As a court case in the District of Columbia court against 14,000 "john doe" defendants filed by the US Copyright Group over file sharing movies continues, increasingly defendants and ISPs are saying that the court has no jurisdiction over them.

One John Doe defendant in the D.C. case sent a letter to the court saying that he has never traded files, nor lived, used an ISP, or worked in the D.C area and that adding him as a defendant is improper because he has nothing in common with the "co-defendants." Here's what he wrote to the court: Read More

An interesting IGN Gear article lays out the pros and cons of jailbreaking your favorite mobile phone device, and points out that many of the things that were illegal to use before the Library of Congress ruling, remain just as unlawful. Last month the Library of Congress ruled that it was okay to jailbreak a mobile phone under "fair use." This ruling was a response to digital rights advocacy groups, who urged the Library of Congress to make a determination.

The whole point of this decision was to allow users to install legally obtained software on smartphones whose operating systems might otherwise prevent them from so doing (ahem - iPhone, Android, etc.). But a larger appeal might be with those that want to copy copyrighted materials - aps, music, moves, etc. - to phones. As the article points out, this is still very illegal. Read More

Speaking to a packed house during the QuakeCon 2010 keynote address and the follow-up Q&A session, John Carmack said that he sees a real future with cloud-based gaming.

He also talked about 3D TV technology (he doesn't know if the value or usefulness is there for consumers) the current crop of motion controllers (he says "they're not of value to id") and dedicated servers (he has not decided how or if RAGE will support dedicated servers), but the most interesting comment has to do with cloud based gaming services, which he calls "interesting" - even though he hasn't tested any games that use it.

Here's an excerpt from a Shacknews article on Carmack's comments: Read More

Indie game developer Amanita, makers of the popular adventure puzzler Machinarium, has extended its pirate amnesty sale due to a jump in sales of the game. According to the game's blog, the amnesty sale helped move 17,000 copies in one week. That's pretty impressive for an indie developer.

The sale offers even deeper discounts on the game; now it will sell for $5 and will come with the soundtrack for free. The Czech developer also revealed stats indicating the percentage of orders by country, with the United States taking the lead with 39.4 percent. The UK came in second with a paltry 11.5 percent, followed by Germany with 7.2 percent, Spain at 5.5 percent and Canada at 5.3 percent.

Source: machinarium.net

While we were excited to report yesterday that Ubisoft wouldn't be using its horrible "always connected" DRM scheme for its upcoming strategy game RUSE, it looks like the company hasn't given up on it quite yet. Speaking to GameIndustry.biz, an unnamed Ubisoft spokesperson said that the company would continue using it on future PC games.

"We will continue to use the Ubisoft protection system for most PC games, said a spokesperson.

In case you've never played an Ubisoft PC title, the DRM works like this: In order to play multiplayer or even single player in a game you have to be connected to an Ubisoft server that validates your game. If you should get disconnected from the server, your game - no matter what you are doing in it - will quit or pause.

Of course there is always the chance that Ubisoft will see how well Steamworks works for them as a DRM protection system and eventually abandon its previous solution. Who knows.

Source: GI.biz

Ubisoft has been the whipping boy for DRM opponents because some of its PC releases have required that the player be "always connected" to the internet to play its games. But this week the company is earning some good will. The first is the releases of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World game on PlayStation Network, a wonderful 8-bit beat 'em up that plays like a gussied version of River City Ransom. But for DRM opponents the best news is that the highly anticipated strategy game RUSE won't be using Ubisoft's usual DRM scheme.

A post on Ubisoft’s official forum for the game reveals that, because the game is using Steamworks, it won't require users to be always connected to the internet. Instead it will require you to login to Steam to validate the game once. Here's more from the forum post: Read More

Indie game developer and publisher Amanita Design has announced a Pirate Amnesty Sale to encourage the purchase of its point and click adventure game, Machinarium (Mac, PC, Linux). The sale, which runs until August 12, is a smart assed response to internal figures it has unearthed showing that only 5 - 15 percent of those playing the game have actually paid for it. During the sale the game will be available for a mere $5 - down from the usual $20.

Part of the reason the game is so widely available and apparently heavily pirated is because the company chose to release it without any kind of DRM protection. For doing that Amanita Design deserves a bit of credit and some respect.

So how can it get that respect? By those that are enjoying the game to pay a little something for it. Here's a message from the developers on the sale: Read More

Google has added a new DRM program for the Android Marketplace that uses a licensing server to verify whether or not a user has purchased an app before it launches. In order to make use of the new DRM an app has to be sold through the Android Market store and built for the Android 1.5 operating system or later. Free apps can't make use of the service, but - in terms of DRM protection - I guess that doesn't really matter..

This will replace the current copy protection scheme used by apps in the Marketplace, which both developers and consumers have criticized for a number of reasons.

Apps can be written to handle the interaction with the licensing server in any way the developer choose, but Google is providing two preconfigured implementations that will stop an app from running if the server doesn't or can't verify the app's license. The second method will only allow the app to start if the server is available to verify the license. In other words, a DRM system that sounds an awful lot like what Ubisoft likes to use.

Source: aferdawn.com

Paradox Entertainment CEO Fredrik Wester talks GamersGate, Paradox, and digital rights management in a decent interview with Game, Set, Watch. First and foremost, Wester emphasizes that he is no longer involved in the day to day operations of GamersGate, the spin-off digital distribution portal he founded. He does, however have a 20 percent stake in the company, but his main focus is on building and growing Paradox Interactive.

More importantly Wester talks about the future of digital distribution, which he says is even now being shaped for the future in a variety of ways. Speaking about consolidation of digital distribution portals he said the following: Read More

The PC version of Kane & Lynch 2 will use Steameworks for DRM, according to Eidos. A PC demo of the sequel that managed to get Giant Bomb founder Jeff Gerstmann fired when he worked at Gamespot is also available at a 10 percent discount via the Steam discount program. Because the game supports Steamworks don't expect to find it on Stardock's Impulse if that's your distribution platform of choice - Stardock won't support any game going forward that requires the use of third-party software.

Kane & Lynch 2 , like other games that use Steamworks, requires the use of the Steam client, which provides DRM protection, along with multiplayer matchmaking, achievements, stats, and leaderboards. The game will be released on August 17 in North America and on August 20 in Europe. The game will be available on those dates for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Source: Shacknews

The Library of Congress’ Copyright Office looks into the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) every three years in order to ensure that its harms are “mitigated.” The latest such inquiry has led to the establishment of legal protections for those who choose to jailbreak their cell phones, as well as for those who break protections on videogames in order to “investigate or correct security flaws.”

An AP story stated that the triennial investigation offers exemptions to the DMCA in order to “ensure that existing law does not prevent non-infringing use of copyrighted material.”

Other exemptions handed down included: Read More

Could the new face of DRM be UltraViolet, and what does it mean to the game industry? We're not quite certain but Microsoft and Sony are supporting it. So what is UltraViolet?

According to its creator(s), the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (a cross-industry consortium that includes 60 technology and entertainment companies), UltraViolet uses a cloud-based user management system in connection with a "Digital Rights Locker" to store information about content the user owns. This hypothetically allows the users to access content on multiple platforms - assuming it is compatible in some way.

Users will create a free UltraViolet account through "participating UltraViolet service providers" or through the UltraViolet website. Once it is created, this account will allow consumers to access and manage all of their "UltraViolet entertainment," regardless of where it was purchased.

According to a press release from DECE, "UltraViolet will allow consumers to watch their digital entertainment across multiple platforms, such as connected TVs, PCs, game consoles." Read More

Codemasters CEO Rod Cousens says that he is not a fan of digital rights management but his ideas on how to fight piracy are just as complicated as any DRM scheme cooked up by publishers like Ubisoft and EA. Cousens suggests that the game industry sell parts of games in a retail box, with the rest of the content unlocked via micro-payments. As he sees it, even if the first part of the game is pirated, those that don't pay for it will never get to enjoy the complete experience.

But one of the problems with such a solution is that it would require a reduced price at retail for products using this feature because it would only be a partial experience. Plus it it is tough to continually monetize games when they aren’t very good in the first place.. Still, at least Cousens is thinking outside the box. Here's what he told C&VG: Read More

Michael Geist points out that Brazil’s new copyright reform proposal (translated) is very much unlike that of any other developing or established nation:

Not only does the proposal permit circumvention for fair dealing and public domain purposes, but it establishes equivalent penalties for hindering or preventing the users from exercising their fair dealing rights.

BoingBoing’s Cory Doctrow called it the “best-ever implementation” of the WIPO Copyright Treaty. Read More

It's pretty strange when the people that make and distribute porn understand customers better than all the other industries when it comes to DRM. If you need some supporting evidence, then look no further than this New TeeVee report on Private Media Group and its DRM free porn offerings.

 Private is a huge player in the adult industry; it is listed on the NASDAQ and generated $29 million in revenue during 2009. And while it has seen its old business models like DVDs and magazines evaporate over the last few years, the company has been keen to capitalize on the shifting landscape of technology.

It was one of the first adult companies to offer iPad-optimized downloads via HTML5 streams and is working on a cross-platform strategy that will allow customers to seamlessly switch between different devices. But the most important thing the company does is avoid punishing its customers. Read More

According to a report in Andriasang - citing Japanese business newspaper Nikkei - the Nintendo 3DS will allow users to install games on its internal storage media. While it wasn't stated in the report that some type of digital rights management would be a part of that equation, it is probably safe to draw such an conclusion assuming it's all true. Is this Nintendo's way of dealing with whatever R4 device is made to copy games on the 3DS?

According to Nikkei, 3DS users will be able to copy or install 3DS software to internal memory. This allows for multiple games to be stored in the system and gives users the ability to switch between them by selecting from the system's main menu. The paper goes on to say that this feature makes it so that users won't have to swap cartridges to play games.

Naturally all of this is unconfirmed by Nintendo. We'll follow this story as it develops..

Fallout: New Vegas for the PC will use Steamworks for its digital rights management, according to publisher Bethesda. According to Bethesda's Jason Bergman, Fallout: New Vegas is using Steamworks as its DRM solution because it provides a number of benefits including achievements, friends list support, and other features. Of course this means users will have to have the Steam client installed in order to play the game. There are worse methods for providing DRM like "always on."

While you will have to be online when you first install it, there aren't too many other restrictions you have to worry about. Users can install the game on as many machines as they want and after that first initial install you won't need the disc again; you can download it directly from Steam after that.

New Vegas is being developed by Obsidian Entertainment under the watchful eye of Bethesda Softworks and will be out this fall for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Source: Shacknews

European consumers concerned over the DRM in The Witcher 2 have little to worry about, according to developer CD Projekt. Responding to concerns that Namco Bandai Partners would be distributing the game in Europe, the company said that consumers in the region have nothing to fear, given its consistent stance on DRM. Those concerns were mostly fueled by Namco Bandai Partners' recent approval of Ubisoft's "always connected" DRM solution in a recent interview with Computer and Video Games Magazine.

Taking to its Facebook page and fielding questions sent to its Twitter account, CD Projekt went out of its way to let consumers know that it has its own approach to DRM: Read More

You may remember our recent story on Gameloft's horrible policy regard Android games (one time purchase with no chance of getting a new copy of the game if something should go awry with the data on your Android device); Well apparently public scrutiny of that policy has caused Gameloft to  adjust its position. Gameloft has announced that its policy regarding Android HD+ games sold through its store has been changed to allow customers to re-download a game that they have already paid for.

Gameloft’s original policy did not allow consumers to re-download games they already purchased through the website for any Android device regardless of the reason. If you had data problems or upgraded your phone, you would not be able to re-install the games you have purchased from Gameloft. Instead you would have to re-purchase those games or go without.

Gameloft says that these changes will take some time to implement.

Source: Android Police

In the inaugural edition of PC Gamer's Soapbox, Editor-in-Chief Logan Decker offers Ubisoft an alternative to Ubisoft's "always connected" DRM: steal ideas from your competitors. But before explaining all that, it is important to note PC Gamer's thoughts on Assassin’s Creed 2; last month the magazine told its readers to avoid the game like the bubonic plague. They did this not because Assassin’s Creed 2 is an awful game (in fact it is an awesome game), but because of its absolutely horrible DRM solution: Read More

Speaking to CVG in Barcelona this month for an interview to be published at a later date, Namco Bandai Partners VP Olivier Comte commented on Ubisoft's special brand of DRM, calling it "a good strategy." Much drink must have been provided sometime prior to the interview no doubt. Comte told the UK game mag that, until something better comes along, the Ubisoft system (which requires a constant internet connection) - is what the industry has to run with. Perhaps Comte doesn't read very many web sites or game magazines..

Here's precisely what he said:

"I will be very honest. I think it's a good [approach] for one reason: I have no alternative today," he said. "Is the best one? Certainly not but as of today if I can make something else I'll do it, but it's better to do something than not do something. At the moment they are doing a good strategy."

But even while he praised Ubisoft's DRM solution - probably the most draconian approach to protection in recent memory - he acknowledged that there are plenty of other solutions the company is looking into: Read More

Droid owners may want to be careful what they buy from GameLoft. According to a story in Phandroid, GameLoft has a very strict purchasing policy that only allows you a one-time purchase.

David Loft (described by Phandroid as a "regular tipster") recently contacted GameLoft about its DRM policy after the company launched a new selection of Android games. He received this rather disconcerting response from the company: Read More

EON points to a new report on DRM from Arthur D Little called "Untying the Gordian Knot." Arthur D Little is a global consultancy firm for various industries.. While the report focuses on DRM in general (not DRM specific to games, per say) it raises some interesting issues on the use of it. The report examines the current state of DRM use and explains why it needs to evolve to satisfy both "content owners and end users."

The report points out three possible futures for DRM: Read More

Blizzard co-founder and StarCraft II executive producer Frank Pearce sees digital rights management as the wrong approach in fighting piracy. Speaking to Videogamers.com, Pearce said that the solution for StarCraft II lies rooted in Battle.net and an activation code. StarCraft II, which is scheduled for release on July 27, will require the use of an included one-time activation code and a registered Battle.net account. Once that short process is complete, players will be able to get busy with the game's single player campaign in offline mode.

Blizzard also believes that the new and improved Battle.net will convince pirates to buy the game: Read More

Avalanche boss Cristofer Sundberg says that DRM solutions like Ubisoft's "always on" protection do more harm than good. Speaking to CVG, Sundberg said that DRM like Ubisoft's does more to punish consumers than it does pirates; who considered cracking it the "ultimate Rubix Cube."

Pirates and crackers do so love to be challenged. But more than that, Sundberg noted that this kind of DRM is the sign of a "scared market" that doesn't fully grasp how much ill will it creates with consumers who simply want to buy and enjoy a game without hassles. Read More

Netflix announced this morning that it will use Microsoft's PlayReady DRM for all "Netflix ready" devices going forward. The announcement is an extension of a relationship Netflix already has with Microsoft - the company has been using PlayReady DRM for its PC and Mac-based instant streaming services for quite some time. As with those services, the implementation of this particular DRM solution should be – in theory, at least - as seamless. The first devices making use of this new DRM solution are expected sometime this summer.

So what exactly is PlayReady DRM? Here's Microsoft's description, gleaned from the Microsoft / Netflix press release: Read More

Crystal Dynamics, a division of Square Enix Europe, has told CVG that it plans to use Steam DRM on the PC version of its Tomb Raider sequel, Lara Croft: Guardian of Light. The PC version of the game will be an exclusive on Steam in the United States, according to Global brand manager Karl Stewart.

Stewart also says that pirates seem to enjoy copying Tomb Raider games more than other franchises because the series is so popular. More below:

"We've gone down the road of implementing Steam DRM where we've committed to the US being an exclusive and we're going to make a decision as to whether or not we'll use different distribution channels," said Global brand manager Karl Stewart. "But I think for now, because it's online and it's got leader boards, Steam offers us the best opportunity to hit a broad audience with that type of game."

Lara Croft: Guardian of Light will be released sometime this year on PC and Xbox Live Arcade.

Source: CVG

Any way you slice it, the Humble Indie Bundle being offered by Wolfire Games is a smashing success.

The pay-whatever-you-want bundle includes the indie games World of Goo, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru and Penumbra Overture. All the titles are DRM-free and will run on Mac, Windows and even Linux. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds goes to the Child’s Play charity and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). By default donations are split evenly amongst the two, but users can even control how much of their purchase price goes to each organization.
Read More

According to a Tom's Hardware story, it appears that someone at Rockstar used a no-CD crack to expedite the game's release on Steam. According to the report, citing a Steam forum post, someone at Rockstar used a No-CD crack from cracking group MYTH to remove the DRM and make it easy to be distributed via Steam. No confirmation that that is the case at this point, save what was found in the game's executable.

"Seems Rockstar got a little lazy and used this crack instead of recompilling (sic) their executable without DRM," reads the post, which also shows an ASCII signature from the now defunct cracking group MYTH. Read More

2K Games and Valve have inked an agreement use to use Steamworks on PC versions of Sid Meier's Civilization V. In addition, 2K Games plans to release a Sid Meier's Civilization V Digital Deluxe Edition exclusively on Steam this fall, as well as a pre-order deal that gives early adopters of the game an exclusive map for free. The Digital Deluxe Edition will include the usual assortment of insider and behind the scenes content including a "Behind the Scenes at Firaxis with Civilization V" video feature, as well as the game's soundtrack.

According to 2K Games, Civ V will benefit from Steamworks' various features including auto-updating, Steam Achievements, support for future downloadable content, multiplayer matchmaking and more. Naturally Steamworks will provide a layer of protection against piracy including DRM and CEG.

What kind of DRM does Steamworks include? From the Steamworks API Overview page: Read More