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By Cara Garretson
Digital rights management vendor Modevity said it has received certification from Apple to run its content distribution software on iPhones and iPod touch devices, giving owners of proprietary and confidential content a secure way to deliver their offerings to the devices.
Modevity's Araloc iPhone Viewer allows content creators to control who accesses their content, what they do with it, and for how long they may view it, according to Thomas J. Canova, co-founder and chief marketing officer of West Chester, Pa.-based Modevity.
The first third-party digital rights management (DRM) product for the iPhone and iPod touch, the Araloc iPhone Viewer gives content owners a larger potential viewing audience by making multiple file formats -- including text, audio and video -- available with DRM protection to mobile device owners, said Canova. Content owners who would want to use DRM to protect their offerings include Web and audio conference organizers, newsletter publishers, distributors of confidential information, and training and educational publishers.
With the explosion of smartphones and other devices that access the Internet, controlling which users have access to which content has become significantly more complicated and risky, he said. "With the increase in mobility, thanks to iPhone and iPod touch devices, there are many more venues for misuse and piracy, and that's a challenge to corporate content owners," said Canova.
One difficulty for creators of confidential and proprietary content has been simply figuring out how to format or repurpose their content for mobile devices, he said. On top of that, there are the security risks posed by mobile access to content that until now could not be controlled. However, with the tremendous popularity of devices such as the iPhone, of which there are currently 50 million worldwide, according to Canova, publishers and content creators can't afford to ignore the platform.
The Araloc iPhone Viewer uses 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard technology to secure content from unauthorized access. The software can stop the copying, forwarding, and printing of protected content and applies viewing rights, expiration dates, and tracks access so that the content owner can maintain control. Content owners receive graphical reports and analytics with detailed viewing patterns so they can get a better understanding of how their content is being consumed.
Araloc uses the software-as-a-service model to deliver DRM functions without requiring customers to make significant hardware and management investments, as the service is completely housed and managed by Modevity and accessed over the Web in a self-service model. In addition to protecting content accessed by iPhone and iPod touch users, Araloc works with other distribution methods including disk media, server-hosted content, and encrypted packages sent by e-mail. The software integrates with e-commerce applications via Modevity's API.
Apple's certification of Modevity's software for the iPhone and iPod touch signifies the computer giant's approval of the movement toward DRM of mobile computing and viewing, Canova said.
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