From a legal perspective, the DRM could significantly influence the distribution and control of information from country to country. This article in particular provides a clear overview of what the DRM system actually is and the policies it entails. Additionally, the role of copyright protection is also included in this overview of the DRM, establishing the bases for the regulatory approaches undertaken by the US and the EU. In reference to background information, DRM systems use a variety of technological protection measures to prevent digital content from being distributed without the right holders' consent. To provide secure distribution for digital content, DRM systems not only have to protect content against copying, but they must also offer a means to identify and manage content. The DRM thus strives to provide tamper-resistant hardware and software. This method of protection disables hackers and network insiders from being able to crack multiple levels of security, strengthening the protection of individual property rights'. In reference to the U.S., the U.S. congress enacted complex anticircumvention regulations as part of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998. The DMCA arranges these provisions on a biplanar scheme, which includes distinguishing between technological protection measures and the protection rights of the copyright owner.

This example seems to showcase the progressive changes in protection measures taken against copyright infringement. Though dense in its offerings, this article provides a decent anthology of acts and agreements enacted in order to protect individual property rights. This anthology further demonstrates the morphing of protective technology against copyright infringement. In the context of the ACTA, the DRM seems to be desired block against piracy and the illicit transfer of information.

This article primarily focuses on the music industry and the influences of file sharing on the advancement of sales. This introspective look on one particular facet of file sharing also promotes further analysis of future complications that may result from the passing of the ACTA. Author Alejandro Zentner claims that music sales have fallen substantially over the past four years. To support this theory, the author uses modeling techniques with country-level data to determine particular facets of the industry that are most heavily influenced and effected. Zentner’s studies showed that countries with higher internet usage and broadband penetration suffered the highest drops in music sales, suggesting that illegal music downloading explains the reduction in sales. Within this model, the author further extrapolates that file sharing may explain the change in the composition of music sales over the past four years. The conclusion Zentner comes to states that "strong intellectual property rights create monopoly distortions, but weak property rights may lead to low creation of artistic work. The development of faster connections and methods of accessing information more efficiently will severely impact the sales of goods." As a result, intellectual property rights are compromised over the mass dissemination of music, and other goods, through illegal downloading.

This article provides a particularly nice vantage point from which to look at the effects of file sharing on the economy. Zentner’s analysis examines these effects in a quantitative manner and links reasons for the ACTA’s birth over the past few years. Though focusing more on the drop in music sales over the past few years, this article looks at the effects of file sharing on the shape of sales, a strong influence on my argument about the future of file sharing.