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And why would they do it?  Probably because as it stands, it doesn't work as intended. As people realize that what they're doing isn't buying content so much as leasing it, it's interesting to see how their attitudes have changed towards DRM. 

Tor Books, one of the leading publishers of Science Fiction, has reported that since they did away with DRM in their files a year ago that their business has hardly changed. Their reasoning was simple, their readers tended to be technologically savvy and DRM is a constant problem to them.

This is pretty darn huge.  Keep in mind that Tor says nothing about whether piracy is bad, or whether or not electronic books should be cheaper, or more expensive.  But they do concede with this decision that DRM is more a hindrance than a help.

A new DRM feature called "SiDiM" intends to watermark eBooks by slightly changing the punctuation and text for each copy, this making them unique. Some concerns is how it may changes things for the reader or from what the author intended. A similar technique is used for some music files.

The article offers an interesting model of a "Book Place"-- a sort of combination library/bookstore of the future that offers things like printed books on demand if they're not in the store (thanks to the awesome Espresso machine and the 7 million titles it has on EspressoNet), and rental/subscription services for users-- including DRM free options for electronic media.

A somewhat concerning article about how if you visit an area of the world with a mobile device where your eBooks aren't licensed, the Google Play DRM will delete them. This is akin to traveling to another part of the world with a legally owned Region 1 DVD and device to play it on, and it still erases itself.

An interesting article showing the progress of open-access despite DRM and publisher control. However, my next question remains unanswered: Are these the papers that people want to read?