Control Content Licensing for Industrial Automation IP Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation environments face challenges in protecting proprietary control system content, such as controller logic and manufacturing data, from unauthorized viewing, editing, and execution, which can lead to intellectual property theft and overuse.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a digital rights management system that generates execution licenses with process-related constraints for control system content, applying these licenses to protect the content from unauthorized access and use, ensuring that usage is restricted to licensed controllers and production levels, and employing cloud-based orchestrators to enforce license limits across multiple production lines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If control system content is made accessible for industrial automation operations, then productivity and ease of operation are improved, but intellectual property theft and unauthorized use increase
Solution Approach 1:
A license file acts as an intermediary between the control system content and the industrial automation environment. The license file contains encrypted license information that mediates access control, allowing the system to verify authorization before executing control logic or accessing manufacturing data, thereby enabling productivity while preventing unauthorized access
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses encrypted copies of license information distributed across the system. Instead of storing sensitive control content in plaintext, the system uses encrypted representations that can be verified for authenticity but cannot be easily copied or reverse-engineered, preventing IP theft while maintaining operational functionality
2Reliability
If control system content is protected from unauthorized access, then intellectual property protection is improved, but ease of operation and accessibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-verification of license authenticity through automated cryptographic checks. The controller automatically verifies the license file's digital signature and encrypted information without requiring manual intervention, maintaining ease of operation while ensuring reliable IP protection through automated security validation
3Reliability
If license verification is performed across multiple production lines, then control over content usage is improved, but device complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
License information is pre-encrypted and embedded in license files before distribution to multiple production lines. The cryptographic verification data is prepared in advance, allowing each controller to independently verify licenses without requiring complex real-time coordination or centralized processing, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining reliable multi-line control
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques to facilitate protection of control system content used in an industrial automation environment are disclosed herein. In at least one implementation, the control system content for use in the industrial automation environment is received, wherein the control system content comprises controller program code that directs an industrial controller to drive a machine system. Content protection instructions for the control system content are also received, wherein the content protection instructions comprise restrictions on execution of the control system content. An execution license that includes process-related constraints for the control system content is generated based on the content protection instructions. The execution license is applied to the control system content to generate protected content, wherein use of the control system content is granted subject to the process-related constraints of the execution license.