[May 18, 2002] "<indecs>2rdd is a consortium based initiative for the creation of a rights data dictionary, supported by a group of major content owners and technology companies and managed by Rightscom. The consortium submitted a major proposal to MPEG-21 in December 2001 in response to an international Call for Proposals. <indecs>2rdd has now been adopted by MPEG-21 as the baseline technology for the new MPEG-21 rights data dictionary standard, scheduled for completion in March 2003. Rightscom on behalf of the <indecs>2rdd consortium is currently working on the development of the final standard. The new standard will have very significant consequences both for companies seeking to effectively manage information and for technology vendors seeking to develop new tools for the management and exploitation of intellectual property on digital networks." [From the Rightscom website]
"What is <indecs>2rdd? It's a dictionary comprising 400+ terms, expected to be extended to 1000+ terms. [It is] a process -- more than a simple listing of words and definitions. [It is] designed to fully incorporate terms from any rights or descriptive scheme or system. When deployed, [it will serve as] a 'Rosetta Stone' that will provide a fundamental level of interoperability among Rights Expression Languages... The effort is coordinated by Rightscom Ltd, with the participation of eight (8) companies: Accenture, ContentGuard, EDItEUR (book industry standards association), Enpia Systems, International DOI Foundation, Melodies And Memories Global (subsidiary of Dentsu), Motion Picture Association, and Recording Industry Association of America." Adapted from "New Standards," by Howard M. Singer.
Excerpts from "Developing the Standards Infrastructure for eContent" (Mark Bide): "Well formed metadata [is] the <indecs> approach: (1) Unique identification -- Every entity should be uniquely identified within an identified namespace; this includes every item of metadata (controlled vocabulary and concise definition) (2) Functional Granularity -- It should be possible to identify an entity whenever it needs to be distinguished (3) Designated Authority -- The author of an item of metadata should be securely identified (4) Appropriate Access -- Everyone requires access to the metadata on which they depend, and privacy and confidentiality for their own metadata from those who are not dependent on it. <indecs>2rdd is a continuation of the original <indecs> project work. [It is] a consortial project, involving both technology and content industries. Formed as a response to the MPEG-21 'Call for Proposals for a Rights Data Dictionary, and accepted as a baseline technology for the ISO/IEC 21000-6 (rights data dictionary). The rights data dictionary is the semantic layer below REL (rights expression language); REL is the expression and communication layer which supports machine-capable interpretation of rights and permissions. Above that is the technology platform (infrastructure layer, for rendering in a user environment). Above the technology platform is the DRM 'use' layer involving the enforcement of conditional access. It is expected that MPEG's RDD and REL will be closely aligned Standards expected in 2003... <indecs>2rdd is a dictionary, but more than a dictionary. Is is process:but more than a simple listing of words and definitions. A process for mapping terms, within a logical and predictable framework, from any Rights metadata scheme or Descriptive metadata scheme. It starts from a view that there are such things as rights and that they are worth describing, and makes no claim to be entirely without values. It is Independent of language Independent of Rights Expression Language Independent of digital objects Independent of specific business, legal and technical models (while capable of describing any types of use and independent of enforcement).
From the January 21, 2002 announcement "<indecs>2rdd Adopted as MPEG 21 Baseline Technology":
Rightscom, the digital rights strategy consultancy, today announced on behalf of the <indecs>2rdd Consortium, the adoption of <indecs>2RDD as baseline technology for the MPEG-21 Rights Data Dictionary standard. The adoption follows the MPEG meeting in Pattaya, Thailand, in December 2001 at which 9 proposals were evaluated. The MPEG-21 Rights Data Dictionary, based on <indecs>2rdd principles, will provide a key part of the architecture required to deliver interoperability between digital rights management (DRM) systems.
The adoption of the <indecs>2rdd proposal marks the beginning of the collaborative phase of this very important work in MPEG, which is scheduled for International Standard in March 2003. The MPEG rights Data Dictionary and the accompanying Rights Expression Language specifications will allow interoperable large-scale exchange of digital media, including subscription services, trusted peer-to-peer services and a wide variety of other distribution models.
The current <indecs>2rdd Consortium, (Accenture, ContentGuard, EDItEUR, Enpia Systems, International DOI Foundation), Melodies and Memories Global (MMG/a subsidiary of Dentsu), the Motion Picture Association (MPA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), are actively discussing further funding for continuation of the <indecs>2rdd initiative.
"The [original] <indecs> project provided the basis for a powerful (and widely respected) underlying analysis of the requirements for rights management metadata. However, <indecs> (as was always anticipated) did not complete work in the area of rights semantics. Sufficient market impetus has now developed for active work to begin in applying the <indecs> analysis in detail to rights management. This is the task to be addressed by the <indecs>2RDD Consortium. <indecs>2RDD is a project to develop a multimedia Rights Data Dictionary, that will support the practical interoperability of different metadata models, descriptive, legal and financial semantics and rights expression languages This is an essential infrastructural building block for digital rights management systems, whereby the value of proprietary technology will be enhanced and the management and protection of rights made interoperable. <indecs>2RDD builds on and extends the proven success of the <indecs> project, which defined a framework for interoperable metadata in contentbased e-commerce. <indecs>2RDD will facilitate the mapping of proprietary DRM solutions onto a common data layer thus expanding interoperability and, as a result, expanding the potential application of DRM Technology by Rights Holders..." [From the 'RDD Fact Sheet,' October 3, 2001.]
References:
- "<indecs>2rdd Adopted as MPEG 21 Baseline Technology." Announcement January 21, 2002. [source]
- "A Standard Rights Data Dictionary. <indecs> White Paper." May, 2002. From the <indecs>2rdd Consortium. 7 pages. The <indecs> work forms the basis of DOI's Metadata approach as described in the DOI Handbook, Chapter 5.4. [cache]
- The <indecs>2RDD Project." Called the 'RDD Fact Sheet.' October 3, 2001. 2 pages. [cache]
- <indecs>2rdd description From Rightscom.
- "New Standards." By Howard M. Singer, PhD. Rightscom Ltd. For the Broadband Content Delivery Forum. February 2002. 28 pages.
- "E-Content 2002: Dreams and Realities. Developing the Standards Infrastructure for eContent." By Mark Bide (Rightscom Ltd). 25 sides. HTML format.
- Working Draft 2.0 for Part 6: MPEG-21 Rights Data Dictionary. See the [unofficial] PDF version.
- Papers from Rightscom Ltd
- <indecs> Project
- MPEG Rights Expression Language
- XML and Digital Rights Management (DRM)
