2/13/2007

Microsoft's DRM for mobile


Microsoft introduced another DRM[Digital Rights Management] technology to the mix this morning at 3GSM in Barcelona: PlayReady, which appears to add streaming media and pay-per-view capabilities to the PlaysForSure platform it already had in place.This indicates Microsoft attention on the DRM in the era of Zune. Playready is a result of extended dialogue with the mobile industry which is looking for flexible ways to transfer content between devices.Playready primarily lists mobile service operators, including Verizon and AT&T.PlayReady does not appear to be associated with specific devices, though its formats are said to be downwardly compatible with Windows Media 10.PlaysForSure is typically associated with WM10, and Microsoft’s new Windows Mobile 6 operating system.Microsoft said it will be implementing what it refers to as an interoperability program "so content may flow to qualifying DRM and content protection technologies." It did not list any specific technologies that qualify just yet, nor did it explicitly mention PlaysForSure or Zune’s DRM as perhaps qualifying under the terms of this program.The WM6 rollout today also involves AT&T (formerly Cingular) and Verizon, as well as Sprint and T-Mobile. Apparently managed separately, WM6's content protection technologies are being referred to using a carefully chosen new phrase, information rights management or "IRM," perhaps in an attempt to distance Microsoft from "DRM" - a phrase and abbreviation that has become a magnet for negative attention. Technorati Tags:
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