FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information:
Timothy Gorman
+1-301-941-0308
tgorman@contentdeliveryandstorage.org

First Digital Download Site Achieves CDSA Certification As Anti-Piracy – Content Protection and Security Compliant

30 May 2008 - Paris, France - Opendisc is the first certified anti-piracy site for content protection and security of digitally downloaded music and other copyrighted material to its customer base, according to the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA). The digital download certification of the Paris-based operation is a result of the stringent auditing process under the CDSA Anti-Piracy and Compliance Program standards which encompass content protection along the medias-to-market supply chain. With additional sites in the United Kingdom and the United States of America, Opendisc provides a suite of software and consumer marketing services enabling record companies and content owners to develop long term personalized 1-to-1 relationships with their consumers.

The CDSA Digital Download Supply Chain standards and procedures are part of the association’s global array of anti-piracy and compliance programs providing content protection from copyright infringement, security violations, and distribution losses of physical and electronic media. Under these programs, which are supported by owners of intellectual property including music, films, games and business software, supply chain partners, comply with a stringent set of systems and procedures, cumulating in comprehensive, independent audits. CDSA, formerly the International Recording Media Association (IRMA), initiated its anti-piracy programs in 1999 in response to requests from content owners and media manufacturers.  Its expansion of the content delivery protection programs reflects the dramatic changes within the industry to satisfy customers’ demands and entertainment habits.

Opendisc, founded in 2004, is a supply chain partner of SONY/BMG, which encouraged the development of the digital download standard, along with other industry leaders such as Electronic Arts, whose growing customer base is relying on electronic delivery of music, games, video and other content. According to Guillaume Doret, Chief Executive Officer, “Opendisc realized online efficiencies and customer attraction to digital downloads also carried security risks.  Working with CDSA, we volunteered to be the first site to be trained and audited under these standards. The effort required was significant, but the value-added service and security is a huge dividend for our customers.”

CDSA’s Anti-Piracy and Compliance Programs European Director, Theo Köhler, managed the certification process and implementation of the Digital Download Standards at Opendisc, France. He noted, “It was evident by the high degree of enthusiasm and dedication of the Opendisc staff the company realized the vast systems improvement and market advantage the certification process delivers to the company. It is a text-book example of how new technology brings challenges and rewards to first-adaptors.”

The CDSA Anti-Piracy and Compliance Programs (APCP) are well established in North and South America, Europe, South Africa and Asia with 100 media manufacturing plants and other supply chain sites participating in the programs endorsed by the world’s leading content owners and their associations. 

Timothy J. Gorman, Director – Worldwide Anti-Piracy and Compliance Programs, said, “This milestone is particularly important for the industry since digital download of content is becoming a prime target for pirates of music, films and software, inflicting huge losses for content owners and individual artists. The CDSA certifications along the supply chain reflect the voluntary commitment to fight piracy and are extensions of our ongoing cooperation with content owners worldwide in robust defense against the theft of their intellectual property.” 

The CDSA programs contain the industry’s first set of international anti-piracy standards and are major indicators for record labels, movie studios, computer software and game publishers to identify supply chain partners which have implemented these programs to prevent losses through piracy and security violations.

The CDSA Anti-Piracy and Compliance Programs were developed with input and support from the CDSA Anti-Piracy Coalition, comprised of media manufacturers, content delivery suppliers, content owners and their organizations including the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association (MPA), the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA), the Digital Software Association (DSA), the International Video Federation (IVF), the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Microsoft and the Bureau International des Sociétés Gérant les Droits d'Enregistrement et de Reproduction Mécanique (BIEM).

For more information on the CDSA and its Anti-Piracy and Compliance Programs, visit CDSA’s website at http://www.contentdeliveryandstorage.org or call:

About CDSA
CDSA, the Content Delivery & Storage Association (formerly IRMA, the International Recording Media Association), is the worldwide forum advocating the innovative and responsible delivery and storage of entertainment, software and information content.  Founded in 1970, this global trade association's membership includes companies involved in every facet along the digital and physical media supply chain.  Beginning with the audiocassette, through the home video revolution, and into today’s digital delivery era, CDSA has always been the organization companies have turned to for news, networking, market research, information services, and leadership.  CDSA also publishes the professional journal Mediaware that provides "Executive Strategies for the Advancement of Content Delivery & Storage."

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