Keurig, a coffee and coffee machine manufacturer has, according to a report from Techdirt, decided to try and apply DRM to their next-gen coffee machines. DRM (Digital rights management) is typically found in digital media like CDs, DVDs and video games and is designed to prevent unauthorised copying of the product.
Keurig might be missing out the whole ‘digital’ aspect but the concept that they’re using for their caffeine-dispensing tech is much the same. The “Keurig 2.0”, the company’s upcoming machine, will not reportedly not be able to interact with any third-party coffee pods and as such completely limiting Keurig users to the company’s coffee pods. The point seems to be limiting sales of cheaper (but generic) coffee pods for their kit.
So far there is no concrete documentation is out to show just how Keurig or its parent company Green Mountain Coffee will attempt to implement the system. But, if past examples of DRM implementation are taken into account, it might not be as straightforward as they think.
Source: Ars Technica