Copy Protection Research Articles

Antipiracy software opens door to electronic intruders

This paper discusses how Sony BMG made a big mistake in the production of hundreds of music CDs equipped with a copy protection software known as XCP. The concept of XCP was to block consumers from converting audio files to mp3's, as well as third-party sharing. The CD can be normally played in several audio players, but in the case of using it in a computer, XCP automatically prompts a specific music player to be installed together with a rootkit. The rootkit is designed to hide the existence of any file or folder whose name begins with $sys$. Through this concept, hackers can hide anything they want. Overall, Sony's aim of stopping piracy was a complete failure. However, Sony came up with a complex multistep process to uninstall the rootkit and unfortunately stopped the production of XCP-protected CDs.

Digital Television Receiver for ISDB

This paper presents the digital high-definition television (HDTV) receiver for the ISDB system. It receives 8 phase shift keying (8-PSK) satellite broadcast and orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) terrestrial broadcast. It decodes the MPEG2 audio/video stream and converts the original HDTV picture to the various display formats. It also decodes the interactive data broadcast content written in the Broadcast Markup Language (BML) and display the graphical picture on the TV screen. The Conditional Access System (CAS) is used not only for the pay TV but also for copy protection of the broadcast contents. The receiver has an Ethernet terminal that enables Internet connection for various applications. The receiver system design, software architecture, and LSI configuration are described in this paper.

Novel and robust saturation watermarking in wavelet domains for color images

Human visual systems are insensitive to slight saturation changes in a color image. This paper presents a novel watermarking approach by hiding grayscale logos in the saturation component of color images. The embedding procedures are first performed in the DWT domains of the achromatic component. Then a proposed technique of saturation adjustment is applied to redirect the marks into the saturation component. To improve the detection robustness, we propose an adaptive weighting scheme to fuse the extracted watermarks in the extraction stage. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach can successfully make the watermark perceptually invisible and robust to image-processing operations such as low-pass filtering, JPEG, scaling and cropping under StirMark, and JPEG-2000. Robustness can be provided in the applications of copy protection and digital archives.

Property Rights Protection of Biotechnology Innovations

Protection of intellectual property embedded in self‐replicating biological innovations, such as genetically modified seed, presents two problems for the innovator: the need for copy protection of intellectual property and price competition between new seed and reproduced seed. We consider three regimes in two periods with asymmetric information: short‐term contracts, biotechnological protection, and long‐term contracts. We find that piracy imposes more intense competition for seed sales than does durability alone. Technology protection systems yield highest firm profit and long‐term contracts outperform short‐term contracts. Farmers prefer, in order, long‐term, short‐term, and biotechnical protection. Depending on monitoring cost, long‐term contracts may be socially preferred to short‐term contracts, with both preferred to biotechnical protection.

Online software distribution without enforcing copy protection as a strategic weapon

We consider a market which has two software firms without copy protection on their software. Economic models are used to analyze different scenarios, and the result shows that when the software protection environment is improving quickly, software firms should not protect their software products, since no copy protection (piracy) can help them to lock-in customers now and make higher profits in the near future. However, if the protection environment does not improve enough or worsens, firms that do not protect their software will not be able to benefit from the customers locked-in by pirate software, and they will be better off protecting their software products.

The limits of DeCSS posting: a comparison of internet posting of DVD circumvention devices in the European Union and China

This study explored differences in DeCSS posting between EU member nations, the PRC, Hong Kong, and Macau. DeCSS is a software program that circumvents DVD copy and access protection systems. The study investigated the number of websites in each nation that posted DeCSS. The study also examined the degree to which website authors included political speech on their websites referring to changes in copyright law brought about by World Intellectual Property Organization Treaty requirements. It also examined whether or not websites made reference to Free/Open Source software. Results found no DeCSS posting websites in the PRC, Macau, Luxembourg, Spain or Portugal; and results found few DeCSS posting websites in Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy and Greece. Results show more DeCSS posting websites in northern EU nations, especially the Netherlands, Germany, the UK and France. The paper draws on institutional theory and collective action theory to suggest explanations for the observed differences in DeCSS posting.

Analysis of host authentication mechanism in current POD copy protection system

This paper analyses the host authentication mechanism in the current POD (point-of-deployment) copy protection system. At first, the re-authentication procedure cannot stand out a simple replay attack. Secondly, the host authentication protocol makes a DH (Diffie-Hellman) private key in any run as significant as a device private key. At last, the credentials of the POD module are futile. The result urges a technical improvement of the current host authentication mechanism.

Multipurpose image watermarking algorithm based on multistage vector quantization

The rapid growth of digital multimedia and Internet technologies has made copyright protection, copy protection, and integrity verification three important issues in the digital world. To solve these problems, the digital watermarking technique has been presented and widely researched. Traditional watermarking algorithms are mostly based on discrete transform domains, such as the discrete cosine transform, discrete Fourier transform (DFT), and discrete wavelet transform (DWT). Most of these algorithms are good for only one purpose. Recently, some multipurpose digital watermarking methods have been presented, which can achieve the goal of content authentication and copyright protection simultaneously. However, they are based on DWT or DFT. Lately, several robust watermarking schemes based on vector quantization (VQ) have been presented, but they can only be used for copyright protection. In this paper, we present a novel multipurpose digital image watermarking method based on the multistage vector quantizer structure, which can be applied to image authentication and copyright protection. In the proposed method, the semi-fragile watermark and the robust watermark are embedded in different VQ stages using different techniques, and both of them can be extracted without the original image. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm in terms of robustness and fragility.

Efficient Contracts for Digital Content

This paper analyses efficient contracts for digital content, focusing on the music industry. It contributes to the quest for an efficient intellectual property rights environment for information goods. Moreover, it adds an interesting application to the field of behavioural economics. The model is set in a contract theory framework with the copyright holder being the principal and a consumer the agent. We offer three contract cases for analysis: strong copy protection, a strategically low price and voluntary reciprocal contributions. Insights from the economics of information and behavioural economics - information goods have public goods properties; social preferences are significant among individuals - are applied to examine the value of a strict copyright enforcement in the digital age. We find that endogenous incomplete contracts based on fair, reciprocal behaviour may achieve a first-best allocation of information goods, while complete contracts are limited to second-best results.

Robust spatial watermarking technique for colour images via direct saturation adjustment

Most colour watermarking methods are realised by modifying the image luminance or by processing each component of colour space separately. This paper presents a novel and robust colour watermarking approach for applications in copy protection and digital archives. The proposed scheme considers chrominance information that can be utilised at information embedding. This work presents an approach for hiding the watermark into DC components of the colour image directly in the spatial domain, followed by a saturation adjustment technique performed in RGB space. The merit of the proposed approach is that it not only provides promising watermarking performance but also is computationally efficient. Experimental results demonstrate that this scheme successfully makes the watermark perceptually invisible and robust to image processing operations such as general image processing operations (JPEG2000, JPEG-loss compression, lowpass filtering, and medium filtering), image scaling and image cropping.

DVD copy protection: take 2

This paper describes the advanced access content systems (AACS), the copy protection scheme designed to keep future generations safe from pirated DVDs. The ACCS group was founded by IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Disney, and Warner Bros. Studios. The AACS specification allow customers to move the data on an optical disc to various devices they own, including video servers and portable video players, either directly or via a home network. In all the scenarios developed by the AACS alliance, that data would exist on the disc in encrypted form. It would stay encrypted when transferred to other devices and would be decrypted by those devices. ACCS used a so-called strong key, the 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standards that has the ability to keep on protecting data even after it has been cracked.

Copy protection of digital audio compact discs

The ability of a data reader, such as a CD-ROM drive, to access, extract, or otherwise read the data on a digital audio compact disc provides a problem for the music industry. A user can use his CD-ROM drive to read the data from an audio disc into a computer file, and then that data can be copied. To provide copy protection, errors are deliberately introduced into the data on a CD, but these errors are of a type which are generally transparent to an audio player but which will interfere with the reading of the audio data by a data reader. According to the standards, the data on a CD is encoded into frames by EFM (eight to fourteen modulation). Each frame has sync data, sub-code bits providing control and display symbols, data bits and parity bits, and includes 24 bytes of data, which is audio data for a CD-DA. The standard requires that 98 such frames are grouped into a sector. To provide copy protection, each sector is provided with a non-standard number of frames, for example, has 99 rather than 98 frames. Then the S0 and S1 sub-code synchronisation patterns are placed one frame later than they otherwise would be, but the data within each frame remains the same. An audio player would divide the 24 bytes of data from each frame of the sector into 4 byte samples and continue playing the disc, albeit with an inaccurate time display. Howewer, a data reader used to read audio data from the CD-DA to enable a copy to be made, would produce a copy having a degraded quality of sound.

DVD copy protection: take 2

This paper describes the advanced access content systems (AACS), the copy protection scheme designed to keep future generations safe from pirated DVDs. The ACCS group was founded by IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Disney, and Warner Bros. Studios. The AACS specification allow customers to move the data on an optical disc to various devices they own, including video servers and portable video players, either directly or via a home network. In all the scenarios developed by the AACS alliance, that data would exist on the disc in encrypted form. It would stay encrypted when transferred to other devices and would be decrypted by those devices. ACCS used a so-called strong key, the 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standards that has the ability to keep on protecting data even after it has been cracked.

A PDA based application for burn management and education

Introduction. Recent studies indicate that the initial assessment of burn extent is often inaccurate. Since resuscitation and management is predicated on total body surface area (TBSA) burned, inaccurate assessment adversely affects treatment decisions and outcomes. With the rising popularity of personal digital assistants (PDAs) among physicians, we felt a freely available program which utilized a PDA to guide initial evaluation and management would be useful to referring community hospitals. Methods. Using Code Warrior and Visual Build, an application was developed in C for Palm OS handheld computers. This program has no copy protection and is “beamable” among compatible devices to facilitate its availability. Color and grayscale versions are available to allow newer devices to take advantage of high-resolution color screens while still allowing older palm devices to use the application. This application comprises two sections. The first section is interactive. A questionnaire is provided along with a Lund and Browder chart. The bedside clinician answers pertinent questions regarding age, weight, time of burn and mechanism of burn, and colors in the Lund and Browder chart with a stylus. The application then provides %TBSA burned, appropriate resuscitation volume, guidelines for treatment in the case of a specialized burn such as chemical or electrical, and whether the patient meets American Burn Association criteria for transfer to a burn center. If transfer is warranted, the clinician can enter their zip code and get a listing of nearby burn centers with contact numbers. Guidelines for transport preparation are then provided. In addition to the interactive component, the second section provides a searchable mini-textbook which covers key burn topics including inhalation injury, pediatric burns, topic epidermal necrolysis, frostbite, and local wound care. Comments. This application provides a user-friendly method to rapidly assess and treat burn patients with the bedside use of a PDA. We believe that utilization of this application should improve initial burn resuscitation and ensure prompt burn center referral when indicated.

Music everywhere

There are a number of compression algorithms available today for compressing music files by 90 per cent or more so that the data can be more economically transmitted over a network such as the Internet and stored on a computer or music player. For the algorithms, the basic tradeoff is between sound quality and how much they can compress the music files. However, there are other important considerations including the extent to which the full-fidelity, uncompressed files can be recreated from the compressed files, how copy protection is implemented, and how secure the downloaded files are from unauthorized distribution. While MP3 is still considered as the undisputed leader in this field, none of the current formats has all the characteristics necessary to dominate the market. None combines both lossless transmission and storage with the built-in ability to adapt to a variety of playback hardware. Nevertheless, regardless of which specific flavor of compression ultimately wins, there is no question that compression will change the way we collect and listen to music.

Terminating Piracy or Legitimate Seed Saving? The Use of Copy-Protection Technology in Seeds

This article analyses the strategies of the agro-biotechnology industry to control andexploit plant-genetic knowledge, and the dilemmas that these strategies involve. Thereplicability of plants limits markets for commercial seeds, as it enables farmers toreproduce seeds themselves. The industry has therefore invented genetic-engineeringtechniques that will block the replicability of plants, and will effectively preventfarmers from saving their own seeds. However, this copy-protection technique—dubbed ‘Terminator’—is widely condemned in farming communities. The technologyoverrules intellectual property laws that exempt seed saving for private use, and it islikely to have a negative impact on medium-sized and small farming systems indeveloping countries. In this article it is argued that while copy protection in plantsmay expand seed markets, it may also seriously damage the reputation of thebiotechnology industry. Corporate scientists and strategists should be more open toa public discussion about the fairness and legitimacy of seed production for privateuse.

Copy protection system for digital home networks

This article describes the rationale supporting and design of a copy protection system called SmartRight. While carefully presenting our motivations, some light is shed on the very peculiar problems raised by the enforcement of copy protection. Hence, this article also explores less technical but highly important issues such as the legal and commercial aspects.

Toward Robust Logo Watermarking Using Multiresolution Image Fusion Principles

This paper presents a novel robust watermarking approach called FuseMark based on the principles of image fusion for copy protection or robust tagging applications. We consider the problem of logo watermarking in still images and employ multiresolution data fusion principles for watermark embedding and extraction. A human visual system model based on contrast sensitivity is incorporated to hide a higher energy hidden logo in salient image components. Watermark extraction involves both characterization of attacks and logo estimation using a rake-like receiver. Statistical analysis demonstrates how our extraction approach can be used for watermark detection applications to decrease the problem of false negative detection without increasing the false positive detection rate. Simulation results verify theoretical observations and demonstrate the practical performance of FuseMark.

Streaming video and rate scalable compression: what are the challenges for watermarking?

Video streaming, or the real-time delivery of video over a data network, is the underlying technology behind many applications including video conferencing, video on demand, and the delivery of educational and entertainment content. In many applications, particularly ones involving entertainment content, security issues, such as conditional access and copy protection, must be addressed. To resolve these security issues, techniques that include encryption and watermarking need to be developed. Since video sequences will often be compressed using a scalable compression technique and transported over a lossy packet network using the Internet Protocol (IP), security techniques must be compatible with the compression method and data transport and be robust to errors. We address the issues involved in the watermarking of rate-scalable video streams delivered using a practical network. Watermarking is the embedding of a signal (the watermark) into a video stream that is imperceptible when the stream is viewed, but can be detected by a watermark detector. Many watermarking techniques have been proposed for digital images and video, but the issues of streaming have not been fully investigated. A review of streaming video is presented, including scalable video compression and network transport, followed by a brief review of video watermarking and the discussion of watermarking streaming video.

Implementing an untrusted operating system on trusted hardware

Recently, there has been considerable interest in providing "trusted computing platforms" using hardware~---~TCPA and Palladium being the most publicly visible examples. In this paper we discuss our experience with building such a platform using a traditional time-sharing operating system executing on XOM~---~a processor architecture that provides copy protection and tamper-resistance functions. In XOM, only the processor is trusted; main memory and the operating system are not trusted.Our operating system (XOMOS) manages hardware resources for applications that don't trust it. This requires a division of responsibilities between the operating system and hardware that is unlike previous systems. We describe techniques for providing traditional operating systems services in this context.Since an implementation of a XOM processor does not exist, we use SimOS to simulate the hardware. We modify IRIX 6.5, a commercially available operating system to create xomos. We are then able to analyze the performance and implementation overheads of running an untrusted operating system on trusted hardware.