Keurig Will Use DRM In New Coffee Maker To Lock Out Refill Market
Found on Techdirt on Monday, 03 March 2014
In order to protect their dominant market share, Keurig makers Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has been on a bit of an aggressive tear of late.
In a lawsuit filed against Keurig by TreeHouse Foods, they claim Keurig has been busy striking exclusionary agreements with suppliers and distributors to lock competing products out of the market.
The plan was confirmed by Keurig's CEO who stated on a recent earnings call that the new maker indeed won't work with "unlicensed" pods as part of an effort to deliver "game-changing performance."
You really need to read this twice. Now coffee pods get DRM protection to lock out competition. Just get instant coffee and use a spoon. It's not only way cheaper than buying tons of cups, but it will also reduce waste a lot. If you use cups, you don't really care about the real coffee taste anyway, so instant coffee is just as good.