Crippling The MP3
"A new version of MP3 - the digital music format that kicked off the online music sharing revolution - is being developed that will include technology to stop unauthorised copying and sharing.
"The two companies that own the patents covering MP3, Thomson and Fraunhofer, are working on a new version that will incorporate so-called digital right management (DRM) technology.
"DRM can be used in conjunction with software and hardware players to limit the number of copies of a music file a user can make, or to prevent forwarding. As yet, however, it is unclear how the new protection system will work."
