Press Release

Ivrea, Italy, 09/02/06 – The international Digital Media Project (DMP) concluded its ninth general assembly (GA09) today, approving the Interoperable Digital Rights Management (DRM) Platform, Phase II (IDP-2) specification for release and publication in April 2006, following the editorial phase.  With IDP-2, the DMP presented the first fully interoperable DRM platform, challenging the market dominance of proprietary DRM systems from companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Real Networks.

Harnessing this momentum, the DMP immediately issued a call for proposals for the Interoperable DRM Platform, Phase 3 (IDP-3), inviting scientists, technologists, and developers from around the globe to build further on the innovations in IDP-2.

The DMP Board of Directors also welcomed new members from its leadership representatives from the BBC and Telecom Italia, heightening the Project’s visibility and confirming its mission as one embraced by many of the key players in the digital distribution value-chain. 

IDP-2 enhances the open, interoperable, and scalable platform of the previous specification (IDP-1), released in April 2005, by providing an open framework that lets users employ a mix of standard and proprietary DRM technologies, configured to serve individual needs, while still retaining digital media interoperability.

Because of its flexibility, IDP-2 supports and extends a number of existing business models.  In the broadcast case, a fully interoperable DRM environment for using digital media in the home becomes possible.  For example, until now, conditional access systems used for television delivery were limited to secure content delivery to one device.  IDP-2 makes it possible to extend this to an entire home, leaving to service operators – broadcasters, mobile and IPTV operators – and CE manufacturers, the freedom of technology choice within the IDP-2 framework.

“The digital media market opportunity is in danger of being wasted.  The fear of piracy has paralysed the legitimate distribution link of the value chain and to reverse this, industry players must embrace the challenge in unison and adopt reliable DRM standards.  It’s fair to say that, with the exception of the DMP, no single body seeks to address issues and promote standards across the entire media value chain.” Thomas Curran, CEO, Enterprise of the Future, Inc.

The General Assembly elected Mr. Domenico Di Martino (Telecom Italia, Italy) and Mr. Nigel Earnshaw (BBC, UK) to the Board.  The DMP thanks departing Board members, Mr. Richard Nicol (British Telecom, UK) and Mr. Ikuo Minakata (Matsushita, Japan), for their contributions over the past two years.

The next DMP General Assembly (GA10) will be held in April 2006 in Lausanne and will include presentations and selections of proposed IDP-3 technologies and the drafting of the initial IDP-3 specification.   Additional topics will include IDP reference software and conformance and mapping of traditional rights and usages (TRU) to the digital space.

The DMP expects to finalize the IDP-3 specification and the other issues by October 2006.

The Digital Media Project was chartered as a non-profit organization on 1 December 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland.  Its mission: to introduce an integrated body of technical standards promoting the successful development, deployment, and use of digital media, while safeguarding the rights of creators and rights holders to exploit their works, the wishes of end users to enjoy fully the benefits of digital media, and the interests of value-chain players providing products and services.

The DMP’s Board of Directors is: Marina Bosi (MPEG LA, USA), Leonardo Chiariglione (CEDEO, Italy), Thomas Aidan Curran (Enterprise of the Future, USA), Domenico Di Martino (Telecom Italia, Italy), Nigel Earnshaw (BBC, UK), José Neri (Sociedad Digital de Autores y Editores, Spain), and Hiroshi Yasuda (University of Tokyo, Japan).

Further inquiries, please contact:

Thomas Aidan Curran
Digital Media Project
Phone: +1.215.781.7321
thomas@enterpriseofthefuture.com