Thomson and VeriSign to Offer Digital Content Authentication Service

Thomson and VeriSign announced plans to create an on-demand digital content authentication and authorization service bureau to support the secure delivery of electronic entertainment content over digital networks. The new service will provide transaction reporting and essential back-office functions to securely authenticate and authorize digital entertainment content such as movies, music and games. Thomson and VeriSign have recently completed successful proof of concept demonstrations with a variety of entertainment companies, telecom companies, technology companies and online retailers and plan to launch the service by mid-2005.



The new service is aimed at content providers and electronic content distributors and will utilize key technologies and expertise of Thomson's Technicolor business and VeriSign's authentication and network infrastructure. The service will leverage Technicolor's expertise in content security, preparation, management and distribution; and its long standing relationships with entertainment providers. The service will also leverage VeriSign's network security technology and large scale internet transaction authentication infrastructure that currently supports over 400,000 Web sites and 118,000 merchants, as well as VeriSign's extensive Digital Content mediation and distribution platform. In addition, Thomson and VeriSign are developing proprietary technology, already demonstrated through proof of concept, to provide secure authentication and authorization of digital content and a seamless interface between a variety of home networking devices including personal video recorders, mobile devices, computers and recordable media.



Thomson and VeriSign said they aim to support the needs of both content owners and network operators by offering a third-party solution that will work across digital networks. . http://www.thomson.nethttp://www.verisign.com