Adobe Systems is adding new document protection
mechanisms to its business workflow software with an
acquisition announced on Monday.
The company has acquired FileLine Digital Rights Management software from privately-held Navisware,
based in Raleigh, N.C., for an undisclosed sum. The
copy-restriction program is designed to guard business
files, especially engineering documents, from
intellectual property thieves.
Adobe, based in San Jose, Calif., plans to incorporate
the program into its LiveCycle
Document Services software, a line of
server software for updating and routing PDF documents. In
addition to safeguarding Adobe PDF files, the FileLine program is
also designed to protect Microsoft Office and
computer-aided design documents, the company said.
The newly bought software helps businesses restrict
how, when and who can use such documents. It also
features an audit log that shows everyone who has
accessed documents and indicates improper usage or
disclosure. The program enables version control, to
prevent the distribution of outdated documents, as
well.
Adobe has continually added new capabilities to
LiveCycle, a key product in its effort to increase
sales to businesses and compete with Microsoft and
IBM on that front. Adobe updated the product in
September with workflow design technology
it purchased in 2004.
By adding document protection for Microsoft Office
files to its bag of tricks, Adobe encroaches further upon Microsoft's
turf. The company's recent acquisition of
Macromedia, which makes Web application development
tools, has also intensified that rivalry.
The company plans to complete its integration of
FileLine into LiveCycle Document Services by the end
of they year. LiveCycle Document Services starts at
$65,000 per server. Adobe has not yet disclosed
pricing for the FileLine product.
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