Cory Doctorow from the EFF gave a talk at Microsoft on DRM.  It's very interesting and entertaining.

As someone that makes his living off creating IP, this whole topic is very close to me.

While Cory makes some good points, he fails to deal with how this affects the artist behind the works.  He has a whole section on how DRM is bad for for artist, but he doesn't talk about how the lack of DRM is good for them.

He brings up the music's compulsory license, but fails to show how that lets a musician or composer make money from self-absorbed teenagers copying MP3's.  Maybe I'm missing something here, it wouldn't be the first time.

He also talks a lot about "legitimate" users wanting to make copies, and even gives an antidote about a Mom trying to copy her (legally purchased) Toy Story DVD onto VHS for her kids.

All this is well and good... but ...as it becomes easier to make copies and more people start to understand how to do it, and most importantly, it becomes socially acceptable to make copies, how will anyone make money off of creating IP?   What will be anyone's incentive to create IP as a living?  Will all artists return to a romantic state of poverty, existing only for their art and cutting off body parts?

The games I make cost millions of dollars to produce.  Ever dime of this money goes into making the game.  Unlike Hollywood Movie Stars; Designer, Programmers and Artists do not get paid millions of dollars to work on a game.  We depend on the sales of the games to exist and very few of us make more then a normal salary.

If I make a game, and anyone can instantly make a copy and give it to anyone else, how will I ever recover the cost of making the game, let alone make a living.

The (over-used) argument for copying music is that the artist should be making their money doing concerts.  But what about me?  My art is not a performance art.  I can't go on tour playing my latest game for a packed stadiums (OK, I have not actually tried this, maybe I'll be surprised).

You hear a lot of people like Cory talking about the evils of DRM, we hear a lot from big media companies talking about the need for DRM, but we seldomly hear from the artist behind the creative works and what they think of it.

I want as many people as possible to play my games and I want to be able to make a good living doing it, and I want to be financially rewarded for being good at what I do.   How is any of that going to happen if what I do can be instantly copied and distributed.  Does all IP have to become shareware?  Relying on the kindness of the listener/player/viewer to contribute to my art?  Or worse yet, will all art become nothing more then a vehicle for advertising.

Now, don't misunderstand me.  I am not in favor of DRM technology.  As Cory and others have stated:  It won't work.  But no one really gives a solution that consists of anything other then some utopian hippie view that I should be creating my art for other to enjoy, not for money, or that my business model is flawed if I expect people to pay for something I create.

What will the future hold when Star Trek style replicators can reproduce anything, not just digital media.  Your friend buys a spiffy new BMW, no problem, he'll just make a copy for you.  Or maybe I can find that new refrigerator I want on P2P, never mind the fact that it's probably full of porn when I download it.

OK, here is my question for Cory and others:

Do you think it's OK from someone to copy my game and give it to other people without paying for it?  If this is not OK, what should or can be done about about it?