Digital Rights Management

In the era of the information technology and the rapid growth of the Internet access, e-Commerce technologies become very crucial as new and effective ways are needed to manage, transact, distribute, and exploit digital contents (e.g. audio and video). The proliferation of these contents has created a need for Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems. DRM, in addition to other security measures, is essential for the management and the protection of digital property, which is the main component of an e-Commerce system. This chapter highlights the need for DRM as a tool facilitating e-Commerce. It also provides the history of developing DRM and the main components of a DRM system. It also gives an overview of the existing DRM system used in e-Commerce systems. It then discuss some open issues in the current DRM system to support consumers’ rights, so supporting e-Commerce business.