ISO Approves MPEG REL
DRM Watch Staff,
DRM Watch,
Apr 01, 2004
ISO has formally approved the MPEG Rights Expression Language (MPEG REL), formerly known as ContentGuard's XrML, the cumulation of what this short article calls an "inevitable" processs. This is by no means the end of the story, however, as the competing ODRL has also been widely adopted, including by the Open Mobile Alliance and our own eduSource project. In my view, what this development does is put into question the industry domination of the standards process, which, because of the cost of full participation, tends not to take into account non-industry points of view. ContentGuard is backed by Microsoft, which in turn was the subject of a slew of announcements this week centered around its Rights Management Server (RMS), a system which locks access to Office documents. While this article suggests that these announcements show "how disruptive a force RMS is likely to be in the burgeoning corporate DRM market," they also signify the beginning of a fault line that is going to divide those who believe in 'trusted computing' and those who believe users ought to have full control over their own content and their own computer systems, between those who believe rights reside on the side of the publisher and those who believe there ought to be a balance with the rights of consumers.. Other companies on the 'trusted computing' side of the divide include HP and Intel, who were making their own announcements this week. All of these providers are bending over backward to satisfy the entertainment provider market. I am waiting for some companies to place their bets on the open computing side of the house. Adobe won't. Apple might. The wild card? IBM.
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