Location-Based Digital Rights Management System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital rights management systems lack the ability to restrict content access based on geographic location, allowing users to access protected content in unauthorized areas.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a location-based digital rights management system that uses a location entity to verify the device's location against specified constraints within the license, ensuring that content can only be accessed in approved regions by communicating with a location server and utilizing unique device identifiers for authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If location-based restrictions are implemented in the digital rights management system, then content security and compliance with geographic access rules are improved, but device complexity and system overhead increase due to continuous location verification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a location entity as an intermediary component that mediates between the DRM system and location services. This location entity handles the complex tasks of obtaining device location, evaluating location constraints, and communicating with the DRM black box, thereby isolating the complexity from the core DRM functionality while maintaining security requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is divided into distinct functional modules: the DRM black box on the device, the location entity that handles location operations, and the license server that manages rights. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in specific tasks, improving overall system reliability while making the complexity manageable through modular design.
2Measurement precision
If continuous location checking is performed to prevent unauthorized access, then access control accuracy is improved, but energy consumption and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring, the system performs location checks periodically or event-driven (when content access is requested). The location entity obtains the device location and evaluates constraints only when needed, rather than continuously, thereby reducing energy consumption while maintaining access control accuracy through periodic verification.
3Reliability
If location constraints are enforced in the license, then compliance with geographic restrictions is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates as users cannot access content in unauthorized areas
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically evaluates location constraints without requiring user intervention. The DRM black box and location entity handle the compliance checking transparently in the background, automatically determining whether the device location satisfies the license constraints. This maintains compliance while preserving ease of operation for authorized users who experience no additional complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method and system for location-based digital rights management. Digital rights for protected content are restricted to a specific location or region by specifying the approved location of the consuming device within the license. This allows the content owner to specify the geographic locations/regions at which the protected content may be consumed. The device obtains its location from a location entity which is then evaluated against the location constraint within the license. If the device is within the location constraint then the content may be accessed. Acquiring the location of the device before allowing access to certain content helps in preventing a user from accessing a protected document in an area which is considered a prohibited location as defined within the license.