Timestamp Certificate Mediator for DRM Clock Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems, which employ secure system clocks to enforce time-based restrictions on digital content access, can be circumvented by users modifying the clock to access content beyond licensed periods, leading to piracy and revenue loss for content providers.
Innovation Solution
A system that processes modification requests for the current time value, allowing immediate incorporation of some requests while ignoring, delaying, or reducing others, using a countdown timer or threshold to prevent unauthorized changes, thereby maintaining secure access to digital content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a secure system clock is employed to prevent time modification, then content protection against piracy is improved, but the system complexity and difficulty of operation increase
Solution Approach 1:
A timestamp certificate acts as an intermediary between the content and the user's system clock. Instead of directly trusting or securing the system clock, the patent uses a trusted timestamp certificate issued by an authority to verify whether the current time is within the licensed access period. This mediator approach protects content without requiring complex secure clock hardware.
2Reliability
If a secure system clock is used to enforce time restrictions, then piracy prevention is improved, but user convenience deteriorates due to inability to correct clock drift
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts its approach to time verification based on the situation. Rather than rigidly preventing all time modifications, the patent allows the system clock to function normally for user convenience while using the timestamp certificate for security-critical verification. This dynamic approach maintains both piracy prevention and user convenience.
3Ease of operation
If the system clock is made accessible for user correction, then ease of operation is improved, but security against time manipulation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The timestamp certificate serves as a trusted intermediary that validates the system clock without being affected by user modifications. Even if users can correct the clock, the copyright protection mechanism relies on the independently verified timestamp certificate rather than direct trust in the user-modifiable system clock, maintaining security while allowing operational flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for employing a controlled-modification current time value is presented. In the method, the current time value is maintained. Also, requests for modification of the current time value are received. The requests are processed so that the requested modification associated with one of the requests is immediately incorporated into the current time value, and so that the requested modification associated with another one of the requests is not immediately incorporated into the current time value.