Content security layer providing long-term renewable security
First Claim
1. A method for mastering digital video for secure playback on at least one of a plurality of widely distributed authorized player devices, comprising the steps of:
- (a) for each of a plurality of portions of digital video, generating at least two versions of each of said portions;
(b) generating executable instructions for decoding said video, where (i) said instructions, when processed by a player device, would automatically select at least one of said versions of each of said portions which will be output when said video is played, (ii) said selection of said versions is based on information about said player device, and, (iii) said instructions, when processed by a player device, would thereby embed a watermark into output video, said watermark encoding information used to select the combination of versions;
(c) combining said instructions with a compressed, encrypted representation of said video including said versions of said portions to form a combined representation; and
(d) distributing said combined representation for use by consumers.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In an exemplary embodiment, digital content is mastered as a combination of encrypted data and data processing operations that enable use in approved playback environments. Player devices having a processing environment compatible with the content'"'"'s data processing operations are able to decrypt and play the content. Players can also provide content with basic functions, such as loading data from media, performing network communications, determining playback environment configuration, controlling decryption/playback, and/or performing cryptographic operations using the player'"'"'s keys. These functions allow the content to implement and enforce its own security policies. If pirates compromise individual players or content titles, new content can be mastered with new security features that block the old attacks. A selective decryption capability can also be provided, enabling on-the-fly watermark insertion so that attacks can be traced back to a particular player. Features to enable migration from legacy formats are also provided.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for mastering digital video for secure playback on at least one of a plurality of widely distributed authorized player devices, comprising the steps of:
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(a) for each of a plurality of portions of digital video, generating at least two versions of each of said portions;
(b) generating executable instructions for decoding said video, where (i) said instructions, when processed by a player device, would automatically select at least one of said versions of each of said portions which will be output when said video is played, (ii) said selection of said versions is based on information about said player device, and, (iii) said instructions, when processed by a player device, would thereby embed a watermark into output video, said watermark encoding information used to select the combination of versions;
(c) combining said instructions with a compressed, encrypted representation of said video including said versions of said portions to form a combined representation; and
(d) distributing said combined representation for use by consumers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus for mastering digital content, comprising:
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(a) a variation generator (i) configured to produce plural variations for a plurality of portions of said content, (ii) where each variation is selected to avoid degrading playback quality while being detectable in copies of said content;
(b) an instruction generator, configured to produce decoding instructions for said content, where said instructions are program logic configured to (i) analyze the playback environment to determine information identifying the playback environment; and
(ii) use said identifying information to select from among said variations, such that the decoding instructions cause the selected combination of variations to reflect said identifying information, to thereby embed in the output content said identifying information such that said playback device can be identified by analyzing the output content; and
(c) a cryptographic module configured to encrypt at least portions of the combination of said content and an output of said instruction generator to produce a secured representation of said content for distribution to consumers. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A machine readable medium containing program logic integrated with digital content, where said program logic includes:
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(a) interrogation instructions which are configured to cause (i) interrogation of a system reading said signal, and (ii) consequent generation of data characterizing the system; and
(b) output generation instructions which are configured to cause (i) for each of a plurality of portions of said digital content, selection between different alternate versions of such portions, where such selection is performed in dependence upon data characterizing the system, and (ii) generation of an output representation of said digital content representing only one version of each subset;
(c) where version selection for each portion with alternate versions is made dependent upon the data characterizing the system. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification