ISAN (International Standard Audiovisual Number)

Geneva, June 16, 2008 – TV Guide Data Solutions, Inc, a subsidiary of Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Macrovision Solution Corporation, has submitted an Expression of Interest for the implementation of an ISAN Registration Agency in the coming months. TV Guide Data Solutions is active in the creation, deployment and management of entertainment data and metadata. Gemstar-TV Guide International is a leading global media, entertainment, and technology company that develops, licenses and distributes products and services that maximize the video guidance and entertainment experience for consumers. (More...)

Geneva, May 26, 2008 - Scientifica Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd, an Indian fast growing health communication organization, active in the production of different kind of audiovisual works to divulge medical knowledge for educational purposes, has submitted an Expression of Interest for the implementation of an ISAN Registration Agency in the coming months, ISAN ISEA, to serve the Indian market for that specific audiovisual sector. (More...)

Geneva, May 20, 2008 - Advertising Digital Identification , Ad-ID LLC, the only US advertising asset coding system authorized and supported by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) , has submitted an Expression of Interest for the implementation of an ISAN Registration Agency in the coming months. (More...)

Geneva, May 19, 2008 - The ISAN International Agency and the European Audiovisual Observatory sign a co-operation agreement: the ISAN film identification number will be entered into the LUMIERE database. (More...)

Geneva, May 14, 2008 - EMA (Entertainment Merchants Association), a US not-for-profit international trade association, dedicated to advancing the interests of the multibillion home entertainment industry, has submitted an Expression of Interest for the implementation of an ISAN Registration Agency. EMA’s objectives is primarily to serve its members (more than 1000 companies throughout US, Canada and other nations), delivering ISANs for digital downloads, enabling to minimize the supply chain costs of their members. EMA was established in 2006, through the merger of the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association(IEMA) and the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA). (More...)

Geneva, 13th of April 2008 - After several months of preparation, and in line with our customers’ expectations, we’re pleased to announce the official integration of ISAN into 2 major video fingerprinting and watermarking solutions, Thomson NexGuard and NexTracker and Philips MediaHedge, which both solutions are currently demonstrated at the NAB in Las Vegas. Both Thomson and Philips are working to have ISAN as the standard and reference ID for the identification of media content.

Geneva, February 4, 2008 – ARIBSAN, the Spanish appointed registration agency, in collaboration with GEDIPE (an association for the collective management of Authors, Producers and Editors), from Portugal, have jointly submitted an Expression of Interest, for the implementation in coming months of a Registration Office in Lisboa, Portugal. (More...)

Geneva, December 13, 2007 - ChinaCache North America, Inc. has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency. (Read more)

Geneva, December 1st, 2007 - ISAN UK, the local ISAN Registration Agency in the UK, has been officially launched today.
ISAN UK appointed few months ago, has been founded by PACT (UK trade association representing independent feature film, television, animation and interactive media companies), MCPS-PRS Alliance (the not-for-profit UK collecting societies for composers, songwriters and publishers) and Soundmouse (an international online programme metadata platform which connects broadcasters, production companies and distributors). Clive Bishop, the newly appointed General Manager of ISAN UK, is and expert in media, and has more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. 'Using effective identification and metadata tag, like ISAN, in the UK, can only increase the level of content identification and protection', said Patrick Attallah, chief executive officer and managing director of ISAN International Agency. 'More than half a million ISANs has been so far delivered to all kind of audiovisual content, in more than 30 countries. We are very pleased with ISAN UK launch, enabling the local industry to immediately benefit from ISAN', stated Patrick Attallah. (More...)

Geneva, November 23rd, 2007 - The Arab Cinema Directory, soon will be delivering ISANs.
ISAN-IA and the Arab Cinema Directory are currently working on a collaboration to make the delivery of ISANs directly through the Arab Cinema Directory (www.acdir.net). This cinema database, is part of the Medscreen project, which was created with the support of the European Union, within the framework of the EUROMED audiovisual project to support and promote Arab – Mediterranean cinema productions. Falafel, the 2006 Lebanese film directed by Michel Kammoun, is the first film from the Arab Cinema Directory to have received an ISAN. “ISAN is a passport for films, an ID, a fingerprint” commented Michel Kammoun, the Lebanese director. After having realized some shorts, Falafel is the first feature film made by Kammoun , which tells the story of Toufic, a young Lebanese man, and his nocturnal rides. Between his family, friends and love affairs, Toufic tries to seize every day of his existence. Each second is the most important. Soon he discovers that having a normal life in this country is a luxury out of his reach. Fifteen years after the war has ended, a volcano lies on every street corner, like a ticking bomb that is ready to explode. Falafel, which has already won many prizes in international festivals such as Namur, Lille, Dubai, Rotterdam, Alexandria and Valencia has been registered also in the Arab Cinema Directory. “We are very proud to expand our database to the new cinema works produced in the Arab – Mediterranean countries. Falafel is a great successful film that we could help in getting an ISAN” said Patrick Attallah, ISAN-IA chief executive officer.

Geneva, November 15th, 2007 - ISAN to be a reference ID for the identification of protected content on Dailymotion.
Within the agreement that has been recently signed between USPA (French TV Producers’ union) and Dailymotion, one of the main worldwide web user generated content site for video sharing (and the leader on the French market), ISAN has been designated as reference ID to be used for the identification of copyright protected audiovisual content produced by USPA members. According to this agreement, ISAN will be used in connection with the fingerprint technologies put in place by Dailymotion in order to control audiovisual content posted on the video sharing platform. It also stipulates that USPA members entering into licensing agreements with the French video sharing web site company will share with the latest the advertising profits coming from the distribution of videos on this platform. Dailymotion shows a clear will to fight piracy and abide to copyright. “This partnership shows the will of the audio-visual producers to seize the new windows of exposure which Internet and the video platforms like Dailymotion offer” say Simone Halberstadt-Harari, USPA chairman and Jacques Peskine, USPA General Delegate and Chairman of the ISAN French Registration Agency.

Geneva, November 14th, 2007 - ISAN-IA is pleased to announce that it has recently joined the Singapore Content Protection Centre as an associate member. Singapore Content Protection Centre, is a Motion Picture Association (MPA) Asia Pacific initiative, in partnership with the Media Development Authority of Singapore. Its objective is to be a central place for the Asia Pacific region, dedicated to deliver information on protection of digital content, with main focus on areas such as prevention, evaluation of technical solutions for legal downloads and education on best ways to benefit from the digital transition.

Geneva, November 1st, 2007 - ISAN continues its international expansion with the appointment of its 17th Registration Agency. ISAN-IA (the ISAN International Agency) is pleased to announce the appointment of ISAN Serbia. The Serbian agency, founded by Narodna Biblioteka Srbije (the National Library of Serbia), is the oldest cultural public institution in the country, founded in 1832. The National Library of Serbia is already acting as the Serbian ISBN, ISSN and ISMN Agency.

Geneva, September 11th, 2007 - ISAN continues its expansion to Canada. The ISAN International Agency is pleased to announce the appointment of ISAN CANADA. The Canadian agency founded by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) will before the end of year be open for ISAN services.

Venice, September 4th, 2007 - ISAN ITALIA, the future Registration agency in Italy, has been announced today at the 64th Film festival of Venice, in the presence of Patrick Attallah, Managing Director of ISAN-IA and the Chairmen of the four founding organizations: Paolo Ferrari, chairman of ANICA (Associazione nazionale delle Industrie Cinematografiche Audiovisive e Multimediali), Fabiano Fabiani, chairman of APT (Associazione Produttori Televisivi), Andrea Occhipinti from API (Associazione Autori e Produttori Indipendenti) and Giorgio Assumma, chairman of SIAE (Società Italiana degli Autori e Editori). ISAN Italia is foreseen to be operational from the beginning of 2008.

Geneva, August 6th, 2007 - ISAN-IA is pleased to announce that it has recently joined the Digital Watermarking Alliance (DWA) as an associate member. The DWA is an international group of industry leading companies that was formed in 2006 that share a common interest in promoting and furthering the adoption of digital watermarking to content owners, industry, policy makers and consumers. The Digital Watermarking Alliance is made up of 15 companies that are successfully delivering digital watermarking technology and solutions to various markets, including media and entertainment, state and national governments, mobile communications and other commercial markets. Member companies include: Cinea, Digimarc, GCS Research, Jura, MediaGrid, Media Sciences International, Philips Electronics, Signum, Teletrax, Thomson, Verance, Verimatrix, and Widevine.

Geneva, July 11th, 2007 – ISAN-IA is pleased to announce the appointment of ISAN IRAN that will cover Iran and some neighboring countries. ISAN IRAN is founded by Khaneh Ketab, the IRAN Book House, operating since 1994 and based in Tehran. This is one of the most reliable sources of information in publication sector. This nongovernmental and nonprofit cultural institute is commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to be involved in standard numbering systems. They are also acting as the IRAN ISBN / ISMN Agency.

Geneva, May 25th 2007 – The Italian consortium composed of ANICA (National Association of Cinematographic, Audiovisual and Multimedia Industries), API (Association of Independent Authors and Producers), APT (Association of Television Producers) and SIAE (Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori) have submitted today an Expression of Interest to become an ISAN Registration Agency in Italy.

Sydney. – April 16, 2007 – DatatraceDNA, the DataDot Technology – CSIRO joint venture Company, today announces that it has been selected by the International Standard Audiovisual Numbering – International Agency (ISAN-IA) organization to authenticate High Capacity Color Barcodes developed by Microsoft Research that will assist in the identification of commercial audiovisual works such as motion pictures, video games, broadcasts, digital video recordings and other media. (read more)

REDMOND, Wash., and GENEVA — April 16, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. and the International Standard Audiovisual Number International Agency (ISAN-IA) today announced an agreement whereby ISAN-IA has licensed Microsoft’s new High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB) technology developed by Microsoft Research to assist in the identification of commercial audiovisual works such as motion pictures, video games, broadcasts, digital video recordings and other media. (read more)

Geneva, March 30th, 2007- ISAN expands to Brazil. ISAN-IA is pleased announce the appointment of Associação Brasileira de Registro de Obras Audiovisuais, ABRISAN, the Brazilian ISAN registration agency, a division of ABRAMUS (Brazilian Society of Music and Arts). ABRAMUS has been founded 25 years ago. It has offices in Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Curitiba, Recife and in Porto Alegre. ABRAMUS comprises more than 7000 members. ABRISAN will be operational in the next three months.

March 21th 2007- Septimo Arte Distribucion (known as well as FILM HOUSE) from Mexico, has submitted today an Expression of Interest to become an ISAN Registration Agency in Mexico (read more).

March 20th 2007- The Japan Video Software Association, has submitted today an Expression of Interest to become an ISAN Registration Agency in Japan (read more).

Geneva, January 18th 2007- ISAN expands to Poland. The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is pleased to announce the appointment of ISAN PL, the Polish ISAN Registration Agency, a division of SFP-ZAPA the Association of Polish Filmmakers. SFP is one of the most active organization supporting and protecting films and their authors. It exists since 1966, and counts over 1200 members whose professions is to work in Polish cinematography and television from directors, producers, cinematographers, to animators, screenwriters, film critics, stuntmen, make-up artists and sound editors. The association actively participates in the elaboration of the law on cinematography, in the organization of the most important Polish film festivals and runs ZAPA (Union of Audiovisual Authors and Producers) a separate organization for the collective management of copyrights. ISAN PL will soon be open for ISAN services.

Geneva, November 6th 2006 - ISAN expands to the UK and Sweden. The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is pleased to announce the appointment of 2 new Registration Agencies (RAs) in London, ISAN UK and in Stockholm ISAN Sverige (ISAN Sweden). The opening of those 2 new RAs is scheduled for early 2007.

October 16th, 2006 - The ISAN International Agency is pleased to announce the appointment of IFTA ISAN RA as a new Registration Agency in the USA. IFTA ISAN RA is a division of the Los Angeles (USA) based association IFTA (Independent Film & TV Alliance), a non-profit association whose mission is to provide the independent film and television industry with high quality marketplace-oriented services and worldwide representation. IFTA first members were a group of distributors and sales agents whose main goal was to expand the independent film business by creating a world-class trade show, the American Film Market (AFM).
Today, the association has evolved into the trade association for the independent film and industry worldwide, while the AFM concurrently has become the largest international film market in the world. IFTA ISAN RA will be mainly promoting and servicing ISAN services to their members.

September 27, 2006 - The Association of Polish Filmmakers - Union of Audiovisual Authors and Producers (SFP-ZAPA), has submitted today an Expression of Interest to become an ISAN Registration Agency in Poland (read more).

September 19, 2006 - Czech Republic Audiovisual Producers' Association, APA, has submitted today an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

Sydney, September 5th, 2006 - The Australian Film Finance Corporation (FFC) adopts ISAN for back stock and new programs (read more).

Sydney, June 6, 2006 - Film Finance Corporation Australia announces support for ISAN (read more).

May 19, 2006- National Library of Iran has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

Geneva, May 10th - ISAN expands to the Netherlands. The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is pleased to announce the appointment and opening of its eight's Registration Agency in Amsterdam, ISAN NL (read more).

Geneva, April 24, 2006 - ISAN expands to cover video games. ( read more).

April 10, 2006- Soundmouse Ltd, The MCPS-PRS Alliance Ltd and the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television UK (PACT), have jointly submitted today an Expression of Interest to become an ISAN Registration Agency in the UK. (read more).

March 1, 2006- Abramus has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

February 22, 2006- National Library of Serbia has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

February 2, 2006- The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is delighted to announce the opening of its seventh appointed Registration Agency, ARIBSAN. (read more).

Geneva, February 1, 2006-ISAN-IA appoints MICROSOFT as registration agency. (read more).

January 16, 2006 -The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Régis Flad to the position of System and Technology Manager. Régis brings a wealth of audiovisual experience to ISAN-IA with more than 8 years of software development, consulting and project management for the European media industry. His background includes in depth knowledge in IT and multimedia and has extensive experience in video fingerprint and watermarking.

November 30, 2005 - The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is delighted to announce the opening of its fifth appointed Registration Agency, "Secure Path". (read more).
Secure Path, contact details are:

Secure Path
844 Seward Street
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Tel. : + 1 323.993.8820
Email :

October 27, 2005 - The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is delighted to announce the opening of its fourth appointed Registration Agency, "ISAN RA Deutschland". (read more).

October 14, 2005 - The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is delighted to announce the opening of its third appointed Registration Agency, "ISAN Australasia". Please (read more).

August 26, 2005 - SSF has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

August 3, 2005 - Sample Digital, Inc. has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

August 1, 2005 - Tribune Media Services has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

June 27, 2005 - V.A.M has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

June 20, 2005 - KHANEH KETAB has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

April 1, 2005 - GWFF has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

January 25, 2005 - SABAM has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

January 18, 2005 - The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is delighted to announce the opening of its second appointed Registration Agency, "ISAN Berne" in Switzerland, founded by and composed of SUISSIMAGE (Authors' Rights Society for Audiovisual Works), SSA (Swiss Society for Authors) and SWISSPERFORM (neighboring rights), headed by Mrs Pascale Juhel (President), Mr Pierre-Henri Dumont and Mr Willi Egloff.
ISAN Berne covers essentially the Swiss market and some neighboring countries and will be officially launched at the Solothurn Film Festival (Soleure 24th to 30th January).

ISAN BERNE, contact details are:

ISAN Berne
Neuengasse 23
Postfach
CH-3001 Bern
Tel. : + 41 31 313 36 53
Fax : + 41 31 313 36 37
Email :

December 22, 2004 - The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is delighted to announce the opening of its first appointed Registration Agency, "Agence Française ISAN" (French ISAN Agency), setting the trend for the wide introduction of ISAN.
The French ISAN Agency, founded by and composed of PROCIREP (Société des Producteurs de Cinéma et de Télévision), ANGOA (Association Nationale de Gestion des Œuvres Audiovisuelles), ARP (Société des Auteurs Réalisateurs Producteurs), SACD (Société des Auteurs Compositeurs d'œuvres Dramatiques) and SCAM (Société Civile des Auteurs Multimédia), is headed by Mr. Jacques Peskine (President), Mrs Janine Lorente (Vice-President), and Mr. Idzard Van der Puyl (General Director). The French ISAN Agency covers essentially the French market and it is anticipated to be operational during the course of January 2005.

The opening of the French ISAN Agency sets a very positive start to the New Year for the audio-visual industries' long awaited accessibility to ISAN!

French ISAN Agency, contact details are:

Agence Française ISAN
C/o PROCIREP
11 bis, rue Jean-Goujon
75008 Paris
Tel. : 01.53.83.91.91
Fax : 01.53.83.91.92
Email :

December 10, 2004 - Independent Film & Television Alliance has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

November 26, 2004 - Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Ltd, has submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

September 6, 2004 - The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Patrick Attallah to the position of Managing Director. Patrick brings a wealth of international experience to ISAN-IA with more than 15 years in business development, consulting, and top management roles. His background includes in-depth knowledge in IT and telecommunications and has extensive business experience in both Europe and the United States.

September 1, 2004 - The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) officially launched its public web site ISAN search engine, enabling public users to get the assigned ISAN of an audiovisual work. The ISAN Repository currently consists of a majority of Feature Films audiovisual works. Works will constantly be added to the repository. Access to the professionals of the industry will be opened in the next few months.

July 7, 2004 - CRC/CFTPA submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

July 2, 2004 - APRA/AMCOS Limited and Audio-visual Copyright Society Limited submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

June 10, 2004 - HWW Limited submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

April 5, 2004 - Suissimage submitted an Expression of Interest to become a Registration Agency (read more).

March 9, 2004 - The ISAN International Agency accepted its fifth Expression of Interest for Registration Agency status (read more).

January 13, 2004 - Second Expression of Interest for Registration Agency status (read more).

January 12, 2004 - Official launch of the ISAN International Agency information web site.

January 8, 2004 - First expression of interest for Registration Agency status (read more).