Optical disc with a theft deterrent coating

• US 8,830,806 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2008
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Warner Bros Entertainment Incorporated (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Warner Bros Entertainment Incorporated (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Wayne M., Cookson, Christopher J., Ostrover, Lewis S., Bell, Alan E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Parthasarathy, Pramila
• Assistant Examiner(s): HO, DAO Q
• Application Number:
  US12/174,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20090010127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,245 Days
• Field of Search: 726/35, 369/53.21, 369/21, 369/53
• US Class Current: 369/53.21
• 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 20/00608 wherein the material that the record carrier is made of is altered, e.g. adding reactive dyes that alter the optical properties of a disc after prolonged exposure to light or air
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00876 wherein physical copy protection means are attached to the medium, e.g. holograms, sensors, or additional semiconductor circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/282 Limited play
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/286 Antitheft arrangements, e.g. Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS] tags
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/24 Record carriers characterised by shape, structure or physical properties, or by the selection of the material characterised by the arrangement of information on the carrier G11B7/007

Abstract

An optical disc used for storing content includes a theft control area selected to render the disc unreadable. The disc must be exposed to radiation of a specific wavelength before it can be read by a regular device. The theft control area may include an area that contains data that instructs the device not to read the disc. This area includes a coating that changes its optical characteristics when exposed to the radiation. The material could be radiochromic or thermochromic. Alternatively, the theft control area includes an RFID device that includes an element that is radiation sensitive. In this embodiment, when the disc is irradiated, the element changes its electrical characteristics.

Claims

1. An optical disc used for data storage comprising:

a disc body having two opposed surfaces;

a standard data storage area disposed on at least one of said surfaces and being readable by an optical data handling device; and

a theft control area formed on one of said surfaces, said theft control area being much smaller than said standard data storage area, said theft control area including;

an RFID formed integrally on said one surface of said disk body as part of said theft control area, said RFID including an element having a first state and being sensitive to electromagnetic radiation in a predetermined frequency range to change to a second state, said RFID being operational and generating an output signal in response to a query only if said element is one of said first and second states and, said RFID being disabled and being unable to generate said output signal if said element is in said other of said first and second states, said element being configured to be permanently set into one of said respective states after a single application of said electromagnetic radiation,

wherein said first element disables said RFID non-operational in said first state,

wherein said RFID generates said output signal only when said element is in said first state and is permanently disabled from generating said output signal once said element is switched to said second state.

2. The optical disc of claim 1 wherein in response to said electromagnetic radiation, said element is permanently changed from said first to said second states.

3. The optical disc of claim 1 wherein said element has an electrical characteristic that is permanently changed in response to said radiation.

4. The optical disc of claim 3 wherein said electrical characteristic is one of resistance, inductance and capacitance.

5. The optical disc of claim 1 wherein said radiation is selected from one of alpha, gamma, x-ray, n-ray, UV and IR type radiation.

6. The optical disc of claim 1 wherein said RFID generates said output signal only when said element is in said second state.

7. The optical disc of claim 1 wherein said RFID is imbedded in said disc body.

8. An optical disc for storing digital content comprising:

a hub with a lead-in area;

a data storage area disposed around said lead in area and containing content; and

an RFID formed integrally on said optical disk as a security measure using a security on said disc that is significant, said RFID including an element with an element characteristic having a first value and being responsive to a radiation in a predetermined frequency range to change said characteristic to a second value, said RFID selectively generating an output signal only when said element characteristic has one of said first and second values, said RFID being disabled when said element characteristic has the other of said first and second values,

wherein said first element disables said RFID non-operational in said first state,

wherein said RFID generates said output signal only when said element is in said first state and is permanently disabled from generating said output signal once said element is switched to said second state.

9. The optical disc of claim 8 wherein said element is made of a radiochromatic material.

10. The optical disc of claim 9 wherein said material changes its electrical characteristics.

11. The optical disc of claim 10 wherein said material changes its resistance.

12. The optical disc of claim 10 wherein said material changes its inductance in response to said radiation.

13. The optical disc of claim 10 wherein said material changes its capacitance in response to said radiation.

14. The optical disc of claim 9 wherein said RFID includes an electronic circuit, an antenna and a connector connecting said antenna to said electronic circuit.

15. The optical disc of claim 14 wherein one of said antenna and said connector include said element.

16. The optical disc of claim 14 wherein said electronic circuit is a tank circuit formed of a capacitor and an inductor, said element being at least a part one of said capacitor and said inductor.

17. A package comprising:

an outer shell;

a media storing content in a digital format; and

a theft control element including an RFID device, said RFID including;

wherein said RFID includes an electronic circuit, an antenna and a connector connecting said antenna to said electronic circuit, one of said electronic circuit, said antenna and said connector including an element having a first mode, said element being permanently changed to a second mode in response to an external an electromagnetic radiation having a predetermined frequency, said RFID being adapted to generate an output signal in response to a query when said element is in said first mode;

said RFID being disabled and is not generating said output signal in response to said query when element is permanently changed to said second mode,

wherein said first element disables said RFID non-operational in said first state,

wherein said RFID generates said output signal only when said element is in said first state and is permanently disabled from generating said output signal once said element is switched to said second state.

18. The package of claim 17 wherein said RFID is integral with said media.

19. The package of claim 17 wherein said external signal changes an electrical characteristic of said element.

20. The package of claim 19 wherein said element changes its resistance.

21. The package of claim 19 wherein said element changes its inductance.

22. The package of claim 19 wherein said element changes its capacitance.