Recording information with a watermark related to a prerecorded medium mark on an information carrier

• US 7,000,113 B1
• Filed: 01/26/1998
• Issued: 02/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Linnartz, Johan P. M. G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moise, Emmanuel L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Davis, Zachary A.
• Application Number:
  US09/013,541
• Time in Patent Office: 2,941 Days
• Field of Search: 713/177, 713/193, 713/100, 713/176, 713/168, 369/275.5, 369/275.3, 369/275.2, 369/275.1, 369/275.4, 369/53.21, 380/203, 380/202, 380/201, 380/210, 725/9, 725/20, 725/25, 725/31, 386/94, 705/51, 705/57, 705/59, 726/27
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• 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 20/00884 involving a watermark, i.e. a barely perceptible transformation of the original data which can nevertheless be recognised by an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91335 the copy protection signal being a watermark

Abstract

A system for copy protection of recorded information is disclosed, including an information carrier, a recorder and a player. The information carrier, e.g. an optical disc, includes a medium mark representing a first bitpattern, which medium mark cannot be copied on standard recording devices. The recorded information includes a watermark representing a second bitpattern, which second bitpattern has a predefined relationship to the first bitpattern. The watermark cannot be manipulated without disturbing the quality of the reproduction of the information. The relationship, preferably a one-way function, between the watermark and the medium mark requires that an illegal copy also has the corresponding medium mark. As neither the watermark nor the medium mark can be manipulated, a strong protection against illegal copying is achieved. The recorder includes encoder means for embedding the watermark in the information and generator means for generating the second bitpattern according to said relationship. The player includes verification means for verifying said relationship.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a recorder, including;

reading means for reading from an information carrier, a content of a medium mark, said content comprising a first bitpattern;

generating means for generating a second bitpattern according to a predefined relationship of with the first bitpattern;

encoder means for embedding a watermark containing the second bitpattern in user information to be recorded; and

recording means for recording the watermarked user information on the information carrier for storage, wherein the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern;

the system further comprising;

a player including;

first reading means for reading the content of the medium mark, said content comprising the first bitpattern;

second reading means for reading the embedded watermark containing the second bitpattern from the user information;

verifying means for establishing a verification of the relationship between the second bit pattern and the first bit pattern; and

enabling means for enabling playback of the recorded watermarked user information from the information carrier based on said verification.

2. The system of claim 1, in which the relationship includes a cryptographic function.

3. The system of claim 2, in which the relationship includes a one-way function.

4. The system of claim 1, in which the second bitpattern identifies the encoder means.

6. The system of claim 1 in which the medium mark is pressed in the information carrier during manufacture.

7. The system of claim 1 in which the watermarked user information is stored on the information carrier in a different manner than the medium mark is stored, the user information writing means being insufficient for writing the medium mark on the information carrier.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said enabling means comprises an enabling switch.

5.

9. A recorder comprising:

reading means for reading from an information carrier, a content of a medium mark, said content comprising a first bitpattern;

generating means for generating a second bitpattern according to a predefined relationship with the first bitpattern; and

encoder means for embedding a water mark containing the second bitpattern in user information to be recorded; and

recording means for recording the watermarked user information in the information carrier for storage, in which the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern.

10. The recorder of claim 9, in which:

the recorder further comprises marking means for writing the medium mark on the information carrier; and

the generating means generate the first bitpattern from a seed according to a further predefined relationship.

11. The recorder of claim 10, in which the generating means generate the first bitpattern by combining a first part represented by a prepressed mark on a recordable information carrier and a second part generated from the seed.

12. The recorder of claim 10, in which the further predefined relationship includes a cryptographic one-way function.

13. The recorder of claim 9, in which:

the recorder further comprises means for reading the first bitpattern from the information carrier;

the first bit pattern indicates a copy protection status of the information carrier;

the relationship includes a cryptographic function;

the relationship includes a one-way function;

the second bitpattern identifies the encoder means;

the recorder further comprises marking means for writing the medium mark on the information carrier;

the generating means generate the first bitpattern from a seed according to a further predefined relationship; and

the generating means are arranged for generating the first bitpattern by combining a first part represented by a prepressed mark on the information carrier and a second part generated from a seed.

14. An information carrier comprising:

a medium mark, wherein a content of said medium mark comprises a first bitpattern, in which the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern; and

recorded user information encoded with a watermark containing a second bitpattern different from the first bit pattern and having a predefined relationship with the first bitpattern whereby the relationship between the second bitpattern and the content of the first bitpattern can be verified in a computer process.

15. The information carrier of claim 14, in which the first bitpattern includes:

a first part identifying a source of the information carrier; and

a second part identifying the recorded information.

16. The information carrier of claim 14, in which:

the relationship includes a cryptographic function;

the relationship includes a one-way function; and

the second bitpattern identifies encoded user information.

17. A player for an information carrier comprising:

first reading means for reading a content of a medium mark, said content comprising a first bitpattern, in which the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern;

second reading means for reading an embedded watermark containing a second bitpattern from recorded user information;

verifying means for verifying a predefined relationship between the second bitpattern and the first bitpattern; and

enabling means for enabling playback of recorded user information from the information carrier based on said predefined relationship.

18. The player of claim 17, in which the verifying means includes a cryptographic one-way function.

19. The player of claim 18, in which:

the verification means generate a verification pattern by applying a one-way function to the first bitpattern; and

the verifying means compare the verification pattern and the second bitpattern in order to verify the predefined relationship.

20. The player of claim 18, in which:

the relationship includes a cryptographic one-way function;

the relationship includes a one-way function; and

the second bitpattern identifies the predefined relationship.

21. The player of claim 17, wherein said enabling means comprises an enabling switch.

22. A system for copy protection of information recorded on an information carrier, the system comprising:

a medium mark on the information carrier containing a first bitpattern, wherein the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern,

a recorder for embedding a watermark into a set of information data and for recording a watermarked set of information data on the information carrier, the watermark containing a second bit pattern having a predefined relationship to the first bitpattern, and

a player for verifying the relationship between the first bit pattern and the second bit pattern and for reproducing the watermarked set of information from the information carrier.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the predefined relationship comprises a cryptographic one-way function.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the second bitpattern is generated by applying a one-way function to the first bitpattern.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the recorder comprises encoding means for encoding a unique seed on the information carrier allowing the encoding means to be identified from the second bitpattern.

26. A recorder for recording information on an information carrier containing a medium mark, contents of the medium mark containing a first bit pattern, the recorder comprising:

generator means for generating a second bitpattern according to a predefined relationship between the first bit pattern and the second bitpattern, wherein the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern,

encoder means for embedding a watermark in the information, the watermark containing the second bitpattern, and

means for recording watermarked information on the information carrier containing the medium mark.

27. The recorder of claim 26, wherein the recorder further comprises marking means for generating the first bitpattern from a seed according to a further predefined relationship and for providing the medium mark on the information carrier.

28. The recorder of claim 27, wherein the further predefined relationship includes a cryptographic one-way function.

29. The recorder of claim 26, wherein the generator means are arranged for generating the first bitpattern by combining a first part represented by contents of a prepressed mark on a recordable information carrier and a second part generated from a seed.

30. The recorder of claim 26 further comprising further encoding means for cryptographically scrambling the watermarked information using the first bit pattern before the watermarked information is recorded so that recorded information is scrambled.

31. The recorder of claim 26, wherein the recorder further comprises means for reading the medium mark from the information carrier.

32. The recorder of claim 26 wherein the recorder manufacturers a disk by pressing.

33. An information carrier comprising:

recorded information, and

a medium mark, contents of the medium mark containing a first bitpattern and wherein the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern, the recorded information including a watermark containing a second bitpattern different from the first bit pattern and having a predefined relationship to the first bitpattern.

34. The information carrier of claim 33, wherein the first bitpattern includes a first part identifying a source of the information carrier, and a second part identifying the recorded information.

35. A player for reproducing information from an information carrier and comprising:

means for reading a medium mark from the information carrier, contents of the medium mark containing a first bitpattern, wherein the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern,

means for recovering a watermark from information read from the information carrier, the watermark containing a second bitpattern, and

verification means for verifying a predefined relationship between the second bitpattern and the first bitpattern, and

means for reproducing information containing the watermark from the information carrier.

36. The player of claim 35, wherein the verification uses a cryptographic one-way function.

37. The player of claim 35, wherein the verifications means are arranged for generating a verification pattern by applying a one-way function to the first bitpattern and for comparing the verification pattern and the second bitpattern.

38. The player of claim 35 wherein reproduction of information by the player is dependent upon the predetermined relationship as verified by the verification means.

39. A system for copying protection of information recorded on an information carrier, the system comprising:

a medium mark on the information carrier containing a first bitpattern,

a recorder for embedding a watermark into a set of information data and for recording a watermarked set of information data on the information carrier, the watermark representing a second bit pattern having a predefined relationship to the first bitpattern, and

a player for verifying the relationship between the first bit pattern and the second bit pattern and for reproducing the watermarked set of information from the information carrier, wherein the first bit pattern is a cryptographic key for de-scrambling recorded information to recover the watermarked information, and the second bit pattern is recovered from the watermark of the watermarked information.

40. A recorder for recording information on a record carrier, comprising:

means for reading a medium mark from the record carrier, contents of the medium mark containing a first bitpattern, wherein the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern;

means for determining whether the information contains a watermark containing a second bitpattern that has a predetermined relationship with the first bit pattern; and

means for recording information dependent upon result of the means for determining.

41. The recorder of claim 40 wherein the means for determining further identifies a verification pattern by applying a one-way function to the first bitpattern and comparing the verification pattern and the second bitpattern.

42. A system comprising:

a recorder, including;

reading means for reading from an information carrier, a content of a medium mark, said content comprising a first bitpattern;

generating means for generating a second bitpattern according to a predefined relationship of with the first bitpattern;

encoder means for embedding a watermark representing the second bitpattern in user information to be recorded, wherein the first bit pattern is a cryptographic key for de-scrambling recorded information to recover the watermarked information, and the second bit pattern is recovered from the watermark of the watermarked information; and

recording means for recording the watermarked user information on the information carrier for storage;

the system further comprising;

a player including;

first reading means for reading the content of the medium mark, said content comprising the first bitpattern;

second reading means for reading the embedded watermark representing the second bitpattern from the user information;

verifying means for establishing a verification of the relationship between the second bit pattern and the first bit pattern; and

enabling means for enabling playback of the recorded watermarked user information from the information carrier based on said verification.

43. A recorder comprising:

reading means for reading from an information carrier, a content of a medium mark, said content comprising a first bitpattern;

generating means for generating a second bitpattern according to a predefined relationship with the first bitpattern; and

encoder means for embedding a watermark representing the second bitpattern in user information to be recorded; and

recording means for recording the watermarked user information in the information carrier for storage, wherein the first bit pattern is a cryptographic key for de-scrambling recorded information to recover the watermarked information, and the second bit pattern is recovered from the watermark of the watermarked information.

44. An information carrier comprising:

a medium mark, wherein a content of said medium mark comprises a first bitpattern, and wherein the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern; and

recorded user information encoded with a watermark containing a second bitpattern different from the first bit pattern and having a predefined relationship with the first bitpattern whereby the relationship between the second bitpattern and the content of the first bitpattern can be verified in a computer process, wherein the first bit pattern is a cryptographic key for de-scrambling recorded information to recover the watermarked information, and the second bit pattern is recovered from the watermark of the watermarked information.

45. A player for an information carrier comprising:

first reading means for reading a content of a medium mark, said content comprising a first bitpattern;

second reading means for reading an embedded watermark representing a second bitpattern from recorded user information, wherein the first bit pattern is a cryptographic key for de-scrambling recorded information to recover watermarked information, and the second bit pattern is recovered from the watermark of watermarked information;

verifying means for verifying a predefined relationship between the second bitpattern and the first bitpattern; and

enabling means for enabling playback of recorded user information from the information carrier based on said predefined relationship.

46. A recorder for recording information on an information carrier containing a medium mark, contents of the medium mark representing a first bit pattern, the recorder comprising:

generator means for generating a second bitpattern according to a predefined relationship between the first bit pattern and the second bitpattern,

encoder means for embedding a watermark in the information carrier, the watermark representing the second bitpattern, and

means for recording watermarked information on the information carrier containing the medium mark, wherein the first bit pattern is a key for de-scrambling recorded information to recover watermarked information, and the second bit pattern is recovered from the watermark of watermarked information.

47. An information carrier comprising:

recorded information, and

a medium mark, contents of the medium mark containing a first bitpattern wherein the medium mark is contained in a wobble of a track of the information carrier, the wobble representing the first bit pattern, the recorded information including a watermark containing a second bitpattern different from the first bit pattern and having a predefined relationship to the first bitpattern, wherein the first bit pattern is a cryptographic key for de-scrambling recorded information to recover watermarked information, and the second bit pattern is recovered from the watermark of watermarked information.

48. A player for reproducing information from an information carrier and comprising:

means for reading a medium mark from the information carrier, contents of the medium mark representing a first bitpattern,

means for recovering a watermark from information read from the information carrier, the watermark representing a second bitpattern, and

verification means for verifying a predefined relationship between the second bitpattern and the first bitpattern, and

means for reproducing information containing the watermark from the information carrier, wherein the first bit pattern is a cryptographic key for de-scrambling recorded information to recover watermarked information, and the second bit pattern is recovered from the watermark of watermarked information.