Blockchain Smart Contract Digital Content License Management

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing digital rights management technologies for digital content face challenges in effectively protecting intellectual property rights due to inefficiencies that lead to increased inconvenience for users and unfair profit distribution between content producers, users, and intermediate sellers, with a lack of effective solutions to prevent illegal duplication and distribution.

Innovation Solution

A blockchain-based method that utilizes a multi-blockchain structure with a mainchain, accountchain, and sidechains to manage and control digital content licenses, allowing direct transactions between producers and users, ensuring secure and transparent ownership and usage rights through a decentralized ecosystem.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If strong digital rights management technology is applied, then intellectual property rights protection is improved, but user convenience deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveintellectual property rights protectionVSAvoiduser convenience
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a blockchain-based smart contract system as an intermediary between content producers and users. The smart contract automatically manages digital rights, verifies licenses, and controls content access without requiring complex user authentication or manual intervention. This intermediary layer maintains strong IP protection through cryptographic verification while providing users with simple, automated access control, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service through automated smart contracts that independently verify user licenses, manage content distribution, and enforce rights without human intervention. Users automatically receive appropriate access rights based on their purchases, and the system autonomously prevents unauthorized duplication. This self-service mechanism maintains robust IP protection while significantly improving user convenience by eliminating complex manual processes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If digital rights management technology is applied, then intellectual property rights protection is improved, but profit distribution fairness deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveintellectual property rights protectionVSAvoidunfair profit distribution
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The blockchain-based smart contract acts as a transparent intermediary that automatically distributes profits according to pre-agreed terms. The smart contract records all transactions immutably and executes royalty payments automatically when content is accessed or licensed. This eliminates the need for intermediate sellers to retain large margins, ensuring fair profit distribution between producers, users, and other stakeholders while maintaining effective IP protection through the same decentralized verification mechanism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If digital rights management technology is applied, then intellectual property rights protection is improved, but system complexity deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveintellectual property rights protectionVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the complex IP protection logic from the user interface and places it in the blockchain-based smart contract layer. The smart contract contains all the cryptographic verification, license management, and rights enforcement logic, while the user-facing system only needs to interact through simple standardized interfaces. This separation extracts complexity to a dedicated layer, maintaining strong IP protection through sophisticated blockchain logic while keeping the overall system simple and user-friendly at the application level.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Adaptability or versatility

If decentralized license management is implemented, then user freedom in content usage is improved, but control over illegal duplication deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser freedom in content usageVSAvoidcontrol over illegal duplication
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements continuous feedback through the blockchain network that monitors and verifies all content access and license transactions. Every content usage event is recorded and verified by the decentralized network, providing real-time feedback on compliance. Users enjoy freedom to use content according to their licensed rights, while the feedback mechanism from the blockchain network continuously detects and prevents illegal duplication by verifying each access against the immutable license records, thus maintaining both user freedom and reliable control.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS11816649B2Method and system for protecting intellectual property rights on digital content using smart propertization
Publication Date: 2023.11.14 MERCURY POINTE LLC
  • US11816649B2 patent drawing
  • US11816649B2 patent drawing
  • US11816649B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Disclosed are a method and system for protecting intellectual property rights on digital content using smart propertization. The method of protecting intellectual property rights on digital content includes determining whether to decode encoded digital content based on the digital data indicative of a license for the digital content recorded on a blockchain.