ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) has announced that Microsoft has been appointed as an authorized registration agency for the International Standard Audiovisual Number (ISAN) system.
ISAN is a voluntary numbering system for the identification of audiovisual works. It gives registered works a unique, permanent, internationally recognized reference number, identifying the work and its related versions at every point of its lifecycle. ISAN is designed to be read by humans and processed in information systems as a 24-bit hexadecimal digit.
ISAN is a complete identification service, linking works to associated metadata by the registrant. When implemented, ISAN allows users to look up and use a globally unique, internationally recognized and permanent reference number for each audiovisual work registered in the ISAN-IA system. ISAN will be used in production and distribution systems, broadcasting applications and electronic program guides.
ISAN registration agencies have been established to serve specific sectors of the audiovisual industry and will accept and process applications for ISAN codes and help content producers assign the actual numbers to specific works including games, videos, films and other audiovisual content.
ISAN-IA, in conjunction with other ISAN registration agencies worldwide and Microsoft, will:
- regionally manage individual applications of registrants and ISAN registrations;
- service readers accessing the ISAN database for consultation and inventory management purposes;
- generate local awareness through targeted marketing of ISAN based solutions;
- educate industry leaders on the advantages of ISAN registration and familiarize them with the registration process;
- drive adoption and usage of new metadata that includes content ratings systems and codes.
The ISAN-IA, founded by AGICOA, CISAC and FIAPF, maintains the central database of ISANs and associated metadata, and appoints and coordinates a worldwide network of ISAN registration agencies servicing authorized users.
For more information, visit www.isan.org.
