Systems and methods for watermarking software and other media

• US 7,739,511 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Issued: 06/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Inventors: Matheson, Lesley R., Maheshwari, Umesh, Horning, James J., Sibert, W. Olin, Owicki, Susan S., Wright, Andrew K., Tarjan, Robert E., Horne, William G.
• Primary Examiner(s): LAFORGIA, CHRISTIAN A
• Application Number:
  US11/927,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20080215891A1
• Time in Patent Office: 960 Days
• Field of Search: 713/176
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3604 Software analysis for verifying properties of programs byte-code verification G06F9/44589
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks
• CPC Class Codes: G09C 5/00 Ciphering apparatus or methods not provided for in the preceding groups, e.g. involving the concealment or deformation of graphic data such as designs, written or printed messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 1/00 Secret communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 1/02 by adding a second signal to make the desired signal unintelligible
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/608 Watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3226 using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for embedding information in software and/or other electronic content such that the information is difficult for an unauthorized party to detect, remove, insert, forge, and/or corrupt. The embedded information can be used to protect electronic content by identifying the content'"'"'s source, thus enabling unauthorized copies or derivatives to be reliably traced, and thus facilitating effective legal recourse by the content owner. Systems and methods are also disclosed for protecting, detecting, removing, and decoding information embedded in electronic content, and for using the embedded information to protect software or other media from unauthorized analysis, attack, and/or modification.

Claims

1. A method for watermarking a piece of software to resist a collusive attack utilizing a system comprising a processor and a memory encoded with program instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the method, the method comprising:

selecting a first alphabet having an alphabet-size greater than or equal to an expected number of colluders;

encoding a watermark as a quasi-random sequence of symbols chosen from said alphabet;

embedding the watermark in the piece of software as an outer code; and

embedding an inner code in the piece of software.

2. The method as in claim 1, in which each symbol comprises a number of bits that is greater than or equal to the expected number of colluders multiplied by the natural logarithm of the first alphabet-size.