Nikon nimmt Stellung zur Teil-Verschlüsselung der RAW/NEF-Daten

In der am vergangenen Freitag veröffentlichten Pressemitteilung (den englischen Originaltext in voller Länge finden unsere Leser am Ende dieser Meldung) wehrt sich Nikon gegen die Vorwürfe der Wettbewerbsbehinderung. Zwar wird die Verschlüsselung der Weißabgleichinformation in den RAW/NEF-Dateien der D2X/D2H nicht explizit bestätigt, doch man weist darauf hin, dass es sich beim "Nikon Electronic Format"-Rohdatenformat (kurz: NEF) um ein proprietäres Format handelt, dessen Struktur und Verarbeitungsmechanismen im Sinne der Qualitätssicherung und zum Vorteil des Fotografen schützenswert seien. Wer als Fremdanbieter Alternativen zu den Nikon-eigenen Lösungen entwickeln und anbieten möchte, hätte durch den Erwerb eines Softwareentwicklungskits (so genanntes SDK) die Möglichkeit dazu.

Damit wollen sich aber einige Personen nicht zufrieden geben. Sie meinen, dass die Weißabgleichinformationen Eigentum des Fotografen seien und halten es nicht für nötig, sich an den von Nikon propagierten Weg zu halten. So sind im Netz einige Stimmen laut geworden, die behaupten, die Nikon-Verschlüsselung geknackt zu haben. Damit heimsen sie sich zwar die Sympathien vieler Hobby- und Profifotografen ein, begeben sich aber – rechtlich gesehen – auf einen ziemlich gefährlichen Weg. Namen wollen wir an dieser Stelle nicht zitieren, da wir bis zur Klärung der Rechtslage keine potentiellen Urheberrechtsverletzer ins Rampenlicht stellen möchten. Fest steht jedenfalls, dass auch mit der offiziellen Stellungnahme von Nikon kein Ende der kontroversen Diskussionen um das Reizthema geistiges Eigentum abzusehen ist und dass – egal ob Nikon mit Härte oder mit Einlenken reagiert – die ganze Geschichte eine Publicity ist, auf die Nikon sicherlich gerne verzichtet hätte.

Original-Pressemitteilung der Firma Nikon:

"Nikon Advisory - For Immediate Release (April 22, 2005)

The Nikon D2X professional Digital Single Lens Reflex camera has received widely positive acclaim for its overall performance and image processing quality. Recently, speculative statements which appear to be based on misunderstandings and misinformation about the D2X camera’s "encryption" of certain white balance data have propagated on the internet.

The purpose of this advisory is to clarify this matter with facts and explanations. The Nikon D2X is capable of producing high quality images that can be saved in a variety of file formats, including the proprietary Nikon Electronic Format (NEF), standard TIFF and several levels of standard JPEG compressed files. The NEF, a Nikon proprietary raw file design, was introduced with the Nikon D1 Camera and Nikon’s original Capture software. The combination of Nikon camera, in-camera image processing, NEF file format and in-computer image processing with original Nikon Capture software was developed as a system that faithfully saved image files that represent the camera settings made manually or automatically by the photographer at the time a picture was taken. Nikon’s preservation of its unique technology in the NEF file is employed as an action that protects the uniqueness of the file. At the same time, Nikon makes available a software developer kit (SDK) that, when implemented appropriately, enables a wide range of NEF performance, including white balance, for Nikon photographers and their productive use of the NEF file. Since the inception of the system, Nikon has always provided photographers with choices about how they might use the system’s performance and enjoy high quality images. Nikon’s choices for opening and processing NEF files have been and continue to include:

* Nikon Capture software
* Plug-in for Adobe’s Photoshop
* Nikon PictureProject software
* Nikon View software
* Availability of Nikon Software Developer Kit (SDK) and the software that has been developed using the SDK.

Through use of the Nikon Software Developer Kit, authorized developers can produce software by applying creative concepts to their implementation and adding capabilities to open Nikon’s NEF file and use NEF’s embedded Instructions and Nikon’s Libraries. Nikon photographers reap benefits from independent developers’ approaches, because it allows the photographer to open and process their NEF images.

After a developer’s software is created using the Nikon SDK, a NEF file can be opened, edited in either TIFF or JPEG format, and then saved in formats available in the developers’ software. This process has been available since the first Nikon SDK for NEF. With each introduction of a new Nikon digital Single Lens Reflex model, Nikon updates the available SDK selection to provide new information; this is the situation with the D2X, D2Hs and D50 models. As stated above, application for the Nikon SDK is possible for bona fide software companies that send Nikon a written application for the SDK. Once approved, the SDK is provided to the developer at no charge and they are authorized to use it. Nikon has provided its confidential SDK software to many software developers. With the Nikon SDK, developers may design excellent and creative compatibility between the NEF and their software, all without compromising the integrity of the NEF’s original concept, and ensuring that work done by the photographer during the picture taking process can be incorporated into the rendering of the image.

The trilogy of performance, from Camera-to-NEF-to-Capture, has evolved though several generations of Nikon Digital SLR models, improving along the way. As a proprietary format, Nikon secures NEF’s structure and processing through various technologies. Securing this structure is intended for the photographer’s benefit, and dedicated to ensuring faithful reproduction of the photographer’s creative intentions through consistent performance and rendition of the images. Discussions propagated on the internet suggesting otherwise are misinformed about the unique structure of NEF. Nikon’s Camera System, NEF and Capture software are a tightly knit system, and they are all developed through the cooperative efforts of Nikon’s design teams, and this collaboration results in achieving the highest image quality. Nikon strives to provide photographers with excellent picture taking performance, compatible Nikon in-system image processing performance and by extension, compatibility with additional software developers’ products, with the ultimate goal of delivering a high level of integrity for a photographer’s creative vision. Nikon continues to welcome dialogue with bona fide software developers."