Method and device for preventing illegal use of multiple medium content

Abstract

The invention proposes a method to manage the rights associated to a multimedia content item (like digital music, video or software) in order to satisfy both the legitimate rights of the content author or rights owner and the legitimate user of such content. In the time of mass storage devices that can be used as media servers, this requires easy ways to move content as well as the rights to use it, the usage license. Moving the rights to a new location implies that the item at its new location is now the legitimate original version that may be played back or from which (for example) one further copy may be derived. In a simple embodiment, this can be accomplished by swapping the value of a flag indicating original or copy between the previous original and the new version of the item. In future digital systems with encrypted or partially encrypted content, this can be accomplished as well by a descriptor that describes the rights associated to a multimedia content item and a location-specific decryption key associated to it. Advantageously, the original multimedia content item need not be deleted from the primary mass storage device, or media server, allowing for a temporary lease of play back rights to secondary, possibly mobile devices.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a method of preventing illegal copying of multimedia content while maintaining sufficient flexibility for legitimate users. Background technique [0002] Modern digital media like digital audio cassettes and mini-discs include a mechanism to prevent multiple digital copies of the content. In this case, only one digital copy is authorized. For future digital multimedia systems, copy protection will become more complex and even stronger. [0003] This may have the disadvantage that legitimate users are not free to move content between different storage media (eg floppy disks, audio tapes), since such movement means that the content item is considered a "copy". Therefore, further copying becomes illegal and prohibited by the device. [0004] If the copying from a digital multimedia source is not a digital copy but an analog copy, then presently existing digital audio and video devices do not prohibit such copying, howev...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0004] If the copying from a digital multimedia source is not a digital copy but an analog copy, then presently existing digital audio and video devices do not prohibit such copying, however, at the expense of quality