Posted on: Thursday, June 21, 2001

New system would fight music, movie piracy on Web

Associated Press

SEATTLE — RealNetworks has developed technology that would allow Internet retailers to track the sale and use of songs or movies on the Web to make sure the goods aren't distributed illegally.

The product released yesterday is aimed at companies that want to capitalize on the music site Napster's popularity, while making money and not violating copyright.

If a person rents a movie over the Internet, for example, the system would ensure it is transmitted securely to that person's computer, keep track of how many times or for how long it is watched, and make sure it isn't copied or shared.

Eventually, RealNetworks hopes the technology will go beyond computers to television and virtually any other type of digital media.

"The potential for these initiatives are just so enormous," said Larry Jacobson, RealNetworks' president and chief operating officer.

RealNetworks said Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, the arm of Sony that distributes movies over the Web, would be among the first customers for RealSystem Media Commerce Suite. It also will be key to Real's own plans for subscription media services, including MusicNet, a partnership with AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and EMI Group, which seeks to distribute music over the Internet for a fee.

RealNetworks hopes to have an edge over competitors because its system builds on its existing products. That includes its popular RealPlayer, the dominant Internet digital media player that RealNetworks gives away, and its software, which it sells to companies to deliver audio and video over the Web.

RealNetworks also is launching an effort to establish an industry standard for technology to distribute music and video over the Web.