Superdistribution is an approach to distributing digital products such as software, videos, and recorded music in which the products are made publicly available and distributed in encrypted form instead of being sold in retail outlets or

online shop Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the ...

s. Such products can be passed freely among users on physical media, over the Internet or other networks, or using mobile technologies such as

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...

IrDA IrDA is a wireless standard designed for exchanging data using infrared (IR). Infrared ports for this purpose have been implemented in portable electronic devices such as mobile telephones, laptops, cameras, printers, and medical devices. The mai ...

or MMS (

Multimedia Messaging Service Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from a mobile phone over a cellular network. Users and providers may refer to such a message as a PXT, a picture message, or a multimedia ...

). Over 280 models of telephones support superdistribution based on OMA DRM; companies such as

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...

and

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 199 ...

have been exploring it. Superdistribution allows and indeed encourages digital products to be distributed freely in encrypted form, even as the product's owner retains control over the ability to use and modify the product. Superdistribution is a highly efficient means of distribution because distribution is not impeded by any barriers and anyone can become a distributor. A product made available through superdistribution may be free, in which case the user can use it immediately and without restriction, or restricted by means of

digital rights management Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures, such as access control technologies, can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. DRM ...

(DRM). Restricted products generally require a license that the user must purchase either immediately or after a trial period (in the case of so-called

demoware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer. ...

). Superdistribution was invented in 1983 by the Japanese engineer Ryoichi Mori and patented by him in 1990.U.S. Patent 5,103,392
''System for storing history of use of programs including user credit data and having access by the proprietor'', Inventor: Mori, Ryoichi (Tokyo, JP), April 7, 1992 (filed December 5, 1990). Mori's prototype, which he called the Software Service System (SSS), took the form of a peer-to-peer-architecture with the following components: *a cryptographic wrapper for digital products that cannot be removed and remains in place whenever the product is copied. *a digital rights management system for tracking usage of the product and assuring that any usage of the product or access to its code conforms to the terms set by the product's owner. *an arrangement for secure payments from the product's users to its owner.

References

{{reflist Software distribution File sharing networks Distributed data storage Business models

See also

References