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Pardalis Software, Inc. Author-Level Digital Rights Management and the Common Point Authoring System : Protecting Information Exchange

Author-Level Digital Rights Management and the

Common Point Authoring System:Protecting Information Exchange

Introduction

In the livestock industry, readily available information about animal identity and history would improve the safety and quality of the nations meat supply. In the chemical industry, an efficient means of producing Material Safety DataSheets would better protect workers and reduce costs for the manufacturers who author the documents. In government,the timely exchange of accurate information across multiple agencies would provide vital support for homeland security.

In both the private and public sectors, the exchange of information across complex multi-organizational environmentscan bring enormous benefit faster reactivity to information, new levels of safety and security, more efficient processes,lower costs, new partnership opportunities, and improved profitability.

But two challenges stand in the way of information exchange in complex environments: the need for an infrastructure capable of linking the thousands of organizations that produce information the need to protect the interests of each of these individual information producers.

Pardalis Software has effectively addressed these challenges for the first time with its new, patented Common PointAuthoring System (CPA) . The Common Point Authoring System is an information exchange framework and technology architecture that enables multiple information producers in complex private- or public-sector environments tocontrol distribution of the information they produce, protect their interest in that information, and maximize returns onits value. A core system component is a new Author-Level Digital Rights Management (A-DRM) technology,designed specifically to protect the ownership rights of every information producer.

This Pardalis white paper introduces these new technologies, first sketching the evolution of information security,culminating in A-DRM, then describing the Common Point Authoring System and the Information Marketplaces and Exchanges it makes possible.

Protecting Information Rights and Interests

Protecting information ownership and copyrights is a critical, thoughunacknowledged requirement for effective information exchange. In the

private sector, this protection enables owners to control distribution and makes the information they produce a marketable commodity. In the

public sector, protection of information interests allows government

agencies to measure and validate the public services they perform.

From Passwords to Standard DRMSince the early days of computing, the password has been the first meansof protecting digital information. Organizations control information access

by providing unique usernames and passwords to users they authorize.

More recently, the need to control broader usage has assumed greater importance as networks and the Internet have madethe distribution of information much easier. Standard Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology answers this need for the specific type of information called digital content information in finished, consumer-ready forms such asdigital videos and music recordings.

Pardalis Patents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent to

Pardalis for Common PointAuthoring, entitled Informational

Object Authoring and Distribution

System, on December 30, 2003. Acontinuation patent entitled Common Point Authoring System for Tracking

and Authenticating Objects in a Distribution Chain was filed in

October 2003.

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2 Pardalis Software, Inc. Author-Level Digital Rights Management and the Common Point Authoring System : Protecting Information Exchange

Standard DRM controls usage by encrypting content and providing licenses that grant permission to decrypt it inspecific ways. With DRM, use of content can be limited to a single computer, to viewing one time only, to viewing for aset length of time after which licenses must renewed, to distribution without restriction, etc.

Figure 1. DRM controls usage of consumer-ready digital content

However, standard DRM has limitations. Designed specifically to protect the end-product of an artistic process, it offers noadequate means of protecting business-to-business information produced by multiple authors in complex environments.

Author-Level Digital Rights ManagementToday, with the f irst Author-Level Digital Rights Management technology, the Common Point Authoring System extendsDRM to information produced in complex private- or public-sector environments.

The key defining characteristic of this kind of information is that it has multiple authors, often numbering in thethousands. For example, many law enforcement agencies and divisions at the local, state, and federal levels areresponsible for producing and sharing information about convicted and suspected criminals. In the healthcare industry,many providers produce portions of each patients total medical and insurance record.

Each authoring organization in a complex environment produces what can be called an information element . The CPASystem and its A-DRM technology uniquely recognize the value of these information elements and provide rightsmanagement at this elemental level specifically to protect the interests of the many authors that contribute to medicalhistories, law enforcement records, and other comprehensive business-to-business information products.

As illustrated in Figure 2, the CPA System manages multi-author information in specif ic new ways. As an author produces a distinct information element, the CPA System maintains its integrity by packaging the element and assigning it a unique digital identifier .

Figure 2. The CPA System assigns a Unique Digital ID to each Information Element

As Figure 3 illustrates, the CPA Systems uniquely identified, packaged information element gives authoringorganizations a completely new level of protection, allowing them to control how their information is distributed and used. For the first time, multiple authors can grant a variety permissions to multiple users or restrict usage.

Figure 3. The CPA System allows multiple authors to control information usage

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From Ownership to Exchange: The Common Point Authoring System

By protecting the information ownership of individual producer-authors, A-DRM technology provides a new basis for information exchange across complex environments. Because authors can now control distribution and usage, they areable to retain their interest in the information they produce while making it available to a vast network of recipients.

Recognizing these broad implications of A-DRM, Pardalis inventors have designed the Common Point Authoring System

as a complete technology architecture and information exchange framework. The CPA System provides a single locationwhere information producers and users can come together to exchange information for mutual benefit. In the privatesector, these exchange frameworks will take the form of Information Marketplaces where information will be bought and sold. In the public sector, they will take the form of Information Exchanges that facilitate the controlled sharing of information in the public interest.

As depicted in Figure 4, each Common Point Authoring System, based on A-DRM and the information ownership it provides, will be offered with an industry module consisting of an interface and application functionality designed specifically for a single industry or public sector environment.

Figure 4. Common Point Authoring and Information Exchange/Marketplace

Exchange FrameworkFor all Exchanges and Marketplaces it builds, Pardalis will maintain a centralized data repository where information willreside and where all transactions share, trade, lend, buy, sell, etc. will occur. Participants will access the repositoryvia the Internet or Intranets, either through a user-friendly web front end or via web services. This framework will makeInformation Exchanges and Marketplaces available to all organizations in complex environments, regardless of size.Participation will require no expenditure for new hardware or software systems .

Compatibility with Existing SystemsPardalis has designed the CPA System according to open standards. Servers will be compatible with existing informationsystems. Producer-authors will be able to import data to and export data from their CPA System via standard protocols.CPA will also add value to existing information systems by connecting them to the Exchanges and Marketplaces thatserve complex environments.

Standardization Through a Common LanguageIn complex environments, there is inexorable pressure to standardize data formats and protocols to enable shared channels of communication. In response to this pressure, regulatory agencies and industry giants have commonlyimposed standards on business-to-business information and required smaller producers to bear the cost of meetingthose standards.

Common Point Authoring enables no-cost standardization driven by participants. CPA uses common data categories,forms, and vocabulary. Data imported from proprietary systems will be automatically translated into these commonterms. As participant usage evolves, so too will the common lexicon.

Trustworthy, Traceable InformationIn the CPA System, information elements are permanent and unalterable. Once a producer-author registers informationin the System, it can only be added to or commented on with another unique element. The combination of uniqueidentifiers and unalterable information benefits both producer-authors and information users. Producer-authors will beable to trace the paths their information takes through Marketplaces and Exchanges, and users will be able to know thesource of their information and trust that it is authoritative.

Pardalis Software, Inc. Author-Level Digital Rights Management and the Common Point Authoring System : Protecting Information Exchange

IndustryModule

TechnologyArchitecture /

ExchangeFramework

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Privacy and SecurityEnabled by A-DRM, information ownership and control over distribution guarantee the privacy and security of information. Producer-authors have complete freedom to offer their information for exchange or withhold it.

Conclusion: New Information Marketplaces and Exchanges

Pardaliss f irst industry application of the Common Point Authoring system, expected in late 2004, will provide a New Information Marketplace for the Beef Industry. In the Marketplace, tens of thousands of cow-calf operators,sale barns, stockers, feedlots, and packing houses can buy and sell information regarding cattle ID, source, feeding,growth, immunization and health history, yield and quality grade, and more. Producers will be able to increase their income, achieve cattle health and quality goals, trust the accuracy of the information they receive, and establish aninformation community that promotes prosperity across the industry.

Pardalis Information Exchanges will also be developed for application in the public sector. From the federal to locallevel, and even internationally, government agencies require better ways to manage and share the ever-increasingvolumes of information they generate. At the same time, the thousands of departments, agencies, and offices thatmake up the government need ways to protect their control over and interest in the information they produce.Common Point Authoring and A-DRM provide the means to achieve these goals.

The Common Point Authoring System, with its Author-Level Digital Rights Management technology, places anabsolute premium on the ownership and owner-controlled distribution of information in complex private- and

public-sector environments. The CPA System and A-DRM represent the foundation and framework for vibrant,inclusive Information Marketplaces and Exchanges, where organizations can exchange the information they

produce, confident that they will always retain their ownership interest and control its distribution and use.

By eliminating major obstacles to participation and open communication, these new Information Marketplaces and Exchanges will create win-win opportunities for individual information producers and the complex environmentsthey are a part of. Complete, accurate, trustworthy information will flow throughout these environments, providingevery information producer with an equal opportunity to benefit from their information products.

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877-OWN-DATA (696-3282)

http://www.pardalis.com

2004 Pardalis Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Pardalis, the Pardalis logo, and Common Point Authoring are service marks or trademarks of Pardalis Software, Inc.