Managing Rights Management

ETRI and Microsoft DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications address aspects of DRM. Assigned to the Electronics And Telecommunications Research Institute (KR), the first application discloses techniques relating to interoperability and DRM. Assigned to Microsoft, the second application discloses techniques for identifying DRM licenses.

LG And Microsoft DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO publishes new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents address aspects of DRM. Assigned to LG Electronics, the first patent concerns techniques for processing digital rights management contents containing advertising contents. Assigned to Microsoft, the second patent concerns techniques for software application protection by way of a digital rights management.

Two Samsung DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications address aspects of DRM and both are assigned to Samsung (KR). The first application discloses techniques for using Secure Removable Media (SRM) in DRM. The second application discloses techniques for using contents information in digital rights management.

DIsney and Chi Mei Communication Systems DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of Digital Rights Management. Assigned to Disney, the first application discloses techniques for trust based digital rights management systems. Assigned to Chi Mei Communication Systems (TW), the second application discloses techniques for accessing DRM files and non-DRM files in a mobile device.

Sample Digital and Sony Issued DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to Sample Digital Holdings, the first patent addresses using DRM for media content collaboration throughout a media production process. Assigned to Sony (JP), the second patent addresses techniques for controlling distribution of content to network devices.

SanDisk and Huawei DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concerns aspects of DRM. Apparently assigned to SanDisk, the first application discloses techniques for improving accuracy of a time estimate used in digital rights management (DRM) license validation.

Nokia and Embarq DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to Nokia, the first application discloses techniques for distributing service information and digital rights for broadcast data. Assigned ti Embarq Holdings, the second application discloses techniques for providing wireless security surveillance services accessible via a telecommunications device.

CES 2010: DRM Is Alive And Well - Part 1

The 2010 Consumer Electronics Show was very upbeat, perhaps more so than two years ago (last year doesn't count given the economic implosion resulting in widespread malaise and depression). Of course the purpose of the these shows is to drum up excitement. 3D TV (not quite ready for prime time in my view, but I did not spend much time looking), Mobile, and Auto seemed to be the principal sectors leading the charge.

Having seen a lot of the show (at the expense of my feet), one conclusion is that rights management, broadly construed, is everywhere. In saying this, I'm taking a very expansive view of rights management to include both technical and non-technical--largely business model factors--means of protecting digital content. I'm excluding from consideration music CDs and related issues since there does not seem to be a good solution specific to the CD problem that is acceptable to privacy and consumer advocates.

In giving a few selected examples of how rights management is being further insinuated into services and business models, I'm leaving out many vendors (apologies to those not mentioned). I'm sure that critics will be able to find counter examples  My goal here is simply to identify trends.

Various parties with DRM and related solutions were at the show, including Irdeto and Digital Containers. HDMI Licensing had a booth as well. Metadata company Gracenote had a  booth that also highlighted customer applications. Executives from Widevine were in town but did not have a booth.

Media futurist Gerd Leonhard (among others) have long argued that the future of media is and should be streaming rather than downloading files. The 2010 CES makes it perfectly clear that the world is moving substantially toward media streaming. More in the next installment. 

DECE Moving Toward "buy once, play anywhere" Deployment

Many outlets including New York Times and Variety highlight progress by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, a broad consortium of companies implementing a cloud-based "buy once, play anywhere" content distribution strategy .

DECE has tapped Virginia-based Neustar to operate that digital locker. It's also approved Adobe Flash Access, CMLA-OMA V2, the Marlin DRM Open Standard, Microsoft PlayReady and Widevine as the five digital rights management formats that can protect the files stored in the locker.

Apple and Disney remain holdouts.

Widevine and Motorola Issued DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents address various aspects of DRM. Assigned to Widevine, the first patent concerns techniques for securely providing content viewable on a secure device. Assigned to Motorola, the second patent concerns techniques for for recording and editing digital broadcast content.

Two DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to ConDel, the first application discloses techniques for performing interoperable digital rights management among different operating system platforms. The second application discloses techniques for copyright detection and protection, no assignee given.

LG Electronics and Microsoft DRM Issued Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to LG Electronics (KR), the first patent concerns a mobile device for preventing illegal distribution of digital data contents. Assigned to Microsoft, the second patent concerns a digital rights management scheme for an on-demand distributed streaming system.

Panasonic and Microsoft DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents deal with aspects of DRM. Assigned to Panasonic, the first patent concerns techniques for content distribution management. Assigned to Microsoft, the second patent concerns a secure server plug-in architecture for digital rights management systems.

LG Electronics and Microsoft DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to LG Electronics (KR), the first application discloses techniques for sharing rights objects in digital rights management. Assigned to Microsoft, the second application discloses techniques for accessing protected content in a rights-management architecture.

IBM And Microsoft Rights Management Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents concern DRM. Assigned to IBM, the first patent addresses techniques for controlling access to wirelessly broadcast electronic works during playback. Assigned to Microsoft, the second patent addresses device registration within a digital rights management framework.

Microsoft and IBM DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents.Today's Spotlight Patents address aspects of DRM. Assigned to Microsoft, the first patent concerns techniques for device registration within a DRM framework.  Assigned to IBM, the second patent concerns techniques for controlling access to wirelessly broadcast electronic works during playback.

Apple And NEC DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to Apple, the first application discloses techniques for protecting audio and video on media playback devices. Assigned to NEC, the second application discloses protecting digital content on mobile devices.

Panasonic and Ericsson DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents address various uses of encryption in DRM. Assigned to Panasonic the first patent concerns the use of encryption in copyright protection. Assigned to Ericsson, the second patent concerns encryption-based techniques for DRM.

Hyrax Media And Microsoft DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today"s Spotlight Patent Applications concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to Hyrax Media (IL), the first application discloses techniques for legitimate lending and sharing of copyrighted content items over a network. Assigned to Microsoft, the second application discloses techniques using referral lists for tracking distributed content.

Siemens and Apple DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications address aspects of DRM. Assigned to Siemens, the first application discloses techniques for managing user rights to electronic data objects by a person who acquires rights. Assigned to Apple, the second application discloses techniques for content protection information using family of quadratic multivariate polynomial map to generate a hash message authentication code.

Intertrust and Hitachi DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents deal with aspects of DRM. Assigned to Intertrust, the first patent concerns trusted and secure techniques for item delivery and execution.  Assigned to Hitachi, the second patent concerns techniques for limiting high quality digital video to devices that are capable of enforcing copy protection.

Three DRM-Related Patents From InterTrust Technologies

Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Three InterTrust DRM-related patents issued today, and rather than choosing two of them, today's Spotlight Patents note all three. The first concerns techniques for software self-checking. The second concerns techniques for using cryptography to protect secure computing environments. The third concerns techniques for managing the distribution of electronic content.

Protected Data Path and BitTorrent (P2P) Related DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of DRM. The first application discloses techniques for validating protected intra-system interconnects for DRM, no assignee given. The second application discloses techniques for digital rights protection in BitTorrent-like P2P systems, assigned to George Mason University.

Yahoo and Microsoft DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of DRM and copyright protection. Assigned to Yahoo!, the first application discloses techniques for detecting the source of media content with application to business rules. Assigned to Microsoft, the second application discloses an educational content presentation system.

Yahoo and Panasonic DRM Issued Patents

Back from vacation. On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Today's Spotlight Patents concern aspects of DRM and copyright. Assigned to Yahoo!, the first patent concerns techniques for controllable track-skipping. Assigned to Panasonic (JP), the second patent concerns a rights management terminal, server apparatus and usage information collection system.

Two DRM Patent Applications From Seagate

On Thursday's the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of DRM and both are assigned to Seagate Technologies. The first application discloses techniques for anchor point-based digital content protection with an escrow anchor point. The second application discloses techniques for posted move in anchor point-based digital rights management

Intel and Samsung DRM Patents

On Tuesdays, the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents deal with aspects of DRM. Assigned to Intel, the first patent addresses operating system independent  data management. Assigned to Samsung, the second patent addresses techniques for controlling output to an output device according to each content.

Macrovision Becomes Rovi

As part of its evolving corporate strategy, Macrovision, the owners of Blu-ray BD+ security technologies, has changed its name to Rovi. Broadcast and Cable says:

Macrovision, the analog copy-protection giant which shifted strategy last year by acquiring interactive program guide leader Gemstar-TV Guide for $2.8 billion, is now rebranding itself as "Rovi" to better reflect its new role as a digital delivery company.

The new name, which the company selected after months of industry and consumer research, comes from the middle four letters of "Macrovision." The company will now officially operate under the banner of Rovi Corporation. The new name will also serve as the company's stock symbol, ROVI, on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, and Rovi executives will celebrate the change in New York this morning by officially opening NASDAQ trading.

Sony and Panasonic DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents concern various aspects of DRM. Assigned to Sony, the first patent addresses techniques for multiple DRM management. Assigned to Panasonic, the second patent concerns techniques for copyright protection.

Quallcomm and Searete DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications address various aspects of DRM. Assigned to Qualcomm, the first application discloses techniques for managing policies for time-based licenses on mobile devices. Assigned to Searete, the second application discloses control techniques for object production rights.

Two DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of DRM. The first application discloses techniques for protecting unprotected content, no assignee given. The second application discloses techniques for dealing with digital rights management among apparatuses, also no assignee given.

Philips and Sony DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications address aspects of DRM. Assigned to Philips, the first application discloses digital rights management for retrieving medical data from a server. Assigned to Sony, the second application discloses techniques for video upscaling.

Microsoft and Nokia DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO publishes new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to Microsoft, the first patent concerns techniques for converting content protection from conditional access to DRM systems. Assigned to Nokia, the second patent concerns techniques for dynamically enforcing digital rights management rules.

Avid and Vital Source DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to Avid, the first application discloses a media editing system using digital rights management metadata to limit import, editing and export operations performed on temporal media. Assigned to Vital Source Technologies, the second application discloses techniques for providing digital rights management of protected content.

Macrovision (MSVN) Earnings Call, Blu-ray, and BD+ Adoption

Macrovision (MSVM) recently conducted its quarterly earnings call. The complete transcript is at SeekingAlpha.com here. Here are selected excerpts that deal with Blu-ray and BD+:

In our other category, we continue to expect fairly linear growth, with the fourth quarter likely the strongest, assuming we continue to successfully broaden our licensing of BD+ to the MPAA studios....

In terms of our entertainment business, I'm pleased that we were able to reach a long-term agreement with Paramount for various copy protection solutions. When combined with our other licensees, I believe we have good visibility into ACP remaining on DVD's, until at least the middle of the next decade. Not only did Paramount agree to use RipGuard and ACP, but it also became the second MPAA studio to license the right to use our BD+ Blu-ray copy protection technology.

While home video entertainment spending declined 7% last quarter, according to Video Business, sales of Blu-ray DVDs were up over 100% and analysts forecast remain robust.

While the rollout of BD+ has taken longer than initially hoped, I think Paramount's agreement along with other MPAA trials which we recently began, bode well for the future.

So I believe our entertainment business will continue to be a little soft in the near term given market trends, I expect it will be a steady revenue contributor in the coming years as BD+ grows.

Paramount Licenses Macrovion Technologies Including BD+ For Blu-Ray

Macrovision has announced that Paramount Home Entertainment has licensed copy protection technologies including BD+, the programmable security and DRM technology used with Blu-ray optical discs. 

...Paramount Home Entertainment has agreed to license Macrovision’s content protection products, ACP and RipGuard. ACP and RipGuard provide protection against unauthorized copying of content across packaged media such as DVD as well as electronic channels such as the Internet, cable and DBS.

The license also grants Paramount the right to use Macrovision’s advanced Blu-ray protection technology, BD+. Along with the other technologies, Macrovision’s BD+ provides an additional content protection method for content released on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray format provides consumers with high definition video, a more interactive user experience via BD-Java, and exciting new features available in the most recent Blu-ray players with BD-Live. 

Thus far, Fox is the only studio known to be using BD+. The relationship between Macrovision and the BD+ licensing authority, BD+ Technologies, LLC, remains opaque.

Microsoft and Alcatel Lucent DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern DRM. Assigned to Microsoft, the first application discloses techniques for conditional access to digital rights management conversion. Assigned to Alcatel Lucent (FR), the second application discloses techniques for network-based DRM enforcement.

Motorola and Sony DRM Patents

{Back from travels and client work.]

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents address various aspects of DRM.  Assigned to Motorola, the first patent concerns techniques for transferring digital rights. Assigned to Sony (JP), the second patent concerns interfaces for presenting downloadable digital data content format options.

MPAA and Sprint DRM Issued Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents address digital rights management. Assigned to the MPAA, the first patent concerns an adaptive digital rights management system for plural device domains. Assigned to Sprint, the second patent concerns wireless access provider intermediation to facilliate digital rights management for third party hosted content.

Sony and Oracle DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to Sony, the first patent addresses techniques for information processing and recording. Assigned to SealedMedia (Oracle), the second patent addresses aspects of digital rights management.

Podcast With Airzip CEO Gary Clueit - Enterprise Rights Management

I spoke recently with Gary Clueit, CEO of AirZip, the provider of FileSECURE Enterprise Rights Management software. Today's podcast is an edited version of our recent conversation. The topics covered include differences between China and the United States in business culture, information security, and ERM. A detailed time-index topic list follows:

Download Gary Clueit Podcast (MP3)

Index and topics:

00:00 Introductions
00:15 Background, Gary Cluit, AirZip
02:00 ERM in low enforcement jurisdictions, especially the China market
04:46 The compliance market for ERM?
05:41 FileSECURE scaleability, ERM for both large and small companies
06:16 Example workflow with users in different organizations
08:58 FileSECURE integration with LDAP, AD, directory services
09:49 When integrated with LDAP, who defines or manages permissions?
12:03 How is information security evolving in China, Europe, and the USA?
16:37 Key differentiators between FileSECURE and competitors' products?
18:49 With new customers, how does FileSECURE handle legacy documents?
20:08 Thank yous and goodbys

DRM: Control or Opportunity? The Views of Leading Trade Associations

More than 800 comments have been submitted to the FTC in advance of hearings on the impact of DRM on consumers. Four of the major copyright industry trade associations have jointly submitted useful comments. The four are the the Association of American Publishers ("AAP'),the Entertainment Sofware Association ("'ESA"), Motion Picture Association of America ("MPAA"), and Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA). Their submission provides a good overview of all the different ways in which DRM is being used to facilitate business models and consumer oriented services. This document is well worth a read.

The document begins by considering the definition of DRM offered by the FTC in calling the hearing and how that definition should be improved or augmented (notes omitted, emphasis and paragraph breaks added).

[The FTC] has defined digital rights management, or "DRM," as "technologies typically used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, and copyright holders to attempt to control how consumers access and use media and entertainment content." On behalf of the wide range of creators, copyright owners, and U.S. copyright-based industries that are represented by our organizations, we believe this definition is at best incomplete.

DRM should also be viewed as the technologies that facilitate broader consumer access to copyrighted works, and that reflect the parameters of the bargains entered into between owners of content and consumers who purchase access to it.

How To DRM? Byteshield's FTC Submission

ByteShield, the San Francisco-based software and game DRM company, submitted comments in advance of the FTC's hearing on DRM and the consumer. Submitted  by CEO Jan Samzelius, the document provides a terrific list of DRM features, functions, and capabilities that would probably delight game and software publishers and provide a user-friendly experience for gamers and software users.

Samzelius provides a list of what I would call "best practices" at each stage of the relationship between a gamer, the publisher, and the underly DRM system. Here are a couple of excerpts:

Samsung and Ericsson DRM Patent Applications

On Thursdays the USPTO publishes new pending patent applications. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of DRM. Assigned to Samsung (KR), the first application discloses techniques for managing digital rights management rights objects. Assigned to Ericsson, the second application discloses a technique for registering a device with a rights issuer system.

Dennis McDonald: Will Hard Times Lead To More DRM?

A few days ago, Dennis McDonald wrote:

An important question is whether competition exists (or is allowed to exist). DRM can be viewed as an artificial restriction on competition. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. As we’ve seen in the U.S. it also helps if you manipulate the legal system to obstruct competition.

Even though I’m not a big fan of DRM, as the Chen article [on the demise / evolution of Web 2.0] suggests bad economic times will force changes. I think that we may see increasing emphasis on hardware and software lock-ins coupled with increased pressures from content industries for stronger “anti-copying” enforcement mechanisms.

The CCIA On Interoperability and DRM

As noted, the Federal Trade Commission will hold a public hearing in Seattle on DRM and it's impact on consumers. More than 800 submissions were received, including several from various vendors and trade associations. Among the latter submitting written comments from the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), a trade association dedicated to open markets, open systems, and open networks.

Among the arguments presented by the CCIA is that legal restrictions on reverse engineering under the Digital Millenium Copy Right Act (DMCA) are too severe and are being used by some vendors to place restrictions on competitors and to prevent interoperability.

Cisco and Nokia DRM Patents

On Tuesdays the USPTO issues new patents. Both of today's Spotlight Patents concern various aspects of DRM. Assigned to Cisco, the first patent concerns remote access to local content using transcryption of digital rights management schemes. Assigned to Nokia, the second patent concerns techniques for utilizing intelligent clock controller in digital rights management

FTC DRM Workshop Draws 700 Comments

As noted here, the Federal Trade Commission will hold a public workshop in March on Digital Rights Management in Seattle. At least 700 comments have been file with the commission and have been made available to the public here.

A preponderance of comments seem to have been submitted by individuals. Organizations submitting include the Library Copyright Alliance, The Center For Democracy & Technology, and Oxford Media Works. The time for comments closes later today.

Macrovision (MSVN), Blu-ray, and BD+

Macrovision held it's quarterly earnings call for analysts and investors on Tuesday. Here are a few selected excerpts from different parts of the transcript that deal with BD+ security for Blu-ray discs and players and the uptake of Blu-ray players in the marketplace.

In other category, while we expect to see fairly linear growth, we do expect the fourth quarter will be the strongest, assuming we are successful at broadening our licensing of BD Plus to the MPA studios. Adding it all up, we expect approximately 53% to 55% of our 2009 annual revenue coming in the second half, similar to our adjusted pro forma revenue weightings in 2007 and 2008....

Getting Rid of iTunes DRM

In a comment, Dave Sprogis asks about what happens to iTunes tracks that people have already purchased now that Apple has dropped its FairPlay DRM? In addition to lots of freeware software for stripping out FairPlay DRM available on the Internet, Apple will remove it for a fee (says Tom's Hardware blog)

And what about current tracks that customers have already purchased? Yes, you can have DRM removed from them as well, but this too will cost you money. iTunes will offer the ability for its customers to upgrade their current library at a cost of 30 cents per song, for currently qualifying songs – 60 cents per qualifying video.

That being said, it is hard not to think that this could be a "snatch and grab" cash cow for bad times. The way the economy is right now, everyone is looking for fast money. iTunes has been extremely successful ever since its conception, so what sparked the DRM-Free movement? Obviously not to make customers more happy, because the numbers alone say that kind of movement isn’t really required at this point in time. But the economy says otherwise. Something to think about? Maybe.