Comment Number:	539814-00019
Received:	1/7/2009 12:46:36 AM
Organization:	N/A
Commenter:	Matthew Ouzounian
State:	MD
Agency:	Federal Trade Commission
Rule:	FTC Town Hall to Address Digital Rights Management Technologies - Event Takes Place Wednesday, March 25, 2009, in Seattle
Attachments:

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Comments:

As both a gamer and a game developer I have a very strong opinion on this complex matter. DRM is the only method publishers and developers have to prevent piracy and prevent over-saturation. Up to this point DRM has failed on both fronts; it has proven to be nothing more than an annoyance for paying customers. DRM in its current form is an abject failure, but that does not mean it will continue to be so forever. Many people will use the fallacious “secondary sales” or “yard sale” argument against DRM. The claim is that yard sales have existed for years, so it’s no different than selling a rocking chair at a yard sale. The difference, however, is that once you sell your rocking chair you no longer have it. In many cases you can install a game, sell the disk, and keep playing the game. This costs the developer a sale, and the consumer does not have the loss of playing the game. Essentially the consumer can profit from a product while using it. Obviously it’s a larger issue than I can fit into a 4000 character limit, so I will end it here. Thank you.