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More NatWest/InterTrust covarage:
LONDON, ENGLAND, Newsbytes via NewsEdge Corporation : International bank
NatWest Group and encryption company InterTrust Technologies unveiled an
e-commerce service today that offers digital copyright protection through the
collection and processing of "micro" payments.
The service, known as Magex, provides protection for digital goods sold over
the Internet such as music, books, games and business reports, the bank said.
Internet users wanting to download the latest Bruce Springsteen album or a
business report from Dun & Bradstreet can access them through "
DigiBox," an encrypted container that enables the companies that own the
rights to the content to govern its price and usage. The customers are then
charged a fee, to be determined by the copyright owners and content providers,
in exchange for the content.
The payment system works like a debit card, said Jon Boroshok, a spokesman for
the two companies. As part of NatWest, the Magex service will be able to route
payments from the consumers to the content providers using the bank's core
processing systems, thereby opening up new revenue streams for content
providers, Boroshok told Newsbytes. The Magex service combines encryption
technology from Sunnyvale, Calif.-based InterTrust Technologies Corp. with
NatWest's financial clearinghouse.
On the seller side, businesses receive Magex software and package their content
into the DigiBox container, which in turn encrypts the information for secure
release over the Internet. On the buyer side, consumers receive Magex software
that opens the DigiBox container and gives them access and payment options.
"It's persistent protection," Boroshok said.
Boroshok said the company is working with Reuters, Dun & Bradstreet and
Equifax on pilot versions of the service. It is scheduled to be fully available
by October, he said.
Boroshok didn't say whether any members of the recording industry, which has
been vehemently fighting the MP3 software evolution, have enlisted the Magex
service. MP3 compresses songs from compact discs into files that can be
downloaded easily from the Internet. Some users illegally have posted free
copies of tunes by popular artists. The recording industry says pirated songs
steal revenue from artists and record labels. MP3 advocates say that downloads
promote artists and that piracy complaints are an excuse to delay releasing
music on the Net until labels devise their own downloading systems.
Reported by Newsbytes.com
NatWest, InterTrust Create Micro Currency System For Net
June 7, 1999
[Copyright 1999, NewsBytes]
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