Cryptographic methods, apparatus and systems for storage media electronic rights management in closed and connected appliances

Abstract

A rights management arrangement for storage media such as optical digital video disks (DVDs, also called digital versatile disks) provides adequate copy protection in a limited, inexpensive mass-produceable, low-capability platform such as a dedicated home consumer disk player and also provides enhanced, more flexible security techniques and methods when the same media are used with platforms having higher security capabilities. A control object (or set) defines plural rights management rules for instance, price for performance or rules governing redistribution. Low capability platforms may enable only a subset of the control rules such as controls on copying or marking of played material. Higher capability platforms may enable all (or different subsets) of the rules. Cryptographically strong security is provided by encrypting at least some of the information carried by the media and enabling decryption based on the control set and / or other limitations. A secure "software container" can be used to protectively encapsulate (e.g., by cryptographic techniques) various digital property content (e.g., audio, video, game, etc.) and control object (i.e., set of rules) information. A standardized container format is provided for general use on / with various mediums and platforms. In addition, a special purpose container may be provided for DVD medium and appliances (e.g., recorders, players, etc.) that contains DVD program content (digital property) and DVD medium specific rules. The techniques, systems and methods disclosed herein are capable of achieving compatibility with other protection standards, such as for example, CGMA and Matsushita data protection standards adopted for DVDs. Cooperative rights management may also be provided, where plural networked rights management arrangements collectively control a rights management event on one or more of such arrangements.

Description

[0001] PCT Application ______ No. filed ______, 1997 entitled "Steganographic Techniques For Securely Delivering Electronic Digital Rights Management Control Information Over Insecure Communications Channels," which corresponds to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 689,606 of Van Wie and Weber filed on Aug. 12, 1996 (hereinafter "Van Wie and Weber"); and[0002] PCT Application No. ______ filed ______ , 1997 based on U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 689,754 entitled "Systems and Methods Using Cryptography To Protect Secure Computing Environments," of Sibert and Van Wie filed on Aug. 12, 1996 (hereinafter "Sibert and Van Wie").[0003] This invention relates to information protection techniques using cryptography, and more particularly to techniques using cryptography for managing rights to information stored on portable media--one example being optical media such as Digital Video Disks (also known as "Digital Versatile Disks" and / or "DVDs"). This invention also relates to informatio...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0032] The present inventions provide rights management and protection techniques that fully satisfy the limited copy protection objectives currently being voiced by the entertainment industry for movies while also flexibly and extensibly accommodating a wide range of more sophisticated rights management options and capabilities.

[0143] Elements can be delivered independently, such as new controls, for example, regarding discount pricing (e.g. sale pricing, specific customer or group discounts, pricing based on usage patterns, etc.) and / or other business model changes, can be delivered after the property has been distributed (this is especially beneficial for large properties or physical distribution media (e.g., DVD, CD-ROM) since redistribution costs may be avoided and consumers may continue to use their libraries of discs). In addition, encrypted data can be located "outside" the container. This can allow, for example, use of data stored independently from the controls and supports "streaming" content as well as "legacy" systems (e.g., CGMS).

Problems solved by technology

The original phonograph cylinders distributed by Thomas Edison and other phonograph pioneers had the advantage that they were difficult to copy, but suffered from various disadvantages such as high manufacturing costs, low resistance to breakage, very limited playback time, relatively low playback quality, and susceptibility to damage from wear, scratching or melting.

Later-developed wax and vinyl disks could hold more music material but suffered from many of the same disadvantages.

However, despite the many clear advantages that magnetic tape provides over other media, the entertainment industry has never regarded it as an ideal or optimum medium because of its great susceptibility to copying.

While this recording ability has given consumers additional flexibility (e.g., the ability to record a child's first words for posterity, and the ability to capture afternoon soap operas for evening viewing), it has unfortunately also been the foundation of an illegal multi-billion dollar content pirating industry that produces millions of illegal, counterfeit copies every year.

This illegal pirating operation-which is international in scope-leeches huge amounts of revenue every year from the world's major entertainment content producers.

The entertainment industry must pass along these losses to honest consumers-resulting in higher box office prices, and higher video and audio tape sales and rental prices.

Because the optical disk can be made from plastic, it is light weight, virtually unbreakable, and highly resistant to damage from normal consumer handling (unlike the prior vinyl records that were easily scratched or worn down even by properly functioning phonographs).

And, because recording on an optical disk is, so far, significantly more difficult than playing back an optical disk, home consumer equipment providing both recording and playback capabilities is unlikely, in the near future, to be as cost-effective as play-only equipment-greatly reducing the potential for illicit copying.

Indeed, the threat of widespread and easy unauthorized copying in the absence of rights management technologies apparently has been an important contributing factor to the demise of digital audio tape (DAT) as a media for music distribution and, more importantly, home audio recording.

Rightsholders in recorded music vigorously opposed the widespread commercialization of inexpensive DAT technology that lacked rights management capabilities since the quality of the digital recording was completely faithful to the digital source on, for example, music CDs.

Of course, the lack of rights management was not the only factor at work, since compared with optical media, tape format made random access difficult, for example, playing songs out of sequence.

The broad range of DVD uses presents a technical challenge: how can the information content distributed on such disks, which might be any kind or combination of video, sound, or other data or information broadly speaking, be adequately protected while preserving or even maximizing consumer flexibility?

However, providing only such simplistic and limited copy protection in a non-extensible manner may turn out to be extremely shortsighted--since more sophisticated protection and / or rights management objectives (e.g., more robust and selective application of copy protection and other protection techniques, enablement of pay-per-view models, the ability of the consumer to make use of enhanced functionality such as extracting material or interactivity upon paying extra charges, and receiving credit for redistribution, to name a few) could be very useful now or in the future.

Solutions proposed to date for protecting DVD content have generally focused solely on limited copy protection objectives and have failed to adequately address or even recognize more sophisticated rights management objectives and requirements.

Images