Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support – Data processing protection using cryptography – Having separate add-on board
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-18
2004-08-17
Peeso, Thomas R. (Department: 2132)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support
Data processing protection using cryptography
Having separate add-on board
C713S152000, C713S168000, C380S278000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06779115
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates in general to portable decryption system for an end user. More particularly, the present invention relates to a smart card for use with portable handheld device and personal computers to enable the user to securely purchase and play digital music.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The Internet has proven to be a fertile testing ground for the applicability of existing laws to new circumstances. As new technologies develop, the struggle to determine the legality of various applications of that technology often involve groups with varying goals, all of which factor into the final outcome. One such technology is the distribution of digital data over a network from a source to an end user, such as for example, the distribution of music over the Internet. For example, in the music industry, there are several standards for transmitting music over the Internet, each of which puts into focus various issues of the legality of such actions. Various groups have also come to the forefront of the debate involving the distribution of music over the Internet, and the outcome—that is, what laws exist and how they are enforced—reflect not only the technology itself but also the interest of those who stand to win and lose from the enforcement.
Technological advances have furthered the ease with which music can be distributed over the Internet, as well as increased the quality of the music being transmitted. Even before the Internet and the World Wide Web were used by the general public, it was still possible to both encode music and distribute it. This could be done using, for example, a microphone or soundboard. Analog audio signals were digitized and then encoded using, for example, the pulse code modulation (PCM) format. There were, however, many barriers that hindered the widespread distribution of music via computers. Although files could be encoded the encoding methods either did not significantly compress the data or they compressed the data but significantly reduced the quality of the sound that could be produced from the compressed data. Uncompressed files are large and therefore difficult to transmit from one computer to another. In addition, without the connectivity afforded by the global information network (e.g. the Internet), the average personal computer user would not be able to access these music files. Several new technologies, however, have been developed that are able to significantly compress audio data while maintaining its fidelity and effectively use the Internet as a means of distributing the music.
One audio technology that developed from the Internet is RealAudio. Produced by Progressive Networks, RealAudio is an Internet audio delivery system. Progressive Networks produces both a RealAudio server and a RealAudio player, which is distributed freely from the Progressive Networks RealPlayer web site. RealAudio was initially one of the most popular ways for distributing music over the Internet, and still remains popular today. However, RealAudio did not bring to the forefront many of the legal issues involved in distributing music over the Internet that other technologies, such as Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) Audio Layer-3 (MP3) have done.
One reason for RealAudio's popularity is that the RealAudio sound format is highly compressed. This high compression ratio allows audio such as music to be transmitted in a continuous stream over the Internet. Such streaming audio allows a user to listen to a music file as it downloads, instead of having to download the entire file and then listen to it. Furthermore, the compression used by RealAudio allows streaming music files to be transmitted through even relatively slow Internet connections, such as those provided by 28.8 or 14.4 Kbps modems.
The RealAudio encoding and transmission system did bring up some issues of legality and copyright, but several factors prevented the type of debate that now surrounds the MP3 format. First, the technology needed to both encode sound files into RealAudio format and the RealAudio server was available exclusively from Progressive Networks. In addition, this technology is too expensive for the casual user to use to distribute music over the Internet recreationally. This means that, for the most part, distributing music in RealAudio was done by companies that either owned the copyrighted material or paid for the use of the copyrighted material as a promotional tool. For example, the Internet Underground Music Archive (which initially used the RealAudio format but has since switched to LiquidAudio and various other formats) allowed independent artists to put music clips on their site. In such an arrangement, there are really no legal controversies, whether of copyright or otherwise, since all of the involved parties (including the bands or artists, record labels, publishers, and holders of copyright) typically consented to the arrangement.
Another factor that minimizes any legal controversy surrounding the RealAudio format was the fact that sound files are compressed to allow streaming audio over a 28.8 Kbps modem connection only with a significant loss in sound quality. For example, a one-minute music clip in .WAV format is encoded using approximately 12 megabytes and its sound quality is virtually identical to that of a compact disc. When, however, the same one-minute music clip is transmitted over the Internet using a streaming compression technique, it is compressed to occupy many fewer bytes. This decrease in size comes with a decrease in the sound quality, which does not come close to rivaling that of a compact disc. Furthermore, to minimize download time, many RealAudio music clips are not entire songs, but rather, they are only a portion of a song. For this reason, the RealAudio format did not pose a serious threat to the music industry, as it was not an ideal substitute to purchasing music.
Unlike RealAudio, a technology that presents a serious threat to the record industry is the previously mentioned MPEG Audio Layer-3, or MP3, format. Quite simply, the technology behind the MP3 audio format allows for a high compression ratio and CD-quality sound. An MP3 file compresses a sound file, for example, to one-tenth or one-twelfth its original size. This means that a five-minute song that would have been a 60-megabyte file in .WAV format will be a mere five megabytes as an MP3 file, while still retaining near CD-quality sound. Because MP3 encoders are freely available, this format lends itself more readily to homegrown distribution than does the RealAudio format. In fact, the impressive 12:1 compression ratio of MP3 has made the scheme a hot button on the Internet, because file size is no longer as big of an issue as with, say, the .WAV format, and because sound quality doesn't suffer as it does with conventional streaming encoders. Furthermore, MP3 players, encoders, and ‘rippers’—programs for snatching a digital audio stream from a CD—are readily available. Unlike RealAudio, the average user can cheaply create MP3 files of copyrighted music. All that is required is a CD-ROM drive and freely available software to encode the audio CD tracks to MP3 format. While it is not illegal for the owner of a copy of an audio work to make another copy for personal use, it is illegal for the owner to distribute that copy.
The technology behind the MP3 file format has spawned a thriving Internet community intent on distributing music. If an arrangement to distribute MP3 files is similar the one used by the Internet Underground Music Archive (which now does feature music in MP3 format) in which the copyright owner consents to distribution over the Internet, then there are no legal issues. When, however, the copyright owner or the company charged by the owner to enforce the copyright does not consent to the distribution, the legality of any such distribution is at least questionable. While the legality of such distribution of copyrighted material is not very controversial, it is complicated by home recording provisions in the law that provide si
Digital5, Inc.
Peeso Thomas R.
RatnerPrestia
LandOfFree
Portable device using a smart card to receive and decrypt... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Portable device using a smart card to receive and decrypt..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Portable device using a smart card to receive and decrypt... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3340940