Parts-Based Digital Rights Management License Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current digital rights management systems face challenges in effectively protecting and managing permissions for electronic content, particularly in preventing unauthorized access and tampering, especially when content is distributed through file sharing mechanisms like peer-to-peer networks.
Innovation Solution
A parts-based digital rights management system that includes a digital rights management component capable of processing licenses with specific permissions for different portions of content, using a master decryption key to generate portion-specific keys, and validating digital signatures to ensure permissions have not been modified, thereby preventing unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If digital rights management systems use traditional permission management for electronic content, then access control can be implemented, but the system cannot effectively prevent unauthorized tampering with permissions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the content into multiple portions and creates separate permission entries for each portion in the license file. This segmentation allows the system to apply digital signature validation to the entire license structure, ensuring that any tampering with individual portion permissions will invalidate the signature. The license file is structured as an XML document with distinct permission elements that can be individually validated while maintaining overall integrity through the digital signature mechanism.
2Reliability
If the system validates digital signatures to detect tampering, then permission security is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to additional validation steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-computing and embedding the digital signature in the license file during the content distribution phase. The signature is generated over the entire license XML structure including all portion-specific permissions. During playback, the validation process is automated and transparent to the user - the system automatically verifies the signature before granting access, eliminating the need for manual security checks while maintaining strong security guarantees.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system provides fine-grained permission control for different content portions, then adaptability improves, but device complexity increases due to multiple portion-specific keys
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning specific permission attributes to individual content portions rather than applying uniform permissions across all content. Each portion in the license file can have customized access rights, playback restrictions, and usage conditions tailored to that specific segment. This allows the system to enforce different permission levels for different portions of the same content while maintaining a unified license structure validated by a single digital signature.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of a system and method for parts-based digital rights management are described. Various embodiments may include a digital rights management component configured to receive content comprising a plurality of portions of content. The digital rights management component may also receive a license for the encrypted content; the license may include a plurality of permissions each specific to a respective portion of the content. Additionally, each permission may specify one or more access privileges for the respective portion of the content. The digital rights management component may receive a digital signature for the entire license. The digital rights management component may validate the digital signature to determine that the permissions have not been modified. The digital rights management component may also be configured to, in response to determining that said permissions have not been modified, provide access to content in accordance with said license including said permissions.