[Chapter-delegates] DRM in HTML5 - something brewing in W3C

[Christian de Larrinaga]

This is worth unpicking.

I am only involved as a user in this area (developing media services and
sites). I am not involved in W3C activities around this myself. I am not
planning to implement browser based DRM.

As I understand the background at this time and hoping somebody will
speak up who is involved in the w3C working groups who can guide on the
implications of how this is being implemented.

HTML5 is adding some media features such as audio and video tags. The
idea is as you design your webpage you can insert these tags around a
media object and this will provide a player for the user to directly
access the content (video or audio) without calling in a third party
plug in such as Flash or Silverlight in the browser. This simplifies as
it standardises access to digital media in web browsers.

The DRM issue being complained about is separate from the codecs that
process the media (play). The choice of a codec or codecs has been
highly contentious in terms of patent coverage so that playing content
can be open (free to all). Google has assured use of a codec and there
has been much negotiations going on behind the scenes to make this
possible. This covers Rights to the 'means' to play content

But for managing the rights to the content itself some content providers
(mainly distributors like NetFlix) are saying they will not use HTML5
media tags for their content unless they can impose DRM on their content.

W3C is discussing this in the context of supporting DRM in the browser.
The implications of this would appear to impose DRM on content that is
presented via the browser directly.

I would prefer myself, that any DRM functionality that content
distributors wish to implement is managed via a plug in architecture
rather than intrinsic to the browser functionality. Otherwise free
content which is the vast bulk of content as I understand it today
should not be defaulted through a DRM filter intended for some
(significant) commercial corner cases.

This would add some extra complexity and cost for those businesses that
wish to impose DRM on content but presumably the cost is worth the
effort. By implementing in the browser it would seem the cost is being
passed on to the browser (in added complexity and processing). I'm not
clear why the cost of doing business for a few should be passed on to
users and content providers not interested in DRM. That is the many.


best




Christian






Dr. Alejandro Pisanty Baruch wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I have received a call to join a protest
> in http://www.defectivebydesign.org/no-drm-in-html5
> 
> This would be against some goings-on in the W3C that the authors of the
> protest calls "Hollyweb".
> 
> Can anyone more knowledgeable help understand what this is and whether
> we should try to intervene?
> 
> Yours,
> 
> Alejandro Pisanty
> 
>  
> 
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
>      Dr. Alejandro Pisanty
> Facultad de Química UNAM
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