IBM enters copyright protection fray

IBM is releasing digital-rights management tools that it says will let music and book publishers put content online with less fear of piracy. The company's Electronic Media Management System (EMMS) would allow the publisher to put whatever limits on new content it chooses. A file could be played a limited number of times before allowing only part of a song or book would be presented, for instance.

An IBM spokesman voiced the opinion that free services like Napster and Gnutella will eventually disappear and wants its products to be part of the new system. "We make the tools, not the rules," he said.

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