Microsoft, Time Warner take DRM stake

Digital rights management company ContentGuard said Monday that Microsoft and Time Warner each made substantial new investments in the company, taking over Xerox's former role as part owner.

ContentGuard holds several content protection patents and has previously licensed them to the likes of Microsoft and Sony. It also has seen them adopted by standards bodies including the Motion Picture Experts Group. The technology was originally developed by Xerox's PARC research facility. Microsoft and Time Warner said the investment showed that their landmark strategic alliance, formed last May, was bearing fruit. Both companies declined to give details on how they might use ContentGuard's technology.