A company that specializes in right - management engineering for online stores has declare its plans to reverse - railroad engineer the FairPlay encryption system Apple use on iTunes Music Store purchases .
The move by Cupertino - basedNavio Systemswould essentially break Apple ’s Digital Rights Management ( DRM ) system for allow other on-line medicine retailer to betray downloads that are both DRM - encode and iPod - compatible by early 2006 .
“ Typically , we embrace and need to put to work with the provider of the DRM , ” said Ray Schaaf , Navio ’s primary operating officer . “ With respect to FairPlay , properly now Apple does n’t license that , so we take the view that as RealNetworks allows users to grease one’s palms FairPlay songs on Rhapsody , we would take the same approach . ”
In 2004 , after unsuccessfully courting Apple to license FairPlay , RealNetworks introduced its Harmony technology , which countenance users to buy music from online germ other than the iTunes Music Store and transfer it to their iPod . RealNetworks ’ move was then rat by Apple as adopting “ the manoeuvre and ethics of a cyberpunk to snap off into the iPod . ” In December of 2004 , Apple shot back by unloosen an iPod package update that disabled funding for RealNetworks - purchase song .
RealNetworks corrected this with an updated release of Rhapsody and FairPlay encoded Sung dynasty have been influence ever since . RealNetworks spokesman , Matt Graves , confirm that this has been the only metre that the company has seen any problems with its Harmony engineering science .
capacity downloaded from iTunes is encode with the FairPlay DRM system , effectively put limits on how customers can apply the mental object . Content providers want to use FairPlay because of the popularity of the iPod , which is incompatible with all DRM data formatting other than FairPlay . Apple has declined to license the technology to external vendor .
FairPlay also appeals to content provider because of its repose of usance . Apple ’s DRM is view to be one of the less obtrusive forms of DRM on the marketplace .
“ Sony’srootkit fiascohas shone a nasty spotlight on DRM mechanics , and tha ’s not necessarily bad for Apple , ” pronounce Jupiter Research analyst Joe Wilcox . “ FairPlay is a highly unobtrusive DRM . Consumers only see that FairPlay is there when [ they are ] trying to outrage rightfield prerogative . I ca n’t say the same about WMA DRM , for which , in examination , I ’ve had trouble on well-nigh all stores and gimmick . ”
But Navio ’s Schaaf insists that his party wo n’t be fazed by Apple ’s vow to thwart attempts to make FairPlay - compatible file without Apple ’s blessing .
“ As engineering raise with a software discharge or a different encoding schema , you also need to have grandfathered right wing for anterior interlingual rendition of songs , ” Schaaf said . “ If a change is made or required then we would do it just the same way that Real or others would do it . ”
Apple congressman were not at once available to annotate on Navio ’s design .
Schaaf described Navio as “ DRM - agnostic , ” adding that the party was only providing the technology that its client are asking for . “ Whether it ’s Helix , WMA or FairPlay , our customers point what kind of DRM encoding they want and then we provide them with a resolution , ” he said .
Schaaf reject to say exactly what types of Navio - power stores would sell single file using the FairPlay DRM , but he noted that Navio collaborates with companies in many mart . “ We are forge with a number of studios , a number of [ euphony ] labels and we are work with [ cell ] carriers . What we do is a unequalled package when you put it all together , ” Schaaf said .
Schaaf likens Navio ’s business to a someone who buys a movie slate — the slate is buy for a specific show , and it can either be redeemed or given to someone else to redeem .
“ For us it ’s about the issuing of a rightfulness that grants you get at to data or content and even non - commercial-grade things like a calendar , for instance , ” Schaaf added . “ Fundamentally we believe the best opportunity for us today is in the digital message space . That ’s where we have been focusing with customer such as Fox , Sony and others that we have n’t announced yet . ”
Schaaf had nothing but praise for Apple and state Navio would like to solve with the companionship in the futurity . “ Apple did a phenomenal line of work of providing a vertically integrated resolution — they should be applauded for what they did , ” he tally . “ The vertical access that Apple take , we would care to broaden and provide a horizontal answer for those subject owners . That ’s what subject matter owners are asking for . If Apple wishes to form with content providers and partners , then we would cover that . ”
Update : Clarified that RealNetworks fixed Harmony after Apple broke the technology with a software update .
