IBM will release today Version 2 of its EMMS digital rights
management software, which includes the ability to protect digital
content of any file type, company officials said.
EMMS 2 is the evolution of Electronic Media Management System
(EMMS), software designed for electronic media distribution that
originally protected music files.
For example, with the previous version of EMMS, a company had the
ability to make a song downloadable and then automatically expire
after the user played it a specified number of times.
"We've extended EMMS to include all file types," said Brett
MacIntyre, vice-president of IBM's content and information
integration software group.
EMMS 2 can now protect audio, text, image, and video files, as well
as other formats, including Adobe PDF and Open-eBook, IBM said.
MacIntyre continued to say that IBM more tightly integrated EMMS
with its other content management-related technologies Content
Management Server, DB2, and middleware components such as WebSphere
and the VideoCharger, for streaming video. EMMS 2 also supports
Microsoft's Windows Media Player.
Furthermore, IBM beefed up support for devices so that EMMS can be
used with PCs, PDAs, CDs, and kiosks.
The goal of EMMS, MacIntyre added, is to align digital rights
management with content management.
"Digital rights management used to be a separate thought,"
MacIntyre said.
EMMS protects content by ensuring that only authorised users have
access to the material. MacIntyre pointed to the sharing of X-rays
among hospitals as an example. With EMMS, hospitals can ensure that
when they share X-rays with another hospital or doctor, that doctor
will not be able to share the X-ray with anyone else without
necessary permission.
EMMS Version 2 will be available at the end of this month.