La gestion des DRM en perspective

3- geographical Restriction

At Numéricable^229(*), « certain titles can be compelled with geographical restrictions, which, unfortunately, will prevent certain people from buying them. That arrives when we were not authorized to sell certain songs in certain areas. We check that you can buy the music which you want before you add it to your basket. You will not be output for a title which you cannot download ».

DigiFnac associated with OD2 explains it also this geographical constraint exists and that it is : « directly related to the respect of the royalties and the producers of music. Indeed, certain songs suggested in the store of music in remote loading of Fnac.com can be distributed in all legality only near Net surfers located in certain very precise territories, other than very other. Such a territorial restriction is comparable with the zoning of the DVD which frames the conditions of distribution of films on this support ».

In the same way, for the moment, the offer of Wallmart is available only for the people lying in one of the 50 states of the United States. ^230(*)

The restrictions are for the majority of the services offered reserved to the country of issue of the offer insofar as partnerships were negotiated in this direction.

4- Right on the licenses

4.1- Expiry of the licenses

At Numéricable^231(*), it is astonishing of being able to read that : « The license remains valid as long as you are subscribed with a valid service. However, if you stop subscribing yourselves, the license will expire after a certain number of days and you will not be able to listen to your remote loadings any more ».

A recent development of Windows Media Player should make it possible the editor to integrate a new DRM. This one should normally give : « the possibility of integrating into an audio file a kind of internal clock which will be fixed over the duration of the subscription of the users to service MSN Music. As soon as the subscription of the user expires files WMA are more readable, neither on its PC, nor on its audio walkman. To reactivate the reading of the downloaded files it will then be necessary to continue or start again its subscription and to carry out a synchronization between the walkman and its PC ».^232(*)

At Wallmart one will note that after the purchase, the license of activation is valid during 120 days but as soon as the title was heard once, there is no limitation in time.^233(*)

A great difference between France and the United States is the absence with US of adequacy between the subscription and the right on the bought files. Besides one will wonder in it measure it is not a clause « abusive » in the direction where that does not allow a use adequate and proportioned files which finally remain some share « intrinsic property » of the suppliers and their labels.

4.2- Loss of license

At Numéricable^234(*), the possibility (after formatting of a hard disk for example) of recovering the licenses is possible since you : « you identifies [Z] as a holder of the license (what will be done while answering the questions of the phase of inscription). It to you will then be given a duplicate of your license. There is a limit with the number of specimens of a license of which you will lay out (this limit is in general 3, but it is fixed by the houses of discs and can vary from one title to another) ».

The policy of Fnac on the matter through OD2 is that you^235(*) will be needed : « to authenticate as a holder of the license validates on this song. Once duly authenticated through some questions concerning the jukebox which you created, a new license will be automatically downloaded to you on your computer. Caution: according to the agreements with the labels, you are authorized to download this license in general only one second time, with the title of the backup copy ! ».

At Wallmart, chain of supermarkets in the United States, it is specified that if `lon loses a song for example, one can Re-download it to the maximum three times. On the other hand, if this number is reached, « you will need to contact one off our Customer Service ace by sending year email to [e-mail], but by calling 1-800-222-8132, available 24 hours has day, 7 days has week, who will determined possible yew it is to restore the song file ».^236(*) This last solution is also proposed at the time of a reinstalment of the system of your computer insofar as if the files could be restored it still misses the licenses.

As a whole, one can say that there are overall similarities in the manner of managing the licenses and their possible losses. The policy being at least of two with an established maximum with three times.

* ²²⁹ http://sib1.od2.com/common/frameset/frames.asp

* ²³⁰ http://musicdownloads.walmart.com/catalog/servlet/HelpTopicServlet?topicIndex=0

* ²³¹ http://sib1.od2.com/common/frameset/frames.asp

* ²³² Microsoft works on its next DRM, 30/03/2004, www.clubic.com/n/n12144.html

* ²³³ http://musicdownloads.walmart.com/catalog/servlet/HelpTopicServlet?topicIndex=4

* ²³⁴ http://sib1.od2.com/common/frameset/frames.asp

* ²³⁵ If you lost a license or a song and/or all the songs and/or all files WMA corresponding.

* ²³⁶ http://musicdownloads.walmart.com/catalog/servlet/HelpTopicServlet?topicIndex=2