DRM and Standards

This paper is not about the debate as to whether DRM should be used or not. Like it or not, DRM is here to stay. But once that is a given, one has to ask themselves if DRM should have standards, and, if it should, then who should be setting the standards and what should those standards address? Well, at the front of the list of who are organizations such as the British Library (and there aren't many organizations with their responsibility for the preservation of literature and cultural heritage). British Library need to be sure that once works come out of Copyright they are accessible to all and freely available to copy.