Adobe PDF Merchant is server-based software that leverages the syntax of the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and can be integrated directly into eCommerce and transaction servers. Online publishers use PDF Merchant in the early stages of the DRM chain to assign access rights and encryption keys for Adobe PDF files, which might contain entire eBooks or single protected documents.

Helping publishers assign access rights is just one part of the DRM picture. Purchasers of online content need a mechanism that allows secure transactions and identifies them as the user with access rights. Web Buy adds these capabilities to Adobe Acrobat® and the ubiquitous Adobe Reader (versions 4.05, English only), and makes the customer side of the DRM transaction as painfree as possible. Customers who use Adobe Reader with Web Buy can access downloaded content - including eBooks in Adobe PDF - according to the distribution method chosen by the publisher.

"It opens up all kinds of possibilities," says David Lehr, senior business development manager in Adobe's ePaper Solutions group. "For instance, we'll see 'super-distribution' models where content is distributed widely across an organization and paid for according to how many people actually access it."

Announced in Fall 1999, PDF Merchant and Web Buy have not only been lauded by the publishing industry, but have also attracted several major strategic partners. Xerox, Reciprocal, InterTrust, and CyberTrust are just a few of the companies integrating these Adobe tools into their proprietary DRM solutions. And a host of content providers - including Barnes and Noble, Fatbrain, SheetMusicPlus.com, and SoftLock.com - have pledged to support the solution in their online distribution strategies.

"The combination of Adobe's publishing industry expertise and DRM technology with Reciprocal's value-added digital clearing services will provide publishers a powerful and easy way to securely sell and distribute their high-quality text and graphics over any electronic media, while ensuring that users have a positive and satisfying experience as they purchase, download, and consume the content online," says Matt Moynahan, general manager and senior vice president of Reciprocal Publishing, of his company's alliance with Adobe.