2000.06.15
Technical evaluation for promoting practical utilization of digital watermark(project name: STEP2000)
Request for proposals
1. Objective
Digital watermark is an indispensable constituent technology for musical works andcopyright management in the digital/network age. For various reasons, however, themovement toward their practical utilization has not gathered sufficient momentum.
With a name abbreviated as "STEP2000", this project is aimed at furnishingenterprises involved in digital music distribution with major options for selection ofdigital watermark technology. It consists of the testing of the performance of various
types of digital watermark technology and certification of those found to meetprescribed performance requirements. It is the objective of STEP2000 to certify theperformance of digital watermark technology considered on the standardization project
and the evaluative project to date, and thereby to promote its practical utilization. This
proposal is the document to invite participant company(“PARTICIPANT COMPANY ”)
to this project.
2. Setup for implementation
STEP2000

isbeingpromotedbyJASRAC,

CISAC

andBIEMas

theorganizer("ORGANIZER"). JASRAC also functions as the project leader and theprincipal of evaluation and certification("PROJECT LEADER"). The Collective
administrations of author’s rights noted below will support the project, theseorganization are described as the member("MEMBER").
APRA（AUS）,ASCAP（USA）,BMI（USA）,BUMA／STEMRA（NLD）,
CASH（HKG）,GEMA（DEU）,MCPS／PRS（GBR）,SACEM（FRA）,
SGAE（ESP）,SIAE（ITA）,TEOSTO（FIN）（"MEMBER" as of 15 June 2000）
The ORGANIZER have asked Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. to serve as the projectsecretariat("PROJECT SECRETARIST"). The PROJECT SECRETARIST is to carryout the assessment testing in cooperation with the Japan Acoustic Laboratory.

13. Subject digital watermark technology (system requirements)
1) Information embedded in music material
Information is to be embedded in the sample tracks for two types of use. (As for theamount of bits to embed, we are considering more than one prerequisite.)* Copy control information - 2 bits in a time frame of no more than 15 seconds* Copyright management information - 72 bits in a time frame of no more than 30
seconds
2) Prerequisites for digital watermark technology
While there are various conceivable prerequisites for digital watermark technology,
those applied in STEP2000 are as follows.
* Robustness
The digital watermark embedded in music material must be capable of detection evenafter various processing for use.
(Prospective processing)- Processing in the mastering studio- Processing in the broadcasting studio (and the prospective broadcasting environment)- Processing related to distribution through networks- Processing by consumer level equipment* Processing by DVD audio players (under consideration)* Audibility
After the digital watermark has been embedded in it, the music materials must exhibit
negligible deterioration of audibility (sound quality) even with golden or silver ears. In
addition, quantitative analysis from the standpoint of acoustic science must not reveal
any characteristics that would present problems in use.
* Time required for embedding and extraction of watermark information
The embedding and extraction of watermark information must be capable ofaccomplishment in a short time that would not hinder utilization.
* Multiple layer support (capability for handling multiple watermark layers)
The information embedded in music material must be capable of detection even after
embedding additional information using the same watermark system. (The technology
would permit the embedding of different watermark information on the same music
material with the same watermark system by more than one company.)2

4. Outline of the testing
In connection with the testing, the secretariat and participating firms will provide eachother with certain items, as follows.
* Items provided by the secretariat to the participating firms- Information to be embedded as the digital watermark-CD-R (WAV file format) recorded with the sample tracks (five tracks) – 44.1 KHz/16bit/ 2 channels: five tracks* Items provided by the participating firms to the secretariat- CD-R (WAV file format) recorded with the sample tracks embedded with the digitalwatermark- Software/hardware (and system documents) for embedding the digital watermark
information- Software/hardware (and system documents) for extracting the digital watermark
information
After receiving the items from the participating firms, the secretariat will conduct thetesting for evaluation as to satisfaction of the aforementioned prerequisites. The
specifications of this testing will be notified to each of the participating firms
individually.
* In addition, the secretariat shall engage in exchange of other types of informationnecessary for utilization (adoption by businesses) with the participating firms.
* The secretariat shall also conduct testing related to processing with DVD audio (96KHz/24 bits/6 channels) using the software and hardware provided by the participating
firms (under consideration).
** Check of technology related to copy control- The secretariat will test technology related to copy control in order to gauge thefuture application possibilities.
- In this testing, it will confirm whether or not the status of copy control information
can be altered using the software (or hardware) provided by the participating firms.

35. Schedule
1) The firms intending to participate in the testing must convey these intentions to thesecretariat no later than 14 July 2000 (Japan Standard Time; this stipulation also
applies to other dates herein). Thereafter, they will conclude a contract forparticipation (i.e., project membership) inclusive of NDA with the secretariat. After
contracting, the secretariat will promptly provide the participating firms with theprescribed items.
2) The participating firms will provide the secretariat with the prescribed items nolater than 14 August 2000.
3) The test will be completed no later than 14 September 2000.
4) The participating firms will be notified of the certification of the technology
recognized through the testing as meeting the prescribed performance requirements
no earlier than 15 September 2000.
*In case the test items those are now under consideration or additional test isconducted, time schedule described below 2) might be changed.
6.Participation conditions
In light of the project's objective, the following conditions will be applied forparticipation.
* The technology in question must already be commercialized (or have an equivalent
record of use).
* The company in question must have a business foundation solid enough to ensureongoing, stable use of the technology by firms wanting to adopt it.
7. NDAThe participating firms will conclude a contract for participation with the secretariat
inclusive of NDA. The NDA will contain stipulations on matters such as disclosure ofinformation outside the secretariat and prohibition of reverse engineering. At the sametime, it will define the scope of information disclosure to the executive principal and tothe general public.
* Japan Acoustic Laboratory, which is implementing the testing, will be accorded thesame position as the secretariat in the context of NDA conclusion.

4

8. Technical certification for technology
Technical certification for technology recommended for the use of enterprises involvedin electronic music distribution, the executive principal will issue a certificate for its
performance and announce the name of the company in question (there will be noannouncement of the names of companies whose technology was not certified).
9. Inquiries
Inquiries and intentions to participate in the project should be relayed to the parties
noted below by e-mail or conventional mail.
*Intentions to participate and general questions
Hideki Matsuo / Fumihiro Hirayama
Nomura Research Institute, Ltd (secretariat)
2-2-9 Hongo Bunkyo-ku Tokyo, Japan
step2000@nri.co.jp*technical questions
Dr Hajime Suzuki / Dr Yasushi Yoshida
Japan Acoustic Laboratory
step2000@np.catv.ne.jp5