Page 15 - SCS May 2018 - Day 2 Suggested Solutions

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

EXERCISE 3

Email

To: Chet Nolan
From: Senior Manager
Subject: Proposal for download service and a separate advertising

As requested, I have put some thoughts together on controls for the opportunities you
mentioned.

Downloads
As you rightly say a key issue for Couchweb will be to understand the risks faced by any potential
update in service and put robust controls in place to protect ourselves, our members and also our
other content providers.

It is vital that content that is downloaded remains under our control, so careful consideration
must be given to the type of file we use and the access the members/members device has to the
downloaded file.

First and foremost on this is the risk of piracy, already a key focus area for Couchweb. If a member
has the file containing the content on their device it will increase their opportunity to copy and
then illegally distribute the content themselves. To control this, the files must be protected, but
also we need to be able to see a history of how the file was accessed by the device to track any
unusual behaviour. If any illegal distribution does occur, if we are able to trace the source, prove it
and take action then that will act a as control to deter future potential fraudulent activity.

Another issue will be protecting the revenue by giving consideration to the number of devices a
member is able to use, if they have the ability to use too many they may share their username
and password. We already have controls in place about how many devices a member can use at
any one time. Similar controls will need to be in place around how many devices a member can
download content onto. It is unlikely, for example that a member would need to log in to 10
different devices and download content onto each of these. A limit to the devices registered for
downloads of around 5 should be reasonable to protect our revenue streams from a member
sharing their access with multiple users, while allowing them the freedom to log in easily.

I have already mentioned control of the downloaded content, consideration should be given to
the lifespan of the downloaded content. Both Couchweb and the user need access to delete the
content from the devices. The user, so they can manage the storage on their devices, but for
Couchweb the need is around the risk of infringing copyright and licensing restrictions.

Most of Couchweb’s content is purchased on contract, with the contracts lasting between 5 and
10 years, if the contract was nearing the end and wasn’t renewed the content would need to be
removed from our streaming services and in a similar way all the devices it had been downloaded
onto. We could set content to expire in line with the current agreements or, only allow files to be
available on a device for a certain period of time, for instance, up to one month from the date of
download or one week from starting to watch the programme. This could also assist in reducing
the likelihood of piracy.

KAPLAN PUBLISHING 71