DRM 

Digital *Restrictions* Management.

Policy/Code that restricts usage of media that you "own".

You buy a CD. You copy its tracks to your computer. DRM steps in and restricts how you use those tracks -- you can only play the song XX times, you can't send it to anyone, you can't copy it to your portable audio player, etc.

DRM by Anonymous Coward May 3, 2003

DRM 

Digital Rights Management or, more correctly, Digital Restrictions Management.

Any of the group of technologies intended to supress piracy by imposing use restrictions on all copies of a given product. The reason why most of people download their songs off eMule instead of buying the CDs. One of the most braindead ideas in the history of computing. Encourages piracy by making the pirated product more valuable than the legal one. While DRM significantly hurts the average user by restricting his/her use of the product, it is only a minor nuisance to those it is intended against (crackers, pirates etc.). Object of religious veneration among the entertainment industry despite its complete ineffectiveness.

Enhanced DRM enforcement is the core feature of Windows Vista, which makes it ca. 30% slower than XP.

This new CD of mine is DRM'd and I can't put the tracks in my MP3 player

DRM by Tweenk May 17, 2007

DRM 

Digital Rights Management, or some crap that means you can't actually use the shit you buy how you want to

This stupid DRM album crashed my computer!

DRM by the gobbler October 2, 2002

DRM 

Digital Restrictions/Rights Management

Also can stand for Doesn't Really Matter. Seeing as how DRM can be cracked within the same day of an items release that has it.

Dude, someone just cracked *Enter game here*, and it was just released today! Makes me wonder why they even bother putting DRM on it anyway.

DRM by YataG May 25, 2010

DRM 

Draconian Revenue Management,

Illegal spyware added to (legally) downloaded content by record/ movie companies, worried about their dwindling profits.

The DRM means that I can only watch the movie I paid $10 for, once. Arseholes >:(

DRM by jd_060 December 15, 2008

drm 

Something that all electronic manufacturers like to put on their products nowadays so they will "do their little bit for the industry"

The DRM feature is actually no use to you but people still buy it because all the companies get together and say "we will put DRM on all the products we can from now on"

A little pesky feature that only helps out the content industry but not the person owning it.
Normally you can do what you like with any product you buy, unless it has DRM in which case it will do what the content industry wants it to do as opposed to the person who owns it.

You go into a shop, pay £400 for a brand new iProd to find out that it doesnt do what you want it to do (copy songs??) even though your the one who paid £400 for it. Instead it helps out the recording industry and guess how much they paid for your iPod?? NOTHING! It isnt theirs, but the DRM "helps them out" anyway

drm by towel401 August 5, 2004

DRM 

Digitally Restrictive Measures. While originally promoted as Digital Rights Management, this was in fact a publicly friendly term that misleads. The entire subject is build around stopping the use of the software and/or it's distribution. Thus Digitally Restricted Measures serves as a warning to the public of it's true nature. Also the word Management may be useful to the creators but not to the end user. Measures puts it in perspective. See the example for what a DRM means to end users.

The product has a warning on it's side that says it "Comes with a DRM that will limit what you can do with it. Including if it will work at all. Also that after you get it to work, should anything change about the devise the product is running or playing on, it may cease to function and you possibly may never get it to work again. Purchase at our own risk."

DRM by Scottmana August 4, 2008