Apple Files Patent Application for Software DRM Controls

December 25th, 2007 at 2:00 PM - News by Bryan Chaffin

Apple, Inc. has filed for a patent in the U.S. for a Digital Rights Management (DRM) system for controlling where software runs. The method described in the application is one that allows for the injection of code into an applicationis run-time instruction stream that checks to see if the application is being run on a "specific hardware platform," and then repeats that check to see if it is still being run on that authorized platform.

Should any of these checks fail, the software would become inoperable. The application also describes the method as being, "transparent to the user and difficult to circumvent."

On the one hand, this DRM system could be used to limit Apple software, say Mac OS X, to use only on Apple hardware -- note the "on a specific hardware platform" wording in the description. On the other hand, the system could also be used as something more restrictive like making sure that an application or operating system is properly licensed.

Thatis the take from InformationWeek, which compared the system to Microsoftis much-maligned Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), which checks to make sure that your copy of Windows isnit pirated. WGA has run into criticisms since before it was even launched with Windows XP, and Microsoft has since scaled back the kinds of checks WGA makes.

As patent application are intentionally vague, or at least intentionally as broad as the filing attorneys think they can get away with while still gaining specific patent protection, itis impossible to know how, or even if, Apple envisions using this DRM scheme.

While the companyis pro apps such as Logic, Aperture, and Final Cut Studio do require license keys, Mac OS X itself has never required such a key. Any WGA-like DRM scheme for Mac OS X would be a major change in policy for the company. On the other hand, Apple has always gone to great lengths to keep Mac OS and Mac OS X strictly controlled in terms of what hardware can run the OS.