Using Safeguard PDF Security to protect Intellectual PropertyOne of the biggest problems for manufacturers of large and complex machinery (aircraft engines, mechanical diggers and scrapers, rocket movers and so on) is parts lists and repair manuals. These are usually large documents that have to kept bang up to date or they are not much use (can even be dangerous). And they also have to be made available to authorized dealers and distributors.
Paper distribution of manuals ceased in many sectors (aerospace, motor, major plant and fabrication) years ago, first in favor of micro-fiche and then using CD or DVD as it because more practical to update and distribute these through copying houses. That worked for solving the distribution and update side of the system, but once ‘electronic’ or digital copies were available they were too easy to copy and it became simple for a competitor or an unapproved dealer to get hold of a copy and start using the information to deliver unapproved services or in anti-competitive ways. Both of these activities could cause loss of franchise income and potentially reputational loss where work is done with substandard materials or using unapproved alternative parts.
These problems can be resolved by using DRM services to control who is actually licensed to use which documents, and for how long. PDF DRM controls are available to let you stop use immediately (say when a distributor leaves a franchise) or on a preset date because you will republish at that time. Now that cloud technology is proving more popular, with these controls you can make these electronic documents instantly available to authorized users over the Internet, update them online, and ensure that the latest version is always in use – administered from one central point and always under your control.
Distributing manuals securely on USB devicesIn some environments Internet access is not always available and so offline use is a requirement. In addition, users want to be able to share manuals within an organization just like a physical book, and sharing computers is not always a practical solution.
Locklizard’s answer to this is secure USB distribution of protected PDF documents. By protecting PDF files to USB (along with a secure Viewer and keystore), users do not have to install any software or connect to the Internet to view protected documents. Multiple USB devices can be licensed to an organization and shared within that organization as required.
Publishers can publish protected PDF documents to a USB device and license its use before distribution or to individual or multiple documents as and when required.
