SmartRight’s philosophy is to allow no breaking in the chain of content protection.
For such a purpose, the content is always kept scrambled in the home network (while stored or transferred from one device to another) until it is displayed or played for the consumer to watch or listen, on a presentation device (e.g. a TV). Descrambling is enabled by an authorized removable security module such as a smart card, attached to the presentation device.
This characteristic is called an end-to-end encryption security.
The SmartRight system offers a secure viewing environment.It allows recording of scrambled content, but prohibits viewing if the content is not legitimate. An “illegitimate” content is a copy not authorized by the copyright owner.
SmartRight is a global system deployable in any region of the world. It makes no a priori assumption on the format of the content it receives. It is Conditional Access System (CAS) and Digital Rights Management (DRM) neutral, and also accepts free-to-air content. It complies with U.S. standards as well as European, Japanese, and other standards. It defines a common syntax for SmartRight content to ensure interoperability, and defines a simple Application Program Interface (API) with current dominant Conditional Access Systems and Digital Rights Management systems.
Various well established digital interfaces (through which interaction or communication is achieved between digital devices) are available as standards for device interconnection. The SmartRight system can be used with any current or future bi-directional digital interface.
SmartRight’s end-to-end encryption system may coexist and interoperate with all currently available content protection systems: inbound and outbound rules are defined between the SmartRight system and other content protection systems coexisting with SmartRight on the same digital home network, to ensure the respect of the rights associated to the content. Such rules are determined by the content providers or distributors. For example, in the case of free-to-air content, broadcasters can decide that their content, when leaving the SmartRight domain, will be labeled as “copy-never”, or even that it cannot leave the SmartRight domain.
Besides, use of any watermarking system can be complementary to the SmartRight system.
SmartRight uses renewable security modules. Being cost and environment-conscious, we propose a solution that prevents the revocation of expensive devices.
CE devices will be equipped with a removable module, for example a smart card, which complies with the current international standards.
As all protection systems can undoubtedly be compromised as time goes by, this type of renewability is particularly well suited and preferable when compared with alternatives involving embedded secrets and therefore the revocation of expensive devices.
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