Neustar gets deal to work on movie download anti-piracy system

Neustar, formerly a division of Lockheed Martin, has been tapped by a consortium of Hollywood studios and technology companies to manage a database that would limit piracy while giving consumers the ability to watch downloaded video content on a variety of gadgets and devices.

The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem announced this month that Neustar will operate an upcoming "digital rights locker" system, designed to let users who legally purchase movies online view that content on smartphones, laptops or the living room TV. The DECE technology, which is in the design stage, aims to give consumers more flexibility with the content they purchase while still employing digital rights management tools designed to discourage piracy. "Buy Once, Play Anywhere" is the marketing pitch; a launch date has not been announced. The technology is meant to address a market in which consumers are increasingly expecting their electronic devices to connect with multimedia services. Nintendo, for example, announced on Wednesday that it will soon be possible for Wii owners with a Netflix subscription to view movies streamed via the Web to the game console.

Neustar was created as a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, when consumers gained the right to take their telephone number with them if they switched carriers. The firm manages the central directory of area codes and phone numbers that make calls made across competing service providers possible.