Abstract: Hopscotch ticketing enforces restrictions on use of digital content without materially affecting an end-user's (116) ability to exploit the content. A content owner (110) encrypts digital content and distributes the encrypted content to distributors (114). The end-user (116) obtains the content from a distributor (114). The distributor (114) provides a service center (112) with a distributor identification (ID), an end-user ID, and a content ID. The service center (112) generates a key for the identified end-user (116) and provides the key and IDs to the content owner (110). The content owner (110) determines the key for the content, encrypts the key with multiple levels of encryption, and provides the content key to the service center. The service center (112) provides the content key (300) to the distributor (114), which removes one level of encryption and provides the content key to the end-user (116).