Today is October 3, the International Day Against DRM — the first global day where people rise up and say no to anti-copying technology that treats you like a crook. Remember, DRM doesn't stop "piracy" — the only people who get DRM infections are people who don't pirate their media. You get DRM by buying your movies, music, games and books through authorized channels — the stuff you download from P2P or buy off of a blanket at a flea-market has already had the DRM cracked off of it. They say that DRM "keeps honest people honest" — but all it does is keep honest people in chains.
Here's some things to do and read to celebrate No DRM Day:
The Digital TV Liberation Front's Wendy Seltzer is giving a free talk tonight at Los Angeles's USC Annenberg School (main campus) at 7PM.
DefectiveByDesign's list of anti-DRM actions contains over 200 suggestions for activities you can participate in today and all year round to fight DRM.
DRMFree.org is a search-engine for DRM-free music for sale on the Internet, a single index of dozens of sites that sell or give away music without crippleware.
DRM.info is a site aimed at explaining DRM to the uninitiated — what DRM is, why you should care, and what you can do about it. Tell your friends!
Who Killed TiVoToGo? is a murder-mystery from the Electronic Frontier Foundation that explains how even restricted services that let you get more out of your property are being axed by regulators and the entertainment industry (here's how to fight back).
Kembrew McLeod's guest-edited issue of the journal Cultural Studies contains uproarious scholarly works on the copyfight.
Anti-DRM banners for your site from Militant Geek.
Update: Matt sez, "Don't forget about the entries for the downwithdrm video contest."
Update 2: Dave sez, "Online video site 4Flix.Net has announced that to celebrate October 3rd as the Day Against Digital Rights Management (DRM), ALL of the premium video content currently available for download will be FREE throughout the month of October 2006. This is made possible by the generosity of this month's sponsor site."
Update 3: Mia sez, "Previously known for publishing Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Slave Labor Graphics has decided to start selling their comics online in a DRM-free format (CBZ and PDF files). A single issue costs less than a buck! Considering that most printed comics cost at least $3 these days, these downloads are a hell of a bargain. Titles include Skeleton Key, Emo Boy, The Cemetarians, and Next Exit."
Update 4 Justin sez, "Files Forever is a new service from DreamHost where anybody (well, during the beta test it is only open to current DreamHost customers) can quickly and easily set up their own iTunes-like store for any sort of file downloads.. with a difference: NO DRM! Files with Digital Rights Management of any kind are strictly prohibited on Files Forever. It just goes against the whole point of the thing."
Update 5: Yoni sez, "My friend just started a job teaching English in France, and the DRM-bug (in the form of region-locked DVDs) is making it impossible for her to legally show her students DVDs she owns on the school's DVD player. I thought about this a bit and realized – there's no clearly legal nontechnical solution to do something that is 100% technically feasible — it's just artificially stopped by DVD trade regulations and international digital copyright law. Since it's the Day Against DRM, I wrote a post explaining a bit of the backstory and the possible solutions – and why none of them are acceptable."
Update 6: Aaron sez, "Daytrotter.com has free and DRM-free songs from artists who stop by and record in the Daytrotter studio on their way to and from Chicago — unreleased and rare songs that appear nowhere else except on this site. All free. For a young site, they get some impressive names from the independent music scene — Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Catfish Haven, Page France…|
