Backlog of Consumer Rights in the Digital World. The EU Project INDICARE Publishes State-of-the-Art Report on "Digital Rights Management" [16.02.2005]

Digital Rights Management

Presseinformation des Forschungszentrums Karlsruhe 2 / 2005

Discussion about digital goods, such as videos, music, games, or software is presently focusing on the protection of artists and producers against illegal copies. But what about the rights of consumers? The INDICARE project funded by the European Commission has been set up to contribute to settling open questions associated with digital rights management from the point of view of consumers and users. INDICARE is coordinated by the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. According to its recently published first state-of-the-art report, interests and needs of consumers are far from being considered adequately.

Systems for digital rights management (DRM), i.e. technical and organizational means for the administration of rights on digital products, are applied mainly in the online distribution of digital music, videos, broadcastings, software, games, or books. Typically DRM systems govern the relationship between suppliers of digital content and their customers. On the one hand, they control the forms of use, for instance, the possibility of copying or transmitting the respective product to friends. On the other hand, DRM systems are applied to implement new utilization and business models. Authors, artists, or producers may contact consumers directly on the internet to sell their digital books, music, or films.

"DRM is a topic that goes far beyond the prevention of copyright piracy", says the coordinator of the INDICARE project, Dr. Carsten Orwat, from the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. "To meet with wide acceptance, the needs of consumers have to be considered in addition to the protection needs of suppliers. This also includes fair conditions of use and access, possibilities of use on various end devices, transparency of the conditions of use, protection of the private sphere, and consumer friendliness."

The first state-of-the-art report of the INDICARE project published recently points to some technical solutions that better suit consumers' needs. With respect to data protection, for instance, the user should be given the possibility of controlling the data collected by the supplier e.g. about his use behavior and to restrict the collection and processing of these data in his sense. It is also desired by consumers to use the digital products as extensively as possible. This includes the use on various end devices as well as continued use in case of system changes (new computer, new equipment, etc.) or transmission of media content to family members or friends.

"The reason why DRM systems have hardly been applied so far is that the needs of consumers and their representatives have hardly been accounted for in the development of business models, technical systems, legal regulations, or political initiatives", underlines Carsten Orwat. "A fair DRM design is the key to the economic success of offers."

The INDICARE Project

INDICARE (The INformed DIalogue about Consumer Acceptability of Digital Rights Management Solutions in Europe) issues publications to enhance public discussion of this topic. These publications include a monthly newsletter, the "INDICARE Monitor" (http://www.indicare.org/monitor) as well as the "INDICARE Blog" (http://www.indicare.org/). Moreover, policy papers, and guidelines for small and medium-sized enterprises as well as consumers are drawn up in the course of the project. A series of workshops and a consumer survey are aimed at gaining detailed insights into consumer needs and experiences regarding DRM.

The project is funded by the European Commission under the eContent programme. However, it is independent of the European Commission as far as views and opinions are concerned. The project is coordinated by the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. Among the project partners are Berlecon Research GmbH, Berlin, the Institute for Information Law (IViR) of the University of Amsterdam, and the SEARCH Laboratory of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME).

For all project publications and participation in the discussion, click http://www.indicare.org

Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe is a member of the Helmholtz Association, the biggest German science organization with 15 research centers and an annual budget of EUR 2.1 billion. A total of 24,000 employees carry out research in the areas of Structure of Matter, Earth and Environment, Transport and Space, Health, Energy, and Key Technologies.

Joachim Hoffmann, February, 2005

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