More on Xerox ContentGuard

["Hamaker, Chuck" <cahamake@email.uncc.edu>]

from their Xerox' description:
Product Overview

     Xerox ContentGuard enables rights management by providing ongoing
tracking and protection of digital content. Using ContentGuard, publishers
can assign rights to their content and sell permissions to users with the
assurance that their content is protected against unauthorized use.
Permissions given to the users are enforced and usage tracked during the
use of the content. While many rights management systems protect documents
only during their delivery and initial "unwrapping", Xerox ContentGuard
Self Protecting Documents (SPD 's) provide ongoing content protection both
during distribution and use.

Publishers the "key features" document says: can track the usage of
content and better tailor products for targeted customers and promote new
content based on usage patterns.

ere's the URL for ContentGuard's home page: http://www.contentguard.com/

I guess what I find most distrubing is the "ongoing content protection
both during use and distribution"

If illegal distrubution occurs, that's what courts are for. This system,
seems to me promises apriori restraint on users, that is dangerous to our
system of checks and balances. It places control over USE, not just
"compensation".

I guess, also, I would be less concerned if Adobe weren't also including
it in it's capabilities.

Of course publisher "implementation" means fees to Xerox for the tracking,
etc. I guess this is a logical step from the DOI discussions that been
ongoing, but given the size of xerox and Adobe, it could mean that
implementation of rights becomes implementation of publisher rights, with
little regard to user rights.

Given what the software claims to do, I would assume also that it would be
a real challenge for the copyright clearance center, which isn't mentioned
in the press releases. Is the US CCC involved in discussions with XEROX
too or any other worldwide reproductive rights groups? Are or were any
publishers involved in development of the product, or design. Were any
library groups consulted ?

Others may have more information on this, and may be able to help me put
it in some kind of perspective, which is why I am posting this. Does
implementation of this software mean that we no longer will be able to
negotiate use rights??? Or will libraries become involved in unwittingly
being distributors of content for which usage will be tracked??

I can't imagine most libraries or consortia would have any interest in
implementing such a system which strikes at the core of fair use in the
electronic enviroment from my personal perspective, and could make moot
traditional library concerns about end user privacy rights.

Chuck Hamaker