Re: Video copy protection

On Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:41:37 +0100, Kornel Lesinski <kornel@geekhood.net>  
wrote:

> I think HTML5 should let content publishers decide whether UA is allowed  
> to let user download video or not.

Leaving aside whether or not the standard should say something like this,  
a web standard is not a contract or a legal agreement of any sort (it's  
those kind of things that ensure that manufacturers of BluRay players  
implement the DRM “correctly”).

You could equally have HTML5 demand that web browsers do not block ads  
(again, not discussing now whether it's right or wrong). What you would  
have then is a bunch of strictly speaking non-compliant implementations.  
Likewise, sooner or later a web browser will offer its users the ability  
to save those “unsaveable” video clips, violating the standard but  
probably inspiring other browser vendors to copy the feature. (Compare: ad  
blocking, popup blocking, circumvention of right-click hijacking by  
scripts, UA string spoofing are all technically deviations from  
standardized behavior, but nevertheless commonplace in modern web  
browsers.)

What I'm getting at is that it makes no sense for the spec to require  
DRM-like behavior because this requirement won't be complied with in  
practice.


-- 
Alexey Feldgendler
Software Developer, Desktop Team, Opera Software ASA
[ICQ: 115226275] http://my.opera.com/feldgendler/

Received on Monday, 8 February 2010 21:03:23 UTC