Secure Feature Control via Unique Service Tickets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital Video Recorder (DVR) systems face challenges in securely enabling and disabling features and services to prevent unauthorized access and piracy, as users may attempt to activate features or services without paying for them, requiring a method to determine and enforce authorized usage.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for secure control of digital device features involve a digital device sending a request to a service provider, receiving a unique service ticket that defines authorized features, and using cryptographic processors to ensure only authorized features are enabled, preventing unauthorized access by transitioning to a minimal service state if the ticket is invalid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a DVR system allows users to activate features and services freely, then user satisfaction and ease of operation improve, but unauthorized access and piracy increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a service ticket as an intermediary mechanism between the user and the feature activation system. The service ticket, generated by a service provider system, acts as a mediator that verifies authorization before enabling features. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining ease of operation for authorized users while preventing unauthorized access through the ticket verification process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state parameter of features from permanently enabled to conditionally enabled based on service ticket validation. Features are dynamically activated or deactivated depending on whether a valid service ticket is present, allowing the system to maintain user-friendly operation for authorized users while blocking unauthorized access through parameter-based control.
2Reliability
If a DVR system implements strict security controls to prevent piracy, then revenue protection improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex security verification logic from the DVR device itself and places it in an external service provider system. The DVR only needs to store and present service tickets, while the complex authorization decisions are made externally. This reduces device complexity while maintaining strong revenue protection through centralized security control.
Solution Approach 2:
The service ticket system enables self-service security verification. The ticket contains all necessary authorization information that the DVR can validate locally without requiring continuous external communication for each feature check. This simplifies the security implementation while maintaining reliable revenue protection through automated self-verification.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a DVR system provides multiple service levels with different features, then adaptability improves, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments features into different service levels, with each level having its own set of enabled features controlled by specific service tickets. This segmentation allows the system to provide adaptability for different user needs while maintaining ease of operation through clear, ticket-based feature availability. Users simply need the appropriate ticket for their desired service level, and features become automatically available without complex configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
A method providing secure control of features of a digital device. In one embodiment, the method comprises sending, from a digital device that participates in a service, to a service provider that provides the service, a request to participate in the service; receiving a digital message that identifies a service state for the digital device, wherein the digital message is encoded uniquely for the digital device, wherein the digital message is unusable at a different digital device; based on the digital message, determining a plurality of control values that collectively define the service state within the digital device; and providing the control values to one or more applications hosted by the digital device that deliver a service experience associated with the service, or a feature, to an end user of the digital device.