THIRD ANNUAL NIST ELECTRONIC BOOK 2000 CONFERENCE OPENS NEW CHAPTER TO DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (DRM) STANDARDS.

A host of new reading devices, new publishing technologies, new business models, and new interest over electronic book file security made their appearance at the NIST/NISO "Electronic Book 2000: Changing the Fundamentals of Reading," demonstrating the growing interest and investment in e-book technology. The conference, held in September 2000, has evolved into the industry's premier gathering, the place where the pioneers, the insiders, and the up-and-comers meet to exchange ideas and strategies. Held at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, this years conference attracted more than 900 participants, 70 speakers, and over 35 exhibitors. The conference was co-sponsored with the National Information Standards Organization (NISO).

"The past two years have been devoted to developing a standard for electronic content, as well as pushing for content interoperability between the many interfaces it takes in the delivery chain to get digital content securely from content provider to end-user... We continue to push for standards in these areas so that consumers can get the content they want, anywhere they want," according to a NIST speaker.

Even with electronic content standards, there is still more work for standards in the area of digital rights management (DRM), the industry buzzword for software techniques that retard piracy of electronic content. At this meeting, the Open eBook Forum held a session to discuss DRM and identify the industry needs and possible future participation by NIST.