Why DRM Is A Bad Deal

Amazon illustrates why buying entertainment data crippled by DRM is inappropriate for anyone expecting more than a temporary rental.  Google made a similar illustration when it closed a DRM video business in 2007, which involved killing the back-end systems that make it possible for users to read the DRM content.  The only upside was that Google refunded its victims customers.  Given the likelihood of customers getting financially-worthwhile relief from a DRM vendor under the arbitration provisions governing the clickwrap agreements facing most of the buyers of DRM on the planet, there's little reason to believe future DRM vendors will issue refunds when they close – or reason to suspect they will be solvent when they do.