Copy protection control system
First Claim
1. A method for facilitating the detection of pirated music by inserting robust and weak watermarks in music that is to be protected against piracy, the robust watermark withstanding compression and the weak watermark being such that it will be destroyed if the music is compressed, and examining the music to detect which of the watermarks are present in order to determine the allowed use of the music.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for protecting against use of pirated music. Two watermarks are inserted into the music to be protected by the music publisher. One watermark is robust—it will not be destroyed by compression. The other watermark is weak—it is designed to be destroyed by compression. The robust mark tells a player that the music is protected, i.e., that it is not authorized to be delivered in compressed form over an insecure channel. If the music is found to have been compressed and it was delivered over an insecure channel, then its play or other processing can be restricted.
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Citations
25 Claims
- 1. A method for facilitating the detection of pirated music by inserting robust and weak watermarks in music that is to be protected against piracy, the robust watermark withstanding compression and the weak watermark being such that it will be destroyed if the music is compressed, and examining the music to detect which of the watermarks are present in order to determine the allowed use of the music.
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9. A method for facilitating the detection of pirated music by inserting watermark information in music that is to be protected against piracy, the watermark information being such that it withstands compression to the extent that it remains detectable but is changed in a manner that remnants thereof are recognizable if the music is compressed, and examining the music to detect the extent to which the watermark information is present in order to determine the allowed use of the music, wherein in the presence of any remnants of said watermark information it may be determined that there are use restrictions applicable to the file, and if said digital file is received over a secure channel, then regardless of whether remnants of said watermark information are present it is determined that there are no use restrictions applicable to the file.
- 10. A method for restricting the processing of a received music file comprising the steps of examining the received music file for robust and weak watermarks that may have been inserted therein, the robust watermark withstanding compression and the weak watermark being such that it will be destroyed if the music containing it is compressed, and restricting processing of the received music file if the robust watermark is present and the weak watermark is not.
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18. A method for restricting the processing of received music comprising the steps of examining the received music for a possible remnant watermark indicating that the music is to be protected against piracy, the original watermark in the music being such that it is altered by compression of the music in a manner that leaves a remnant of it detectable, and restricting processing of the received music if the remnant watermark is found, wherein if the music is received over a secure channel in the form of a digital file, then regardless of whether any remnant watermark is present it is determined that there are no use restrictions applicable to the file.
- 19. A player that restricts the processing of a received music file comprising a first module that examines the received music file for robust and weak watermarks that may have been inserted therein, the robust watermark withstanding compression and the weak watermark being such that it will be destroyed if the music containing it is compressed, and a second module that restricts processing of the received music file if the robust watermark is present and the weak watermark is not.
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25. A player that restricts the processing of received music comprising a module that examines the received music for a possible remnant watermark indicating that the music is to be protected against piracy, the original watermark in the music being such that it is altered by compression of the music in a manner that leaves a remnant of it detectable, and a module that restricts processing of the received music if the remnant watermark is found, wherein the remnant watermark represents the permissible use to be made of the received music in which it is contained, in the absence of said remnant watermark it is determined that there are no use restrictions applicable to the received music, and if the music is received over a secure channel in the form of a digital file, then regardless of whether said remnant watermark is present it is determined that there are no use restrictions applicable to the file.
Specification