Several technology and media companies have joined to ensure compatibility of various forms of antipiracy technology. Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Philips, Matsushita, Samsung, InterTrust Technologies, and Twentieth Century Fox are members of the new group, called Coral, whose goal is to avoid potential conflicts among different types of digital rights management (DRM) technologies.
Coral plans to develop specifications that will allow various vendors’ DRM tools to communicate.
Major names not in the group are Apple Computer, whose iPod music player is DRM-free except for the songs it sells on its iTunes online music service; and Microsoft, whose media formats rely on its own Windows Media Player technology.