Secure transfer and tracking of data using removable nonvolatile memory devices

• US 10,148,625 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2017
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mo-DV, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Mo-DV, Inc.
• Inventors: Widergren, Robert D., Boliek, Martin Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Schmidt, Karl L
• Application Number:
  US15/590,402
• Publication Number:
  US 20180007016A1
• Time in Patent Office: 574 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload

Abstract

A protected memory source device including removable non-volatile memory durably stores a signature such as a serial number or identifier, which is used to mark protected multimedia content legally stored on the protected memory device. The protected multimedia content is moved from the source device to another device, such as a target device used to aggregated protected content in a library. Moving the protected multimedia content involves replacing a source-specific header, comprising digital rights management metadata and/or other security metadata allowing only a device having the source device signature access to the content, with a target-specific header comprising digital rights management metadata and/or other security metadata allowing only a device having the target device signature access to the content. The transfer is done using one of a variety of transfer methods with either a trusted or un-trusted host system connecting the source device to the target device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of transferring content, performed on a source device having one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs which when executed by the one or more processors cause performance of the method, the method comprising:

decrypting encrypted content of a content file using a content key, the content file having a source-specific header of a source device, the source device comprising a removable device having non-volatile semiconductor memory storing one or more content files;

removing source-specific information from the content, wherein the source-specific information is one or more of a source watermark and source stenographic information;

adding target-specific information to the content, wherein the target-specific information is one or more of a target watermark and target stenographic information, wherein the source watermark and the source stenographic information include information unique only to the source, wherein the target watermark and the target stenographic information include information unique only to the target device;

creating a new content key;

encrypting the decrypted content with the new content key to create re-encrypted content;

creating for the content file a target-specific header allowing only a target device having a target device signature access to the content, wherein the target specific header is created by using a target device signature to convert an intermediate header into the target specific header;

encrypting the target-specific header;

transferring to the target device, the content file with the re-encrypted content, the new content key and the encrypted target-specific header to allow the target device to receive the content file including the encrypted content and header and decrypt the content with the content key in the target specific header.

2. A source device comprising:

one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs which when executed by the one or more processors cause;

decrypting encrypted content of a content file using a content key, the content file having a source-specific header of a source device, the source device comprising a removable device having non-volatile semiconductor memory storing one or more content files;

removing source-specific information from the content, wherein the source-specific information is one or more of a source watermark and source stenographic information;

adding target-specific information to the content, wherein the target-specific information is one or more of a target watermark and target stenographic information, wherein the source watermark and the source stenographic information include information unique only to the source, wherein the target watermark and the target stenographic information include information unique only to the target device;

creating a new content key;

encrypting the decrypted content with the new content key to create re-encrypted content;

creating for the content file a target-specific header allowing only a device having the target device signature access to the content, wherein the target specific header is created by using a target device signature to convert an intermediate header into the target specific header;

encrypting the target-specific header; and

transferring to the target device, the content file with the re-encrypted content, the new content key and the encrypted target-specific header to allow the target device to receive the content file including the encrypted content and header and decrypt the content with the content key in the target specific header.

3. The source device of claim 2 wherein the source device comprises a physical interface for removably interconnecting or a wireless interface for communicating with a host device.