Copy detection for digitally-formatted works

• US 20050044047A1
• Filed: 09/16/2004
• Published: 02/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: DeTreville, John
• Granted Patent: US 7,228,293 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/57
• 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 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]

Abstract

An electronic book reader has a processor, a display surface, and access to a memory card upon which is stored a digitally-formatted creative work such as a book. In addition, the reader has access to a plurality of precompiled condensed content descriptions of respective books that are subject to copy restrictions. Before reading a given book, the reader creates a condensed content description of the book and compares it to the stored descriptions to determine whether the book is subject to copy restrictions. If it is, the reader checks for a valid license before allowing the user to read the book.

Claims

1. A reader that renders digitally-formatted works, comprising:

a rendering component that reads a digitally-formatted work and presents the digitally-formatted work to a user in a user-perceivable format; and

a detection component that creates a condensed content description of the digitally-formatted work and compares the created condensed content description with stored condensed content descriptions to determine whether the digitally-formatted work is subject to copy restrictions, wherein the stored condensed content descriptions are of respective works subject to copy restrictions.

2. A computer-readable medium containing a program comprising a reader as recited in claim 1.

3. A computer-readable medium containing a program comprising:

a reader as recited in claim 1;

a plurality of the stored condensed content descriptions.

4. A reader that renders digitally-formatted works, comprising:

a rendering component that reads a digitally-formatted work and presents the digitally-formatted work to a user in a user-perceivable format; and

a detection component that creates a condensed content description of the digitally-formatted work and compares the created condensed content description with stored condensed content descriptions to determine whether the digitally-formatted work is subject to copy restrictions;

wherein the stored condensed content descriptions are of respective works subject to copy restrictions; and

wherein the stored condensed content descriptions is a list of hash values, each hash value being calculated from a portion of the given digitally-formatted work using a hash function that changes over time.

5. A reader as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

a download component that downloads digitally-formatted works from an authorized source;

wherein the download component also downloads the condensed content descriptions when downloading the digitally-formatted works.

6. A reader as recited in claim 4, wherein the condensed content description corresponding to any given digitally-stored work is a list of hash values, each hash value being calculated from a portion of the given digitally-formatted work.

7. A reader that renders digitally-formatted works, comprising:

a rendering component that reads a digitally-formatted work and presents the digitally-formatted work to a user in a user-perceivable format;

a detection component that creates a condensed content description of the digitally-formatted work and compares the created condensed content description with stored condensed content descriptions to determine whether the digitally-formatted work is subject to copy restrictions, wherein the stored condensed content descriptions are of respective works subject to copy restrictions. the digitally-formatted works contain grammatical text;

the condensed content description corresponding to any given digitally-formatted work is a list of hash values; and

each hash value is calculated from a sequence of words that occurs in the given digitally-formatted work.

8. A reader that renders digitally-formatted works, comprising:

a rendering component that reads a digitally-formatted work and presents the digitally-formatted work to a user in a user-perceivable format; and

a detection component that creates a condensed content description of the digitally-formatted work and compares the created condensed content description with stored condensed content descriptions to determine whether the digitally-formatted work is subject to copy restrictions, wherein the stored condensed content descriptions are of respective works subject to copy restrictions. the digitally-formatted works contain grammatical text;

the condensed content description corresponding to any given digitally-formatted work is a list of hash values;

each hash value is calculated from a sequence of words that occurs in the given digitally-stored work; and

each sequence of words contains at least 100 characters.

9. A reader that renders digitally-formatted works, comprising:

a rendering component that reads a digitally-formatted work and presents the digitally-formatted work to a user in a user-perceivable format; and

a detection component that creates a condensed content description of the digitally-formatted work and compares the created condensed content description with stored condensed content descriptions to determine whether the digitally-formatted work is subject to copy restrictions, wherein the stored condensed content descriptions are of respective works subject to copy restrictions. the digitally-formatted works contain grammatical text;

the condensed content description corresponding to any given digitally-formatted work is a list of hash values; and

the hash values are calculated in a way that allows comparison of ordered word sequences in the digitally-formatted works.

10. A computer-readable medium containing a program that when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform operations comprising:

reading a digitally formatted work and presenting the digitally formatted work to a user in a user-perceivable format; and

creating a condensed content description of the digitally-formatted work, and comparing the created condensed content description with stored condensed content descriptions, to determine whether the digitally-formatted work is subject to copy restrictions, wherein the stored condensed content descriptions are of respective works subject to copy restrictions, and wherein the stored condensed content descriptions is a list of hash values, each hash value being calculated from a portion of the given digitally-formatted work using a hash function that changes over time.

11. A system comprising:

a computer-readable medium containing a program that when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform operations including;

reading a digitally formatted work and presenting the digitally formatted work to a user in a user-perceivable format; and

creating a condensed content description of the digitally-formatted work, and comparing the created condensed content description with stored condensed content descriptions, to determine whether the digitally-formatted work is subject to copy restrictions, wherein the stored condensed content descriptions are of respective works subject to copy restrictions, and wherein the stored condensed content descriptions is a list of hash values, each hash value being calculated from a portion of the given digitally-formatted work using a hash function that changes over time; and

a plurality of the stored condensed content description.