The dmin'it proposal for Digital Media in Italy

1
The dmin.it proposal for Digital Media in Italy

• Leonardo Chiariglione, CEDEO.net
• The conflicting interests of producers and
  authors in the digital age
• Roma, 2006/10/16

2
What is dmin.it, digital media and the
dmin.it proposal?

• dmin.it is an interdisciplinary, open, non-profit
  group, with the goal to define and propose areas
  where Italy can gain a leading role in the
  exploitation of digital media
• Digital media is any digitally represented
  content which can be transported over digital
  networks and processed by programmable devices
• The dmin.it proposal concerns actions designed to
  maximise the flow of digital media

3
The context

• Digital media offer a range of advantages
• Digital techniques substantially modify the
  traditional roles in and operational modalities
  of value chains
• So far all attempts at innovating media value
  chains have failed
• Today most digital value chains look like old
  analogue value chains thanks to control
  techniques based on proprietary technologies
• The size of the open market is dwarfed by the
  size of the black market
• The problem cannot solved by just putting people
  in jail

4
The idea

• Find the good equilibrium point between
• The right of operators to provide services using
  the technologies that best support their business
• The right of consumers to access services with a
  minimum level of interoperability if they so wish
• Design the equilibrium point
• For the national territory
• Respecting international treaties
• Achieving the equilibrium point will
• Create a homogeneous market of 60 million people
• Provide lifeblood to the national culture
  industry
• Stimulate innovation in the digital media market

5
The gist of the proposal

• The dmin.it proposal requires actions in three
  different areas
• Digital media rights management
• Network access
• Online payment systems
• An operator may utilise both interoperable and
  proprietary forms of content, network and payment
  services
• A consumer may access proprietary or
  interoperable services at his discretion

6
Interoperable DRM system

• An iDRM specification is adopted at the national
  level
• If a service provider releases content for which
  he holds exclusive rights using a proprietary
  technology he must
• Release it also using the iDRM technology
• At conditions that are not discriminatory
  compared to the proprietary technology
• Anybody may realise devices and services, request
  and obtain conformance certification for them and
  offer them to interested parties
• The iDRM specifications are
• Public
• Implemented as Open Source Software (OSS)
• Not prescriptive of a particular business model
• The governance of the iDRM ecosystem is managed
  by representatives of the affected parties

7
Open network

• Two-way broadband operator offer bundled and/or
  unbundled access to their networks with technical
  characterisrics of their choice
• A user of the network (content provider,
  intermediary or end user) may request and obtain
  from a two-way broadband operator
• The pure two-way service-agnostic access to the
  "big Internet"
• With technical features already offered by the
  operator
• At conditions that are not discriminatory
  compared to other offers of the operator
• Two-way broadband operators
• Guarantee network service interoperability
• Agree and provide specific QoS levels at peering
  points so as to provide users end to end QoS
  levels

8
Open payment systems

• Anybody can open a virtual account based on
  guaranteed real payment systems, e.g.
• Bank accounts
• Credit cards
• Prepaid card
• Utility bill (gas, phone etc.)
• etc.
• Synchronisations between virtual and real
  circuits performed at regular times or on demand
• Transaction costs only apply at synchronisation
  time

9
Advantages

• A large homogeneous broadband market can be
  created
• Content creators have a low barrier to access
  value chains
• Provide more value to self-generated content
• A more pluralistic market
• New intermediation forms can be created by
  combining
• Network access
• iDRM
• Flexible payment systems supporting micropayments
• End users can access content from
• Their network operators (bundled)
• Outside their operators offer (unbundled)
• Abundance of properly priced legal content
  discourages piracy

10
Join the community

• http//www.dmin.it/