July 18, 2005
Volume 9, Issue 10
Welcome Telcordia Technologies
Please warmly welcome Telcordia Technologies to the Platform Group. We look forward to providing valuable services to this newest DCIA Member and supporting its contributions to the distributed computing industry.
Telcordia provides open, flexible, and configurable software and services for IP, wireline, mobility, and cable networks – helping communications companies around the world transform, manage, and grow their networks. Telcordia helps providers aggressively reduce costs by consolidating complex operations while growing their networks and service offerings to generate profitable new revenue.
Telcordia is driven by an operating philosophy known as Elementive. It is a philosophy of openness and flexibility that permeates everything from the company's product strategies to its partnerships, to the way it treats its longtime and new customers. Elementive embraces change and drives Telcordia's core commitment to helping companies extend their technology investment while exploiting new opportunities.
Telcordia is now exploring opportunities for enabling peer-to-peer (P2P) digital content services.
Skype and Boingo Join Forces
Customers will now be able use software from DCIA Member Skype to easily place calls using Wi-Fi Internet connections at Boingo facilities all over the world.
According to Boingo CEO David Hagan, "The new service is aimed at the growing number of mobile customers that use non-traditional, Wi-Fi-enabled devices to make calls – beginning with laptop computers, but also including hand-held pocket PCs, PDAs, multi-mode smartphones, and perhaps soon MP3 players." Hagan added, "I've been using Skype for calling all over the world for over a year. It's amazing!"
Dubbed 'Skype Zones–Powered by Boingo,' the service, is currently available as a beta offering at a cost of $7.95 per month for unlimited service, or $2.95 for a single two-hour session.
"Boingo is a world-class company that offers Skype users unprecedented global communications mobility and accessibility, at an aggressive, market-disrupting price," said Niklas Zennström, Skype CEO and co-founder. "Affordable broadband access is fundamental to open communications, and partnering with Boingo to deliver unlimited Skype access around the world at such a compelling price point will generate new customers for both companies."
Claria Unveils Behavioral Search Platform
DCIA Member Claria Corporation last week announced the alpha release of Claria's Vista Marketing Services search platform. Leveraging its RelevancyRank behavioral search technology, the new search platform goes far beyond analyzing links to pages and hypertext matching, and instead evaluates how consumers actually interact with search results when they are seeking information on the Web.
RelevancyRank is a revolutionary search capability that ranks Web pages based on consumer surfing behavior. The technology incorporates basic metrics such as click rates, as well as critical post-click metrics of consumer behavior – such as time spent viewing a site, number of pages viewed at a site, number of return visits to a destination website, historical interests based on Web-wide surfing habits, and conversion behavior. The alpha release marks the first time this technology has been incorporated into a search engine platform.
"Even in this early stage, this represents a clear 'step function' improvement in search methodology and relevancy," said Jeff McFadden, President & CEO of Claria Corporation. "Over time and with more users, these types of personalization technologies will allow consumers a richer, more customized online experience. For example, a college student and business executive searching for 'hotels in China' would appreciate vastly different results. Ultimately, this is the power that personalization can provide – with technology automatically customizing information for the consumer."
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 We are grateful to all who contributed to defining our approach for developing a 'comprehensive best practices regime based on analysis of the Supreme Court opinion and concurrences' in the MGM v. Grokster case, as the first of three new areas of DCIA activity.
Interested parties are now invited to join our MGM v. Grokster Response Working Group (MGRWG) in order to complete this work as expeditiously as possible with a full spectrum of representative viewpoints.
We are especially interested in recruiting additional content rights holders, peer-to-peer (P2P) software distributors, and delivery solutions providers.
The principal goal of MGRWG is to recommend a set of best practices for the distribution of P2P software with the object of promoting its use in ways that do not infringe copyright through affirmative steps taken to foster non-infringement.
Our purposes are to enhance and not diminish benefits in security, cost, and efficiency of P2P software for storing and transmitting electronic files, and to encourage further commercial development of beneficial distributed computing technologies. We intend for end-users to be able to prominently employ ad hoc P2P networks for sharing copyrighted music and video files – with proper authorization.
The proposed structure for defining these best practices, subject to full discussion by MGRWG, will have four parts: 1) Advertising Guidelines; 2) Protection Mechanisms; 3) Business Models; and 4) Tracking Studies.
Questions to be answered by MGRWG include: what kinds of consumer communications are recommended to induce non-infringing usage of P2P software; what kinds of P2P digital rights management (DRM) solutions are recommended so that each transaction of a copyrighted work's P2P redistribution can take place on terms-and-conditions determined by its rights holder(s); what revenue sharing opportunities are recommended for content rights holders to fully exploit the possibilities of P2P for licensed content redistribution (e.g., advertising support, sponsorships, cross promotion, packaging, subscriptions, a la carte sales, etc.) plus what kinds of disclosures, if any, are recommended for non-copyrighted-content related P2P revenue generation (e.g., behavioral marketing, VoIP services, paid search, travel applications, collaborative research, blogging, etc.); and what industry-wide measurements using such methods as test-cell extrapolation are recommended to track growth trends of authorized copyrighted works transactions as a percentage of all P2P transactions, as well as other key metrics.
Copyright holders should expect that a balance will be struck between their legitimate demands for effective – not merely symbolic – protection of their statutory monopoly, and the rights of P2P software distributors and others to freely engage in substantially unrelated areas of commerce.
Users should be able to continue to search for, retrieve, and store files without involvement of P2P application providers, who should not be expected to monitor or control use of their software with respect to actual knowledge of specific content transactions. Involvement of other members of the distribution chain, however, should provide the requisite controls sought for by content rights holders to enable secure P2P dissemination of their registered works globally.
Decentralized P2P software applications should not be expected to reveal which files are being copied and when, but rather related technology solutions should be supported for affiliated third parties to equip individual files to accomplish this as they are redistributed across public networks using P2P protocols. Filtering copyrighted material out of P2P users' downloads or otherwise impeding redistribution by such methods as blocking usage should not be advocated as impositions on P2P software suppliers. Advanced alternatives, which more effectively accomplish the underlying goals that previously have led some to suggest these approaches, should make such measures unnecessary.
Distributors of P2P programs should be able to clearly voice the objective that recipients use their applications to download licensed copyrighted works, and take steps to encourage them to do so, because the file-sharing environment supports secure redistribution. These and other P2P content-reselling entities should be able to competitively market their offerings to prospective users. They should be able to attract potential advertisers, sponsors, investors, and business partners on the basis of being similar (or an alternative) to the original Napster, except that their software and service offerings fully support authorized sharing of copyrighted material.
It should be permissible to promote as a competitive benefit that a larger number of copyrighted songs are available on a given file-sharing network than others. It should be acceptable that their business models have as a principal object the use of their software to redistribute such works.
P2P distributors should be able to advertise and instruct consumers on how to engage in authorized usage of their software to download and redistribute licensed copyrighted works and to recommend and directly encourage such usage. They should be able to overtly and aggressively take steps to respond to consumer demand for online access to copyrighted material through highly efficient and very popular P2P software.
As with other DCIA-sponsored working groups, participation in MGRWG is voluntary and open to DCIA Members and qualified non-members. Confidentiality of MGRWG participation will be maintained unless express written authorization for disclosure is given by an individual company in advance. Once the work product, in this case, an outline of best practices, is completed and publicized by MGRWG, adoption and compliance with its recommendations, whether in full or in part, will be a separate voluntary action to be independently decided upon by MGRWG participants (and others) individually. Please contact DCIA Best Practices leader Elaine Reiss at elaine@dcia.info or me at marty@dcia.info with questions and to sign-up for MGRWG.
VasoRx Selects SVC Financial
DCIA Member SVC Financial Services (OTC: SVCX) announced last week that VasoRx will launch a major brand campaign using SVC's Mazarin Media Platform for multimedia-based applications.
"We've pioneered the Mazarin solution to be an extremely cost-effective, powerful solution for clients that need more price performance than from a website or e-mail campaigns. We're excited at the prospect of helping VasoRx extend their valuable offerings to existing markets and beyond," said Rob Preston, SVC VP of Public Policy & e-Philanthropy.
VasoRx Director of Marketing Kevin Fulton said, "SVC's Mazarin solution can optimize our existing channel sales performance. We look forward to extending our marketing and outreach capabilities, providing a compelling and one-stop solution that will inspire greater levels of purchasing beyond our current Web capabilities."
"SVC brings tremendous benefits to companies like VasoRx," added SVC President & CEO Chris Haigh. "We've engineered a product platform for rapid solutions delivery that runs on any system and any browser to gain the widest possible exposure and greatest impact for presenting products and other promotions. Mazarin allows us to provide specialized solutions for retail and consumer products, non-profit groups, and music and entertainment organizations."
PassAlong & Crowfly Offer Tour Downloads
Excerpted from Digital Media Wire Report
PassAlong.com, a digital download store that offers users rewards for sharing songs, announced last Wednesday that it has partnered with Crowfly Digital Entertainment to offer live performances of concert tours. Their first offering will be downloads of every performance from former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler's upcoming tour.
Exclusive recordings will be offered the day following each concert for $14.99, encoded in Windows Media DRM, so that providers can set rules for device transfers and CD burns.
"I have never objected to fans recording performances for themselves," said Knopfler. "However, with this new technology we are in a position to give our audiences something of the highest quality they can keep as a lasting souvenir of the night."
Open-Source P2P Projects
Excerpted from CNET News Report by John Borland
The ripples of anxiety from last month's landmark Supreme Court ruling on P2P software haven't made it to Jonathan Nilson, a programmer who has been working on Shareaza for several years.
As is the case with many loosely organized, open-source programming projects, there is no central entity, no "Shareaza" company or organization that issues paychecks or answers lawyers' telephone calls.
"We haven't altered our direction as a result of the judgment," Nilson said. "We have a strict open-source goal now, and that frees us up from a lot of responsibility. We're not trying to make revenue, so it's hard to try to sue us."
The legal threat facing many of the most popular file-swapping software companies may well radically change their operation and strategies. Yet open-source projects like Shareaza, which create software of similar function and popularity, are continuing unabated.
That optimism threatens to mute the Court ruling's effect on the file-swapping world, because millions of people a week are already downloading and using those independent programs.
In the noncommercial, open-source world, programmers have discussed the Court case, but few appear ready to abandon their projects. Some are taking extra precautions not to appear as though they are advocating copyright infringement, going so far as to ban users who discuss piracy from online forums. Development and distribution of the file-swapping software itself continues, however.
"My impression is that people aren't that worried about it," said Ian Clarke, the British founder of the Freenet project and a longtime stalwart of the open-source community. "The primary impact is likely to be on commercial developers of P2P software. Even then, the impact is really to make them more careful about what they say both within their companies and externally about aspirations for their software."
MP3 Turns Ten Years Old
Excerpted from Digital Music News Report
According to the Fraunhofer Institute, which invented the audio compression codec, the 10-year mark happened July 14th. Since its invention, the format has skyrocketed in popularity, with billions of MP3 files now traded on P2P networks.
While other compression codecs have followed, it was the MP3 that provided the fuel for developments like the original Napster, and subsequent P2P generations ushered in by applications like Kazaa, now distributed by DCIA Member Sharman Networks, and eDonkey. Currently, the format dwarfs all others in digital music, with music fans slowly trickling into paid, DRM-protected formats from companies like Apple and Microsoft.
The popularity of the Apple iPod is often attributed to its ability to easily store thousands of MP3 tracks, with a new breed of listeners forever attached to the little devices. Some estimates peg portable MP3 players to hit 60-80 million by 2006, part of an overall move towards ubiquitous music and media consumption.
White House Spotlights Distributed Computing
Excerpted from GovExec.com Report
The White House wants government research and development activities in the fiscal 2007 budget proposal to focus on homeland security, high-end computing, nanotechnology, and cybersecurity.
Josh Bolten, director of the White House Office of Budget and Management, and John Marburger, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, sent the memo setting this agenda.
Kei Koizumi of the American Association for the Advancement of Science said the memo contains one "surprise" – the focus on high-end computing over R&D for network and IT programs. Koizumi said the shift reflects Congressional and industry concerns that the United States could lose its competitive edge in the supercomputing area to other countries.
The directors wrote that investments in supercomputing and cyber infrastructure are higher priorities than network and information technology because of "their potential for broad impact." They said plans for high-end computing must "aggressively" focus on supercomputing capability, capacity, and accessibility issues.
"Advanced networking research (including test-beds) on hardware and software for secure, reliable, distributed computing environments and tools that provide the communication, analysis, and sharing of very large amounts of information will accelerate discovery and enable new technological advances," they wrote.
Dutch ISPs Can Refuse P2P Data Demand
Excerpted from Reuters Report
A Dutch judge ruled last Tuesday that Internet service providers would not have to hand over names or addresses of customers who may be illegally swapping films, music, and other copyright-protected files.
Brein, a Dutch organization representing 52 media and entertainment companies, had acquired IP addresses of file swappers and requested personal details behind these addresses from five large ISPs. The service providers - Essent, KPN, Tiscali, UPC, and Wanadoo - refused to hand over the details.
The case was subsequently brought to a civil court where a judge ruled that the plaintiffs had not met the necessary conditions to warrant such an order.
"Brein has sought help from a research company, which looked at the shared folders on computers of the file swappers. In that process it may have accessed private files. The judge does not deem this correct, because according to Dutch law, privacy is insufficiently protected in the United States," the ruling said.
The ISPs welcomed the ruling "as an important victory for the privacy of Internet users. Private organizations cannot start sniffing around on someone else's computer and collect data."
Panel Suggests Internet Governance Options
Excerpted from Associated Press Report
A United Nations panel created to recommend how the Internet should be run in the future has failed to reach consensus, but did agree that no single country should dominate.
The United States stated two weeks ago that it intended to maintain control over the computers that serve as the Internet's principal traffic cops.
In a report, the U.N. panel outlined four possible options for the future of Internet governance for world leaders to consider at a summit in November.
One option would largely keep the current system intact, with a US-based nonprofit organization, the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), continuing to handle basic policies over Internet addresses.
At the other end, ICANN would be revamped and new international agencies formed under the auspices of the U.N.
Coming Events of Interest
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Casual Games Conference – The conference takes place July 19th-20th in Seattle, WA and provides insights to the business opportunities and design considerations required for developers, publishers, and distributors to succeed in this rapidly-expanding game industry segment. DCIA Members Trymedia Systems' Robb Lewis will moderate "Advergaming" and PlayFirst's Rich Roberts will speak on "Contracts and Royalties."
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Cocktails with Jan Schakowsky – Flanagan Consulting will host cocktails with the Honorable Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, and Democratic Chief Deputy Whip on July 21st at 5:30 PM at Finemondo, 1319 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004. $500 individual contributors, $1,000 PACs. Please make checks payable to "Schakowsky for Congress."
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Scooter Scudieri Concert – Berkeley Springs State Park (WV) will host a free concert by DCIA Member Scooter Scudieri at 5:30 PM on July 23rd. Scooter is a self-taught guitarist who recently opened for Jewel on a national tour. He also has performed with Dave Mathews and Nils Lofgren. In April 2003, he was awarded Best of the New Writers and his song, "The Usual," was placed on Volume One: Best of the Songwriters Hall of Fame compilation CD.
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DRM Strategies Conference – Jupitermedia's comprehensive event on digital rights management business and technology issues will be held July 27th-28th at the Puck Building in NYC. This is a must-attend for those involved in content security in both consumer media distribution and information security. The conference will feature leading industry figures who will introduce the fundamentals of DRM, shed light on future DRM directions, and provide incendiary debate on today's controversial issues of online piracy and digital copyright.
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Kagan's Digital Media Summit – The theme of this year's conference, which will be held on September 12th-13th at the Four Seasons / Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV will be "New Opportunities For Monetizing Content." The DCIA will participate in the panel entitled "MIXING MEDIA'S POTION: Content Security Plus E-Commerce Fulfillment and On-Demand Delivery." DCIA Members receive a 50% discount on registration. Please contact DCIA Member Services leader Karen Kaplowitz for more information at 888-890-4240 or karen@dcia.info.
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Digital Hollywood Fall – "Transforming the Entertainment Industry." Scheduled for September 19th-21st at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. The preeminent digital media and entertainment conference in the country. This year featuring a series of special University Project workshops. The DCIA will moderate "Track I: Next Generation P2P Music and Film - DRM, Paid for Pass-Along and Other Legal Distributed Computing Models and the Entertainment Industries." DCIA Members are also planning to host entertainment.
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Technology Law Institute – A Digital Media Rights panel will be featured September 20th at the Headquarters of the State Bar of Georgia, in downtown Atlanta, GA. Kilpatrick & Stockton's James Trigg will moderate with speakers Renay San Miguel from CNN, Kevin Lapidus from YellowBrixx, and Marty Lafferty from the DCIA.
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