Microsoft has launched a brand new DRM scheme named the PlayReady DRM.

Early Monday at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona Microsoft made the announcement of the new DRM scheme similar to the PlayforSure DRM.

PlayReady’s new main feature is the fact that it can allow for shared content between multiple devices. This means that it could potentially allow Zune users to transfer and share songs. This is not the case though as it is restricted a bit. It only allows registered users to move protected content between their computers, phones, and other devices, not other Zunes.

The new DRM does not require the devices to run Windows. The only thing that it requires is that the service provider who sold the content be a part of Microsoft’s PlayReady program.

This makes the PlayReady DRM basically PlayforSure but with the added features of the DRM being implemented into many new distribution services.

PlayReady is built on Windows Media Player DRM 10 and will be reverse-compatible with the existing PlayforSure devices already on the market.

PlayReady is a foundation technology of sorts according to the GM for content access and protection at Microsoft Chadd Knowlton.

This means that it will be awhile still before we see it on devices since carriers need to pick it up first.

This is a good sign for DRM opposers as it shows that Microsoft knows that they need to at the very least support third-party mobile platforms to gain some market share.