ISAN (International Standard Audiovisual Number)

ISAN (International Standard Audiovisual Number) is a voluntary numbering system and metadata schema enabling the unique and persistent identification of any audiovisual works and versions thereof including films, shorts, documentaries, television programs, sports events, advertising etc. Through the ISAN Version, it is possible to identify all related versions of a work such as variants (expressions, manifestations), language, editions, clips, media embodiments, digital encodings, etc... The ISAN Version allows also identifying closely related content & items including promotional material, soundtracks, closed captioning tracks, etc.

Developed by major players of the audiovisual industry, ISAN has been designed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the year 2000 to meet the requirements of the digital revolution as defined by content owners, broadcasters, media companies and standard organizations, enabling the unique identification of audiovisual works ISO 15706-1:2001, and versions thereof: ISO 15706-2:2007.
ISAN is the only audiovisual asset identifier in the ISO portfolio of media identifiers. ISAN is an ISO property, it is managed by the ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA), a not for profit Swiss association, contractually mandated by ISO to operate the central database and appoint regional Registration Agencies.

Among its many benefits, ISAN is used in production and distribution systems, facilitating interoperability and information exchange between stakeholders of the media value chain. ISAN contributes to improve the acquisition of rights and the distribution of royalties. ISAN facilitates data aggregation from various sources as for example to improve audience measurements and market analytics.
ISAN, as a universal and persistent number, makes the identification of audiovisual content easier and thus contributes in reducing unauthorized use of protected content.

ISAN is the Content Identifier in the AACS Copy Management function for Blu-ray discs and is implemented in UltraViolet.

ISAN codes can be stored, circulated and used by everyone

NEWS Latest News

ISAN Portugal is the new appointed ISAN Registration Agency for serving the Portuguese territory. ISAN Portugal has been co-founded by GEDIPE,the Portuguese Association for Collective Management of Authors, Producers and Editors and GDA the Artists and Performers collecting society. (More...)

EIDR and ISAN to Provide Seamless Registration of Content IDs to Leverage the Strengths of Both Systems.
Entertainment ID Registry (EIDR) and the International Standard Audiovisual Number International Agency (ISAN-IA) have embarked on efforts to support seamless registration of content IDs in either system to enable content producers and distributors to take full advantage of the capabilities of both systems. (More...)

Birth of the first online public audiovisual rights registry. ISAN has been chosen to identify audiovisual content in the new online registry for audiovisual works and recordings, created jointly by the Spanish “Audiovisual Producers’ Rights Management Association” (EGEDA), Safe Creative, and the College of Spanish Registrars ( Ilustre Colegio de Registradores de España).. (More...)

SIAE, the Italian Society of Authors and Editors, has recently implemented the ISAN number in its own process. The ISAN identifier is by now part of the SIAE requested audiovisual work information in registration form (modulo 117 Autori). The submission of this form is mandatory to register with SIAE all assimilated cinematographic works, including TV movie, TV series, documentaries, cartoon ect. (More..)