I'd like to make an argument for why DRM is actually achievable.
Usually the argument against is something like "you are distributing a locked box along with the key to open it and this cannot work in the long term."
However, with regards to PC software, if the OS is redesigned around a complete DRM solution then it could be made unbreakable.
Say a company is publishing a video game. What they need to do is control the content from beginning to end. The OS would be given access to an online store or repository of some sort, and the content would be sent encrypted, and then it would be stored encrypted on the hard drive, via some sort of hardware mechanism like a TPM chip. Some portion of storage would be encrypted with the TPM and therefore the video game's binaries would be inaccessible by the user even if they read from the storage directly while the computer was off. When loaded into memory, the OS would protect against the user reading or writing the memory. The only user visible manifestation of the software running would be what it is displaying on the screen. This would be less of a protection for copyrighted movies, but for interactive content like video games it is enough. For this to work every dll or binary that the game loaded would have to also be stored in the protected space so as to be unmodifiable by the user. If they were modifiable, then a pirate could simply inject his own code into them, which would then be loaded into the game's process, and the barrier between the DRM'd software and the user accessible part of the system would be broken.
It would take some work, but I believe it would be unbreakable. The only thing I would worry about is that it would allow OS companies to hide things on your computer which even a highly sophisticated user would not be able to detect.
9I'm not sured your premise isn't slightly flawed. I don't believe that there's anything which makes DRM unworkable BY DEFINITION - even if there were technology has frequently advanced in such a way that the previously unworkable becomes trivial. Personally I'd argue from a practical point of view - that argument is (a) more compelling and (b) more easily understood. – Jon Hopkins – 2009-07-28T08:39:19.077
P2PNET article "Why DRM can’t work" by Jody Bruchon – joe – 2009-07-29T09:18:46.423