U.S. patent application number 11/514772 was filed with the patent office on 2006-12-28 for music distribution system and associated antipiracy protections.
This patent application is currently assigned to Ochoa Optics LLC. Invention is credited to John H. Hebrank, Charles E. Hunter, Kelly C. Sparks.
Application Number | 20060294016 11/514772 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34841941 |
Filed Date | 2006-12-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060294016 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hunter; Charles E. ; et
al. |
December 28, 2006 |
Music distribution system and associated antipiracy protections
Abstract
Music is blanket transmitted (for example, via satellite
downlink transmission) to each customer's computer-based user
station. Customers preselect from a list of available music in
advance using an interactive screen selector, and pay only for
music that they choose to have recorded for unlimited playback, for
example, by a "CD burner". An "ID tag" is woven into the recorded
music so that any illegal copies therefrom may be traced to the
purchase transaction.
Inventors: |
Hunter; Charles E.; (Hilton
Head, SC) ; Hebrank; John H.; (Durham, NC) ;
Sparks; Kelly C.; (Morrisville, NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WOODCOCK WASHBURN LLP
ONE LIBERTY PLACE, 46TH FLOOR
1650 MARKET STREET
PHILADELPHIA
PA
19103
US
|
Assignee: |
Ochoa Optics LLC
Las Vegas
NV
89119
|
Family ID: |
34841941 |
Appl. No.: |
11/514772 |
Filed: |
August 31, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11085944 |
Mar 21, 2005 |
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11514772 |
Aug 31, 2006 |
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09487978 |
Jan 20, 2000 |
6952685 |
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11085944 |
Mar 21, 2005 |
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09476078 |
Dec 30, 1999 |
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09487978 |
Jan 20, 2000 |
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09436281 |
Nov 8, 1999 |
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09476078 |
Dec 30, 1999 |
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09385671 |
Aug 27, 1999 |
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09436281 |
Nov 8, 1999 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/58 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20130101;
G06Q 30/0603 20130101; G06Q 20/123 20130101; G11B 2220/2529
20130101; H04H 60/27 20130101; G11B 2220/2545 20130101; G06F 21/10
20130101; H04N 21/8106 20130101; H04N 21/8355 20130101; H04N
21/6143 20130101; H04N 7/165 20130101; G11B 2220/2562 20130101;
G06F 2221/2135 20130101; H04H 60/17 20130101; H04H 60/21 20130101;
G06Q 20/1235 20130101; G06Q 20/145 20130101; G11B 27/034 20130101;
G11B 2220/41 20130101; H04N 21/2543 20130101; H04H 2201/50
20130101; H04N 21/63345 20130101; H04N 21/262 20130101; G06F
2221/0742 20130101; G06F 2221/0737 20130101; H04N 21/44204
20130101; G11B 27/031 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/058 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 99/00 20060101
G06Q099/00 |
Claims
1. A data transmission device comprising: a general population
cluster preference database; a consumer catalog generator module;
an individual consumer preference information storage module; and a
payload scheduler.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein said individual consumer
preference information storage module comprises an interface that
obtains said consumer preferred music styles of each consumer.
3. The device of claim 1 wherein said general population cluster
preference database comprises an information collector mechanism
that collects said consumer preferred music styles of a plurality
of consumer locations.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein said consumer catalog generator
module comprises: a catalog generator that generates an individual
consumer catalog based on an analysis of said consumer preferred
music styles of a plurality of consumer locations from said general
population cluster preference database and said consumer preferred
music styles from said individual consumer preference information
storage module.
5. A system for distributing music or video content to consumers
comprising: receiving an order to purchase a music CD or video DVD
though the Internet; placing an ID tag in the music or video
selected; archiving the ID tag information with the purchaser's
identity; sending the ID tag information to a third party for
tracking; compressing the selection; sending the selection over the
Internet to the purchaser; and enabling the purchaser to
de-compress the selection and store it on storage media.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/085,944, filed Mar. 21, 2005 entitled
"Music Distribution System and Associated Antipiracy Protections,"
which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/487,978, filed Jan. 20, 2000 entitled "Music Distribution System
and Associated Antipiracy Protection," which is a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/476,078
filed Dec. 30, 1999 entitled "Video and Music Distribution System",
which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/436,281 filed Nov. 8, 1999 entitled "Video Distribution System",
which is a continuation-in-part U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/385,671 filed Aug. 27, 1999 entitled "Video Distribution
System."
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to music distribution and, more
particularly, to music distribution systems with built-in
safeguards for the prevention of piracy. In certain embodiments,
music is blanket transmitted (for example, via satellite downlink
transmission) to each customer's computer-based user station.
Customers preselect from a list of available music in advance using
an interactive screen selector, and pay only for music that they
choose to record for unlimited playback. An "ID tag" is woven into
the recorded music so that any illegal copies therefrom may be
traced to the purchase transaction.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Throughout the world today, piracy of software, music and
video materials causes significant economic losses to the
originators and distributors of these art forms.
[0004] Issues of music and video piracy are strongly influenced by
the available recording technology. Early forms of music
distribution utilized plastic records. The manufacture of records
was relatively expensive, requiring the capital expense of record
presses and creating metallic master molds. Mold costs had to be
amortized over large numbers of copies. The cost of mold masters
limited the potential profit from making and selling illegal
copies.
[0005] With the development of magnetic tape recording, the cost of
manufacturing copies became primarily the cost of the raw
materials. Copies could be made directly from an original with
costs split between the manufacture of a blank tape and the time
required to record music on to each tape copy. The manufacture of
lower numbers of copies for specialty music was possible and the
costs of manufacturing (a pair of tape recorders and some blank
tapes) made copying feasible for an individual. However, the
degradation in quality from generation to generation of copies was
a deterrent as well as the time required to record each copy. The
degradation of the sound consisted of loss of high frequencies, a
relatively poor signal-to-noise ratio of the recording ("hiss") and
tonal or volume variations due to mechanical transport of the tape
across the recording head ("wow" and "flutter").
[0006] Digital compact disk technology (CD's) again changed the
piracy situation by making available high-quality copies of music
to consumers in digital form that could potentially be copied with
no change or degradation of sound quality. CD's use 16-bit, 44 KHz
digital technology so that music recorded on a CD has excellent
signal-to-noise ratio, flat frequency response that is wider than
human hearing, and no constant or varying pitch distortion. The
introduction of CD technology caused significant concern among
content providers about the risks of circulating library-quality
copies of their music. Small-scale piracy of CD's became common as
consumer music "boxes" were sold 5 that had CD players feeding tape
recorders. These units allowed CD's to be easily copied although
without the full sound quality and convenience of the original CD.
On a larger scale, bulk pirate copies of CD's were available,
particularly in foreign countries, by companies using relatively
expensive CD presses. The presses allowed exact copies of CD's to
be made from originals using inexpensive blanks. These same presses
also allowed low-cost copying and duplication of software CD's.
[0007] Very recently, concerns about music piracy have 15 increased
as low-cost CD "burners" became available to consumers making it
possible for personal computers not only to read and play music
CD's, but also to make copies using relatively inexpensive blank
write-once CD's. Today burners are available for under $200 and CD
blanks for about $120 each. Coupled with multi giga-byte hard
disks, copying and editing CD's is widely available.
[0008] Today, the threat of copyright violation limits CD piracy.
However, due to the cost of prosecution and the difficulty of
tracing and confirming the origin of copies, 25 this threat is only
practically enforceable against major producers who are caught
importing large quantities of CD's, and not individuals or
small-scale pirates (e.g., teenagers with computers). As the price
of CD burners and writeable CD's continues to fall, music piracy
may result in increasing losses in revenue to content providers,
especially if the teenage culture (that buys so many CD's) 5
embraces piracy and kids get used to seeing CD's without boxes or
colorful paintings on the CD's.
[0009] A second technological revolution is also influencing
piracy. This is the ability to "compress" the amount of digital
data needed to store or communicate music 10 (or video). A one-hour
music CD requires about 600 megabytes of data (16 bits/sample*44100
samples/sec* 3600 sec*2 channels). This large amount of data has
discouraged communication of CD's over the Internet, and storage of
the CD in hard drives. However, MPEG 115 compression technology
reduces the data capacity by a factor of 8 for CD music, making it
easier and cheaper to communicate and store. As a result of
compression technology it is now economically feasible to
communicate music with CD quality over the Internet or to transmit
it 20 directly to consumer receivers from satellites. (Similar
technology allows a 100-fold compression of video signals making
direct-satellite TV and DVD recordings possible.) Furthermore,
businesses that sell CD's by shipping them as compressed data
streams to a customer's PC with a CD writer 25 to make a final copy
will make it common for CD's not to have the elaborate paint jobs
of store-sold CD's and the potential to cause a sudden rise in
piracy. It also should also be noted that compression depends upon
and has caused powerful digital processing engines to be placed at
reception sites for compressed audio or video. These engines make
possible the running of protected software 5 (protected software is
software that runs the engine but can not be analyzed by outsiders
to see how it works or does the encoding or decoding) that can be
used for de-encryption or be capable of performing the spectral
analysis to add the more complex ID tags that can be used as an
aspect of this invention.
[0010] Content providers are reluctant to make full-quality music
available to consumers via direct satellite broadcasting or the
Internet because of the risk that exact copies of their materials,
their core asset, will leave their control and freely circulate
among consumers resulting in huge losses in revenue to distributors
and artists. This financial threat could weaken the recording and
entertainment industry in the United States.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention provides music distribution systems
that are beneficial to all involved parties, namely consumers,
content providers and data transmission providers. In preferred
embodiments, consumers are able to 25 preselect music selections
from as many as 400,000 to 500,000 song titles (30,000 to 40,000
CD's) that are transmitted daily. Customers of the music
distribution system utilize a menu driven, graphical user interface
with simplified controls that provide music selection by title and
category (e.g., jazz, classical, rock, etc.). Music content is
transmitted via direct broadcast satellite (DBS) 5 in an encoded
format directly to each customer's receiving dish or antenna which
is linked to the customer's user station where it is initially
stored on a suitable storage medium such as a disk drive. The
customer may "preview" the stored music for free and thereafter
decide whether to purchase a permanent copy. If the purchase
decision is made, a full quality CD is recorded via a CD burner
that is part of the user station. The customer is billed by the
music distribution system operator. Antipiracy protection is
provided by weaving an ID tag into the recorded music so that any
illegal copies therefrom may be traced to the purchase
transaction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Some of the features of the invention having been stated,
other features will appear as the description proceeds, when taken
in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which--
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a satellite-based
music distribution system.
[0014] FIG. 2 shows the operational sequence for use of the music
distribution system of FIG. 1 by a customer.
[0015] FIG. 3 shows another music distribution system wherein the
user station includes an Internet browser and processor enabling
customers to access the system operator's music Internet site via
phone line or Internet connection.
[0016] FIG. 4 shows yet another music distribution system depicting
optional content/programming transmission links.
[0017] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of one simplified embodiment of a
business model for commercializing a music 10 distribution
system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0018] While the present invention will be described more fully
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
aspects of the preferred manner of practicing the present invention
are shown, it is to be understood at the outset of the description
which follows that persons of skill in the appropriate arts may
modify the invention herein described while still achieving the
favorable results of this invention. Accordingly, the description
which follows is to be understood as being a broad, teaching
disclosure directed to persons of skill in the appropriate arts,
and not as limiting upon the present invention.
[0019] The Overall Music Distribution System, generally Referring
to FIG. 1, there is shown a simple schematic of one embodiment of a
music distribution system 10 of the invention. System 10 utilizes
direct broadcast satellite (DBS) transmission via satellite 20 as
the means 5 for blanket transmitting encoded data, either in real
time or in time compressed format (discussed below). The program
data is received at each customer household by a receiving antenna
or dish 110. Dish 110 is linked to a dedicated "box" or user
station 28 by a satellite receiver link 30.
[0020] User station 28 is an interactive device permitting
customers to preselect desired music selections for recording
through the user station. Station 28 communicates at appropriate
times with a central controller system 36 via a phone/modem
connection 38 (land, Internet or cellular). Central controller
system 36 stores a discrete address (e.g., telephone number, credit
card number or billing address) for each customer household and
receives information via connection 38 to verify that a preselected
music selection has been recorded. Central controller system 36
utilizes this information to bill customer households and also to
credit the accounts of content providers. The satellite link (or
alternatively the central controller system 36) periodically
communicates with each customer household to provide information on
available music and program/pricing information.
[0021] Further details of the distribution system are provided
below and in commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.
09/385,671; 09/436,281 and 09/476,078, the teachings of which are
fully incorporated herein by reference.
[0022] The Satellite(s): According to preferred embodiments of the
present invention, data transmission is achieved utilizing
geostationary satellites operating in the KU band that are
downlinked to conventional receiving antennae or dishes located at
the customer households.
[0023] Following the recent acquisition of PrimeStar's assets by
Hughes, there are now two digital broadcast satellite providers in
the United States, Hughes (DSS) and EchoStar (DISH Network).
EchoStar's DISH network launched an additional satellite in
September 1999 (its fifth satellite) that, in combination with its
previous satellites, provides continuous transmission of greater
than five hundred channels to substantially the entire continental
United States. EchoStar now has satellites located in the 119, 110,
61.5 and 148 positions within the Clark Belt.
[0024] With the above satellite orientations, EchoStar's new "DISH
500" system utilizes an elliptical twenty inch antenna or dish
containing two LMBS heads that can receive information from two
different satellites simultaneously. As mentioned above, this
system permits greater than five hundred channels to be directly
broadcast to each customer household.
[0025] Currently preferred embodiments of the present invention
utilize the EchoStar system, most preferably the DISH 500 system,
for data transmission at either real time or time-compressed
transmission rates, discussed below. In alternative embodiments,
the invention may be implemented utilizing the Hughes (DSS) system,
or a combination of both the Hughes and EchoStar systems (resulting
in a relatively smaller portion of each system's total capacity
being devoted to the invention's video distribution).
[0026] Data Transmission Parameters: EchoStar's DISH 500 system
provides a very high band width of approximately 4 megabits/sec for
each channel (23 megabits/sec per transponder), for a total
transmission capacity of approximately 2000 megabits/sec for five
hundred channels.
[0027] It will be appreciated that instead of using more typical
120 watt DBS transponders, implementation of the present invention
may be carried out with higher power transponders (e.g., 240 watt
transponders) to increase the effective transponder capacity (e.g.,
from 23 megabits/sec to 30 megabits/sec) by reducing much of the
capacity 25 allotted for forward error correction and system
management inherent in lower power transponders. Also, along with
the use of higher power transponders, the invention may be carried
out with quanternary (QPSK) polarization to double the effective
bit transfer rate for each transponder over that which may be
obtained by using current orthogonal polarization--with a sacrifice
in bit error rate that is 5 acceptable for those applications of
the invention where lower video and audio resolution is not an
important consideration to the customer. Thus, the use of high
power transponders (e.g., 240 watts or higher) in conjunction with
higher level polarization (e.g., quanternary) permits music
distribution systems of the invention to be implemented utilizing
less of the DBS system's total transmission capacity, permits the
transmission of a greater number of music selections or other
content and permits greater time compression of the transmitted
data, or a combination of the above, all to the benefit of
consumers.
[0028] Details of the User Station and Operation: Referring again
to FIG. 1, music content providers deliver music in digital form to
the central controller 36 of the music distribution system. The
content is encoded utilizing an encoding technology that is well
known in the art, such as interlaced coding techniques in
combination with a unique header code that identifies each title.
In certain embodiments, only the unique header coding is employed
to identify each specific title. It is also understood that the
header code can also identify the exact transmission time of each
title. The header code containing transmission times can be
digitally communicated to the operating system of the user stations
28 to prevent unauthorized reception and subsequent duplication of
digital music content. In addition, it is also understood that 5
selection of a specific title by the user can require a completed
payment before activation of initial reception and storage of the
digital music content, or before the digital music content is
recorded on any other device or media.
[0029] The encoded music content is scheduled and transmitted to
the direct broadcast satellite up-link facility 100 by the system
operator through central controller 36. In addition, periodic
digital program/pricing information is transmitted to the up-link
facility, for example, every ten minutes. While it is understood
that direct broadcast satellite transmission currently operates in
the KU Band, other frequencies can also be employed to achieve
similar results. It is understood that the music content can be
transmitted at real or time compressed speeds. In preferred
embodiments, music content is transmitted at faster than real time
speeds, where real time speeds refer to the playback speed of the
recorded music. For example, a single satellite transponder capable
of 23 megabits/sec transmission can transmit a typical 4 minute
song in less than 4 seconds. Thus, EchoStar's DBS programming
capacity (discussed above) allows transmission of 400,000 to
500,000 song titles (approximately 30,000 to 40,000 CD's) during a
four hour period, most preferably curing a period of low
viewership, e.g., 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM.
[0030] The digital music content and program/pricing information,
once received by the appropriate satellite, are then transmitted
down broadly (i.e., "blanket transmitted") to geographic coverage
areas where the user stations can receive the downlink
transmissions.
[0031] The music program and pricing information are received by
the home user's satellite dish 110 and transmitted to download
module 120 contained in the user station where it is decoded and
stored digitally in storage module 130 also contained in the user
station.
[0032] The customer preselects music content to be downloaded by
selecting the content utilizing the graphical user interface 135
shown on the TV screen. The order is communicated to central
controller 36 by Internet or modem. Pricing information for the
preselected music content is then transmitted to the billing module
140 contained in the user station where it is stored in nonvolatile
memory such as SRAM for subsequent querying via the phone line by
central controller 36.
[0033] The music content preselected by the customer is blanket
transmitted by satellite 20 at the scheduled time and is received
by the home user's satellite dish 110. This music content is
transmitted to download module 120 where it is decoded and stored
digitally in storage module 130.
[0034] In certain embodiments, the user station 28 will also
contain an audio speaker system (not shown) to allow the customer
to "preview" the stored music before it is recorded permanently on
a CD or other recordable medium and 5 subsequently paid for. In
this embodiment, the preselected pricing information stored in
billing module 140 will not be transmitted for payment to the
system operator until the customer has either listened to the music
content a set number of times, for example, 3 times, or the
customer indicates via the graphical user interface that he wishes
to permanently record it. As an alternative, previewing may be
accomplished by playing a highly compressed "preview" copy through
the customer's speaker system or headphones. Highly compressed
material lacks richness, signal to noise ratio, stereo channels and
high-frequency bandwidth. Preview can be communicated in perhaps 1%
to 10% of the final copy depending upon the compression schemes
used. Each preview has a brief section (20 seconds) of the real
sound of the selection to allow the customer to really sample the
material as well as generate interest in paying for a "good copy".
If desired, the preview material may be further hobbled with some
simple distortion, added noise, limited low end, crackles and pops,
voice overlay, missing sections, sliding notches, amplitude
compression. Content providers may be given choice as to the nature
of the hobbling beyond the heavy transmission compression.
[0035] When the customer decides to purchase the music, the
graphical user interface prompts the customer to insert a
recordable medium such as a writeable CD into the user station, or
attach other recording device to the user 5 station's output
connectors. (In certain cases, the customer may choose to record
preselected music content multiple times. In such cases the music
content provider may offer pricing discounts for multiple
recordings.) The user station records the preselected music content
stored in the user station and then either deletes the music
contained in storage module 130 once the recording has been
completed or allows the customer to manually delete content no
longer desired.
[0036] The customer accesses (or navigates) the graphical user
interface via a hand held remote. In preferred embodiments, the
remote control communicates via infrared LED transmitter to an
infrared sensor contained on the user station. An optional keyboard
can be utilized by the customer to access (or navigate) the
graphical user interface via the same infrared sensor contained on
the user station.
[0037] The above sequence of operation is summarized in FIG. 2,
which is largely self explanatory. The illustrated modes of
operation, following account setup, are identified as:
[0038] 1. Selection
[0039] 2. Ordering
[0040] 3. Downloading
[0041] 4. Decoding
[0042] 5. Previewing
[0043] 6. Playing
[0044] 7. CD Delivery
[0045] FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment wherein the user
station contains an Internet browser and processor that enables the
customer to access the system operator's music Internet site via
phone line or other Internet connection.
[0046] Optional digital content/programming transmission links are
shown in FIG. 4. These include, but are not limited to, cable,
optical fiber, DSL and the Internet.
[0047] Piracy Protection: The threat of piracy can be controlled
through a music distribution system that uniquely labels every
legal CD copy of music (or video) with an "ID tag". Thus, if a
customer sells copies of a CD that he purchased, that copy and any
copies of it can be traced to his original purchase. Such
identification serves as the basis of a legal deterrent for large
or small-scale piracy. Furthermore, the ID tag may be contained in
each song of a CD protecting each complete piece of artistic
material. The ID tag may be as simple as an inaudible millisecond
blip at the start of each selection or may be "woven" into the
music so that it survives re-recording and compression schemes by
being integral to the music, but not noticeable to the listener or
easily discovered by potential pirates. Multiple hidden tags may be
used to discourage attempts to remove the code 5 by comparing
multiple legal copies of the music. Similarly, multiple tags also
provide the advantage of identifying illegal copies in those cases
where a pirate successfully removes some, but not all, of the tags.
At worst, a pirate may successfully remove part of the tags making
it possible to determine that the music copy is illegal, but
without identifying the original purchaser.
[0048] Distributing music that contains unique ID tags limits
piracy by making it possible to prove that a CD is an illegal copy
and makes the legal source of the copy identifiable. This
technology makes it financially feasible to distribute full-quality
CD music (or video) to consumers via direct satellite connections
in the manner described above in connection with FIGS. 1-4.
Furthermore, by placing tags in each song, it makes it possible to
have a protected system of allowing consumers to create unique
assortments of songs on a CD, and for artists and distributors
(content providers) to receive revenues for each song used. Thus,
each home can become a "CD or music factory" where a person can
create their own collection of 25 songs by artists, through a
system in which the original artist and distributor are properly
paid for their materials. Furthermore, the decline in piracy
resulting from the threat of legal prosecution could result in more
legal copies of music being purchased so that providers can charge
less per legal copy so that this art is more widely available.
[0049] The two major venues for distribution of protected CD's are
the Internet and satellite. In the Internet case, a customer
contacts an Internet site where they purchase the CD. The site
places ID Tags in the music or video selected, then compresses the
selection and sends it to the purchaser. The purchaser then
de-compresses (inflates) the selection and stores it on his hard
drive or writes it to a blank CD for later playing. In the case of
satellite distribution, a customer contracts over a phone or
Internet connection to purchase a particular CD. At regular
intervals, perhaps once a day, the satellite company compresses
this CD, encrypts it and then blanket broadcasts it. The customer's
receiver (e.g., user station 28, above) stores the transmission and
then de-encrypts it using a system and key supplied by the
satellite company, and then that same system encodes an ID TAG in
the music (or soundtrack) using a TAG number downloaded from the
satellite company during the purchasing transaction. Both the
Internet delivery system and the satellite delivery system create a
customer CD that may be played on any conventional CD player. Both
the Internet and satellite distribution systems archive the ID Tag
information with the customer's identity and perhaps other aspects
of the transaction. This data may be sent back to the original
content provider or to another company specializing in detecting
and prosecuting pirates.
[0050] The above scheme may also be applied to CD's sold in stores.
In this case, each CD has a unique ID tag 5 encoded before it is
distributed to the store. The CD case has a bar code associated
with the ID Tag. At the time of purchase the bar code is associated
with a customer's charge card or identity. This information is then
sent back to the CD manufacturer.
[0051] It will be appreciated that it is possible to encode an ID
TAG into a music selection so that it will not be heard during
normal playback, but could remain and be detectable in a recording
made from a selection played over the radio.
[0052] The description will now turn to a detailed discussion of
representative ID tags. As stated above, an ID tag uniquely
identifies each copy of music or video. In its most simple form, a
10 digit (37 bit) tag may be stored in three 16-bit samples (
1/12,000 of a second long) on a CD. A three-byte tag number
equivalent to full volume is a barely perceptible pop to young,
sensitive ears and is completely inaudible to the majority of the
population. In a more complex form, the tag may be woven into the
frequency or time spectrum of the music, where it is both inaudible
and survives compression and transmission, or even serious attempts
by hackers to remove the tag. While the simple tag may be
appropriate for certain applications, more complex tags may be
desired for other applications, especially for high-profit,
piracy-prone contemporary music (or video).
[0053] A simple tag, as discussed immediately above, may consist of
three 16-bit numbers placed at the start and/or 5 end instant of a
CD or each of its songs. To limit audibility, the 37 bits may be
carried by the 64 bits of the first four samples at the beginning
of the CD and encoded to have low amplitude or alternating polarity
to further hide its audible presence from consumers. Such a tag may
be easily read by a computer and is not difficult to eliminate when
making copies. However, the technical nature of tag removal coupled
with the legal implications of distributing software capable of
destroying the tag serves as a significant deterrent to general
piracy.
[0054] The complex ID tag is inaudible by humans, yet is
sufficiently integral to the music (or video) that it remains
during simple filtering or compression operations. The ID tag may
be a multidigit number (or collection of bits) that can be read or
recovered from the CD by those who originally placed the tag.
Examples of tags are low bit-rate encoding in low amplitude, high
frequency music content, short-duration ratios of harmonic
components, background sounds, slight shortening or lengthening of
sustained sounds, or even small shifts in localization cues for a
sound object. Key to "hiding" the sounds is to encode the bits as
short duration shifts in the sounds, shifts that are preserved
during compression but that are not detectable by normal human
hearing or attention. In other words, it is desirable to take
advantage of the parts of the music that have "excess information"
coded during sound compression that is not noticed by humans.
[0055] To make the complex tag hidden and recoverable additional
information must be used in reading the tag that is not contained
in the CD. This information describes where the real (or perhaps
false) ID tags are to be placed, and what the nature of the bit
encoding is at that location. The simplest form of location would
be milliseconds from the start or end of the song for each bit.
Similarly, time from a particular feature in a song, like
milliseconds after the attack greater than 20 dB about 23 seconds
into the song, could be used to identify the location of one bit of
an ID tag. Obviously many bits are also encoded that obscure the
actual tag bits. Real and actual bits may be different or
interchanged among different legal copies of a song.
[0056] It should be expected that as music (or video) compression
techniques evolve, methods for placing and retrieving ID tags will
also evolve.
[0057] How and where is the ID tag placed? In its simplest form,
the ID tag is a unique identifying number, ID NUMBER, that is
placed at the start, end or between selections on a copy of the CD
when it is produced for the consumer. As stated above, a unique ID
NUMBER might be placed on each CD as it is manufactured and later
associated with a customer name or credit card during a store
purchase. Or, in one preferred manner of carrying out the
inventions, the ID NUMBER might be inserted during the process of
writing a CD with music that is downloaded from a satellite or the
Internet. In this case, the software accomplishing 5 the
transaction to purchase the music also sees that the ID NUMBER is
obtained from the seller and places this ID NUMBER at appropriate
places in the CD during the recording process.
[0058] Looking at a more complex form of the ID tag, when a legal
CD is distributed over the Internet, via direct satellite
transmission or even CD's that are manufactured for sale in CD
stores, preferably two blocks of information are involved. The
first block, called the "location data", is an encrypted
description of all the locations in the music to contain the entire
or part of the ID tag, and the encoding techniques used for each
location in which false or real bits of the ID tag will be placed.
The LOCATION DATA is used in creating or reading the ID NUMBER but
is not stored on the CD. The second block of information, called
the ID number, is a unique number identifying the legal
transaction. The ID number may be a customer identification number,
like a credit card or phone number, or customer purchasing account
number, or may be a seller generated transaction number. There are
many different schemes for filling redundant ID tags encoded on a
CD so that tampering or removal of any tag or part of a tag is
noticed.
[0059] Some types of tags may be placed in the time domain and
others in the frequency domain. Time domain tags may involve
changing an aspect of a time-domain feature like the decay time for
a note, whereas frequency domain features 5 such as amplitude of an
overtone would be better inserted in a frequency domain transform
like the fast Fourier transform used to do MPEG 1 compression. The
amount of computer speed needed to insert frequency domain tags has
only been recently available in consumer computers.
[0060] LOCATION DATA is communicated to a "home music factory"
(e.g., user station 28) as encrypted information sent with the
compressed music. If an ID NUMBER were 10 digits (about 33 bits)
long then perhaps just 33 or several hundred locations would be
contained in the LOCATION DATA. Software may accomplish this task
at the site of music distribution, picking regions of the sound
that are suitable for hiding bits within, or trial bits may be
encoded by software with trained observers, perhaps the person who
mixed or originated the music confirming that the music was not
degraded by the inclusion of the bits.
[0061] ID NUMBER would be contained in the music factory as a
standard ID number or as a number securely given to the purchaser
during the purchase transaction. One number might be given for a
whole CD or individual numbers for each song on the CD might be
given.
[0062] The customer's security information should not only contain
the LOCATION DATA and ID TAG but instructions for creating each
type of encoding of a bit in the fabric of the music. Types and
encoding of bits needs to be kept a secret so that the search and
removal of encoded ID'S will be more difficult. It is also likely
that types of encoded 5 cues will evolve over time.
[0063] Note that a unique ID tag can be encoded in the manufacture
of a CD for sales in a store as well as a bar coded copy on the CD
box allowing association of a purchaser's identity (or credit card
number) with that legal copy. Similarly CD's delivered in
compressed form over the Internet can have the complex tags woven
into the audio at the delivery end. Complex tags can be designed
that are not affected by the compression-decompression process.
[0064] How are the ID tags immune from destruction? The simple ID
TAG consisting of three two-byte samples could easily, but
illegally, be eliminated during a piracy operation with the proper
software. However the more complex encoding schemes are very
difficult to find in order to eliminate or change it.
[0065] To be immune from destruction the encoded bits should not
affect a person's perception of the music. This is not difficult
since the information content of even compressed music is orders of
magnitude beyond the capacity of humans to take in information.
However, since humans attend to different aspects of music at
different times, encoding must be carefully done.
[0066] Hints of types of acceptable encoding come from knowledge of
what aspects of sound are most carefully attended by humans. For
example, quick rise-times or strong attacks are carefully processed
for localization cues, and frequency or pitch can be sensed with
great accuracy by some persons. The literature on the development
of music compression algorithms contains discussions of what
aspects of music must be carefully preserved and what is less
noticed but nevertheless kept due to the need to preserve other,
similar, features in the encoding.
[0067] It will be appreciated that it is possible to place both a
simple and a complex ID number on a CD as a method to determine the
purchaser of a CD that was subsequently altered and copied.
[0068] Business Models: The present invention provides significant
flexibility with respect to the business model to be used to
commercialize the invention. In one simplified embodiment, shown in
block diagram form in FIG. 5, the music distribution system
operator interfaces with three parties, the data transmission
provider, the content providers, and consumers. The content
providers provide content to the data transmission provider which,
in turn, blanket transmits the content to the consumers, preferably
by direct broadcast satellite. The satellite transmission also
includes content availability/scheduling data and content pricing
data, updated periodically. The content providers also provide
copyright license and pricing requirements to the video
distribution system operator. Both the data transmission provider
and the content providers receive payments directly 5 from the
music distribution system operator. Lastly, the music distribution
system operator periodically receives information for billing,
while also sending enabling commands to the consumers.
[0069] While the present invention has been described in connection
with certain illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated that
modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit
and scope of the invention.
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