Digital Rights Management (DRM), in general, is a much scorned technology. Both people with and without a continence lament the loss of control of their own computer. In general, DRM hurts people who obey the law more than those who break it by applying somewhat arbitrary limitations on purchased and properly licensed software, music and video content, while those who obtain content illegally are afforded a much more control.

According to Tom Yager at Info World, in a big stride backwards AMD are planning to introduce DRM for your framebuffer, meaning that the author of DRM protected content is able to prevent you from even taking a image captures. Lets say for example, you're a great fan of the Matrix. Maybe you'd like to take a image capture of Neo doing some bullet time kung fu. Well kiddies, depending on the whims of Warner Bros, that could be classified as stealing.

One presumes this little nugget of technology will debut with the R6xx-series graphics chips, but such a technology could easily be applied retroactively with a driver release. What's next on the agenda? DRM eye implants? Sub-cranial pain simulators that trigger when you describe something you've seen in DRM protected content? Where there's a profit to be had, anything is justifiable.

Thats pathetic!

Surely If you take a screenshot... Nothing has gone missing... So how can it be called 'stolen' ?

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That logic also applies to downloading a DVD rip; nothing is stolen exactly, but the violation of the law is pretty clear: if you have something you do not legally own, it isn't yours.

The argument is, with access to the frame buffer, there's always going to be a way to copy protected content.

It's worth adding that AMD are not directly responsible for this initiative. Pressure from invested parties puts AMD in a difficult spot, however, they are not completely without blame for having cow towed to such stupid ideas. If all the graphics manufacturers decided to say "no, see, now you're talking crazy", we wouldn't be facing this atrocity.