Constructing a DRM framework for historical newspaper archives

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to discuss the concepts of digital rights management (DRM) of archives of historical newspapers and the design of a DRM framework to render the content of historical news under the rights of authority. Design/methodology/approach - The paper takes the form of a literature review and system analysis. Findings - The rights management of digital objects involves various levels of application techniques and standards which are more complex than physical ones. This study combines the advantages of both tethered and untethered models to manage the digital rights of historical newspapers. It not only simplifies the management system, but also guarantees the rights when users use different platforms to present these digital objects. Originality/value - This study designs a simplified DRM framework to protect the rights of digitized contents and to practise the rights scope of online grant for a historical newspaper.