Blockchain Digital Asset Watermarking for Decentralized License Enforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current digital rights management (DRM) systems operate in a centralized manner, making it difficult to monitor the actual use of copyrighted materials and enforce digital licenses effectively.
Innovation Solution
A blockchain-based system that verifies the authenticity of digital asset owners, creates watermarked versions of digital assets, and stores them in a distributed ledger, allowing for decentralized enforcement of digital licenses and content distribution through sharding and smart contracts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a centralized DRM system is used to manage digital assets, then license management is simplified, but monitoring and enforcement of digital licenses becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized DRM system into a distributed blockchain network where license management and enforcement are separated across multiple nodes. Each node independently validates and enforces licenses, eliminating the single-point control limitation while maintaining coordinated license management through consensus mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces smart contracts as intermediary automated agreements that mediate between license holders and content. These self-executing contracts embedded in the blockchain automatically enforce license terms, providing reliable monitoring and enforcement without requiring centralized intervention.
2Ease of operation
If digital assets are stored in a centralized system, then access control is easier to implement, but security and integrity of digital content are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the digital asset storage across multiple distributed nodes in the blockchain network rather than centralizing it. Each node holds a copy or fragment of the asset, and access control is enforced through distributed consensus, simultaneously improving security through decentralization and maintaining ease of access control via standardized protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures all nodes in the distributed network maintain identical copies of the digital asset and license terms, guaranteeing content integrity through homogeneity. This uniform replication across nodes prevents tampering and ensures consistent access control enforcement throughout the network.
3Reliability
If a distributed ledger system is implemented for digital rights management, then license enforcement reliability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through automated smart contracts that autonomously enforce license terms without requiring complex manual intervention. The blockchain network automatically validates transactions, enforces rights management rules, and maintains audit trails, reducing operational complexity despite the distributed architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal blockchain-based platform that handles multiple DRM functions (access control, license enforcement, auditing, and distribution) through a single integrated system. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate complex systems into one cohesive distributed ledger solution.
Data Source
AI summary
Software for securely storing digital content using a distributed ledger. The software performs the following operations: (i) receiving identification information of an owner of a digital asset, metadata of the digital asset, a digital hash of the digital asset, and the digital asset; (ii) verifying authenticity of the owner based, at least in part, the received identification information; (iii) in response to verifying the authenticity of the owner, creating a watermarked version of the digital asset based on the identification information of the owner, the metadata of the digital asset, and the digital hash; and (iv) storing the digital asset and the watermarked version of the digital asset in a first distributed ledger.