[tremon]

As an alternative: we could demand that, for works that are only released to the public in encrypted form, an unencrypted copy is put in independent escrow (e.g. Library of Congress) to qualify for copyright protection.

[LeifCarrotson]

That's an interesting and compelling idea.

But that database of unencrypted copies would be the ultimate target for industrial espionage, copyright theft, and hacking. I don't think we can trust any one organization with that responsibility.

[shmerl]

I think it has a more obvious problem. No one will be updating those copies even if they will be released once. It's simply a mess to manage.