Information professionals are becoming increasingly reliant on content in digital form such as databases, news feeds, e-books, electronic reference materials or e-journals; or they may wish to digitize content that they hold in hard copy format.Rather than relying exclusively on copyright law to protect their content, rights owners make use of licences or contractual agreements - and also technology in the shape of digital rights management (DRM) and electronic rights management information systems - to protect and enforce their rights over digital assets. DRM technology is used to control access to digital content and the uses made of it, to obtain payment for it, and to ensure the integrity of the work. The Copyright Directive implemented in the UK through the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 gave legal protection to rights holders using such systems.