Navio provides meta-DRM. Buy your music or other content. They'll store and track it and allow you to export it to a legal restricted format, such as Apple iPod's Fairplay.

Entertainment retailers could use Navio to:
> Sell content for the iPod and bypass Apple
> Provide wide interoperability with more computers and media devices than a single format.
> Comply with laws that mandate interoperability.

It's a natural evolution of DRM (Digital Restriction Managment) technology. Therein lies the challenge. While meta-DRM alleviates some industry and consumer issues, it's still CRAP.

It doesn't fundamentally change anything. The DRM market is competitive with many products and limited success on the vendor side. Consumers still have significant restrictions on how they can use the media they buy. It's not to improve limited consumer acceptance of DRM. The company's niche will likely be large retailers like Amazon or eBay that have the strength to sell to consumers and license major entertainment.

David Berlind says "Navio's approach to C.R.A.P. (DRM) doesn't stink as much as others." David Berlind adds "Consumers Don't Want Flexible DRM." He wonder if they'll sued by Apple for reverse engineering Apples' FairPlay DRM.

About Navio:

Navio is the leading provider of direct-to-consumer solutions for mobile and web-based commerce. Based on a powerful rights-based commerce platform, Navio is changing the way digital content is distributed by enabling consumers to buy "at the edges of the network," not just at a few centralized destination sites. With Navio, digital entertainment products are available to customers for purchase wherever they are -- on the web, on mobile devices, or at community gatherings such as concerts or sporting events.

Navio's patent-pending "Rights over IP" (RoIP) transaction model enables leading music, media and entertainment companies like FOX Sports Mobile, Shockwave, and Walt Disney Internet Group, to publish, promote, and distribute their content with more flexibility, while protecting their digital rights. Navio was named 2006 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, 2006 Top 100 Digital Media Company by onHollywood, 2006 SIIA Codie award finalist, and a FastCompany Fast50 "Reader Favorite".