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DRM that Identifies a Consumer, Not a Device

Information Week reports that Accenture LLC is working to develop a cross-platform digital rights business model that would allow consumers to access the content through an unlimited number of devices after paying for license rights once.

"If these companies don�t make the decision in a timely fashion to adopt this model the consumer will make the decision for them," said Richard B. Le Vine, Accenture senior manager of global architecture and core technologies.

Software would identify the consumer rather than the device. Telecommunication companies, cable operators and wireless companies would sort out the billing behind the scenes. Content providers that stream movies into the home, for example, from online or through cable identify "the box" as the valid network device. A consumer can't finish watching the $6 movie in their bedroom that they began to watch in their living room the night prior because the content provider non-repudiates the box rather than the person.

Le Vine said. "Companies that embrace this disruption will succeed and capture mindshare. Some are marching down the path." He also said the model has met with resistance because it excludes many companies, such as those that want to sell portable music services. "I may have music at home," he said. "I've paid for the right. It's in my earphones and I'm not sharing it with anyone else."

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