Digital Rights Management


Content providers use digital rights management (DRM) technology to protect the integrity of their content so their intellectual property, including copyright, is not misappropriated. Microsoft and other companies offer software, such as Windows Media Player, that can play content secured with DRM.

License Acquisition

To play secure content, a license for the digital media content must be resident on your computer. The license is a file that contains a non-traceable ID. By default, Windows Media Player will attempt to acquire a license when you try to play the secure content if one was not issued to you by the content provider when you downloaded the content. If the content provider requires a fee or some type of registration, they will prompt you for this information; otherwise the license will be acquired silently. It is the responsibility of the content provider to inform you how any information they collect from you is used.

If you do not want licenses to be acquired automatically, you can disable this feature in Windows Media Player. From the Tools menu, click Options, click the Privacy tab, and then clear the Acquire licenses automatically for protected content check box.

License Restore Service

Microsoft has worked with partners (such as record labels, handheld device manufacturers, video distributors, and many others) to develop a service that enables you to move and restore your digital media licenses (for legitimate purposes only) between your own computers. This service is not available for moving licenses between computers that belong to different users. The restore service allows for a limited number of license transactions. When you restore your licenses, you are sending information to Microsoft that uniquely identifies your computer. Microsoft stores this information in a database and keeps track of the number of times you attempt to restore your licenses. Microsoft does not share this information with other companies.

To use the restore service from Windows Media Player, click the Tools menu, click License Management, and then click Restore Now.

Revocation Lists

If the security of the playback software is compromised, owners of secure content may request that Microsoft revoke the software’s right to copy, display, or play secure content. Revocation does not alter the revoked software’s ability to play unprotected content. A list of revoked software is sent to your computer whenever you acquire a license. Microsoft will not retrieve any personally identifiable information, or any other information, from your computer by downloading such revocation lists. The only way to avoid receiving revocation lists is to not acquire licenses for secure content.

Security Upgrades

Owners of secure content may also require you to upgrade some of the DRM components on your computer before accessing their content. When you attempt to play such content, Windows Media Player will notify you that a DRM upgrade is required, and then will ask for your consent before the DRM upgrade is downloaded (third-party playback software may do the same). If you decline the upgrade, you will not be able to access content that requires the DRM upgrade; however, you will still be able to access unprotected content and secure content that does not require the upgrade.

If you accept the upgrade, Windows Media Player will connect to an Internet site operated by Microsoft and will send a unique identifier along with a Windows Media Player security file. This unique identifier does not contain any personal identifiable information. Microsoft will then replace the security file with a customized version of the file that contains your unique identifier. This helps prevent security breaches that could affect you and other users of secure content.




Microsoft Windows Media Resource Kit
Microsoft Windows Media Resource Kit (Pro-Resource Kit)
ISBN: 0735618070
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 258

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