Method for combining transfer functions and predetermined key creation

• US 8,265,276 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2009
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wistaria Trading Inc.
• Original Assignee: Scott A. Moskowitz
• Inventors: Moskowitz, Scott A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): Okeke, Izunna
• Application Number:
  US12/655,002
• Publication Number:
  US 20100098251A1
• Time in Patent Office: 994 Days
• Field of Search: 380/204, 380/205, 380/206, 380/207, 380/210, 380/236, 380/239, 380/252, 380/259, 713/176, 713/165, 713/167
• US Class Current: 380/205
• 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 21/1015 to users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/125 by manipulating the program code, e.g. source code, compiled code, interpreted code, machine code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/335 for accessing specific resources, e.g. using Kerberos tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/602 Providing cryptographic facilities or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/007 Encryption, En-/decode, En-/decipher, En-/decypher, Scramble, (De-)compress
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2107 File encryption
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0064 for copy protection or copy management, e.g. CGMS, copy only once, one-time copy
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0083 whereby only watermarked image required at decoder, e.g. source-based, blind, oblivious
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/605 Copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/608 Watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/065 Encryption by serially and continuously modifying data stream elements, e.g. stream cipher systems, RC4, SEAL or A5/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures

Abstract

A method for combining transfer functions with predetermined key creation. In one embodiment, digital information, including a digital sample and format information, is protected by identifying and encoding a portion of the format information. Encoded digital information, including the digital sample and the encoded format information, is generated to protect the original digital information. In another embodiment, a digital signal, including digital samples in a file format having an inherent granularity, is protected by creating a predetermined key. The predetermined key is comprised of a transfer function-based mask set to manipulate data at the inherent granularity of the file format of the underlying digitized samples.

Claims

1. A method for protecting a digital signal, comprising the steps of:

providing a digital signal comprising digital data and file format information defining how the digital signal is encoded;

creating a predetermined key to manipulate the digital signal;

manipulating the digital signal using the predetermined key to generate at least one permutation of the digital signal parameterized by the file format information defining how the digital signal is encoded;

wherein the predetermined key comprises one or more mask sets having random or pseudo-random series of bits; and

validating the one or more mask sets either before or after manipulating the file format information using the predetermined key.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital signal represents a continuous analog waveform.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital signal is a message to be authenticated.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

using a digital watermarking technique to encode information that identifies ownership, use, or other information about the digital signal, into the digital signal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital signal represents a still image, audio or video.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said

validating the one or more mask sets occurs before manipulating the file format information using the predetermined key.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said

validating the one or more mask sets occurs after manipulating the file format information using the predetermined key.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of:

using a digital watermarking technique to embed information that identifies ownership, use, or other information about the digital signal, into the digital signal; and

wherein said step of validating is dependent on validation of the embedded information.

9. A method for protecting a digital signal, comprising the steps of:

providing a digital signal comprising digital data and file format information describing how the digital signal is encoded;

creating a predetermined key comprising a mask set;

manipulating the digital signal using the predetermined key wherein the manipulation is parameterized by the file format information describing how the digital signal is encoded;

authenticating the predetermined key during playback of the digital data;

metering the playback of the digital data to monitor content;

wherein the predetermined key comprises one or more mask sets having random or pseudo-random series of bits; and

validating the one or more mask sets either before or after manipulating the digital signal using the predetermined key.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said predetermined key is authenticated to authenticate message information.

11. A method for protecting digital data, where the digital data is organized into a plurality of frames, each frame having I) a header comprising file format information and ii) at least a portion of the digital data, said method comprising the steps of:

creating a predetermined key to manipulate the file format information in one or more of the plurality of frames wherein the file format information defines how the digital data is encoded;

manipulating the file format information using the predetermined key in at least two of the plurality of frames wherein the file format information defines how the digital data is encoded, such that the digital data will be perceived by a human as noticeably altered if it is played without using a decode key to restore the file format information to a prior state;

wherein the predetermined key comprises one or more mask sets having random or pseudo-random series of bits; and

validating the one or more mask sets either before or after manipulating the file format information using the predetermined key.

12. A system for scrambling a digital signal comprising:

a receiver that receives a digital signal comprising digital data and file format information defining how the digital signal is encoded;

a key generator that generates predetermined key to manipulate the digital signal; and

a scrambler that manipulates the digital signal using the predetermined key to generate at least one permutation of the digital signal parameterized by the file format information defining how the digital signal is encoded;

wherein the predetermined key comprises one or more mask sets having random or pseudo-random series of bits; and

validating the one or more mask sets either before or after manipulating the digital signal using the predetermined key.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the digital signal represents a continuous analog waveform.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the digital signal is a message to be authenticated.

15. The system of claim 12, further comprising an encoder for using a digital watermarking technique to encode information that identifies ownership, use, or other information about the digital signal, into the digital signal.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the digital signal represents a still image, audio or video.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the predetermined key comprises a plurality of mask sets.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the predetermined key comprises a key pair comprising a public key and a private key.