Playback Device Cryptographic Licensing for Traceable DRM Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital rights management (DRM) systems are ineffective against decentralized and distributed copyright infringement, and enforcing copyright laws is costly and difficult due to the decentralized nature of unauthorized content dissemination and the difficulty in obtaining evidence.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that employs proprietary cryptographic functions (PCFs) executed by a cryptographic function module (CFM) in playback devices, ensuring that content playback is enabled only through licensed functions, allowing for different schemes based on geopolitical boundaries, time periods, and content sensitivity, and providing additional causes of action against infringers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If proprietary cryptographic functions are implemented in playback devices, then content protection and traceability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cryptographic function module as a separate, dedicated component within the playback device. This modular approach isolates the complex cryptographic operations into a specialized unit, improving content protection while managing overall device complexity through functional separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The proprietary cryptographic function acts as an intermediary between the content delivery system and the playback device. It mediates the authentication and decryption processes, providing secure content protection without requiring the entire playback device to be fundamentally complex.
2Reliability
If license verification is performed for each playback device, then copyright enforcement is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary license verification where playback devices are pre-authenticated and licensed before content playback. This preliminary action establishes trust and authorization in advance, enabling faster content delivery and playback without repeated verification delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The license verification process is merged with the content delivery and playback initialization流程. By combining authentication, licensing, and content retrieval into a coordinated workflow, the system minimizes total processing time while maintaining rigorous copyright enforcement.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and system for securely and traceably enabling playing back of content on a playback device of a plurality of playback devices, in which each of the plurality of playback devices comprises a cryptographic function module (CFM). In one embodiment, the method comprises accepting a first input in the playback device from a content licensing agency; generating, in the device, a first output from the first input according to a proprietary cryptographic function using the CFM, the first output necessary to enable playback of the content by the playback device, the proprietary cryptographic function being one of a family of proprietary cryptographic functions executable by the CFM of each of the plurality of playback devices; and enabling the playback of the content by the device at least in part according to the first output.