Patent · US Expired

Copy protection apparatus and method

US6310956A · kind A · utility

113Cited by
4References
29Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 16, 1999
Grant dateOct 30, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 16, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N2005/91328
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An apparatus and method of copy protection for use in digital data recorders such as DVD-RAM recorders, which includes embedding transmission time information into a digital data stream by digital watermarking and comparing the transmission time with the current time at the data recorder (30, 50). If the time difference is less than a threshold value it is presumed that the recording is for time-shifting purposes, namely recording a programme to watch later, which is generally allowed by copyright laws. If the time difference is greater than a threshold value it is presumed that the recording is an attempted unauthorised recording such as from a pre-recorded copy, and further recording is prevented.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.