Method and apparatus for preventing unauthorized use in systems having alternative control for avoiding defect areas on recording media

• US 6,199,148 B1
• Filed: 05/27/1999
• Issued: 03/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Naito, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hiep T.
• Application Number:
  US09/320,877
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 711/163, 711/164, 711/4, 360/60, 380/3, 380/4, 713/200
• US Class Current: 711/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/145 the protection being virtual, e.g. for virtual blocks or segments before a translation mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/101 by binding digital rights to specific entities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/80 in storage media based on magnetic or optical technology, e.g. disks with sectors preventing unauthorised reproduction or copying of disc-type recordable media G11B20/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/007 Encryption, En-/decode, En-/decipher, En-/decypher, Scramble, (De-)compress
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00094 involving measures which result in a restriction to authorised record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00115 wherein the record carrier stores a unique medium identifier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00123 the record carrier being identified by recognising some of its unique characteristics, e.g. a unique defect pattern serving as a physical signature of the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00173 wherein the origin of the content is checked, e.g. determining whether the content has originally been retrieved from a legal disc copy or another trusted source
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0021 involving encryption or decryption of contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00492 wherein content or user data is encrypted
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00949 said intentional errors occurring due to bad sectors, which are either physically destroyed or which are declared defective in the defect management information
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00963 wherein said defects or errors are not generated on purpose, e.g. random defect patterns occurring during the normal manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1883 Methods for assignment of alternate areas for defective areas
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1889 with discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/007 Arrangement of the information on the record carrier, e.g. form of tracks , actual track shape, e.g. wobbled, or cross-section, e.g. v-shaped; Sequential information structures, e.g. sectoring or header formats within a track

Abstract

A method of preventing unauthorized use includes defining a first original medium ID information stored in a predetermined order which indicates a location of the defect area of an original recording medium, when a block of data to be stored in a defect area of recording media is to be read in a system which has an alternative control for reading a block of data from an alternate area instead of the defect area without accessing the defect area. The method also includes defining a second original medium ID information as a part of data which is stored in the original recording medium and which is to be prevented against unauthorized use, reading out the first original medium ID information from the predetermined address of a recording medium to be judged for unauthorized use and reading out the second original medium ID information as a part of data from the recording medium to be judged. The final step includes judging unauthorized use of data based on the read out first original medium ID information and the read out second original medium ID information.

Claims

1. A method of preventing unlawful use of software in a system which has an alternative control for reading a block of data from an alternate area of a recording medium instead of a defect area without accessing the defect area, wherein an original medium ID is recorded beforehand at a prescribed location on an original recording medium on which the software has been recorded, data that has been recorded at the prescribed location on a recording medium is examined when the software recorded on the recording medium is executed, and the recording medium is regarded as a copied medium and execution of the software is disallowed if said examined data fails to agree with the original medium ID, said method comprising the steps of:

adding to the software the original medium ID as well as a security program for preventing unlawful use of the software;

constructing the system so adapted that, in an ordinary mode, the prescribed location at which the original medium ID is to be recorded is regarded as being a defective location and the alternate area corresponding to said defective location is accessed, and in a maintenance mode for examining the data that has been recorded at the prescribed location, the prescribed location is regarded as being a normal location and the prescribed location is accessed;

recording beforehand data other than the original medium ID in the alternate area of the original recording medium;

when the software is read from the original recording medium and a copied medium is created by recording the software on another recording medium in said ordinary mode, recording said data that has been recorded in the alternate area of the original recording medium at the prescribed location of the copied medium at which the original medium ID is to be recorded whereby data read from the prescribed location of the copied medium is made different from said original medium ID in said maintenance mode;

establishing the maintenance mode by executing the security program before execution of the software recorded on a recording medium to be judged for unlawful use;

reading data out of the prescribed location on the recording medium to be judged for unlawful use;

comparing this data with the original medium ID that has been added on to the software; and

allowing execution of the software upon establishing the ordinary mode if the data and the original medium ID agree, thereby the recording medium is regarded as the original medium and disallowing execution of the software if the data and the original medium ID fail to agree, thereby the recording medium is regarded as a copied medium.

2. A computer system which has an alternative control for reading a block of data from an alternate area of a recording medium instead of a defect area without accessing the defect area, wherein an original medium ID is recorded beforehand at a prescribed location on an original recording medium on which software has been recorded, data that has been recorded at the prescribed location on a recording medium is examined when the software recorded on the recording medium is executed, and the recording medium is regarded as a copied medium and execution of the software is disallowed if said examined data fails to agree with the original medium ID, said system comprising:

means for adding to the software the original medium ID as well as a security program for preventing unlawful use of the software;

means for constructing the system so adapted that, in an ordinary mode, the prescribed location at which the original medium ID is to be recorded is regarded as being a defective location and an alternate area corresponding to this defective location is accessed, and in a maintenance mode for examining the data that has been recorded the prescribed location, the prescribed location is regarded as being a normal location and the prescribed location is accessed;

means for recording beforehand data other than the original medium ID in the alternate area of the original recording medium;

means for recording the data that has been recorded in the alternate area of the original recording medium at the prescribed location of a copied medium at which the original medium ID is to be recorded, whereby data read from the prescribed location of the copied medium is made different from the original medium ID in the maintenance mode;

means for establishing the maintenance mode by executing the security program before execution of the software recorded on a recording medium to be judged for unlawful use;

means for reading data out of the prescribed location on the recording medium;

means for comparing this data with the original medium ID that has been added on to the software; and

means for allowing execution of the software upon establishing the ordinary mode if the data and the original medium ID agree, thereby the recording medium is regarded as the original medium and disallowing execution of the software if the data and the original medium ID fail to agree, thereby the recording medium is regarded as the copied medium.

3. A method of preventing unauthorized use of software recorded on an original recording medium in a system which has an alternative control for reading a block of data from an alternate area instead of a defect area without accessing the defect area, comprising the steps of:

recording a first original medium ID at a prescribed location on the original recording medium;

recording on the original recording medium, correspondence between address of said prescribed location and an address of an alternate location from which data other than said first original medium ID is read in an ordinary mode;

adding to the software a second original medium ID for preventing unauthorized use of the software;

when the software is read from the original recording medium and copied on another recording medium in said ordinary mode, reading the data from said alternate location of the original recording medium and recording said data at the prescribed location of said another recording medium, whereby data read from the prescribed location of the copied medium is made different from said first original medium ID in a maintenance mode;

at the time of processing for preventing unauthorized use of the software in said maintenance mode, reading out data from the prescribed location of a recording medium to be judged for unauthorized use;

comparing this data with said second original medium ID that has been added on to the software; and

judging unauthorized use of the software in accordance with the result of the comparison.

4. A computer system which has an alternative control for reading a block of data from an alternate area instead of a defect area without accessing the defect area, comprising;

means for recording a first original medium ID at a prescribed location on an original recording medium;

means for recording on said original recording medium, correspondence between an address of said prescribed location and an address of an alternate location from which data other than said original medium ID is read in an ordinary mode;

means for adding to software recorded on the original recording medium a second original medium ID for preventing unauthorized use of said software;

means for reading the data from the alternate area of the original recording medium and recording the data at a prescribed location of a copied medium, whereby data read from said prescribed location of said copied medium is made different from said first original medium ID in a maintenance mode;

means, at the time of processing for preventing unauthorized use of the software in said maintenance mode, for reading out data from the prescribed location of a recording medium to be judged for unauthorized use;

means for comparing this data with said second original medium ID that has been added on to the software; and

means for judging unauthorized use of the software in accordance with the result of the comparison.

5. A recording medium in a system which has an alternative control for reading a block of data from an alternate location instead of a defect location without accessing the defect location of the recording medium when a block of data stored in the defect location is read, comprising:

a first area storing data and software, in which a first original medium ID is recorded at a prescribed location of the first area, and a second original medium ID for preventing unauthorized use of said software is added to the software;

a second area including the alternate location; and

a third area storing correspondence between address of said prescribed location and an address of the alternate location from which data other than said original medium ID is read in an ordinary mode, and wherein data is read from said prescribed location in a maintenance mode for examining whether the data agrees to the first original medium ID or not by comparing the data and said second original medium ID.

6. A method of preventing unauthorized use of information recorded on an original recording medium in a system which has an alternative control for reading a block of data from an alternate location instead of a defect location without accessing the defect location, the original recording medium storing an original recording medium ID in a prescribed location, special data other than the original recording medium ID in an alternate location and correspondence between an address of the prescribed location and an address of the alternate location from which the special data is read in an ordinary mode, said method comprising the operation of:

reading the special data from the alternate location of the original recording medium instead of the prescribed location and recording the special data at the prescribed location of a copied medium, whereby data read from the prescribed location of the copied medium is made different from the original medium ID in a maintenance mode;

reading out, at the time of processing for preventing unauthorized use of the information in the maintenance mode, data from the prescribed location of a recording medium to be judged for unauthorized use;

comparing the data from the prescribed location of a recording medium to be judged for unauthorized use with the original medium ID; and

judging unauthorized use of the information in accordance with the result of the comparison.

7. A computer system which has an alternative control for reading a block of data from an alternate location instead of a defect location without accessing the defect location in an ordinary mode, and reads and records data from and to an original recording medium storing an original recording medium ID in a prescribed location, a special data other than the original recording medium ID in an alternate location and correspondence between an address of said prescribed location and an address of the alternate location from which said special data is read in an ordinary mode, said system comprising:

means for reading the special data from the alternate location of the original recording medium instead of the prescribed location and recording the special data at the prescribed location of a copied medium, whereby data read from the prescribed location of the copied medium is made different from the original medium ID in a maintenance mode;

means for reading out, at the time of processing for preventing unauthorized use of information in the maintenance mode;

data from the prescribed location of a recording medium to be judged for unauthorized use;

means for comparing the data from the prescribed location of a recording medium to be judged for unauthorized use with the original medium ID; and

means for judging unauthorized use of information in accordance with the result of comparison.

8. A recording medium is a system which has an alternative control for reading a block of data from an alternate location instead of a defect location without accessing the defect location of the recording medium when a block of data stored in the defect is read, comprising:

a first area storing information, in which an original medium ID is recorded at a prescribed location of the first area for preventing unauthorized use of the information;

a second area including an alternate location which corresponds to the prescribed location and in which a special data other than the original medium ID is recorded; and

a third area storing correspondence between an address of the prescribed location and an address of the alternate location from which the special data is read in an ordinary mode, and

wherein data is read from the prescribed location in a maintenance mode for examining whether the data agrees to the original medium ID or not by comparing the data and the original medium ID.