A new initiative in the legal sharing of multimedia content has been put forward by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
Called ITU-T H.751, the proposal uses metadata to enable interoperability of IPTV services. Specifically, it adds rights information to the IPTV metadata already used for descriptive and structural framework management of IPTV (audio, video, television, graphics, data and text). Rights metadata would cover to information on the rights granted to end-users of multimedia content, detailing ‘utilisation functions’ including permissions to view/hear, copy, modify, record, excerpt, sample, store snd distribute content, along with any restriction on times or hours content can be played, viewed or heard. These conditions would dictate obligations of ongoing payment, where appropriate.
Bringing interoperability into play frees both provider and consumer from their mutual dependence. Presently, users’ rights to multimedia content are determined and dependent on the rights held by the service provider.
The new standard ‘provides clear mechanisms or rules for flexible digital distribution that allows for simple exchanges of content, enabling service providers to implement common interpretation and integration of rights information’. It would enable service providers and equipment manufacturers exchange rights information across between their respective content management systems. It additionally specifies rights-related information – ‘content ID’, ‘permission issuer ID’ and ‘permission receiver ID’ – that is used to bridge between rights-related metadata.
More: www.itu.int
