Blockchain Content Access Using Co-Signed Crypto Payments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital rights management systems face challenges in managing copyright-protected digital media due to the difficulty in maintaining access rights and the vulnerability of central systems to attacks, which can create single points of failure.
Innovation Solution
A blockchain-based system for controlling and distributing digital content using cryptographic techniques, where a first user deposits cryptocurrency at a common address requiring signatures from both users, and transactions are recorded on a peer-to-peer distributed ledger to ensure secure and decentralized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a centralized digital rights management system is used to manage access rights, then access control can be implemented, but the system creates single points of failure that are vulnerable to attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized digital rights management system into multiple distributed nodes across a blockchain network. Each node independently validates and enforces access rights, eliminating the single point of failure. The segmentation of authority across multiple participants ensures that no single node can compromise the entire system, directly resolving the vulnerability of centralized systems while maintaining reliable access control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces smart contracts as intermediary automated programs that mediate access rights enforcement between content owners and users. These self-executing contracts encode access rules and automatically verify compliance, replacing vulnerable centralized authentication mechanisms. The smart contracts act as trusted intermediaries that eliminate single points of failure while maintaining systematic access control through decentralized automated verification.
2Ease of operation
If traditional key exchange systems are used to create trust between nodes, then access rights can be managed, but ongoing maintenance of access rights becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service access rights management through smart contracts that automatically enforce access rules without requiring manual intervention. The system autonomously validates user permissions, monitors compliance, and enforces restrictions based on pre-programmed conditions. This eliminates the need for ongoing manual maintenance of access rights, allowing the system to manage itself while reducing both operational complexity and maintenance time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the blockchain network continuously monitors and validates access rights enforcement. Each transaction and access attempt is recorded and verified by network nodes, providing real-time feedback on system compliance. This automated feedback loop ensures access rights are maintained correctly without manual intervention, reducing maintenance effort while improving operational ease through continuous automated verification.
3Reliability
If a trusted third party is used to create hierarchies in digital rights management, then access control can be established, but large single points of failure are created that are vulnerable to attack
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the trusted third party authority into multiple distributed nodes participating in the blockchain network. Instead of relying on a single trusted entity, trust is distributed across numerous independent participants who collectively validate and enforce access rights. This segmentation eliminates large single points of failure while maintaining reliable trust establishment through decentralized consensus mechanisms that resist attacks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional trusted third party with smart contracts as automated intermediaries that enforce access rules without requiring human trust. These self-executing programs objectively verify permissions and enforce restrictions based on pre-programmed logic, eliminating vulnerability to attacks on centralized trust authorities. The smart contracts act as impartial intermediaries that establish trust through code rather than organizational hierarchy, reducing attack surfaces while maintaining reliable access control.
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosure relates to a blockchain-implemented system and method of controlling the transmission and/or distribution of digital content. In an illustrative embodiment, the blockchain is the Bitcoin blockchain. The first user (5) is associated with a deposit quantity of cryptocurrency at a common address (23), wherein to spend from the common address requires signatures of both a first private key of the first user (5) and a second private key of the second user (7). The system (1) comprises a first node (15) and a second node (17).- The first node (15) is associated with a first user (5) comprising a first processing device configured to: (A) send, over a communications network (8), a request to the second node (17) to provide an episode of digital content from a series of digital content; (B) determine a payment transaction (27) to transfer from a common address (23) a payment quantity of cryptocurrency to the second user (7), wherein the payment quantity of cryptocurrency is based on a quantity of episodes of digital content in the series of digital content requested by the first user (5); and (C) sign, with the first private key (Vi), the payment transaction (27) and subsequently send the payment transaction (27) to the second node (17). The second node (17) is associated with the second user (7) comprising a second processing device configured to: (I) receive, over the communications network (8), the request from the first node (15) to provide the episode of digital content and the payment transaction (27), signed with the first private key; (II) verify the payment transaction, comprising verifying that the payment transaction includes the payment quantity of cryptocurrency to the second user (7), and based on the result of verifying the second processing device is further configured to: (III) provide access, over the communications network (8), to the episode of digital content (i) to be available to the first node (15); and (IV) co-sign, with the second private key of the second user (5), the payment transaction and send the co-signed payment transaction to a distributed ledger (blockchain) (9).