How Album handles DRM
DRM is Digital Rights Management, a method of control-
ling the usage of protected media objects after they have
been downloaded. Some digital media les, such as songs
downloaded from online stores, are encrypted to prevent the
les from being unlawfully distributed or shared. Content
providers use the DRM technology to encrypt these les
when applicable. During the encryption process, the content
provider creates a license which species how and when
the le can be used.
For example, a content provider could create a license that
allows you to play a certain le on your computer, but not on
your Smartphone. Or, a license that allows you to play a cer-
tain le on your Smartphone, but perhaps only for a month,
or perhaps only a certain number of times. Files that have
licenses associated with them are called protected les.
Currently, there are three main methods (listed below)
for delivering DRM-encrypted content and any applicable
associated rights. The DRM-enabled content le and the
“rights object” are separate components. The rights object
is the encryption key, and also includes the instructions on
how the content can be used.
Forward Lock — This type of le is not encrypted, but
instead there is a ag associated with it that does not allow
you the option to send/forward it from your Smartphone.
There can only be one instance of the le.
Combined Delivery — The le is DRM-encrypted and is
delivered to your Smartphone together with its rights object.
In this case, the right is typically a preview or some other
limited execution.
Separate Delivery — The encrypted DRM le is downloaded
to your Smartphone alone, and the rights object is delivered
separately through some other secure channel such as WAP
Push, a special form of SMS with binary content in it.
