[opensource-dev] oh give me a break

[Thomas Grimshaw]

This post is likely to incur some feelings of emotions in a lot of you; 
I ask that you bear with me and be open minded towards these words. I 
recognise that many of you won't agree with me; it is but an attempt to 
try and shine a searchlight into the hysteria.

*The Stark Truth*

Firstly, a reminder of the stark truth which has already been presented 
in this thread. Every single DRM technology which has been implemented 
has been broken - CSS, BluRay's AACS and BD+, Apple's FairPlay, Windows 
Media DRM, they're all broken wide open.  Any content which is delivered 
to the viewer can be copied.

*But we need DRM, right?

*Well, no. In fact, DRM has been a major contributing factor to the 
incredibly widespread problem of music piracy.  I don't mind admitting 
that i've downloaded some albums before from a website.  Did I do this 
because I don't have money?  No.  Did I do this because I don't want to 
spend money on music? No. I did it because I wanted to have lossless 
FLAC files on my portable player, and iTunes and alternatives only 
offered DRM-encrypted low-bitrate rubbish.

*Piracy is a war of convenience.*

In order to appropriately address this problem, you need to take a step 
back and ask yourself exactly /why/ people commit copyright fraud. This 
can be for any number of reasons, including:

 - They don't want to wait for something.
 - It's easier to pirate something than it is to find it and buy it.
 - The merchant doesn't have a sensible price structure. This isn't the 
same as "I don't want to pay" - most of the time they DO want to pay, 
but not an obscene price
 - The content is too restricted and they can't use it
 - They dont' know they're doing it (victims of the below)
 - To make money.

The only "real" pirates in this circle of intellectual property 
violation are those who are doing it in order to make a profit - but 
this is a tiny, tiny proportion, and also the most manageable case.

*Don't attack your customers.

*Let's observe Microsoft Windows Vista. Microsoft spent years and many 
millions of dollars building a strong product activation system for 
Vista. This was a major release for Microsoft, and they were determined 
to stave piracy - so much so that they ended up having to drop features 
and rush the QA process significantly.

Did it work?  It was a disastorous failure.  If one wants to pirate 
Vista now, one can just download an image from many hundreds of torrent 
sites, and the images install with absolutely no intervention required - 
these images have simply ripped out the DRM so that the "end-user" 
pirate doesn't even notice that activation ever existed.

The only people who are actually affected by the DRM are Microsoft's 
genuine customers.  http://tinyurl.com/yjhom3t*

Know your enemy.

*I own and even have developed software that can copy any content from 
second life.  Have I ever used this to violate copyright? Nope, I just 
didn't want to spend time building in content protection when the 
software was only for my use (to export my own builds, animations etc to 
opensim).

The point is this - the public is not your enemy.  Just because the 
content can be copied, it doesn't mean that people will do it.  I'm not 
talking about deterrents - if someone decides to do it, they can and 
they will - i'm talking about our target audience, the citizens of 
Second Life. Most users of "copybot" viewers are caught and banned 
because of a report by a member of the community - not the creators.  
Only a very tiny portion of Second Life users rip content.

*So what can we do?

*Please excuse a possibly callous tone - but STOP whining and start 
thinking outside of the box.  You *will never be able to stop piracy 
completely* - so don't even try. I've already explained why I think that 
piracy is a war of convenience, and the solution is simple - make your 
content more convenient.

- Maximise availability. Have multiple store locations, all visible in 
search using sensible keywords.  List your item on e-commerce sites such 
as xstreet.
- Maximise accessibility. Keep your stores lag-free, don't use silly 
teleport routing, and make your store organisation transparent.
- Maximise attraction. Make sure every one of your products is very 
clearly described, with a very clear demonstration so that people know 
what they're buying.
- Don't overprice.  By all means, make a profit, but consider the real 
value of your product - the better value for money your product is, the 
less people will be tempted by stolen goods.
- Don't intimidate your customers.  For goodness sake, shut off those 
stupid "copybot protection" scripts (they don't even work), and take 
down those copyright notices. If these people are in YOUR store, it 
means they're not in a store selling pirated stuff. Treat them with respect.
- Maximise support. Keep your genuine customers very well cared for. 
Word of mouth is the biggest weapon in your armoury. Keep product 
updates rolling, if applicable.
- Keep permissions sensible.  I can't believe the number of times i've 
bought an item and it's been "no mod" for no proper reason, and I can't 
resize it to fit my avatar.
- Innovate. Keep producing, keep making new stuff. Every new thing you 
sell is another reason for people to come to your store and not a 
thief's location.

*What about those people selling my stuff?

*If they're actually trying to profit from your intellectual property, 
obviously they dont' deserve any of the respect mentioned above.  
Fortunately, the lab respond quickly to properly formatted DMCA 
complaints and takedowns, and almost always action them before the thief 
has had time to withdraw the funds.

Be vigilant, keep a watchful eye on xstreet.  If you find a violation, 
gather evidence.. don't contact the seller, or they'll panic and move 
their stuff elsewhere. Submit a properly formed DMCA complaint to linden 
lab with the appropriate evidence, and the problem will be gone.

*So, what's the big point here?

*Making your stuff LESS available and restricting its use with genuine 
customers is COUNTERPRODUCTIVE.  Using the methods listed above, YOU can 
control the marketplace in a moral manner without aggrovating your 
customers. Some theft will slip through the net, but if you are smart 
this will be a very small amount - and it will serve as advertising for 
your brand.