RFC 3839 (rfc3839) - Page 2 of 7

MIME Type Registrations for 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Multimedia files

RFC 3839            MIME Type Registrations for 3GPP           July 2004


   Files identified by the MIME [MIME1] type defined here MUST contain a
   brand defined in a standard issued by 3GPP that can apply to 3GPP
   files, in their compatible brands list.

   The MIME types defined here are needed to correctly identify such
   files when they are served over HTTP, included in multi-part
   documents, or used in other places where MIME types are used.

2.  Security Considerations

   The 3GPP file format may contain audio, video, and displayable text
   data.  There is currently no provision for 'active' elements (such as
   scripts) of any kind.

   Clearly it is possible to author malicious files which attempt to
   call for an excessively large picture size, high sampling-rate audio
   etc.  However, clients can and usually do protect themselves against
   this kind of attack.

   It should be noted that selected metadata fields may encompass
   information partly intended to protect the media against unauthorized
   use or distribution.  In this case, the intention is that alteration
   or removal of the data in the field would be treated as an offense
   under national agreements based on World Intellectual Property
   Organization (WIPO) treaties.

   3GPP files have an extensible structure, so that it is theoretically
   possible that metadata fields or media formats could be defined in
   the future which could be used to induce particular actions on the
   part of the recipient, thus presenting additional security risks.
   However, this type of capability is currently not supported in the
   referenced specification.

   There is no current provision in the standards for encryption,
   signing, or authentication of these file formats.

3.  MIME Types

   This registration applies to all files defined as using the '3GP'
   file format and identified with a suitable brand in a 3GPP
   specification.  The usual file suffix for all these files is ".3gp".

3.1.  Files with audio but no video

   The type "audio/3gpp" may be used for files containing audio but no
   visual presentation (neither video nor timed text, for example).





Castagno & Singer           Standards Track