PREPARED REMARKS
BY RAY KAMMER
DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
EBOOK 2000 Washington, DC
SEPTEMBER 25, 2000
- Good morning and
welcome to Washington D.C. and EBook 2000.
- I am Ray Kammer,
director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST.
- We are part of
the U.S. Commerce Department, headquartered right across the street.
Our mission is to strengthen the economy and improve the quality of
life. We do that by partnering with industry to develop and apply technology,
measurements and standards.
- Two years ago
many of us met at NIST in a place called Gaithersburg, at the world’s
first conference on electronic books. At the time, some people called
it the Woodstock of ebooks. How right they were!
- With the industry
in its infancy in 1998, I asked you then to consider open standards
and interoperability for ebooks and electronic content. I urged you
to avoid another “Beta vs. VHS” controversy -- and I warned you that
failure to do so would be costly in terms of consumer acceptance.
I said it would stymie the growth of the electronic book industry.
- I was merely stating
the obvious.
- At last year’s
conference you acknowledged my request, and the industry delivered on
a standard for electronic content, the Open eBook Publication Structure
and Standard.
- The agility and
speed with which you joined together to draft the standard demonstrated
real responsiveness and foresight on the part of industry.
- You proved that
standards are still very relevant for fast-changing technologies.
- Developing a standard
is one thing. Putting it into practice is quite another. That’s
why I am equally pleased that the industry is starting to adopt this
standard.
- Last year we also
saw the industry come together to form the Open eBook Forum that was
incorporated in January.
- This year, we
have seen the industry start to take off in earnest, and e-books are
much more than just the curiosity they largely were two years ago.
Prominent author Stephen King’s sale of his novella, “Riding the Bullet,”
was sold and distributed to over 400,000 consumers this past spring.
- On a weekly basis,
Business Wire announces new alliances and products for ebooks-- from
Adobe’s acquisition of Glassbook to Microsoft’s alliance with Amazon.com
to distribute ebooks.
- We’ve come a long,
long way since 400 of us met in Gaithersburg in 1998!
- It would be easy
at this point to “declare victory” and be content to say that the ebook
market has emerged and is well on its way.
- But that wouldn’t
be quite correct, and it surely wouldn’t be smart. There still
are issues of standards and interoperability along the ebook value chain
that cannot – must not -- be ignored. We know that, and so does
our cosponsor on this conference, the National Information Standards
Organization.
- Today I ask this
audience to consider putting your efforts toward one major area of real
concern -- digital rights management. You see, being on the eve
of a major political election -- I feel compelled to say that
anyone who knows anything about ebooks knows “It’s the content, stupid!”
- For the ebook
market to thrive, content must meet the “4A” test: it must be available,
accessible, authentic, and auditable.
- Authors and publishers
must be assured that their royalty streams are protected;
- Consumers must
be assured the content they receive is the content they want;
- Distributors and
resellers must be assured that any security implemented is consumer
friendly and does not impede content delivery, and finally --
- All of this content
must be accessible to the general public.
- Perhaps you think
it strange that the director of a technology agency would focus on digital
rights management. Perhaps you think “DRM” is the domain of policy experts,
of lawyers.
- Think again. Digital
rights management is at the center of digital convergence.
- It brings together
the issues and technologies of security, broadband access, storage,
displays, privacy, and user friendliness.
- DRM is the promise
of a familiar and rich reading experience that consumers will
demand from ebooks. DRM will determine whether or not ebooks succeed
in the marketplace rather than the laboratory or the production line.
- As part of that
rich experience, DRM must also extend to other forms of media --video,
audio, and enhanced pictures. Recombinant media will distinguish
ebooks from their paper cousins.
- The theme over
the next three days is “changing the fundamentals of reading,” and there
are many topics from digital rights management to business models that
will be discussed.
- As you enjoy this
multi-faceted conference, as you meet and establish new relationships,
I urge you to continue to work on standards and interoperability --especially
for digital rights management.
- We are all too
familiar with the issues surrounding Napster, Gnutella, and the breaking
of the CSS codes for DVD. We surely need to avoid reliving these issues
for ebooks.
- And if NIST can
help, as we have in the past to get us to this point, we offer our participation
to facilitate in developing these standards. Our measurement and standards
laboratories are world-class. Our Information Technology Laboratory,
in particular, is willing to continue to assist you. Dr. Susan Zevin,
Deputy Director of this lab, will be speaking right after me to share
more details about our work in this area.
- I do want to single
out, our ebook Braille reader, which will be on display in the exhibit
area, because it highlights an aspect of ebooks that we shouldn’t overlook.
- One of the advantages
of ebooks is how this new communications channel can help to open up
worlds of knowledge for those who just don’t have easy access to written
information.
- The President
last week highlighted the power of information technology to bridge
the digital divide. Absolutely everyone in this room, and everyone in
this industry, should keep in mind how these technologies can have a
powerful impact on all segments of society. I think our work on
the Braille reader is a great example, and I’m proud we’ve invested
in developing this technology.
- I’ll be even prouder
when it is commercialized by the private sector.
- NIST’s collaboration
with your industry is a shining example of private-public cooperation,
carrying on a tradition that began when we were established nearly 100
years ago.
- We want to continue
to work with your industry on these new digital frontiers. We
want to continue to serve the public interest.
- Thank you for
your time, enjoy Washington, and enjoy the conference and exhibits!
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