Leading Entertainment, Consumer Electronics and Technology Companies and Organizations Support ISO Rights Expression Language Standard
03/31/04 - Agnostic Media, Inc., Content Directions, Inc., ContentGuard, Inc., Content Reference Forum, DMDsecure, EDItEUR, GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies, IFPI, Lydia, Inc., the Motion Picture Association of America, Microsoft, Navio, Inc., NTT, OverDrive, Inc., Ramp^Rate, the Recording Industry Association of America, Rightscom, RightsLine, Inc., SAMSUNG Electronics Co., Ltd., SyncCast, TranTech, Inc., Universal Music Group, VeriSign, Inc. and Warner Bros. welcome the approval by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) of the MPEG REL, its first digital rights management (DRM) standard.
ISO MPEG REL is an XML-based Rights Expression Language used to specify terms and conditions for the authorized distribution and use of any digital content. This rich language will be used not only in the entertainment industry, but also by enterprises and individuals to enable the authorized distribution and persistent protection of valuable data and content in accordance with privacy and confidentiality requirements.
ISO MPEG REL is the first in a set of DRM industry standards to be established by ISO and is an important step forward in building worldwide, robust trust ecosystems for digital content. Other technologies being standardized include metadata, asset identification and aspects of security, protection and trust management.
"If DRM technologies are going to proliferate -- by helping ensure that creators are compensated and consumers can use that content in legitimate ways -- broadly accepted industry standards for interoperability are crucial," said Mike McGuire, research director with GartnerG2's Media team. "The ISO MPEG REL standard is an important milestone for the future of DRM and digital content delivery."
Brad Hunt, CTO for the Motion Picture Association of America remarked, "The motion picture industry is committed to and participates in the MPEG-21 standards activities that are focused on building cross-industry consensus around important international standards such as the REL and the Rights Data Dictionary (RDD), key components in facilitating DRM interoperability."
"IFPI supports the development of open, interoperable standards as a way to get more music to more consumers in more legal and flexible ways," said Paul Jessop, CTO of IFPI. "The MPEG REL can be a great tool to enable this and IFPI applauds all those who worked with us to bring this standard into being."
Since 1988 MPEG has produced several key standards including MPEG-2, which helped advance interoperability in the delivery and consumption of multimedia entertainment over the Internet and through electronic devices. Today, an overwhelming majority of all video content, whether for entertainment or the corporate enterprise, uses MPEG standards.
Started in 2001, the ISO MPEG REL standard is a critical component of the MPEG-21 Multimedia Framework, the next key set of standards which will enable participants in the digital content value-chain to give consumers greater flexibility and access to digital content. Work on the ISO MPEG REL continues in various industry venues to define specific business terms, using this REL to support new usage models in areas such as: Web services, education, mobile, security, publishing, media and entertainment.
"A clear and effective means of communicating the usage rights for digital content is the critical foundation for creating the broadest range of choice for consumers," said Chris Cookson, CTO, Warner Bros. "We welcome the approval of this standard."
"An ISO standard like the MPEG REL will enhance industry growth. Standards will help us get down to the serious business of selling the music people love with usage rules that are consistent, unambiguous and consumer friendly," said Larry Kenswil, president, Universal Music Group, eLabs. "UMG has been an active participant in the development of the MPEG REL. From the outset, we have been involved in the rigorous process used to build consensus that balances the needs of consumers and other stakeholders with rights holders' desire to offer unique digital business models."
The ISO MPEG REL standard:
-- Supports a wide variety of business models in the digital content
distribution value-chain independent of content type or industry
-- Provides an extremely flexible authorization model to describe what
the consumer or user is permitted to do with the content
-- Is independent of formats, products, security technology or other DRM
system components
-- Enables automated multi-tier distribution of digital content while
protecting the rights of the content owners and the interests of the users
-- Is a precise, unambiguous, machine-readable language that can be used
in conjunction with other industry standards, including those addressing
Web services
-- Is ready for immediate implementation to support digital content sales
or the distribution of enterprise information.
"An international standard for rights expression means that business rules can be expressed flexibly and consistently," remarked Dr. Leonardo Chiariglione, digital media strategist and convenor of MPEG. "This is an important result towards the goal of giving end-users the ability to enjoy content on a plethora of devices, in new and flexible offerings, while respecting the economic structure of the content value chain. The MPEG REL standard is one of the first realizations of the twenty-first century vision of the multimedia framework which enables unfettered trade in digital content."
More information about MPEG and the MPEG REL can be found at www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/ and at http://www.iso.ch/.
