Secure personal content server

• US 8,789,201 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2013
• Issued: 07/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wistaria Trading Inc.
• Original Assignee: Blue Spike, Inc.
• Inventors: Moskowitz, Scott A., Berry, Mike W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zecher, Cordelia
• Assistant Examiner(s): AVERY, JEREMIAH L
• Application Number:
  US13/796,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20130185397A1
• Time in Patent Office: 497 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1012 to domains
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1063 Personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4181 for conditional access
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4183 providing its own processing capabilities, e.g. external module for video decoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

A local content server system (LCS) for creating a secure environment for digital content is disclosed, which system comprises: a communications port in communication for connecting the LCS via a network to at least one Secure Electronic Content Distributor (SECD), which SECD is capable of storing a plurality of data sets, is capable of receiving a request to transfer at least one content data set, and is capable of transmitting the at least one content data set in a secured transmission; a rewritable storage medium whereby content received from outside the LCS may be stored and retrieved; a domain processor that imposes rules and procedures for content being transferred between the LCS and devices outside the LCS; and a programmable address module which can be programmed with an identification code uniquely associated with the LCS. The LCS is provided with rules and procedures for accepting and transmitting content data.

Claims

1. A method for storing, degrading and storing, or not storing data, comprising:

providing a device comprising a local content server (LCS);

wherein said LCS comprises a communication port, non-transient LCS storage media, and an LCS processor;

wherein said LCS uses said LCS processor to impose rules and procedures controlling transfer of first content into a first LCS domain of said LCS, thereby defining said first LCS domain;

wherein said LCS uses said LCS processor to impose rules and procedures comprises said LCS determining whether a watermark is present in said first content, and only if said LCS determines that no watermark is present in said first content, then said LCS degrading said first content resulting in degraded first content, and said LCS storing said degraded first content in said non-transient LCS storage media;

wherein said LCS uses said LCS processor to impose said rules and procedures comprises said LCS comparing a watermark present in said first content with an LCS watermark associated with said LCS, thereby making a watermark match determination, and only if said watermark match determination indicates a match then said LCS storing said first content in said first LCS domain in said non-transient LCS storage media in encrypted form, and only if said watermark match determination indicates a mismatch then said LCS rejecting said first content from said first LCS domain so that said first content is not stored in said first LCS domain;

said LCS receiving said first content;

said LCS determining if a watermark is present in said first content, thereby making a watermark determination;

only if said watermark determination indicates no watermark is present in said first content, said LCS degrading said first content resulting in degraded first content and then storing said degraded first content in encrypted form in said first LCS domain in said non-transient LCS storage media; and

only if said watermark determination indicates a watermark is present in said first content, said LCS determining if said watermark in said first content matches said LCS watermark, thereby making a watermark-LCS match determination;

only if said watermark-LCS match determination indicates a match, said LCS storing said first content in encrypted form in said first LCS domain in said non-transient LCS storage media; and

said LCS rejecting said first content from said first LCS domain so that said first content is not stored in said first LCS domain only if said watermark-LCS match determination indicates a mismatch.

2. A device comprising a local content server system (LCS), wherein:

said LCS comprises an LCS communications port, an LCS storage unit for storing digital data in non-transient form, and an LCS domain processor for processing digital data;

wherein said LCS is configured to use said LCS domain processor to impose rules and procedures to control transfer of first content from outside said LCS into a first LCS domain of said LCS, thereby defining said first LCS domain;

wherein said rules and procedures comprise said LCS determining if said first content is verified as authentic or not authentic, wherein only if said LCS determines that said first content is verified as not authentic, then said LCS rejects said first content from said LCS domain so that said first content is not stored in said LCS storage unit, and wherein only if said LCS determines that said first content is verified as authentic then said LCS stores said first content in said LCS domain in said LCS storage unit in encrypted form, and wherein only if said LCS finds no indicia indicating either authenticity or lack of authenticity then said LCS degrades said first content resulting in degraded first content and stores said degraded first content in said LCS domain in said LCS storage unit; and

wherein said LCS stores an LCS identification code associated with said LCS.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said LCS comprises a watermark extractor.

4. The device of claim 2 wherein said LCS comprises an interface for communicating with a satellite unit (SU).

5. The device of claim 4 wherein said LCS is configured to embed a watermark into data it transmits via said interface to said satellite unit (SU).

6. The device of claim 5 wherein said LCS is configured to generate said watermark based upon (1) information received by said LCS from said satellite unit (SU) and (2) information about said LCS.

7. The device of claim 2 wherein said LCS is configured to use said LCS domain processor to apply a decode algorithm to said first content, and determine if encoding is present in said first content based upon results of applying said decode algorithm.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein if said LCS determines that no encoding is present said LCS is configured to degrade said first content prior to storing said first content in said LCS storage.

9. The device of claim 7 wherein if said LCS determines that no encoding is present then said LCS is configured to set a status value to legacy, and apply said rules and procedures associated with a legacy status, to said first content, wherein legacy status means that said LCS did not detect encoding in said first content as a result of application of said decode algorithm.

10. The device of claim 7 wherein if said LCS determines that encoding is present based upon said results of applying said decode algorithm, said LCS is configured to not set a status value to legacy, and to not apply said rules and procedures associated with legacy status, to said first content.

11. The device of claim 7 wherein if said LCS determines that encoding is present, said LCS is configured to set a status value to one of authorized and denied based upon said results of applying said decode algorithm, and to apply said rules and procedures associated with the corresponding one of authorized and denied status.

12. A device for storing, degrading and storing, or not storing data, comprising:

a local content server (LCS) comprising a communication port, non-transient LCS storage media, and an LCS processor;

wherein said LCS uses said LCS processor to impose rules and procedures controlling transfer of first content into a first LCS domain of said LCS, thereby defining said first LCS domain;

wherein said LCS determines from the imposed rules and procedures whether a watermark is present in said first content, and only if said LCS determines that no watermark is present in said first content, then said LCS degrades said first content resulting in degraded first content, and said LCS storing said degraded first content in said non-transient LCS storage media; and

wherein said LCS imposing said rules and procedures comprise said LCS comparing a watermark present in said first content with an LCS watermark associated with said LCS, thereby making a watermark match determination, and only if said watermark match determination indicates a match then said LCS storing said first content is said first LCS domain in said non-transient LCS storage media in encrypted form, and only if said watermark match determination indicates a mismatch then said LCS rejecting said first content from said first LCS domain so that said first content is not stored in said first LCS domain.

13. A method for storing, degrading and storing, or not storing data, comprising:

providing a device comprising a local content server (LCS);

wherein said LCS comprises a communication port, non-transient LCS storage media, and an LCS domain processor for processing digital data;

wherein said LCS is configured to use said LCS domain processor to impose rules and procedures to control transfer of first content into a first LCS domain of said LCS from outside said LCS, thereby defining said first LCS domain;

wherein said LCS is configured to use said rules and procedures to determine if said first content is verified as authentic or not authentic by checking for indicia of authenticity, wherein only if said LCS determines that said first content is verified as not authentic based upon indicia of authenticity contained in said first content then said LCS rejects said first content from said LCS domain so that said first content is not stored in said non-transient LCS storage media, and wherein only if said LCS determines that said first content is verified as authentic based upon indicia of authenticity contained in said first content then said LCS stores said first content in said LCS domain in said non-transient LCS storage media in encrypted form, and wherein only if said LCS finds no indicia indicating either authenticity or lack of authenticity in said first content then said LCS degrades said first content resulting in degraded first content and stores said degraded first content in said LCS domain in said non-transient LCS storage media; and

wherein said LCS stores an LCS identification code associated with said LCS;

said LCS determining if said first content is verified as authentic or not authentic by checking said first content for indicia of authenticity;

said LCS rejecting said first content from said LCS domain so that said first content is not stored in said non-transient LCS storage media only if said LCS determines that said first content is verified as not authentic based upon indicia of authenticity contained in said first content;

said LCS storing said first content in said LCS domain in said non-transient LCS storage media in encrypted form only if said LCS determines that said first content is verified as authentic; and

said LCS degrading said first content resulting in degraded first content and storing said degraded first content in said LCS domain in said non-transient LCS storage media only if said LCS finds no indicia indicating either authenticity or lack of authenticity in said first content.