Provo, Utah-based Folio Corp has come up with Information Marketplace, a set of specifications that it claims will make commercial trading over wide area networks lucrative and secure. The model is designed to create infobases, databases of text and graphics files, which are accessed using Folio Views, the company’s electronic publishing product. Folio Views enables information providers to manage, manipulate and update data within the Infobase. Folio has also developed InfoApp tool kits for third parties to create application programming interfaces to Folio Meter, its metering software which monitors data requests to the server. The company says its metering software will enable information providers to bill users even for small amounts of information downloaded over networks. The metering system works in conjunction with what the company describes as a metering device attached to the desktop. Meters are being developed by InfoSafe Systems Inc and CDMax Inc. Folio hopes that its metering appli cation programming interface will be adopted as a standard for publishing electronic data over wide area networks. Folio is also currently beta testing an Infobase Web Server, to make its infobases accessible on the World Wide Web. The server will be available later this quarter for $7,000. The company has also announced a series of partnerships to bring its metering and copyright technology to networks other than the Internet. Under a partnership agreement with Novell Inc, Folio is working towards enabling secure electronic commerce over Novell’s NetWare Connect Services. Under the agreement, Folio will customise its tool kits, infobase servers and application programming interfaces. Folio is also partnering Lotus Development Corp to integrate Lotus Notes with its Folio Fusion product. The partnership will enable Lotus Notes users to publish information on CD-ROM disks using FolioViews, the company says. And in a partnership with Copyright Clearance Centre, an organisation that represents comp anies that use copyrighted information, Folio is developing systems that will provide electronic copyright clearance of digital information.
