Digital contents copying inhibition apparatus, digital contents copying inhibition method, and computer products

• US 6,810,388 B1
• Filed: 06/02/2000
• Issued: 10/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Trinity Security Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Trinity Security Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Sato, Yasutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer, Firmin
• Application Number:
  US09/587,360
• Time in Patent Office: 1,607 Days
• Field of Search: 705/57, 385/94
• US Class Current: 705/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00007 Time or data compression or expansion audio compression based on psychoacoustics G10L19/00; data processing for reproducing audio data at different playback speeds G10L21/04; video compression H04N19/00; data compression per se H03M7/30
• 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

Abstract

The digital contents copying-inhibition apparatus comprises a guard data storage section which stores a guard data. This guard data is for appending to audio or video digital data which can be expressed as amplitude of the contained frequency component. Presence of this guard data becomes apparent only when the audio or video digital data is reproduced after the data has been compressed once. The apparatus further comprises, a peak detection section which identifies a position of a digital value having a prespecified increase rate and a prespecified amplitude among a plurality of digital values each constituting the digital data, a data analysis section which sets a flag for a digital value located at a position away from the peak position by a prespecified number and also sets a plurality of digital values within a prespecified range centering on the digital value for which the flag has been set as a data pattern, and a guard data appending section which identifies a position where the data pattern is located from the digital data and varies the digital data by appending the guard data to the identified position.

Claims

1. A digital contents copying-inhibition apparatus comprising:

a guard data storage section which stores guard data, the guard data being appendable to audio or video digital data, the audio or video digital data being expressable as an amplitude of a frequency component, and wherein a presence of the guard data becomes audibly apparent to a user only when the audio or video digital data is reproduced after the audio or video digital data with the guard data appended thereto has been compressed;

a peak detection section which identifies a position of a digital value having a prespecified increase rate and a prespecified amplitude among a plurality of digital values each constituting a portion of the digital data;

a data analysis section which sets a flag for a digital value located at a position away from the peak position by a prespecified number and also sets a plurality of digital values within a prespecified range centering on the digital value for which the flag has been set as a data pattern; and

a guard data appending section which identifies positions where the data pattern is located from the digital data and varies the digital data by appending the guard data to the identified positions,

wherein the guard data is expressed as digital audio data with a small sound volume change rate and a high frequency, and the guard data is appended to a section of the digital data with a small sound volume immediately behind a portion with a large sound volume.

2. The digital contents copying-inhibition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said guard data appending section appends, each time a position where the data pattern is located is identified from the digital data, different guard data at the identified position.

3. The digital contents copying-inhibition apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a guard emphasizing data appending section which appends guard emphasizing data having a first frequency component not sensed in reproduction of the digital data, wherein

said guard data appending section appends the guard data to a data section having a frequency component equal to a half of the first frequency component.

4. A digital contents copying-inhibition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an encoding position identifying section which receives first digital code indicating at least one digital value among a plurality of digital values each constituting the digital data and identifies a digital value to be encoded among the digital values based on the received first digital code; and

an encoding section which receives second digital code and varies the digital data by appending the digital value indicated by the second digital code to a digital value at the position identified by said encoding position identifying section, wherein the encoding position identifying section receives a third digital code indicating a type of the digital data and changes a retrieval range for identifying the digital value to be encoded based on the received third digital code.

5. The digital contents copying-inhibition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guard data appended to the digital data causes an audio distortion in an unauthorized reproduction of the audio or video digital data.

6. The digital contents copying-inhibition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identified position is based on a result of a psychological auditory sense assay.

7. The digital contents copying-inhibition apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said encoding section changes a value of the eighth bit of the digital value at the position identified by said encoding position identifying section to “

1”

when the type of digital data indicated by the third digital code is a program.

9. A reproducible recording medium according to claim 7, further comprising:

an encoding position identifying section which receives first digital code indicating at least one digital value among a plurality of digital values each constituting the digital data and identifies a digital value to be encoded among the digital values based on the received first digital code; and

an encoding section which receives second digital code and varies the digital data by appending the digital value indicated by the second digital code to a digital value at the position identified by said encoding position identifying section, wherein the encoding position identifying section receives a third digital code indicating a type of the digital data and changes a retrieval range for identifying the digital value to be encoded based on the received third digital code.

8. A reproducible recording medium in which the digital data processed by a digital contents copying-inhibition apparatus is recorded therein, wherein said digital contents copying-inhibition apparatus comprising:

a guard data storage section which stores guard data, the guard data being appendable to audio or video digital data, the audio or video digital data being expressable as an amplitude of a frequency component, and wherein a presence of the guard data becomes audibly apparent to a user only when the audio or video digital data is reproduced after the audio or video digital data with the guard data appended thereto has been compressed;

a peak detection section which identifies a position of a digital value having a prespecified increase rate and a prespecified amplitude among a plurality of digital values each constituting a portion of the digital data;

a data analysis section which sets a flag for a digital value located at a position away from the peak position by a prespecified number and also sets a plurality of digital values within a prespecified range centering on the digital value for which the flag has been set as a data pattern; and

a guard data appending section which identifies positions where the data pattern is located from the digital data and varies the digital data by appending the guard data to the identified positions,

wherein the guard data is expressed as digital audio data with a small sound volume change rate and a high frequency, and the guard data is appended to a section of the digital data with a small sound volume immediately behind a portion with a large sound volume.

10. A digital contents copying-inhibition method comprising:

detecting a digital data peak position, wherein a position of a digital value having a prespecified increase rate and a prespecified amplitude is identified among a plurality of digital values each constituting digital data including audio or video digital data that is expressable as an amplitude of a frequency component of the audio or video digital data;

setting a flag for a digital value present at a position away from said peak position by a prespecified amount and a plurality of digital values within a prespecified range centering on the digital value for which the flag has been set as a data pattern; and

appending a guard data to the digital data at the identified position, wherein the presence the guard data is sensed in reproduction only after the digital data is appended and compressed,

wherein the guard data is expressed as digital audio data with a small sound volume change rate and a high frequency, and the guard data is appended to a section of the digital data with a small sound volume immediately behind a portion with a large sound volume in the guard data appending step.

11. The digital contents copying-inhibition method according to claim 10, wherein, in said guard data appending step, different guard data is appended, each time a position where the data pattern is located is identified from the digital data, to the identified position.

12. A digital contents copying-inhibition method according to claim 10 further comprising a guard emphasizing data appending step in which guard emphasizing data having a first frequency component not sensed in reproduction of the digital data is appended to said digital data, wherein,

in the guard data appending step, the guard data is appended to a data section having a frequency component which is equal to a half of the first frequency component in the digital data.

13. A digital contents copying-inhibition method according to claim 10, further comprising:

identifying an encoding position in which, of a plurality of digital values each constituting the digital data, first digital code indicating at least one digital data is received and a digital value to be encoded is identified among the plurality of digital data based on the received first digital code;

encoding the digital data, wherein second digital code is received and the digital data is modified by appending the digital value indicated by the second digital code to a digital value at the position identified in the encoding position identifying step, and wherein third digital code is received indicating a type of the digital data; and

modifying the digital value to be encoded based on the received third digital code.

14. The digital contents copying-inhibition method according to claim 13, wherein, in said encoding the digital data step, when the type of digital data indicated by the third digital code is a program, the eight bit of the digital value at the position identified by said encoding position identifying step is changed to “

1”

.

15. A reproducible recording medium in which digital data processing using a digital contents copying-inhibition method is recorded, the digital contents copying-inhibition method comprising:

detecting a digital data peak position, wherein a position of a digital value having a prespecified increase rate and a prespecified amplitude is identified among a plurality of digital values each constituting digital data including audio or video digital data that is expressable as an amplitude of a frequency component of the audio or video digital data;

setting a flag for a digital value present at a position away from said peak position by a prespecified amount and a plurality of digital values within a prespecified range centering on the digital value for which the flag has been set as a data pattern; and

appending a guard data to the digital data at the identified position, wherein the presence of the guard data is sensed in reproduction only after the digital data is appended and compressed,

wherein the guard data is expressed as digital audio data with a small sound volume change rate and a high frequency, and the guard data is appended to a section of the digital data with a small sound volume immediately behind a portion with a large sound volume in the guard data appending step.

16. A reproducible recording medium according to claim 15, further comprising:

identifying an encoding position in which, of a plurality of digital values each constituting the digital data, first digital code indicating at least one digital data is received and a digital value to be encoded is identified among the plurality of digital data based on the received first digital code;

encoding the digital data, wherein second digital code is received and the digital data is modified by appending the digital value indicated by the second digital code to a digital value at the position identified in the encoding position identifying step, and wherein third digital code is received indicating a type of the digital data; and

modifying the digital value to be encoded based on the received third digital code.

17. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for making a computer execute a digital contents copying-inhibition method is recorded, the digital contents copying-inhibition method comprising:

detecting a digital data peak position, wherein a position of a digital value having a prespecified increase rate and a prespecified amplitude is identified among a plurality of digital values each constituting digital data including audio audio or video digital data that is expressable as an amplitude of a frequency component of the audio or video digital data;

setting a flag for a digital value present at a position away from said peak position by a prespecified amount and a plurality of digital values within a prespecified range centering on the digital value for which the flag has been set as a data pattern; and

appending a guard data to the digital data at the identified position, wherein the presence of the guard data is sensed in reproduction only after the digital data is appended and compressed, to the identified position,

wherein the guard data is expressed as digital audio data with a small sound volume change rate and a high frequency, and the guard data is appended to a section of the digital data with a small sound volume immediately behind a portion with a large sound volume in the guard data appending step.

18. A computer-readable recording medium according to claim 17, further comprising:

identifying an encoding position in which, of a plurality of digital values each constituting the digital data, first digital code indicating at least one digital data is received and a digital value to be encoded is identified among the plurality of digital data based on the received first digital code; and

encoding the digital data, wherein second digital code is received and the digital data is modified by appending the digital value indicated by the second digital code to a digital value at the position identified in the encoding position identifying step, and wherein third digital code is received indicating a type of the digital data; and

modifying the digital value to be encoded by the received third digital code.