Protection of content stored on portable memory from unauthorized usage

• US 20030005246A1
• Filed: 06/29/2001
• Published: 01/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Peinado, Marcus
• Granted Patent: US 7,062,622 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/163
• 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]

Abstract

A device for securely recording protected content to a portable memory, and for reading the protected content therefrom. The device includes a feature that makes it adapted to read or write specially-configured portable memories that are incompatible with standard read/write devices. For example, the device may be designed to work with memories having an unusual shape or size, or may manipulate the data in a non-standard way before storing it on the memory. The read/write devices are trusted components that will only handle the protected content in accordance with rules governing the content. The feature included in the device is preferably a proprietary and/or hardware feature, so that counterfeit devices incorporating the feature cannot be built without overcoming economic and/or legal hurdles. Because of the hurdles to building devices compatible with the specially-configured portable memory, protected content can be transferred to such a memory with reasonable assurance that the content will not be widely copied.

Claims

1. A method of recording data comprising the acts of:

receiving protected content at a data processing device;

determining that a portable memory recording device is trustworthy based on a hardware interface between said data processing device and said portable memory recording device; and

using said portable memory recording device to record said protected content onto a portable memory.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said act of determining that said portable memory recording device is trustworthy includes:

determining that said portable memory recording device will not record said protected content onto portable memories falling outside of a class.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determination that said portable memory recording device will not record said protected content onto portable memories falling outside of a class is made with less than absolute certainty.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein a characteristic of said class is that portable memories falling inside said class are not readable by portable memory reading devices lacking a defined feature.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said defined feature comprises a physical feature.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said physical feature is a proprietary physical feature.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein said defined feature comprises a proprietary data handling algorithm.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said hardware interface comprises a proprietary feature.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the act of:

determining that recording of said protected content onto said portable memory is permitted by the terms of a license governing said protected content.

10. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions to perform the method of claim 1.

11. A method of recording protected data comprising the acts of:

receiving protected content at a data processing device;

determining that a portable memory recording device will not record said protected content onto portable memories falling outside of a class; and

using said portable memory recording device to record said protected content onto a portable memory.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the determination that said portable memory recording device will not record said protected content onto portable memories falling outside of a class is made with less than absolute certainty.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein a characteristic of said class is that portable memories falling inside said class are not readable by portable memory reading devices lacking a defined feature.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said defined feature comprises a physical feature.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said physical feature is a proprietary physical feature.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein said defined feature comprises a proprietary data handling algorithm.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein said act of determining that said portable memory recording device will not record said protected content onto portable memories falling outside of a class comprises engaging in an authentication protocol between said data processing device and said portable memory recording device.

18. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions to perform the method of claim 11.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein said feature comprises a proprietary feature.

21. The device of claim 19, wherein said feature comprises the shape of a receptacle onto which said portable memory fits.

22. The device of claim 19, wherein said feature comprises a dimension of a receptacle onto which said portable memory fits.

23. The device of claim 19, wherein said portable memory comprises a plug which mounts on said interface, and wherein said feature comprises an arrangement of connecting elements that mate with said plug.

24. The device of claim 19, wherein said data port comprises a second feature that is incompatible with connectors built according to an open standard.

26. The device of claim 25, wherein said feature comprises a proprietary feature.

27. The device of claim 25, wherein said feature comprises the shape of said portable memory.

28. The device of claim 25, wherein said feature comprises a dimension of said portable memory.

29. The device of claim 25, wherein said portable memory comprises a plug which mounts on said interface, and wherein said feature comprises an arrangement of connecting elements on said plug.

19. A device for handling content governed by a license comprising:

a processor;

a data port which communicates said content;

content-recording hardware communicatively connected to said data port, said content-recording hardware having an interface onto which a portable memory is mountable, said interface having a first feature that makes said interface incompatible with portable memories that are readable by devices built in accordance with an open standard; and

a memory which stores logic which is executable on said processor, said logic causing said memory to transmit content to said content-recording hardware through said data port when permitted by the terms of said license.

25. A device for reading a portable memory which stores content governed by a rule, said device comprising:

a first interface onto which said portable memory mounts, said portable memory having a feature that makes said portable memory non-mountable on devices built in accordance with an open standard;

a communications port communicatively coupled to a rendering device which renders said content;

a processor; and

a memory which stores authentication logic executable on said processor, wherein said logic causes said device to engage in an authentication protocol with said rendering device and which determines whether said content is to be transmitted to said rendering device in accordance with a result of said authentication protocol.

30. A method of facilitating the limited copying of protected content comprising the acts of:

protecting a feature of a portable memory reading or recording device whereby said feature is made proprietary, said feature enabling the creation or reading of a non-standard portable memory recording;

determining that an entity is trustworthy to make a portable memory reading or recording device that does not violate rules governing usage of content; and

permitting said entity to manufacture a portable memory reading or recording device having the proprietary feature.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein said non-standard portable memory recording comprises a recording onto a portable memory that is physically incompatible with portable memory reading or recording devices built according to an open standard.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein said feature comprises a shape of said portable memory.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein said feature comprises a dimension of said portable memory.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein said feature comprises a plug which mounts on said interface, and wherein said feature comprises an arrangement of connecting elements that mate with said plug.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein said non-standard portable memory recording comprises a recording wherein data is manipulated according to a proprietary data manipulation algorithm, and wherein said feature comprises said proprietary data manipulation algorithm.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein said rules are in the form of an electronic license.

37. The method of claim 30, wherein said rules are globally-applicable to a class of content and are not provided in the form of an electronic license.

38. The method of claim 30, wherein said entity comprises the owner of the proprietary feature.

39. A system for the limited distribution of protected content comprising:

means for receiving protected data;

portable memory recording means for recording data onto a portable memory, said portable memory recording means being communicatively coupled to said means for receiving data;

mounting means for mounting said portable memory onto said portable memory recording means, said mounting means including at least one feature that makes portable memories readable by devices built in accordance with an open standard incompatible with said portable memory recording means;

rights management means for limiting the usage of protected content.