"DRM increases value" - Macrovision writes to Jobs

Macrovision, most well known for its VCR anti-copying protection, is getting on the open letter game by publicly telling Apple’s Steve Jobs that DRM can actually increase consumer value. Fred Amoroso, Macrovision’s CEO and President, posted an open letter on the company’s website titled "To Steve Jobs and the Digital Entertainment Industry". While Amoroso thanks Jobs for the provocative thoughts, he cautioned that DRM should not be abandoned and even offered to take over development responsibility of Apple’s FairPlay DRM system.

"DRM increases not decreases consumer value," said Amoroso and he added that it enables a wider choice of playback. With DRM, according to Amoroso, consumers can easily receive premium home content or simply lease a song or movie. Unlike Jobs, Amoroso is strongly against DRM-free media, saying, "Abandoning DRM now will unnecessarily doom all consumers to a "one size fits all" situation that will increase costs for many of them."

Amoroso also extended an olive branch of sorts to Jobs and is willing to help Apple make FairPlay more compatible with other systems. "Should you desire, we would also assume responsibility for FairPlay," said Amoroso.

You can read Amoroso’s entire letter here.