The Free Software Foundation has posted a draft version of the new General Public License v3.0, and are soliciting comments. One thing that caught my eye is language intended to make it more difficult for people using GPLed code in DRM systems:
3. Digital Restrictions Management
As a free software license, this License intrinsically disfavors technical attempts to restrict users’ freedom to copy, modify, and share copyrighted works. Each of its provisions shall be interpreted in light of this specific declaration of the licensor’s intent. Regardless of any other provision of this license, no permission is given to distribute covered works that illegally invade users’ privacy, nor for modes of distribution that deny users that run covered works the full exercise of the legal rights granted by this License.
No covered work constitutes part of an effective technological protection measure: that is to say, distribution of a covered work as part of a system to generate or access certain data constitutes general permission at least for development, distribution and use, under this License, of other software capable of accessing the same data.
I gather the second paragraph is intended to grant specific permission to reverse-engineer and make derivative works under the DMCA. It’s an interesting tactic, but I’m not sure how often the licensor of the software (and thus the person granting general permission) would also own the copyright on the data being produced. If I make a DRM-enabled video-player and you break my crypto on the new Disney movie it’s playing, isn’t it Disney who’ll come after you under the DMCA? What difference does it make if you have my permission?