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| 2002.09.20 |
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Next generation DRM (Digital Rights Management) system
- Development of contents distribution business platform -
The NTT COMWARE CORPORATION (hereinafter, NTT COMWARE, Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Yuji Matsuo), has developed the "copyrights clearance system" and the "dynamic value control system", which orientates the next generation DRM (Digital Rights Management) as the basic platform of the digital contents distribution business. It is possible to utilize both the copyrights clearance system", which conducts the complex utilization consent agreement conclusion between the copyrights owner and the distributors, and the "dynamic value control DRM system", which fixes the details of the contents and the price at the time of utilization and not at the time of offering, either linked or individually. Furthermore, it is possible to compose the basic platform of a digital contents distribution business by linking both systems with the unauthorized copying prevention technology.
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[Summary of the copyrights clearance system]
With the "copyrights clearance system", the copyrights owner registers utilization restrictions such as utilization cost, utilization consent conditions, distribution method, and duration for "reproduction rights", "public transmittance rights", and other such rights in the database in advance. When the distributor designates the contents that it wishes to utilize, the copyrights owner is determined and a list of the rights necessitating utilization consent and the conditions involved is displayed on the screen. It is possible to conclude the utilization consent agreement of all the necessary rights by consenting to the conditions and applying for utilization. At the same time, a signed contract with the electronic signatures of both the copyrights owner and the distributor is composed and is saved and managed by the system. This can be used as data for rights charge collections. The total management of the copyrights is based on the "contents ID management system", which is based on the copyrights management guideline advocated by the contents ID forum (cIDf)(*1). Also, as a similar clearance system, it is the first system in Japan to cover authorship neighboring rights.
- professional expertise such as copyrights and/or trade practices to determine the necessary rights
- know how and personal connections to determine the copyrights owner
- massive amount of time and manpower required to conclude utilization consent agreements with all of the multiple existing copyrights owner
Presently, although the above are the barriers of the digital contents distribution, the "copyrights clearance system" determines rights that differ according to the intended end-usage, determines multiple right holders such as can be seen in movies, and realizes on system one-step and smooth conclusions of utilization consent agreements with the individual rights holders. Thus making it possible for the distributor to largely reduce both time and labor. This system can also respond to supplementations and changes that accompany law revisions and such.
[Summary of the dynamic value control DRM system]
The "dynamic value control DRM system" enables the end-user, who has downloaded encrypted contents that have been transmitted by digital contents distributors, to acquire exclusive decoding keys that respond to "digest versions", "picture quality and/or sound quality degradation versions", and "arbitrary section concealment versions" and to play the contents with the use of dedicated players.
The distributors can control the release contents by selling decoding keys per utilization condition set versions. Only productions of original contents are necessary. Productions of promotional "digest versions" and "poor quality versions" targeted for low prices becomes unnecessary. Thus reducing cost including storage and management per version.
Also, the end-user can purchase contents while considering cost performance and thus expanding his/her options. Presently, by combining picture quality, sound quality, and special masking effects, it is possible to set over 800 combinations of utilization conditions. Furthermore, from a copyright protection stand point, it is not possible to store disengaged contents. Presently, only dedicated players can be used, however, plug-in systems to the widely prevalent Windows Media Player are being considered as well.
[Future expansion]
NTT COMWARE plans to enter the copyright protection / distribution market with these two systems as footholds, by widely soliciting cooperative partners from the contents distribution business field such as rights holders, rights administrators, and contents distributors. Its goal is to offer sound digital contents distribution related total solutions while protecting copyrights. With regards to the "copyrights clearance system", management models by the "contents ID" regardless of industry and/or country is mandatory and commercialization of digital contents distribution business based platforms is being speeded up by calling on the cooperation of businesses in Hollywood, U.S.A, the global transmittance source of contents.
[Notice]
The "copyrights clearance system" and the "dynamic value control DRM system", after presenting a technical paper at the Forum on Information Technology ? 2002 (FIT2002) to be held at the Tokyo Institute of Technology Okayama Campus from September 25th through to the 28th, will be displayed at the NTT COMWARE booth of the CEATEC JAPAN 2002 to be held at the Makuhari Messe (Japan Convention Center), Chiba-pref. from October 1st through to the 5th.
[Glossary]
- *1 contents ID forum (cIDf)
- Contents ID standard-setting organization, which promotes digital contents distribution while protecting copyrights (http://www.cidf.org/). The 210 member organizations (as of August 5, 2002) include media businesses, advertising agencies, electric manufacturers, telecommunications carriers, software manufacturers, universities.
- *2 contents ID
- A globally unique ID authorized to the digital contents.
[Overall picture of the NTT Comware next generation DRM]
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