Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Is secure music possible?

Is it possible for music to be secured from unauthorized copying? I posted one idea at
http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Secure_20music_20with_20public_2fprivate_20keys
but after thinking a while a problem with that was found. Cory Doctorow gave a speech to Microsoft explaining why it isn't possible.

Even if digital copies were somehow prohibited it would be near impossible to prevent analog copies. Just put a microphone in front the speaker and record.

So the question is: Since it won't work is it worth the effort to try it when it also makes it hard for users to do legitimate things?