Optical recording medium having a master data area and a writeable data area

• US 6,580,683 B1
• Filed: 03/17/2000
• Issued: 06/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GATX Ventures, Inc. (GATX Corp.), Chemtron Research LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC), Silicon Valley Bank (SVB Financial Group)
• Original Assignee: DataPlay, Inc. (DPHI Incorporated)
• Inventors: Braitberg, Michael F., Volk, Steven B., Zaharris, Daniel R., Davies, David H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Tan
• Application Number:
  US09/527,982
• Time in Patent Office: 1,187 Days
• Field of Search: 369/275.2, 369/275.3, 369/275.1, 369/58, 369/54, 369/272, 369/274, 369/14, 428/64.4, 428/64.1, 430/320, 430/321, 380/201, 380/203, 713/193
• US Class Current: 369/275.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/346 Cards serving only as information carrier of service
• 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 20/0071 involving a purchase action
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1259 with ROM/RAM areas
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/211 Discs having both read-only and rewritable or recordable areas containing application data; Partial ROM media
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/28 Indicating or preventing prior or unauthorised use, e.g. cassettes with sealing or locking means, write-protect devices for discs write-protect devices for tapes G11B23/042, G11B23/08714; dummy cassettes for locking in the drive G11B33/005
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/284 on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0037 with discs
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/08576 Swinging-arm positioners
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0908 for focusing only G11B7/0925, G11B7/094, G11B7/0941, G11B7/0943, G11B7/0945, G11B7/0946, G11B7/0948 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0927 for focusing only G11B7/0937 takes precedence

Abstract

An optical medium uses a single structure or format (such as identical materials, layers and the like) for both a region for holding mastered data and a writeable area. In one aspect, a writeable region of a medium with mastered content is used in connection with paying, collecting or accounting for usage or royalties for proprietary intellectual property embodied in or associated with the content. In one embodiment, the (preferably write-once) writeable area can be used for storing later-written information such as annotations, highlighting, reordering, remixing, modifications, supplements, collections, additions, bookmarks, cross references, hypertext or hyperlinks and the like. Preferably, annotations and similar materials can be associated, by the user, with particular portions or content of the mastered data.

Claims

1. An optical data storage medium, comprising:

a first recording layer having a first region containing parallel-written read-protected mastered content and a second region which is user writeable, the second region including a code which a user received in return for a payment, wherein the code disables the read protection for the mastered content.

2. The medium of claim 1, wherein the code disables the read protection only at a given playback device.

3. The medium of claim 2, wherein the code contains information representing a serial number of the given playback device.

6. The medium of claim 2, wherein the code limits access to at least a portion of said mastered content to a predetermined number of playbacks.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the code limits access to at least a portion of said mastered content to a predetermined number of playbacks.

8. The medium of claim 2, wherein the code disables the read protection only within a specified geographical location.

9. The medium of claim 1, wherein the second region further comprises an area where a user can record user information.

4. A method, comprising:

providing an optical data storage medium including a first recording layer having a first region containing parallel-written read-protected mastered content and a second region which is user writeable; and

writing a code in the second region in return for a payment.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising associating later-written content, written in the second region, with selected portions of the mastered content.