IDG News Service - Adobe Systems Inc. has acquired the digital rights management (DRM) technology division from computer-aided design (CAD) software maker Navisware in a move to extend the formats supported by Adobe's document management software, the company said today.
Adobe plans to integrate Navisware's FileLine DRM technology with its Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server software, which is used by organizations to set security policies for who can access electronic documents and keep track of who views and edits them.
With the Navisware technology, LifeCycle Policy Server will be able to protect documents in native Microsoft Office and CAD formats as well as Adobe's own PDF format, Adobe said.
The FileLine technology also protects documents distributed outside the corporate firewall, Adobe said. And it helps businesses meet compliance regulations by making sure the versions of documents distributed are up to date and providing an audit log of who accessed documents and when.
The companies were already partners; Navisware said last March that it would make its FileLine products work with LiveCycle Policy Server. Adobe apparently valued the technology enough to bring it in-house. It expects to integrate the FileLine technology with LifeCycle Policy Server in the second half of the year, it said.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Privately held Navisware is based in Raleigh, N.C., and Adobe is in San Jose.
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