For some years now, UPC (universal product code) stickers have been the standard way for stores to check out its customers' merchandise. Prices are not entered into the cash register and cashiers are not even aware of pricing. What is crucial is the bar code which is scanned and in turn communicates to the cash register which item is involved. Next, the computer retrieves the pricing for the sales receipt as well as updates the inventory records for that piece of merchandise.

Likewise when purchasing a book, whether online or in a physical bookstore, there will be an identifier called the ISBN (international standard book number). Sound recordings and music video recordings will have an ISRC (International Standard Recording Code). And audio visual works such as films and documentaries will carry an ISAN (international standard audiovisual number).

All of these identifiers were not only advantageous to the stores, but more importantly, they helped to deter piracy and allowed tracking of the use of the material in question. They were unique just like someone's social security number, and they were never reissued but remained forever with the same product. The codes met international standards thus, neither language nor country borders were barriers to using the codes.

But as the internet progressed and everything started to be published whether one owned the material or not, problems quickly arose, as many copyrighted and protected works were suddenly free for the taking. In fact, the rights of intellectual property holders seemed to be clouded almost to the point of non-existence on the internet. And there was no standard to track protected materials or even to sell it for that matter.

Furthermore, each category, whether books, albums or films were separate and distinct. This system worked well within the framework of traditional commerce where customers bought from physical stores. The internet changed and blurred this concept, as it became a melting pot for content in general. There was no way to discern one over the other. Consequently, in 1998, rights owners established an organization named INDECS (Interoperability of Data for eCommerce Systems).

Supported by major international organizations such as the

• RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America),
• FEP (Federation of European Publishers),
• BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation),
• STM (International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers)
• as well as many others

and sponsored by the DOI (Digital Object Identifier (DOI®) System), the group aimed to create a “framework of metadata standards that will support network commerce in intellectual property”. (1)

Basically, there needed to be a system by which, creators could produce their works and buyers could purchase them on the internet. A suitable model was needed to integrate electronic commerce with intellectual property. In fact, it was so important that the efforts of INDECS were the focus of the WIPO International Conference at Geneva in September 1999.

And while it seems that the project has been abandoned, “INDECS created a generic metadata model to describe and uniquely identify intellectual property, the people involved in trade, and the agreements they make”.(2) Although the official domain name INDECS.ORG is valid until 2013, the website is not live and has not been for some time and thus, no “official” information is available. Research of various archived information seems to indicate that the project was most popular between 1998 and 2002.

Footnotes:

• Quotes (1) and (2) obtained from Professional/Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Division of the Association of American Publishers (pspcentral.org).
• General information and concepts obtained from WIPO documentation.