ABSTRACT
The evolution of technology is challenging the status quo of intellectual property (IP) protection and management in many ways. In recent years we have seen the exploration of many technical mechanisms intended to protect IP in digital form, along with attempts to develop commercial products and services based on those mechanisms.1 These mechanisms include interchangeable metadata (data describing data) to characterize the digital object and its IP rights (IPR); unique global identifiers (a permanent identifier given to a digital object-file) for the digital objects; watermarking techniques to mark, detect and prove the existence of the copyright of a digital image, audio or video; and encrypted and secure data transfer through networks. The primary target of the current phase of the project is the implementation of an Advanced Digital Image Repository which, except for the above capabilities (metadata, unique identifiers and watermarking), provides specialized services and user interfaces for efficient and resourceful retrieval, including search by image content. In addition, this phase equally focuses on the creation of a web-based library, structured upon the Digital Image Repository, for the proper presentation of digitized material of the Hellenic Cultural Heritage.
