[wos] Open Letter to Steve Jobs on DRM

[Volker Grassmuck]

No to Digital Shackles, no to DRMs !

http://defectivebydesign.com/actions/open_letter/steve_jobs

Sign the open letter to Steve Jobs today!
22 days, 14 hours, 0 minutes, 9 seconds until we decide
-- Pledge or Prank?.

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An Open Letter to Steve Jobs
Introduction:

We surpassed our target of 1000 signatures in just 5 hours! Now lets 
see how many we can get by April 1. Sign this letter to Steve Jobs 
asking him to back his pledge on DRM by April 1. We will send the 
letter, with your comments to Steve, on April 1, and include a big 
thank you because he has taken one of these actions, or a jesters hat 
for him to wear if he hasn't. We will publish the best/funniest 
comments through out the month!  

Dear Steve Jobs,

We would like to thank you for your public statements about Digital 
Restrictions Management (DRM), and your pledge to drop DRM from 
iTunes if the four major record labels---EMI, Warner, Universal and 
Sony---let you.  

As you know, the Free Software Foundation's campaign against DRM, 
DefectiveByDesign.org, has specifically targeted Apple since it 
launched in May 2006. As activists against DRM, we have supported 
these high-profile protests outside Apple stores in the US and in the 
UK because, as the largest purveyor of DRMed music, Apple carries a 
large part of the responsibility for the situation in which consumers 
now find themselves.  

But Apple is under pressure not just from anti-DRM activists and from 
a consumer boycott of DRM, but also from consumer rights regulators 
in Europe who have declared iTunes's DRM (FairPlay) illegal. In 
Norway regulators have given you until October 1, 2007 to open up 
iTunes or be forced to close down under penalty of daily fines. 
Similar moves are being made by consumer regulators across Europe.  

To many observers your blog pledge looks like a way to reduce 
pressure on Apple from these regulators, and head off calls from the 
industry to license FairPLay to other distributors.  

It has been three weeks now since you published your pledge to drop 
DRM, and there have been many responses from commentators who have 
outlined actions you could take to back up your words. The fact that 
you have not taken any action leads us to ask the question: How 
genuine is your pledge?  

We have identified three ways you could show your sincerity about 
DRM. Taking action on any one of these fronts would be a powerful 
demonstration that you mean business.  

1) Drop DRM on iTunes for independent artists

Many independent artists and labels distribute their music through 
iTunes and many wish to do so without DRM, but you won't let them. 
You could show good faith immediately by dropping DRM for those 
artists and labels.  

This will make it clear which artists are actually locked to one of 
the four big labels, allowing your customers to avoid those labels 
and the burden of DRM. Independent artists, who respect the desire of 
the fan to be free from DRM restrictions, will receive more support.  

You can set the ethical example and be the first "major" to drop DRM, 
by freeing independent artists. You have the direct power to do this. 
 

2) Drop DRM on iTunes for Disney movies and video

In your blog post you say, "[The] alternative is to abolish DRMs 
entirely. Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free 
music encoded in open licensable formats." That is a powerful image, 
and one that we and the free software movement shares with you. But 
why is your imagination limited to a world without DRM on music? You 
don't once mention movies or video.  

We understand that Apple is busy signing contracts with movie studios 
and TV networks to allow Apple to sell video and movies to iPod 
users. These videos are delivered with DRM. The arguments that you 
make in your blog apply equally to movies as they do to music.  

In 2006 you sold Pixar to Disney, and in the process became the 
largest single shareholder in Disney and joined the board of 
directors. Disney was the first to agree to distribute its movies 
through iTunes. Disney is a major movie distributor but not a major 
music publisher.  

You can set the example in the arena of video and movies. Disney can 
be the first "major" to drop DRM. You have the direct power to do 
this.  

3) Take a public stand against DRM and legislation mandating DRM by 
funding a campaign to repeal the Digital Millenium Copyright Act's 
(DMCA) prohibitions.  

In your blog you say that we could "... abolish DRMs completely", and 
that Apple would "embrace it in a heartbeat". These words are very 
close to calling for DRM to be eliminated. We encourage you to make 
such a statement explicitly.  

This is an important action because of the legislative threats we 
face. Senator Feinstein (D - Calif.), in this congressional session, 
has reintroduced the Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights 
Holders in Music Act (PERFORM Act). The Act would require webcasters 
who stream in MP3 (or other non-DRM formats) to impose DRM. This 
would include the radio stations currently available through iTunes, 
which currently rely on MP3 streams.  

The impact of DRM and the DMCA will have chilling effects on our 
freedom of speech. In a world where our radio shows, TV shows, news, 
and political coverage, come laden with DRM---because digital TV, 
digital radio and webstreaming have been mandated to use DRM---we 
will have lost the legal right to make commentary using source 
materials. Free speech through parody and quotation will have 
disappeared.  

As someone who has imposed a DRM scheme on millions of people and 
made millions of dollars doing so, it is time for you to take a stand 
against DRM as unethical and as a threat to our freedoms.  

You can set the example by calling for the elimination of DRM and by 
funding a campaign to repeal the DMCA's prohibition on devices that 
overcome DRM. You have the direct power to do this.  

While we welcome your pledge to drop DRM, action has yet to follow. 
Some changes you discuss will require the cooperation of other people 
in the media industry, but the three areas that we have outlined here 
do not. You have the full power to allow independent artists to sell 
their music on iTunes without DRM, to remove DRM from Disney videos 
and movies, and to fund a campaign to repeal the DMCA's prohibition 
on devices that overcome DRM. We, the undersigned, call upon you to 
take action now.  

Yours Truly,