a product like that vs. the copyprotected/DRM version.
  
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3. Re:Ugly by EZLeeAmused · 2012-08-15 14:53 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Well, they had to do something to keep people from stealing those products.
  
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4. Re:Ugly by cpu6502 · 2012-08-15 15:21 · Score: 1
  
  We must be looking at different logos. This looks okay to me:
  https://static.fsf.org/dbd/DRM-free/DRM-free.png
  
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5. Re:Ugly by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-15 16:18 · Score: 1
  
  It's off-putting. It's a circle with a line through it like a no-smoking sign (or no pets, etc.). They are using a symbol we use to mean "don't" do something to get people to do something: buy their product.
6. Re:Ugly by davester666 · 2012-08-15 17:43 · Score: 1
  
  Actually it's not nearly as bad as what I first thought the logo was, namely [imagely?] the image at the top of the slashdot page, the white straightjacket...
  
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7. Re:Ugly by black3d · 2012-08-15 17:55 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Agreed, that's a pretty bad logo. Kudos to them for the idea. It needs to be promoted, but not with that. It'd too cluttered. Text is a bad thing. It should be optional, underneath, beside, etc, but not wrapped around as part of the logo. The idea of brand recognition is that the logo becomes instantly identifiable, which means it DOESN'T need to have a detailed explanation of what DRM-FREE means, in the long term. Put the text "with it" now somehow, but not as the actual logo. :\
  
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8. Re:Ugly by martin_dk · 2012-08-15 18:59 · Score: 1
  
  For a moment I thought that "Defective by design" refererred to the uglyness of their failed logo.
  While a really nice initiative they should reconsider the visual identity of the campaign
9. Re:Ugly by hcpxvi · 2012-08-15 21:15 · Score: 1
  
  That logo is hideous. Who's going to be putting that on their packaging?
  At least it doesn't look like two people performing an act unsuitable for discussion on a family website ( See here for the canonical example). You can pay graphic designers a LOT more money than was spent on the DRM Free logo and still get something that is astonishingly bad.
DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by Mitreya · 2012-08-15 13:10 · Score: 4, Insightful

People looking for ebooks in places like Amazon often have trouble figuring out which ebooks have DRM and which don't because Amazon does not advertise that information.

How can they NOT make that information easily available?
Why do people not return books more as soon as they run into an unadvertised DRM problem?
1. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by TheSilentNumber · 2012-08-15 13:17 · Score: 1
  
  They don't know any better. Hopefully this will help with that.
2. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by hawguy · 2012-08-15 13:44 · Score: 2
  
  People looking for ebooks in places like Amazon often have trouble figuring out which ebooks have DRM and which don't because Amazon does not advertise that information.
  How can they NOT make that information easily available?
  Why do people not return books more as soon as they run into an unadvertised DRM problem?
  Because when people who are not Slashdot readers buy a book at Amazon, and it works on their Kindle they are happy. Few ordinary users try to move eBooks between platforms, and if they do try and fail, they shrug their shoulders and stop trying.
  But maybe this label will help make more people aware of what they are giving up when they buy DRM infected content. The music studious seem to have learned their lesson since most (all?) music is available unencumbered.
3. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by cpu6502 · 2012-08-15 13:58 · Score: 1
  
  Amazon sells DRM-free books? How do I get them off my kindle (or amazon) and into another reader..... like Word. ;-)
  
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4. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by RobbieThe1st · 2012-08-15 16:31 · Score: 2
  
  Calibre, which is FOSS and cross-platform btw.
  And you can get a drm-stripping plugin for it too.
5. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by corsec67 · 2012-08-15 17:31 · Score: 2
  
  Being able to strip the DRM is not the same as receiving a DRM free file from the vendor.
  
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6. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by TheRaven64 · 2012-08-15 21:42 · Score: 1
  
  I've not bought any ebooks with DRM in them, but when I rent a DVD that has some sort of copy protection that stops it playing with VLC then I send it back marked defective. The rental company then has to check or replace the disk. I also tick the 'don't send me this again' box, so the studio won't get any revenue. It probably makes little difference when it's just me, but if a lot of people do it then it will start costing them significantly more to carry encumbered DVDs than normal ones.
  
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  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
7. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by madsdyd · 2012-08-15 21:55 · Score: 1
  
  Current state of affairs, unless you are willing to fiddle quite a bit, is that DRM free kindle files you have bought, potentially can be very hard to extract from your kindle application. (I do not know about dedicated readers).
  For some versions of the kindle reader, it is as easy as getting the .prc file from the local storage. However, this is not a foolproof method. Recent versions of the android kindle reader stores the .prc files in app-private space (or whatever), making it only accesible if you root the device.
  If you use the amazon/kindle offline reader, the content is actually stored unencrypted, but compressed in your browsers cache/database. It takes some javascript-foo to extract it, but it is possible. Google search/translate is your friend here, but be prepared to fiddle a bit.
  IMHO you should seek alternatives to Kindle, if you are not prepared to read your books on a kindle device/app. Adobe DRM on epubs is trivial to remove, using wine and Adobe Digital Editions, and as such is a much more suitable format for cross-device ebook reading. Of course, just selling us books as files, without DRM would be much better. I assume I am not the only one waiting for tor.com to put their announced DRM free store online soon.
8. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by madsdyd · 2012-08-16 00:56 · Score: 1
  
  Perhaps - I do not have access to Windows versions of the kindle reader. :-/
9. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by Desler · 2012-08-16 01:49 · Score: 1
  
  Why do people not return books more as soon as they run into an unadvertised DRM problem?
  Because most people don't run into problems? The vast majority of people only ever read their ebooks on the exact device the ebook was made for.
10. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by Cajun+Hell · 2012-08-16 03:56 · Score: 1
  
  Watermarks aren't talked about, because almost no one cares. Lots of stuff on my fileserver has "personal identifiers" but you don't see me deleting my copy of my tax records. Ah.. but that's just it: you don't see me. That's why I don't care about whatever personal info is in the file.
  If you're concerned about theft or something like that, look into dm-crypt, and don't run malware whenever you have that stuff mounted.
  
  --
  "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
11. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by cpu6502 · 2012-08-16 09:06 · Score: 1
  
  >>>IMHO you should seek alternatives to Kindle, if you are not prepared to read your books on a kindle device/app.
  I am. I bought the kindle because of its e-ink design. I don't like looking at backlit screens, whereas the kindle is more like reading a paper, but it would ne nice to download the DRM-free books to my hard drive.
  
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12. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by madsdyd · 2012-08-16 17:09 · Score: 1
  
  There is no question e-ink is superior to a backlit screen. However, the kindle is not the only e-ink device :-)
  I personally like my Sony Reader Wifi a lot. I also own a nook and a no-name device. Not a kindle though, because I prefer not to be locked into a specific eco-system.
13. Re:DRM-free Should be the DEFAULT by RobbieThe1st · 2012-08-18 13:31 · Score: 1
  
  True. Calibre can do both, however: By default, convert unencrypted .azw's to your favorite format, and with a plugin, strip any DRM first.
That's a decent list of first-adopters by TheSilentNumber · 2012-08-15 13:10 · Score: 2

With that list of first-adopters, it wauld be great if the label could actually become a recognizeable and valuable marker. That would be a promising development as major ebook publishers start dropping DRM. With DRM all but gone for music and, if ebooks meet a similar fate, how long can video, streaming servies, and games last?
1. Re:That's a decent list of first-adopters by VortexCortex · 2012-08-15 14:59 · Score: 1
  
  how long can video, streaming servies, and games last?
  Until they shut off the DRM servers?
2. Re:That's a decent list of first-adopters by Darinbob · 2012-08-15 15:10 · Score: 2
  
  They need this on games too. People demand DRM free on audio, and now on books, but for some reason they look the other way when games are locked down the same way.
3. Re:That's a decent list of first-adopters by TheSilentNumber · 2012-08-15 19:20 · Score: 2
  
  I think that's the beauty of this logo. Defective by Design is an FSF campaign, so they can't endorse non-free games, but this logo specifically says it is not an endorsement, so games can use it too!
Nicwe Logo, but... by flogger · 2012-08-15 13:17 · Score: 3, Interesting

That's a nice clear logo, but there are may people who will still prefer THIS as their DRM free logo of choice.

--
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1. Re:Nicwe Logo, but... by brit74 · 2012-08-15 14:57 · Score: 1
  
  People who prefer to support creators, rather than run around like everyone owes them free stuff don't use the Pirate Bay.
Hmm, I dunno. by VortexCortex · 2012-08-15 13:29 · Score: 1

That "DRM Free" label looks suspiciously similar to the Free DRM! label -- or it will soon enough.
Awareness is Spreading? No Logo Please by Jonah+Hex · 2012-08-15 13:36 · Score: 1

Look, I provide my shit for free, and even have some of my behind the scenes work available DRM free, but I'm not sticking that label on any of it. I'd rather just serve up the raw stuff without costing me too much, which means there are already tons of labels, branding, and even ads around YouTube, or Google Docs. I can't completely get rid of it, but I'm also trying to do lovecraft/cthulhu/erotica on no budget so I don't expect to be able to get rid of it. I'll have to run ads most likely on the main site, which means more clutter. So thanks for the logo conceptually, but no thanks from a very independent producer. Maybe I'll throw it on my http://www.hex.xxx/wtfaq/hex/ page or something with the more general site info. - HEX

--
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A new Label is finr but by rossdee · 2012-08-15 14:43 · Score: 1

What artists/Bands do they have signed up?
Re:Labels have DRM by Sussurros · 2012-08-15 15:24 · Score: 1

I thought the same too but this is even better, this is a fulcrum by which the world can be moved.

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Re:No Thanks by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-15 15:48 · Score: 1

WRONG. Yes they do believe all software should be free and encourage developers and media producers to use copyleft licenses, but by no means do they encourage pirating anything that is not "free". They respect others' copyrights and other licenses as they should. Stop spreading lies. No one at the FSF opening encourages pirating.
Lots of DRM free right here by future+assassin · 2012-08-15 16:01 · Score: 1

http://www.ektoplazm.com/

--
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This is still a thing? by DL117 · 2012-08-15 16:02 · Score: 1

The whole 'DRM war' thing is over. Ever since the Sony fiasco way back, they haven't even tried putting it on physical media, and I haven't encountered DRM'd digital media in ages.
XKCD: http://xkcd.com/546/
1. Re:This is still a thing? by Namarrgon · 2012-08-15 16:16 · Score: 1
  
  There's a whole world of content outside of music, and nearly all of it is still heavily locked down with DRM. Most ebooks and virtually all video content spring to mind.
  
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2. Re:This is still a thing? by Trogre · 2012-08-15 16:38 · Score: 1
  
  I'm going to assume you're referring to music CDs only. Otherwise I guess you haven't looked too closely at DVD or Blu Ray media.
  
  --
  "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Re:No Thanks by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-15 16:07 · Score: 1

Sure, RMS is a little over the top, but the world needs people who espouse a fringe view to bring the center closer to where it should be.
uh ohhhhhhh by slashmydots · 2012-08-15 16:49 · Score: 1

Now I don't want to freak the RIAA out or anything but ALL music coming out of my speaker port has no DRM at that point. I think maybe they may have overlooked that. I don't think they know how music or sound works.
Remember the source by NaCh0 · 2012-08-15 17:17 · Score: 1

As far as FSF artwork goes, the logo is pretty good.
Re:It's not the DRM that is wrong... by leuk_he · 2012-08-15 21:24 · Score: 1

-Your comment is a digital good.(not sold).
-It is not protected by DRM.
-your comment lacks details HOW it is abused by media corporation, so i cannot comment what you want to say.
============
By the way, If there is no DRM that is not to say that there is no watermarking. They could watermark all sales, and if they consistently see that the good bought by "proudDemonoidUser" are always finding their way into the torrent community, it will not take them very long to present a bill to proudDemonoidUser for redistributing the digital goods.
Re:Labels have DRM by Desler · 2012-08-16 01:48 · Score: 1

Music hasn't had DRM on it for years now from either iTunes or Amazon. Maybe you need to buy your music from less shitty sellers?
Re:Can't find book explicitly without DRM = pirate by Desler · 2012-08-16 01:53 · Score: 1

The only message you send is one saying that they need more effective DRM. The way you get them to stop using DRM isn't to go "They aren't giving it to me how I want so I'm just gonna take it anyway!!!".
Reminds me of the laughing man logo by kyncani · 2012-08-16 03:06 · Score: 1

From the "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" serie. http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=%22laughing+man%22
Re:Labels have DRM by Cajun+Hell · 2012-08-16 03:50 · Score: 1

WTF are you talking about? I've been buying DRM-free music for decades. The only time I saw DRM was on one iffy CD about ten years ago, and even that one's DRM turned out to not really work right (i.e. the CD did work after all, it just didn't work in name-brand players). Don't buy any CDs published by Virgin between 2001 and 2004 and you'll probably miss the DRM fad.
Video is where the DRM problems still are. (And I hear lots of proprietary software has DRM too, though that's second-hand so take that rumor with a grain of salt.)

--
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
Re:Can't find book explicitly without DRM = pirate by tlhIngan · 2012-08-16 03:52 · Score: 1

The only message you send is one saying that they need more effective DRM. The way you get them to stop using DRM isn't to go "They aren't giving it to me how I want so I'm just gonna take it anyway!!!".
Exactly. Espcially since there's a DRM-free way to get it in the first place - in print! Deadtree is a perfect way to express your opinion on the matter - it's DRM-free (any scanner or photocopier can read it too), you can give it away/resell it/etc.
Oh, and what I do is I buy the deadtree, then pirate the ebook. Amazon etc. won't give a crap about DRM-free because they're selling more ebooks than deadtrees. Reverse that trend and it says something. (Plus, if there are OCR errors in the pirated ebook, you can reference the deadtree to figure out what it's supposed to be).
AND the author (and everyone else involved from editors to cover art) gets their cut.
It's right now a perfect way to show your displeasure for DRM and make a meaningful stand because the metrics people are using are comparing print sales to ebook sales.