On the internet, when someone downloads a copyrighted song file and, without authorization, uploads it to a web site where anyone can download it, there's no way to know who is responsible.
A solution to the problem of online music piracy is now at hand.
The PAN Network has recently introduced a new system for the detection, deterrence, and prevention of online music (and video) piracy.
The core technology is called DIF, which is PAN's patent-pending method of Digital Interactive Fingerprinting for the Detection and Prevention of Online Music and Video Piracy.
Unlike watermarking, digital certification, encryption, and similar systems proposed in the past, PAN's DIF solution is extremely small, non-pervasive, and does not alter in anyway the integrity of the media file or affect its playback.
The system can be installed on any web site, and interacts transparently and seamlessly with any media file (e.g. MP3, RA, WMA, etc.) as it is being downloaded from the internet to create a unique and virtually undetectable fingerprint. This fingerprint then provides the means to trace the identity of any person who downloads a copyrighted file which subsequently appears on an unauthorized website.
The system includes built-in detection of unauthorized files on the internet by means of a dedicated search engine. The search engine constantly scans the internet for the presence of DIF fingerprinted files, and will automatically alert the copyright owner should any of their files be detected on an unauthorized web site.
The system also includes a suite of DIF management tools that enables music labels to maintain their catalog of files within the DIF system on a 24/7 basis. Anytime the label wants to check a suspicious file, PAN's "DIF-Scan" utility program allows them to check a file anywhere on the internet for the presence of a fingerprint, and if found, provides the means to identify the person who downloaded the file.
Simply put, PAN's DIF System is designed to lift the veil of anonymity on the internet, which we believe is the root cause of online piracy. Once people come to realize that unauthorized redistribution of copyrighted works can be traced back to them personally, DIF should not only continue to provide a means to detect piracy, but will also provide a psychological disincentive to engage in piracy, and thereby prevent it. And at the of the day, prevention of piracy is the ultimate goal by which the success of any anti-theft system will be measured.
If someone steals something from you, you can't do anything about it unless you know who did it.