08 Nov 2007
MLB Fans Who Bought DRM Videos Get Hosed

You know, back in the old days, it was illegal to repo an item that you had sold and been paid for. We called it "theft"...

Major League Baseball has just strengthened the case against DRM. If you downloaded videos of baseball games from MLB.com before 2006, apparently they no longer work and you are out of luck. MLB.com, sometime during 2006, changed their DRM system. Result: game videos purchased before that time will now no longer work, as the previous DRM system is no longer supported. When the video is played, apparently the MLB.com servers are contacted and a license obtained to verify the authenticity of the video; this is done by a web link. That link no longer exists, and so now the videos will no longer play, even though the MLB FAQ says that a license is only obtained once and will not need to be re-obtained. The blogger who is reporting this contacted MLB technical support, only to be told there are no refunds due to this problem.

(link) [Slashdot]

07:43 /Copywrongs | 1 comment | permanent link