A subsidiary of the electronics maker Sony is to sell downloadable movie files that self-destruct after a given time. According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei Business Daily, the So-net ISP will soon trial the service in Japan.
And will arrive in Europe in 5 years? [Ed.]
However, allowing downloads of movie files opens the door to illegal copying. To sidestep these issues, So-net's new service allows users to download the content from its website to their hard drives - but those hoping to add the file to a permanent collection or to copy it will have their attempts frustrated.
The firm has incorporated a DRM (digital rights management) technology from software maker Japan Wave which makes copying impossible, the report said.
Instead of saving the video to a single file and location, Japan Wave's technology splits the data into numerous directories on the hard disk. Users will need to download special software to play back the various pieces as a continuous movie.
There's a second layer of protection: Those who manage to join up the files won't be able to use them for very long. Software embedded in the file will cause it to self-destruct after a given time, said the report.
News source: Yahoo News UK
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