In September 2017, I published a blog post titled, IP PROTECTION: 8 Things Media Companies Need to Do Before Using Third-Party Contractors https://ipprobe.global/2017/09/06/ip-protection-8-things-media-companies-need-to-do-before-using-third-party-contractors/
I was inspired to write that post after reading another news report of entertainment-digital content being stolen. The report announced the arrest of four persons by Mumbai police for suspicion of leaking an unaired episode of “Game of Thrones.”
As it turned out, the thieves worked for a third-party contractor that processes the series for streaming in India.
Of course, there are countless other examples in which entertainment content has been diverted by bad actors in different ways.
The recommendations I made in that post still has value, but since I wrote it, I have come to learn about digital content protection platforms that have the capability to track your content (in real-time) from initial pitch and concept of an idea to final distribution.
One such data platform is provided by a company called: CR8 (pronounced “create.”) https://www.cr8content.com/
In January of this year, I received a demonstration of CR8 presented by the CEO, Michael Fahey. I was thoroughly impressed with CR8’s capabilities.
I asked Michael Fahey to present (in writing) the digital content protection problem (as he sees it) and how his company has chosen to tackle it.
Here is essentially what he presented:
A. Importance of IP
Intellectual property (IP) might as well be called the world’s currency. Although there’s no exchange rate or bank to deposit this intangible asset, IP is what fuels GDP growth. It’s responsible for everything from job creation to individual wealth to stock market value.
Almost every company, public or private, develop IP in order to gain a competitive advantage within their respective industry in order to increase the overall value of their company.
According to Ocean Tomo, 87% of the market value of the S&P 500 is now in the form of IP. Every company whether obvious or not is an IP business.
B. Explosion of Digital Content
Due to the changing digital environment and the emphasis brands place on research and development (R&D), there has been an explosion of digital content. Brands are creating massive amounts of complex digital content during the creative process and pre-commercialization phase.
C. Every Industry Relies on Digital Content
From 4k video and lossless audio in the media industry to 3D designs and CAD files in the industrial industry, and medical imaging and genomes in the pharmaceutical industry – every industry relies on digital content. Companies are creating digital content faster, and with a greater abundance than ever before.
This priceless IP not only becomes the future life of the company but also has a tremendous impact on the global economy.
D. Increasingly Globalized Workforce
As the workforce becomes increasingly globalized, and the need to cross-collaborate with other industries, contractors, and the supply chain become critical, the complexity to securely communicate and collaborate on this IP becomes a global problem.
E. New Challenges
New challenges while working with this digital content and IP are becoming increasingly apparent as the digital climate shifts quickly from traditional documents to complex digital content.
It’s clear the legacy technology and old architecture currently in place is no longer adequate.
Whether it’s an industrial company utilizing additive manufacturing, or a large media studio putting together a film, the challenges to work with complex digital content and IP in real-time remain consistent.
F. Problems During the Creative Process
Problems arise during the creative process when advanced collaboration is required between internal employees and external 3rd parties.
G. Failings of Legacy Technology
Legacy technology and fragmented services are pieced together to handle this collaboration on rich media, however, these makeshift solutions interrupt the workflow leading to reduced productivity and create an array of security vulnerabilities.
Whether intentional or unintentional, mismanaging digital content and using legacy systems to handle this abundance of rich media are a large part of the problem. This can ultimately have an extremely negative consequence for the brand.
H. IP Leaks/Trade Secrets Theft
Not only is work taking much longer to complete but trade secrets, pre-commercialized IP, and digital content is ending up in rival company’s hands, or in the hands of nations that do not respect IP law due to a brand using inadequate technology.
The former NSA Director General Keith Alexander described these events as “The greatest transfer of wealth in history.” These devastating effects impact every stakeholder – from the executives and employees of that company to the overall innovation within that industry. “That’s our future disappearing right in front of us,” Alexander said.
Compounding all of these issues, the new European Union (EU) data laws, Department of Defense (DoD) requirements and HIPAA regulations all present further challenges.
I. Obsolete Technology
Companies try to meet new requirements by using technology from previous decades. This often includes legacy frameworks with applications built on top, by rooms of developers or high-priced consultants that satisfy a few business requirements, and don’t recognize the overall end-user needs.
The end result is they are still heavily dependent on outdated technologies and email. For this reason, it is paramount to have a single solution to securely communicate and collaborate on digital content and IP. This is why CR8 is so impactful.
J. First Secure Cloud-Based Platform
CR8 is the first, secure cloud-based platform that provides any brand with their own digital content ecosystem to communicate, collaborate and protect complex digital content and IP in real-time.
K. State of the Art Proprietary Technology
It includes proprietary technology that consists of Fileprint™ technology, Safetrace™ geofencing controls, encrypted streaming, video lab, audio lab, ephemeral messaging with text/video/audio/picture attachment capabilities, share center for external collaboration, proprietary encryption algorithms, a smart search engine, meta-data tagging, a next-generation user interface, automation, project management, and more.
L. Tangible Benefits of CR8 Technology
The platform increases productivity while enhancing a brand’s security posture, and eliminating associated costs of developers, storage, databases, networking, support, frameworks, multiple licenses, servers, security, and infrastructure support.
A true solution to solve the problem of working with complex digital content in this new digital economy.
“We designed a platform that could handle the entire media workflow – from the initial pitch and concept of an idea to the final distribution of the content,” said Fahey.
https://www.cr8content.com/
* Disclaimer – The posting of Michael Fahey’s written presentation is not to be construed as a technical endorsement of CR8’S technology by IP-PI-Blog.com, but one IP investigator’s perception of its value.
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Very informative .Ron it’s a brave new world with lots of ways criminality can explode our system. Constant vigilance is a start and building a knowledge of your enemies resources and protection of assets takes a commitment. Thanks Buddy
Excellent observations, Tim. Thank you for your comment.