Keurig's Controversial Java 'DRM' Defeated By A Single Piece Of Scotch Tape

from the kids-these-days-just-like-a-challenge dept

You'll recall that earlier this year, news leaked out that Keurig's latest pod-based coffee maker (Keurig 2.0) would come complete with the java-bean equivalent of DRM, preventing the device from using third-party pods -- or reusable pods that allow users to simply use regular ground coffee. After the story gained traction, Keurig quickly went into damage control mode, insisting that the DRM was necessary to bring consumers "interactive-enabled benefits." The company's CEO then compounded the silliness, issuing a statement claiming that the DRM was "critical for performance and safety reasons."

By summertime, those claims had all proven to be bunk, lawsuits had arrived and competitors had figured out how to crack the DRM's code, allowing them to once again manufacture pods for the new units. By last month, consumers had started figuring out ways to bypass the DRM using magnets or other modifications, something the company recently claimed was simply because people really like a challenge and overcoming hurdles:

Frustrated coffee drinkers who have "hacked" their way around pod roadblocks built into the new Keurig brewers may just be looking for a hurdle to overcome, says the president of Keurig Canada Inc. "There are some, when you give them a challenge, they'll really get at it," Stephane Glorieux said in an interview Monday."Whatever you throw at them, they'll find some way of doing it."

As it turns out, some folks have found that all it takes to defeat the DRM is a single piece of Scotch Tape (and a previously-used official k-cup):Of course you (and your piece of tape) are the very worst sort of villain for violating anti-circumvention laws, even though it's Keurig that's engaged in anti-competitive behavior and making customers jump through hoops. Meanwhile, annoyance at Keurig has been gaining momentum the last few months in Canada, with a growing number of competitors and smaller companies filing formal complaints with Canda's Competition Bureau. This includes companies interested in making biodegradable pods to help tackle one of the worst parts of the pod coffee craze: the environmental impact of millions of plastic k-cups.

Filed Under: circumvention, coffee, drm, keurig, scotch tape, technology protection measures
Companies: green mountain roasters, keurig