Detail map of 45, 2-chōme, Izumi, Suginami City, Tōkyō-to, Japan Overview map of 45, 2-chōme, Izumi, Suginami City, Tōkyō-to, Japan

A: 45, 2-chōme, Izumi, Suginami City, Tōkyō-to, Japan

Ryooichi Mori Invents Early Form of Digital Rights Management

1983

In 1983 Japanese software engineer Ryoichi Mori invented a digital products distribution system called superdistribution, incorporating one of the earliest forms of digital rights management. Mori's  "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" (Wikipedia article on Superdistribution, accessed 01-03-2010).

Timeline Themes