SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR WATERMARKING SOFTWARE AND OTHER MEDIA

• US 20100229002A1
• Filed: 05/20/2010
• Published: 09/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Inventors: Owicki, Susan, HORNE, William G, Homing, James J., Matheson, Lesley R., Maheshwari, Umesh, Sibert, W. Olin, Wright, Andrew K., Tarjan, Robert E.
• Granted Patent: US 8,370,634 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/190
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3604 Software analysis for verifying properties of programs byte-code verification G06F9/44589
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks
• CPC Class Codes: G09C 5/00 Ciphering apparatus or methods not provided for in the preceding groups, e.g. involving the concealment or deformation of graphic data such as designs, written or printed messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 1/00 Secret communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 1/02 by adding a second signal to make the desired signal unintelligible
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/608 Watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3226 using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for embedding information in software and/or other electronic content such that the information is difficult for an unauthorized party to detect, remove, insert, forge, and/or corrupt. The embedded information can be used to protect electronic content by identifying the content'"'"'s source, thus enabling unauthorized copies or derivatives to be reliably traced, and thus facilitating effective legal recourse by the content owner. Systems and methods are also disclosed for protecting, detecting, removing, and decoding information embedded in electronic content, and for using the embedded information to protect software or other media from unauthorized analysis, attack, and/or modification.

Claims

1-44. -44. (canceled)

45. A method for detecting a watermark embedded in an executable piece of software, the method including:

decrypting a portion of the piece of software;

comparing a first part of the decrypted portion to a second part of the decrypted portion; and

storing the first part of the decrypted portion as a function of the comparison of the first part of the decrypted portion to the second part of the decrypted portion;

wherein the first part of the decrypted portion forms at least part of the watermark.

46. A method as in claim 45, wherein comparing the first part of the decrypted portion to the second part of the decrypted portion includes:

decrypting the second part of the decrypted portion; and

comparing the decrypted second part of the decrypted portion with the first part of the decrypted portion;

wherein the comparison succeeds if the decrypted second part of the decrypted portion is equal to a hash of the first part of the decrypted portion.

47. A method as in claim 45, further including:

repeating said decrypting, comparing, and storing steps until a predefined number of watermark parts have been stored.

48. A method as in claim 47, wherein the predefined number is equal to the number of watermark parts originally embedded in the piece of software.

49. A method as in claim 45, further including:

using the first part of the decrypted portion, at least in part, as an index into a database of watermark payloads; and

retrieving a watermark payload from the database.

50. A method for detecting a watermark embedded in an executable piece of software, the method including:

maintaining a list of locations within the executable program that contain a portion of watermark data;

retrieving at least two portions of watermark data from the locations specified in the list;

assembling the watermark from the at least two retrieved portions of watermark data;

using the watermark as an index into a database of information; and

retrieving a piece of information from the database.

51. A method as in claim 50, in which the information in the database includes identification information regarding owners of different copies of the executable piece of software;

and in which the watermark is operable to locate the identification information of an owner of the piece of software.

52. A method as in claim 50, in which assembling the watermark occurs using less than all portions of watermark data.

53. A method for watermarking and distributing a piece of software, the method including:

dividing the piece of software into at least a first portion and a second portion;

distributing copies of the first portion to a plurality of users;

receiving a request to use the piece of software from a first user, the first user possessing a copy of the first portion of the piece of software;

generating a copy of the second portion of the piece of software;

inserting identification information into the copy of the second portion of the piece of software;

combining the first portion of the piece of software with the second portion of the piece of software to form a watermarked copy of the piece of software; and

providing the watermarked copy of the piece of software to the first user.

54. A method for watermarking copies of a computer program, the method including:

applying a first combination of obfuscating transformations to a first copy of the computer program, application of the first combination of obfuscating transformations being operable to leave a first observable characteristic in the computer program,

the first combination of obfuscating transformations including a plurality of obfuscation processes and embedding the first copy of the computer program with watermark information as a function of choices made during the plurality of obfuscation processes;

applying a second combination of obfuscating transformations to a second copy of the computer program, application of the second combination of obfuscating transformations being operable to leave a second observable characteristic in the computer program,

the second combination of obfuscating transformations including a plurality of obfuscation processes and embedding the second copy of the computer program with watermark information as a function of choices made during the plurality of obfuscation processes;

associating said first and second observable characteristics with information relating to said first and second copies of the computer program, respectively; and

whereby detection of the first observable characteristic can be used to retrieve the information relating to the first copy of the computer program, and detection of the second observable characteristic can be used to retrieve the information relating to the second copy of the computer program.