SemPIF: A Semantic Meta-policy Interchange Format for Multiple Web Policies

We propose a semantics-enabled layered policy architecture for the exchange and management of multiple policies created by different policy languages on the Web. This architecture consists of four layers: Unifying Logic (UNL), Policy Interchange Format (PIF), Privacy Protection/DRM (PPD), and Domain Specific Applications (DSA). A meta-Policy Interchange Format (meta-PIF) layer is also introduced, side by side with the corresponding PIF layer, allowing agents in the facilitator to provide uniform services of interchange, reconciliation, and combination of policies. This SemPIF architecture extends W3C's Semantic Web architecture to permit the reuse of earlier work. A scenario of agents in the facilitator employing SemPIF for Digital Rights Management (DRM) and privacy protection policies on digital library subscription services will be demonstrated.