Rights Policy Templates

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Rights policy templates describe a standard set of users, rights, and conditions that can be applied to rights-protected content. When a user applies a rights policy template to a piece of content, the rights that it describes become part of the publishing license.

From the RMS Administration Web site, you can create rights policy templates, as well as delete or modify existing templates. Rights policy templates can include various conditions, such as specific recipients or Active Directory groups, how long a use license for the content remains valid, how long after publication the content can be consumed, and even custom values that are meaningful to a particular RMS-enabled application. A template can require a revocation list. The template specifies the URL to the list file and the number of days that the list is valid. When a recipient requests a use license that is based on the template, the system checks the revocation list before the user can consume the rights-protected content. For more information, see "RMS Revocation" later in this subject.

Examples of rights that are established in rights policy templates might include the following rights:

  • Anyone can view the content, but only the author can modify it.

  • Anyone in the enterprise can view the content, but only for one month after publication.

  • Anyone in the enterprise can view the content, but no external partners or clients can view it.

  • Only specified recipients can view the content.

  • Only a specified recipient can view or modify the content.

Templates can include various conditions, such as:

  • Specific Active Directory users or groups that have rights to the content.

  • How long a use license for the content remains valid.

  • How long after publication that the content can be consumed.

  • Whether the use license requires a revocation list and how often the list needs to be refreshed.

  • Custom values that are meaningful to a particular RMS-enabled application.

Rights policy templates are stored both in the configuration database and on a shared folder. The RMS administrator is responsible for distributing rights policy templates from the shared folder to client computers, so that authors can use them. For more information, see "Distributing Rights Policy Templates" in "RMS: Operations" in this documentation collection.

In an RMS-enabled application, authors can select a rights policy template to apply, which typically specifies a group whose members may consume the content. When a recipient requests a use license, the server applies the rights policy template from the database; this assures that the terms of a use license always reflect the most current version of the template.