Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed which reduces or removes the effectiveness of commercial skip systems such as presently found in VCRs, PVRs, etc. which are designed to delete commercials from signal material upon playback of a previously recorded version of the signal material. In an embodiment, the effectiveness of the commercial skip system is reduced or removed by adding a flat field of selected signal level to active line portions of video lines of the signal material. Other embodiments modify the normal fade to black signal indicative of a commercial to provide a fade to non-black signal. In further embodiments, a fade to non-black signal is inserted in an overscan area of the signal picture. Still further embodiments modify audio signals or selected signals in the horizontal blanking interval which may be used in commercial skip systems to detect the presence of commercials.

Abstract: Provided here is a copy protection method and apparatus to confuse currently available personal computer software (and other content) copying packages by use of unexpected (“illegal”) special characters in the volume (or directory) name for the software or other content or data subject to being copied. This method can be used alone or with a broad range of other known copy protection technologies such as RipGuard (available from Macrovision Corp.). Also provided here is a method and apparatus to defeat the confusion method, thereby allowing copying of such copy protected software.

Abstract: A method and system for interconnecting a number of peer to peer networks is disclosed. According to one embodiment, a peer to peer gateway communicates with one or more peer to peer networks. The gateway communicates with these networks through the Internet, to which it is connected. The gateway may be configured to perform a number of functions on each of the connected networks, including but not limited to: data storage, searching, data transfer, and data translation.

Abstract: DVDs can be copy protected by incorporating regions which contain unreadable or subversive data within the data area (42). For example, such a region may be configured as a cell of a video object (VOB) (50) within a VOB file (51). Access to the region of subversive data is prevented during normal playback, for example, by ensuring that there are no pointers leading to the subversive region. To defeat such a copy protection method, the content on the copy protected optical disc is accessed by utilising the navigation provided for normal playback of the disc. Thus, the subversive regions are navigated around during copying of the disc. The accessed content is stored in a corresponding data area and, where subversive regions are identified, arbitrary data is incorporated within regions of the copy data area which correspond to regions of unreadable or subversive data in the original data area.

Abstract: The present invention provides a device driver and a method for controlling access to data on a computer readable medium. According to the invention, there is provided an interface for access to a device-driver stack for a media drive, a detector for detecting insertion of a computer readable medium in said media drive, and a monitor for monitoring accessing of data on said computer readable medium. A control device establishes a location of at least one demonstration zone on said computer readable medium and determines whether a data region currently being accessed is in said demonstration zone. Said control device modifies playback of data in dependence upon the outcome of said determination.

Abstract: Special CD-keys are generated so as to have special patterns recognizable by compliant installer programs, which require special actions to be taken by the compliant installer programs when recognized. Since the special patterns are different than those used for valid CD-keys, non-compliant installer programs will treat them as invalid CD-keys and refuse to install any computer programs for which the invalid CD-keys are provided. The special CD-keys are included in text files that have associated metadata indicating that they are for installing copies of computer programs to be protected. The text files are then offered by agent computers for downloading on file sharing networks.

Abstract: An input profile is generated from an input audio file using a measurable attribute that was also used to generate reference profiles from reference audio files. The input profile is then subjected to a process that was also used to generate a reference profiles tree, which is structured as a sparse binary tree, from the reference profiles. As a result of the process, information of reference profiles having similar characteristics as the input profile, with respect to the measurable attribute, are retrieved from resulting nodes of the reference profiles tree. The input profile is then compared with this subset of the reference profiles, representing potential matches, to determine that either it matches one of the reference profiles, or that it is a spoof, or that it does not match any of the reference profiles.

Abstract: Subservive data has been incorporated in the content of an optical disc, such as a DVD, to prevent copying of the disc. To defeat such copy protection, devices to copy optical discs are now being controlled to only copy data referred to by selected program paths. Accordingly, it is proposed to provide copy protection for optical discs by introducing errors into redundant control data to frustrate access to content on the disc. For example, the errors may be inconsistencies in a Video Manage Information Table (VMGI) or in a Video Title Set Information Table (VTSI).

Abstract: Enhancements to a video anticopying process that causes an abnormally low amplitude video signal to be recorded on an illegal copy. The enhancements in one version introduce into the overscan portion of the television picture, just prior to the horizontal or vertical sync signals but in active video, a negative going waveform that appears to the television receiver or videotape recorder to be a sync signal, thereby causing an early horizontal or vertical retrace. One version provides (in the right overscan portion of the picture), a checker pattern of alternating gray and black areas which causes the TV set on which the illegal copy is played to horizontally retrace earlier than normal in selected lines with a consequential horizontal shift of the picture information on those lines. This substantially degrades picture viewability. In another version a gray pattern at the bottom overscan portion of the picture causes vertical picture instability.

Abstract: A digital recording medium such as an optical disc is recorded using an encoding process this is modified to cause a peak or rapid change in the digital sum value in the encoded data for part of the recording data. This provides the corresponding part of the recorded medium with a modified DC characteristic that affects an operational characteristic of the recording medium. This modified DC characteristic will not be present in unauthorized copies of the recording medium because the normal encoding process will encode the recording data so as to minimize DC imbalance. Profile data is obtained from operational data acquired during operation of the recording medium. This profile data is compared with expected profile data that is the profile data that would be expected to be obtained if the modified DC characteristic is present. The results of this comparison are used to determine whether or not the recording medium is authentic.

Abstract: A computer network having a requesting node and a providing node permits data transfer therebetween when permitted by an authorizing node. Reports generated in response to authorizations and reports generated in response to data transfers are reconciled at a reconciliation node to improve the accuracy of payments collected and paid for use of the data. Such payments include copyright royalties for audio, video, and other works recorded in digital format.

Abstract: A method for producing a copy-protected audio compact disc containing a plurality of symbols within error-correction codewords, representing audio data samples of an audio signal is provided. The method includes the steps of selecting at least one audio data sample of the audio signal (1415); locating the data symbols representing audio data sample (1420); overwriting symbols with erroneous symbols (1440); locating the error-correction codewords associated with the data symbols and disabling the error-correction of said error-correction codewords (1455).

Abstract: In the known color stripe process for preventing recording of video signals, the color burst present on each line of active video is modified so that any subsequent video tape recording of the video signal shows variations in the color fidelity that appear as undesirable bands or stripes of color error. This color stripe process is improved by a combination of modifying the phase of the color burst on only part of the color burst. Additional improvements were obtained by incorporating techniques of widening the normal color burst envelope towards the trailing edge of horizontal sync and towards the beginning of active video. These techniques are useful in improving the performance of the color stripe process in both the NTSC and PAL color systems. However, additional improvements are described in the PAL system whereby the phase modifications are controlled so as to avoid disturbing the so-called PAL ID pulse.

Abstract: Enhancements to a video anticopying process that causes an abnormally low amplitude video signal to be recorded on an illegal copy. In one version, positive going pulses are added to the video signal. The enhancements in one version introduce into the overscan portion of the television picture, just prior to the horizontal or vertical sync signals but in active video, a negative going waveform that appears to the television receiver or videotape recorder to be a sync signal, thereby causing an early horizontal or vertical retrace. One version provides (in the right overscan portion of the picture), a checker pattern of alternating gray and black areas which causes the TV set on which the illegal copy is played to horizontally retrace earlier than normal in selected lines with a consequential horizontal shift of the picture information on those lines. This substantially degrades picture viewability.

Abstract: A system and method for managing the use and access of digital data objects are provided. Control rights associated with a digital data object activate an external control object and an intercept application to intercept and monitor communications between a hosting application and a document server application associated with the creation of the digital data object. These intercepting and monitoring functions are performed without affecting or changing the hosting application or the document server application. The external control object activates an intercept application which mimics the functions of the document server application and performs user actions on the digital data object as authorized by the external control object according to the control rights associated with the digital object. By intercepting and monitoring user actions on a digital data object, the invention can control access and use of the digital data object.

Abstract: System and method for verifying the authenticity of executable images. The system includes a validator that determines a reference digital signature for an executable image using the contents of the executable image excluding those portions of the executable that are fixed-up by a program loader. The validator then subsequent to the loading of the executable image determines an authenticity digital signature to verify that the executable image has not been improperly modified. In addition, the validator ensures that each of the pointers in the executable image have not been improperly redirected.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for encoding and decoding a stream of digital (binary) data on AGC (automatic gain control) pulses or back porch pulses of the type conventionally used for copy protection in the analog television or video realm. The data is encoded onto the tips of the AGC or back porch pulses added to blanking intervals of an analog video signal. Each pulse tip may define, for instance, 10 to 15 digital bits (1 or 0) in the form of square waves or rectangular waves with two states, high and low, representing respectively 1 and 0. In another version, the digital data is similarly encoded onto the pulse tip of back porch pulses present at the end of video fields for copy protection. This digital data conveyed in an analog signal may be read by an associated decoder in a consumer device and the resulting data decoded, for instance, for copy control, storage permission, network access, user identification, or carrying additional data, such as commentary or text relevant to the accompanying video.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for inhibiting unauthorized copying of data content of DVDs or CDs or other types of optical discs. DSV (digital sum value) data patterns are inserted into selected sectors of the data to be recorded on the optical disc. These selected data sectors are also those to which is applied the conventional CSS (content scrambling system) encryption conventionally used to copy protect DVD content. Only those sectors (e.g., one out of four) subject to the CSS encryption have the DSV data patterns inserted therein. This advantageously results in the CSS encryption effectively hiding these inserted DSV data patterns from the mastering DVD encoder used in producing DVDs. Effectively thereby the DSV data patterns “tunnel through” the mastering DVD encoder. The hidden DSV data patterns are only revealed when the CSS sectors are decrypted prior to the action of the writer used to copy the DVD/CD content.

Abstract: Enhancements to a video anticopying process that causes an abnormally low amplitude video signal to be recorded on an illegal copy. In one version, positive going pulses are added to the video signal. The enhancements in one version introduce into the overscan portion of the television picture, just prior to the horizontal or vertical sync signals but in active video, a negative going waveform that appears to the television receiver or videotape recorder to be a sync signal, thereby causing an early horizontal or vertical retrace. One version provides (in the right overscan portion of the picture), a checker pattern of alternating gray and black areas which causes the TV set on which the illegal copy is played to horizontally retrace earlier than normal in selected lines with a consequential horizontal shift of the picture information on those lines. This substantially degrades picture viewability.

Abstract: To copy protect an optical disc, such as a DVD, program chains additional to the main program chain are provided. These program chains may lead to the genuine data but in an incomplete or incorrect order or to false data. Sufficient additional program chains are provided to make it difficult to identify the main program chain amongst all of the program chains provided on the disc. The structure of the further program chains ape that of the main program, again to hide the main program chain. The navigation path which leads to the main program chain, and hence to the content on the DVD, is dynamically generated and at least some of the information required to generate the navigational path arises by setting parameters associated with a player or with a user. Thus a search of all of the navigation information on the disc will fail to reveal the navigation path to the content.