Noank Media
Encyclopedia
Noank Media Inc. is a US corporation which provides access to audio, video, still image, and document files under a flat-rate licensing scheme
.
The owners of copyrights grant to Noank Media licenses to reproduce and distribute the files and they upload a good copy of each one to its server. The customers of Noank Media are Internet service providers which pay a monthly content fee for each of their end-users (subscribers, students, staff). Some service providers may pass the cost to their users while others may absorb the cost. Some may charge their users more than they pay to Noank Media.
Each user of a participating service provider obtains a software file from Noank Media. This software integrates a web-type browser
and search function, recommendations, file-sharing distribution, a media player
, a counting system, and social networking, such as playlists and chat. After that users can download unlimited numbers of files in Noank's catalog using a player of their choice, including iTunes
or Windows Media Player
. A component of the Noank software counts the number of times that a file in the Noank catalog is played and periodically sends this information to the company, so that the collected fees can be fairly distributed to all owners of copyrights.
Harvard Law Faculty
members William W. Fisher
and Paul Hoffert
founded Noank Media as a spin-off of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society in 2006.
Voluntary Collective Licensing
VCL is the framework by which most Reproduction Rights Organisations in the English speaking world operate. In voluntary collective licensing, the RRO issues licenses to copy protected material on behalf of those rights holders who have given it a mandate to act on their behalf...
.
The owners of copyrights grant to Noank Media licenses to reproduce and distribute the files and they upload a good copy of each one to its server. The customers of Noank Media are Internet service providers which pay a monthly content fee for each of their end-users (subscribers, students, staff). Some service providers may pass the cost to their users while others may absorb the cost. Some may charge their users more than they pay to Noank Media.
Each user of a participating service provider obtains a software file from Noank Media. This software integrates a web-type browser
Browser
To browse or a browser may, among other concepts, refer to:*Browse, , a kind of orienting strategy in animals and human beings*Browsing , a type of herbivory*A user interface on a computer that allows navigation of objects...
and search function, recommendations, file-sharing distribution, a media player
Media player
Media player is a term typically used to describe computer software for playing back multimedia files. While many media players can play both audio and video, others focus only on one media type or the other...
, a counting system, and social networking, such as playlists and chat. After that users can download unlimited numbers of files in Noank's catalog using a player of their choice, including iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
or Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices...
. A component of the Noank software counts the number of times that a file in the Noank catalog is played and periodically sends this information to the company, so that the collected fees can be fairly distributed to all owners of copyrights.
Harvard Law Faculty
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
members William W. Fisher
William W. Fisher
William "Terry" W. Fisher III is the WilmerHale Professor of Intellectual Property Law at Harvard Law School and faculty director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society...
and Paul Hoffert
Paul Hoffert
Paul Matthew Hoffert, CM is a recording artist, performer, media music composer, author, academic, and corporate executive. He studied mathematics and physics at the University of Toronto. He later studied music composition with Samuel Dolin and music theory with Gordon Delamont...
founded Noank Media as a spin-off of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society in 2006.