A system and method for processing a rights expression for association with an item for use in a system for controlling use of the item in accordance with the rights expression. A rights expression is specified in a conventional manner in an original format. An intermediate format of the rights expression is generated based on at least one of syntax information and semantics information associated with the original format. The rights expression specifies a manner of use of said item for enforcement on a device. The intermediate format can be converted to a device specific format or a simplified format for resource constrained devices to permit rights enforcement on various devices.