OPTICAL DISC WITH A THEFT DETERRENT COATING

• US 20090010127A1
• Filed: 07/17/2008
• Published: 01/08/2009
• 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: COOKSON, Christopher J., OSTROVER, Lewis S., SMITH, Wayne M., BELL, Alan E.
• Granted Patent: US 8,830,806 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 369/53.210
• 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

1-18. -18. (canceled)

19. 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

an RFID associated with said body and having a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation, said RFID being responsive to a query only in said first mode of operation to generate an output signal, said RFID including an element responsive to an external signal to change the mode of operation of said RFID.

21. The optical disc of claim 21 wherein said RFID is initially in said first mode, said RFID changing to said second mode in response to said external signal.

20. The optical disc of claim 21 wherein in response to said external signal said element permanently sets said RFID to one of said first and said second modes of operation.

22. The optical disc of claim 21 wherein said element has an electrical characteristic that is changed in the presence of said external signal.

23. The optical disc of claim 21 wherein said element changes the mode of operation of said RFID in presence of radiation having predetermined characteristics.

24. The optical disc of claim 21 wherein said external signal is an RF signal in a predetermined frequency.

25. The optical disc of claim 21 wherein in said second mode said RFID is inoperational.

26. 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 that has a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation, said RFID generating an output signal only in said first mode of operation, said RFID including an element that sets said RFID to one of said first and second mode permanently, said element being made of a material that changes its characteristics when exposed to a predetermined radiation.

28. The optical disc of claim 28 wherein said material changes its electrical characteristics.

27. The optical disc of claim 28 wherein said element is made of a material selected from one of a radiochromatic material, a thermochromatic material and a material sensitive to ionizing radiation.

29. The optical disc of claim 30 wherein said material changes its resistance.

30. The optical disc of claim 28 wherein said RFID includes an electronic circuit, an antenna and a connector connecting said antenna to said electronic circuit.

32. The optical disc of claim 32 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.

31. The optical disc of claim 32 wherein one of said antenna and said connector include said element.

33. A package comprising:

an outer shell;

a media storing content in a digital format; and

a theft control element including an RFID device that operates in one of a first mode in which it generates an output signal in response to a query and a second mode in which the RFID is not generating said output signal, said RFID including an element that controls whether said RFID is in said first or second mode in response to an external signal.

35. The package of claim 35 wherein said external signal changes an electrical characteristic of said element.

34. The package of claim 35 wherein said RFID is integral with said media.