Abstract
Copyright protection of digital content has become a problem not only for web content providers but also for ordinary web users who like to publish their digital contents on social or user generated content platforms. Among the possible solutions to such a problem, digital watermarking, in conjunction with watermarking protocols, appears to be a valid alternative to current DRM (digital rights management) systems. In fact, watermarking based solutions insert perceptually invisible copyright information into the copies of contents published or distributed on the web in order to track them. Such insertions are carried out according to the watermarking protocols, which have evolved over the years from the classic “buyer and seller” paradigm into a simpler and versatile “buyer friendly” and “mediated” approach. However, such an approach cannot exploit the new technologies that characterize the current Internet. This paper presents a new watermarking protocol able to adapt the “buyer friendly” and “mediated” approach to the use of innovative technologies such as cloud platforms and blockchain. In this way, (1) content providers and common web users can take advantage of the computing and storage resources made available by cloud platforms; (2) the involvement of trusted third parties in the protocols can be reduced by using blockchain without complicating the protection scheme. In fact, these two goals make the protocol particularly suited for the current Internet.
Highlights
Introduction and MotivationsOne of the relevant problems of the current Internet is the copyright protection of digital contents distributed or published on the web
In this way, (1) content providers and common web users can take advantage of the computing and storage resources made available by cloud platforms; (2) the involvement of trusted third parties in the protocols can be reduced by using blockchain without complicating the protection scheme
Watermark insertion is a specialized and burdensome activity that requires huge computational resources, since it has to be carried out “on-the-fly”, when content is sold or published [6,7]. Such a condition represents an obstacle to both content providers and common web users wanting to exploit digital watermarking, since they usually lack the needed computing and storage resources in addition to specific security competence [5,8]. Watermarking protocols, for their part, are characterized by two closely related problems: the presence of trusted third parties (TTPs) needed to enable the protocols, called “watermark certification authorities” (WCAs) [9,10], and the difficulty of the actions that have to be performed by the entities participating in the protocols [5,11]
Summary
One of the relevant problems of the current Internet is the copyright protection of digital contents distributed or published on the web. Such a condition represents an obstacle to both content providers and common web users wanting to exploit digital watermarking, since they usually lack the needed computing and storage resources in addition to specific security competence [5,8] Watermarking protocols, for their part, are characterized by two closely related problems: the presence of trusted third parties (TTPs) needed to enable the protocols, called “watermark certification authorities” (WCAs) [9,10], and the difficulty of the actions that have to be performed by the entities participating in the protocols [5,11]. The blockchain technology is introduced to simplify the interaction scheme among the entities participating in the protocol without reducing security, whereas the ability to employ cloud computing platforms enables content providers to outsource a burdensome activity such as the on-the-fly insertion of personalized watermarks.
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