Systems and methods for preventing unauthorized use of digital content

• US 7,237,123 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2001
• Issued: 06/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SCA IPLA Holdings Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: ECD Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: LeVine, Richard B., Lee, Andrew R., Howard, Daniel G., Goldman, Daniel M., Hart, III, John J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chai, Longbit
• Application Number:
  US09/989,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20020144153A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,044 Days
• Field of Search: 713/172, 713/171, 713/185, 713200-202, 380259-260, 380/278, 380200-204
• US Class Current: 713/193
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/14 against software analysis or reverse engineering, e.g. by obfuscation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2107 File encryption

Abstract

Theft, distribution, and piracy of digital content (software, video, audio, e-books, any content of any kind that is digitally stored and distributed) is generally accomplished by copying it, if possible, or, if it is protected from being copied in any fashion, such piracy is based upon a number of reverse engineering techniques. Aside from the straightforward copying of unprotected content, all of these other methods require first an understanding of the protective mechanism(s) guarding the content, and finally an unauthorized modification of that protection in order to disable or subvert it. Methods that prevent a skilled individual from using reverse engineering tools and techniques to attain that level of understanding and/or prevent anyone from performing such modifications can offer significant advantages to content creators who wish to protect their products.

Claims

1. A method for preventing unauthorized use of digital content data to be transferred from a first system to a second system comprising:

locating an original archive of a digital content data at the first system;

determining transaction data of the second system that identifies the second system by executing an analysis tool to examine components of the second system and to generate a unique identifying value in response to a request for the transfer of the digital content data from the first system to the second system, the unique identifying value identifying the second system and being based on selected properties of the examined components, the transaction data comprising the unique identifying value;

providing the transaction data to the first system;

modifying the original archive using the transaction data of the second system that identities the second system to generate a modified archive;

transferring the modified archive from the first system to the second system; and

receiving the transferred archive at the second system and recovering the digital content data of the original archive at the second system using the transaction data of the second system if the second system is a valid recipient.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the unique identifying value is used to create a system unique encryption key.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the analysis tool is executed at the second system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the unique identifying value is deposited in the original archive that is transferred to the second system.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the unique identifying value is encrypted and interleaved with the digital content data in the transferred archive.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising downloading the analysis tool to the second system.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the analysis tool is executed at a system that is remote to the second system.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the unique identifying value is used to create a system unique encryption key.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the transaction data of the second system is used to generate a system unique encryption key and wherein modifying the original archive comprises encrypting the original archive using the system unique encryption key to generate the modified archive.

10. The method claim 9 wherein recovering the digital content data of the original archive comprises decrypting the modified archive at the second system using the system unique encryption key.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining whether the transaction data of the second system indicates whether the second system is a valid recipient of the original archive prior to transferring the modified archive from the first system to the second system.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining whether the transaction data of the second system indicates whether the second system is a valid recipient of the original archive following transferring the modified archive from the first system to the second system.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining whether the transaction data of the second system indicates whether the second system is a valid recipient of the original archive both prior to and following transferring the modified archive from the first system to the second system.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising, determining whether the transaction data of the second system indicates whether the second system is a valid recipient of the archive, and if the second system is not a valid recipient, the operation of the archive failing in the second system.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein transferring the modified archive from the first system to the second system comprises transferring the modified archive from the first system to a hard media and transferring the modified archive from the hard media to the second system, and wherein the second system comprises a computer system.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the first system comprises a first computer system and wherein the second system comprises a second computer system.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the first and second computer systems are remotely located.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein determining transaction data of the second system comprises determining a data element selected from the group of data elements consisting of:

transaction identification;

system configuration information;

manufacturer, serial number, and physical properties.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising increasing a memory allocation of the archive before modifying the original archive using the transaction data.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising creating a map of the increased memory allocation.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising storing the map in the original archive, or in memory locations of the second system, or in the first system.

22. The method of claim 1 further comprising, before transferring the modified archive, removing a plurality of original data segments from memory locations of the original archive and storing false data at the memory locations.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising storing the original data in the original archive, or in memory locations of the second system, or in the first system.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising generating a map of the memory locations.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising storing the map in the original archive, or in memory locations of the second system, or in the first system.

26. The method of claim 22 wherein the false data comprises a machine instruction that initiates an abnormal condition in the digital content data when processed.

27. The method of claim 22 wherein the second system, following transfer of the modified archive, replaces the false data with the original data segments if the second system is a valid recipient.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the second system replaces the false data by the original data segments immediately prior to execution of the corresponding memory locations, and replaces the original data by the false data immediately following execution of the corresponding memory locations.

29. The method of claim 22 wherein the false data comprises a machine instruction which is not properly functional when processed.

30. The method of claim 1 wherein a watermark is deposited in the archive that is transferred to the second system.

31. The method of claim 1 further comprising aborting transfer of the modified archive from the first system to the second system if the second system is an invalid recipient.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the transfer of the modified archive is aborted immediately if the second system is an invalid recipient.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein the transfer of the modified archive is aborted in an indirect manner if the second system is an invalid recipient.

34. The method of claim 31 further comprising, if it is determined that the second system is an invalid recipient of the original archive, further modifying the original archive to insert executable data into the original archive that causes an exit, an error condition, or communication to another system entity which begins a cascading exit process, in the second system, and transferring the further modified archive to the second system.

35. The method of claim 1 further comprising, following the second system receiving the transferred archive, the second system de-interleaving or de-crypting the transferred archive using the transaction data of the second system so that the received digital content data can be executed by the second system.