TopLearning Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
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Understand the convergence of the Internet and telecommunications;
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Describe various types of the Internet Protocol (IP) communications;
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Understand how Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Technology is used for businesses;
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Explain XML (Extensible Markup Language) and XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) in e-commerce;
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Understand web accessibility and identify relevant accessibility requirements and specifications;
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Discuss the digital divide and e-inclusion;
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Discuss intellectual property rights and digital rights management;
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Understand taxations issues in e-commerce.
TopDigital Watermarking In The Digital Age: Digimarc Corporation
Digital watermarking technology that can be embedded into digital media provides solutions for media identification, counterfeit deterrence, and digital commerce. There are tens of billions of digitally watermarked objects already in use today, and hundreds of millions of computers and mobile devices that can detect and respond to them. One of the leading technology developers in digital watermarking is Digimarc Corporation.
Digimarc Corporation
Based in Beaverton, Oregon (USA), Digimarc Corporation was founded in 1995 by Geoff Rhoads, an astrophysicist with a background in space imaging. Initial inspiration for the company came while he was developing digital images of the planet, Jupiter. He felt that his digital images were vulnerable on the Internet. He began the initial research and development of invisible watermarking perceptible only to computers and digital devices. Currently, Digimarc technology enables governments and businesses to give digital identities to all forms of digital content, including audio, video, imagery, and certain objects.
Major Customers and Partners
Customers of Digimarc include movie studios, record labels, broadcasters, and entertainment services that rely on digital watermarking as a means to: deter piracy and illegal use of movies, music, and images; protect digital content from copyright infringement; track and monitor digital content for rights usage and licensing compliance; monitor advertisements to verify ad placement and measure return on investment; enhance information access, search and marketing capabilities related to digital content; and enable fair and legitimate use of content by consumers.
Digimarc licenses technologies and intellectual property for partners, including Microsoft, Adobe Systems, the Nielsen Co., Celum, and Open Text. Digimarc’s partnerships with these companies have created value-enhanced products/services by combining its watermarking technology with partners’ software solutions. For example, in October 1996, Adobe released Photoshop 4.0 with Digimarc’s plug-in pre-installed, making it the first digital watermark-enabled application.
Industry experts say the evolution of digital watermarking to this point has only set the stage for its potential. Digimarc’s mobile application called Digimarc Discover is turning print media into rich media. Using the mobile phone’s camera, Digimarc Discover can identify watermarks in printed images or text and connect the user to related video, audio or to an advertiser’s website. It can also read watermarks in video and audio.
After reading this chapter, you will be able to answer the following:
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What are the major steps in the digital watermarking process?
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How can organizations build digital rights-enabled systems to protect digital content posted on their websites?
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What laws and regulations are relevant to the intellectual property rights (IPR) protection? What are challenges in IPR protection?