By providing a set of modules and an architectural philosophy for generating RDF/RSS descriptions incorporating the Dublin Core and the extensible Creative Commons licenses, Authena seeks to marry a full spectrum of rights definitions to Open Source CMS. A second set of modules capable of reading RSS feeds and retrieving rights descriptions and content via a REST protocol will enable syndicated content distribution across a network of CMS. Modules capable of generating RDF rights descriptions and embedding them in media and RSS feeds allow media shops, galleries, and content repositories to syndicate media via a REST protocol. Individual creators, businesses, and institutions hosting content in Open Source CMS can syndicate it to OSS repositories or marketplaces endowed with transaction and royalty-tracking capabilities. Repositories and marketplaces can in turn syndicate their content to yet other markets and repositories while preserving rights descriptions and recording transactions, affording a decentralized distribution model that binds the rights description to the actual medium of syndication. Whereas RSS is generally used for syndicating newsfeeds, Authena uses RSS to syndicate rights information and links to digital media in different formats, including thumbnailed, watermarked, and high-quality originals in secure directories, so as to facilitate the indexing, harvesting, and selling of content on the semantic web in accordance with rights defined by the creator.

Authena facilitates syndicated commerce via a distributed network of digital rights management built upon open source web services and applications. An RDF/RSS feed allows satellite media shops or galleries to syndicate content to a central commerce engine via REST, SOAP, or XML-RPC. Just as the orange xml logo links to an rss xml feed for content, the blue axml links to an rss xml feed describing any digital content, such as images, music, and text. The implication of the blue axml tag is that in addition to containing rights information pertaining to digital content (i.e. mp3s, jpgs, movs, pdfs), the rss feed also contains information on how to transfer the content over http. Thus authorized commerce servers and content libraries may aggregate and update media by hitting the rss feed on satellite content sites. And too, using a REST protocol, a satellite site may publish its content to a central commerce server.

Early Authena clients and servers include modified versions of Gallery and Oscommerce, represented at http://vvgallery.org. Digital rights specifications are exchanged with RSS/RDF feeds, and a central commerce engine (powered by Oscommerce for instance) may sell digital content from hundreds of satellite clients (powered by gallery). Authena servers manage digital rights and facilitate financial transactions pertaining to content hosted by Authena clients, which consist of open content management systems empowered with Authena modules. The Creative Commons licenses, based upon the Dublin Core and other open licenses, are integrated within the Authena standard. Authena aims to keep abreast of evolving DRM standards and protocols, including ODRL, the Dublin Core, IMS, XKMS, Palladium, OKI, and the Liberty Alliance.

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