Encrypted Media Usage Tracking via Hierarchical Key Logging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems lack a tamper-proof method to determine the usage of encrypted media content, especially in scalable media distribution scenarios, which is crucial for content issuers to charge users accurately and ensure quality delivery.
Innovation Solution
A method involving obtaining and decrypting short-term and long-term keys to log parameters related to the decryption process, allowing for accurate determination of media content usage, with additional steps to correlate parameters across hierarchical layers and include Quality of Experience information, and secure reporting through encryption and digital signing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If encrypted media content is distributed using scalable bitstreams (SVC) with hierarchical key management, then transmission efficiency and quality adaptation are improved, but the ability to accurately determine and verify content usage is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining usage parameters and logging mechanisms before content distribution. The system establishes a framework of usage parameters (UP) and usage parameter sets (UPS) in advance, enabling automated tracking and verification of content usage without requiring complex real-time analysis, thus resolving the contradiction between efficient distribution and accurate measurement.
2Measurement precision
If usage parameters are logged for each hierarchical layer, then usage determination precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing usage parameters into hierarchical layers corresponding to the SVC bitstream structure. Each layer (BL, EL1, EL2, etc.) has its own usage parameter set that can be independently logged and tracked. This segmentation enables precise usage determination at each layer while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular parameter management.
3Loss of information
If multiple usage parameters are tracked across hierarchical layers, then loss of information is reduced, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining usage parameters from multiple hierarchical layers into a unified usage determination process. The system integrates parameters from BL and EL layers, correlates them across hierarchical boundaries, and produces a comprehensive usage report that captures complete content usage information without requiring separate processing for each layer, thus reducing overall processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique for determining usage of encrypted media content is described. A method implementation of this technique comprises the steps of obtaining a short-term key for decrypting the media content, obtaining a long-term key for decrypting the short-term key, decrypting the short-term key based on the long-term key, decrypting the media content based on the decrypted short-term key, and logging a parameter relating to the short-term key as a basis for determining media content usage. The short-term key may be a Traffic Encryption Key, TEK, and the long-term key may be a Service Encryption Key, SEK.