Just got a link to this info.
Anyone hear good/ bad ugly about this?

-Kutch


SolidWorks Corp. istakingsteps to protect the intellectual property of its CADusers,folding Enterprise Rights Management (ERM) technology into anewversion of its software slated for release later this year.

SolidWorks 8.0, due in the second quarter of 2007,willincorporateERMtechnologyfromLiquidMachines, whichmarries security permissions with data - inthis case, 3D models -so information is protected as its movesacross different filetypes, between users and around the globe.Companies can assignvarious permission levels to different users,and the SolidWorks ERMcapabilities will allow or disallow certainfunctions to beperformed on the CAD models, depending on thepermissions, as theinformation is shared across a global,dispersed design team.

Intellectual property (IP) security is a growing concernforcompanies working with extended design value chains, accordingtoKen Amann, director of research forCIMdata Inc., a marketresearch firmin Ann Arbor, MI. "This is especially true forcompanies thateither work with companies that compete with oneanother and whohave suppliers that are also competitors," he says."It isimportant to be able to securely share IP withouthavingcompetitors' IP at the risk of accidentally or deliberatelybeingcompromised."

While SolidWorks' research shows users have growing interestinprotecting their IP, there is another benefit to the ERMtechnology - one that SolidWorks believes might have more impactover time.Using the built-in ERM functionality, SolidWorks CADusers can getthe benefits of version-control functionality withouthaving toinvest in a PDM (Product Data Management) system, saysRainerGawlick, SolidWorks' vice president of marketing.

"In our space, there are many small companies that don't havetheIT infrastructure to extend the capabilities of PDMversionmanagement well beyond the borders of their company topartners,suppliers and customers," Gawlick says. "This is a waythey can dothat that is lightweight and doesn't require a heavyinvestment inIT."

While the forthcoming version of SolidWorks will havethebuilt-in ERM capabilities, customers will still need to purchaseapolicy server, either Liquid Machines' offering or theRightsManagementServices policy server from Microsoft Corp. to gettherequisite capabilities on the server side.