Background and Applications of Media ID
Advances in digital technology have enabled the digitization of
content such as music and moving images and their use on personal
computers, but the ease of copying and transmitting this digital
content has led to concern about copyright protection. In addition,
the increasing tendency of companies and individuals to create
their documents in electronic form has led to heightened demands for
prevention of improper use of such information.
Media ID can be used in systems that will be able to cope with these
challenges. In particular, the following kinds of applications are
envisioned:
(1) Saving electronic information in the Internet age
Publications, videos and other content are increasingly being
distributed over the Internet, and the online content business
is growing. 3.5-inch MO disks, which feature a wide range of
capacities and high-speed read/write functions, are already being
used for storing various types of content.
Saving information to a removable MO disk with the Media ID
function not only protects copyrighted content distributed over
the Internet but also makes it possible to save an unlimited
amount of information by simply adding more MO disks, as well as
easily carry information and store it safely and conveniently,
even when replacing computers.
The companies participating in the Media ID initiative plan to
make the function compatible with the copyright protection
function that Microsoft Corporation will add to its forthcoming
Windows Millennium Edition.
They further believe that the realization of an environment which
protects intellectual property and the popularization of a new
removable memory media used with it will lay the groundwork for
various types of new content businesses.
(2) Protection of digital information
With the digitization of information and the availability of
large-capacity removable 3.5-inch MO disks, large quantities of
digital information can be stored close at hand. By adding a
unique Media ID number to the MO media, applications using the
Media ID function can prevent reading of copied information and
can also verify the original 3.5-inch MO.
As companies and individuals exchange and store more information
in digital form, the use of MO disks with Media ID will help
realize safer and more efficient handling of information.
3.5-inch MOs are recognized for their high reliability and ease
of use, and they have enjoyed an average annual growth rate of
140% on the number of units sold. (*1) Also, it is estimated that
a total of 8 million 3.5-inch MO disk drives and more than 100
million MO disks will have been sold globally by the end of this
fiscal year. (*2) Device and media companies will continue to
offer MO-based products that contribute to the infrastructure of
digital society in the Internet age in the fields of digital
content distribution, electronic commerce, and electronic
document management.