MXPA98007850A - Method to control the protection to copying in digi video networks - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and system for providing protection to the copying of analog and digital video signals and the like, wherein the signals are transmitted via a digital supply network, and may comprise, for example, payment program materials -by-see (PPV) protected by the copyright of the respective owners of the rights of the program. the owners of the right authorize service providers (3) to apply copying protection to the program's material. The copy protection process is provided to the rights owners or service providers (3) through a grantor of the copy protection process. Video service providers (3) provide protection control software to the appropriate network via the respective control and billing (tracking) centers to generate commands that activate, control and reconfigure the copy protection process that is applied to programs that are being transmitted. A top box (10) is provided to each consumer and contains a copy protection circuit that is adapted to apply selected anticopy waveforms to the video signal corresponding to the program material in response to the commands of the service providers. (3). the relevant usage data for each consumer is returned through the upper box (10) to the service providers (3), which then report the use of the copy protection to the respective rights owners and to the grantor of the process.

Description

METHOD TO CONTROL THE PROTECTION TO COPYING IN DIGITAL VIDEO NETWORKS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The description is directed to a method of controlling copy protection in digital video networks where it is desired to protect the copy in analog or digital video output signals associated with a digital video network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Several well-known copy protection schemes for video signals include that described in U.S. Patent Number: 4,631,603, John O. Ryan, December 23, 1986 and assigned to-Macrovision Corporation, incorporated by reference, aimed at modifying an analog video signal to inhibit the making of acceptable video recordings from them. This describes the addition of a plurality of pairs of pulses to lines that are not otherwise used, of a vertical target range of video signal, each pair of pulses being a negative-going pulse followed closely by a impulse that goes in positive. The effect is to confuse the automatic gain control (AGC) circuits of a video cassette recorder (VCR) [This signal is recorded, so that the recorded signal is not visible due to the presence of an excessively dark image when the recorded signal is played. Another analog video protection scheme is described in U.S. Patent Number: 4,914,694 issued April 3, 1990 to Leonard and assigned to Eidak Corp., incorporated by reference. The Eidak system (see summary) increases or decreases the length of each video field from the standard length, either by changing the time duration of the respective horizontal line intervals in each field while maintaining a standard, constant number of lines per frame, or by changing the number of horizontal line intervals that constitute a frame while maintaining the standard duration of each line interval. These video protection systems modify the video signal to be recorded (for example on a tape) or to be transmitted (for example pay-per-view, protected TV programs) to do the copying by recorders of ordinary difficult or impossible video cassettes. When a videotape on which the video signal protected to copying is recorded is played back for viewing using a video cassette recorder, the copy protection process is essentially transparent, that is, it does not interfere with the view. However any attempt to copy the video signal from the tape using a second video cassette recorder to copy the video signal from the first video cassette recorder (playback) produces a degraded image to some degree, depending of the effectiveness of the system of protection to the particular copying. These current video backup protection systems only protect analog video signals, which are the type of video signals transmitted and recorded using the current consumer's video technology. Some digital and hybrid solutions to the problem of copying protection were resolved by United States Patent Number: 5,315,448, issued May 24, 1994, issued to Ryan and assigned to acrovision Corporation, incorporated by reference. This patent is directed to copy protection for use with digital signal recording where it is desired to protect from the copying of both an analog and a digital signal associated with digital video cassette recorders, and any signal material where the material of origin can not be protected from being copied. A fundamental revolution is brewing that will dramatically affect the supply of home entertainment. Consumers will soon have hundreds of vision options to choose from due to advances in digital compression technologies and the associated reduction in costs that accompany each advance. Due to the growing number of channels, more channels will be dedicated to pay-per-view (PPV). The growing number of PPV channels will mean that video service providers (VSPs), also known as PPV providers or system operators, can provide a larger number of movies and more start times, ultimately changing the way many consumers buy and they watch movies in their houses. Currently, experts in market research predict that the pay-per-view business will rival current video cassette income and will be the only business within 3 to 5 years. Even with that positive vision for the future of pay-per-view, complete consumer benefits of pay-per-view programming can be delayed unless new digital video networks can protect the copyrights of payment programs. about to see. Rights owners are concerned that when digital programming is delivered to households, any digital top box can produce commercial-quality videos when they are recorded by a consumer's videotape recorder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In this new world of direct home video programming, video service providers will be convened to protect the pay-per-view programming against unauthorized copying. They will be required to develop and manage the entry end (cable) or top link (satellite) systems that monitor, control, track and report the copy protection application in each pay-per-view video program. To this end, the present invention provides the copy protection management framework that meets these needs at the same time that it complements the more technically detailed copy protection management strategy for video service providers. This framework serves to integrate all the components of the copying protection supply into a digital network, and is designed to fit the diverse needs of DBS, Telco and cable operators, while meeting the requirements of property rights. for a robust and secure environment in which to provide payment programming to be protected from copying. The value of pay per view copying protection is maximized when the appropriate control and tracking systems are in place in the video service provider's control and billing centers. These control and tracking systems are best specified during the design phase of the digital signal material supply system. At a minimum, the following system components are required: ------- Top boxes capable of copy protection. Ability to supply copy protection settings. Ability to provide on / off / mode commands in real time. transaction / bill reporting systems / programs A control and tracking system according to the invention, to provide copy protection for a typical digital delivery system can be better understood through a brief case study that begins when a consumer , who is a subscriber, receives a new top box. Each top box includes a digital to analog encoder chip capable of copy protection. When the top box is initially turned on, the code chip is remotely programmed via a video service provider with the desired copy protection setting. Thus, the system administration software (SMS) of the video service provider, also referred to hereinafter as the present system control software (SCS), has the ability to store and track the designated configuration. The configuration information is applied to all programming with copy protection and is updated only when a video service provider is informed of a change in the process or when a top box is initialized. The copy protection status or option of each program is contained in the system control software database of the video service provider. There are several potential copying protection status options. For example, a first option is for copy protection that allows you to view only a pay-per-view transaction fee. A second option is for copy protection that allows copying on tape at a higher transaction fee. A third option is for material from unprotected programs for which protection is not required, for example broadcast television). When the consumer selects a choice of display via an electronic program guide, a correct menu of options is displayed. Once the consumer selects a pay-per-view program, the correct copying protection status is applied as determined by the option chosen by the consumer, and programming software from the system control software database. Whether the computer control software of the input / uplink end or the software in the top box can determine and send the appropriate on / off / mode command to the digital-to-analog chip capable of the aforementioned copy protection. The input end / uplink software communicates the on / off / mode command to the top box to correctly set the copy protection for a particular program. The system schedule software has the ability to prevent the copying protection status from being applied to any type of program other than pay-per-view programming since the copy protection is allowed only to be used in programming. pay-per-view. After a consumer views a pay-per-view program, the upper box is capable of communicating all the relevant transaction data to a billing subsystem of the system control software. From these data the billing subsystem can add this information to the copy protection activity reports. These reports contain information such as the number of purchases, retail price, and copying protection use fees belonging to a grantor. The copy protection process is applied to the analog video signal just before it leaves the consumer's top box. The application of the copy protection process is controlled and managed by system control software / software access control system that resides in the control center and billing of the video service operations of the video service provider . All the top boxes in the network need to contain protection circuits when copying. If a top box does not have copy protection capability, then the video service provider can identify those top boxes and deny them the payment schedule to be protected from copying.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a diagram that represents a summary of the functions of the present invention. Figure 2 is a block diagram representing a typical digital top / decoder box of the present invention. Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the circuits and architecture of the upper case of Figure 2 in greater detail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY The basic copying protection, which is controlled and tracked according to the present invention, is the subject of numerous patents and related applications. The payment-to-view copying protection process works by exploiting the differences between how television (TV) devices and videocassette recorders respond to video signals. The two components of the anticopy process are known as automatic gain control (AGC) and ColorstripeMR processes. The purpose of these two separate components or processes is to modify the video signal in a way that has no effect on a television set but that inhibits a VCR recording from making a visible copy. The combination of the anticopy process based on automatic gain control and the Colorstripe ™ technology developed specifically for pay per view applications results in a global effectiveness rating of more than 95 percent. This means that more than 95 percent of the unauthorized copies will either be non-visible or have a substantially reduced entertainment value. Security is also an important factor in the operational effectiveness of the copy-to-view copy protection. Security is a measure of the difficulty of diverting or overcoming the anticopy process. Ideally, the system is completely invincible, but as a practical matter the protection system needs to be secure enough to thwart attempts to breach typical consumers, including reasonably sophisticated consumers. The security system is successful if it prevents the vast majority copy payment programs to see at home. Both video service providers (VSPs), that is, pay-per-view providers, and rights owners benefit when the current movie schedule is offered to consumers at the same time or shortly after those movies They are available on videocassettes. Subscribers benefit too, since this scenario provides them with more choices and adds convenience. As digital pay-per-view programming generates increasing revenue for rights owners and becomes a viable visualization option for pre-recorded cassettes, service providers will be attracted to the protected pay-per-view programming of so that the rental of videocassettes and the sales business of videocassettes themselves are not affected. The owners of the rights will also require service providers to monitor, control, track and report the protection application to the copying of each video program for billing purposes. Copying protection emerged as a key element in the supply of pay-per-view programming via digital signal supply networks. The system implications added to copy protection are very manageable, but only when they are designed as a part of the total digital delivery system architecture. The description of the present invention is intended to be applied to systems where one or more providers of the video service are or will be in the future, connected to a pay-per-view service. The pay-per-view service can be either a video-on-demand (VOD) format, or a near-demand video (NVOD) and digital supply network format, and where the top boxes of multiple manufacturers can be connected to the net. It is assumed that a technology class will be deployed initially [such as Direct Transmission Satellite (DBS), Multipoint Microwave Distribution System (MMDS), telephone line or Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial (HFC)] that will be followed by another kind of technology at some future date. Although a different technology may arise, the invention is intended to be applicable for use with multiple platforms and technologies. Figure 1 illustrates a method and control and tracking system for enabling and controlling the application of protection for copying of video signals and the like via digital video networks. Station 1 represents the issuance of instructions to the service providers by the holders of the rights of the programs that hold the copyright, for the application by the providers of the protection to the copying of the programs that are protected by the requirements of payment to see (PPV) or payment by tape (PTT). Station 2 represents a control and billing center for authorized providers of authorized video services that provide copying protection control software for the respective protected programs that are being transmitted, to generate the commands required to activate, control and reconfigure the copy protection process for each specific PPV / PTT program they offer. Although a single provider is represented, it is understood that Station 2 represents any plurality of video service providers, each with its respective property control and tracking software (billing), in accordance with the present invention. Station 3 represents the procedure of transmission of the specific copy protection command codes of the respective providers, for the offers of pay per view / pay per tape programs, via the typical transmission networks. These transmissions can be made by satellite, microwave, telephone line or cable transmission systems, as represented.

Station 4 represents the home of the subscriber, or other receiving facility, and includes a top 10 box for each of a multitude of subscribers. Each upper box contains copying protection circuits including an integrated digital color coding (IC) chip, which is adapted to apply selected anticopy waveforms to the analog or digital video signal that is supplied from it to a device or monitor of TV. The receiving facility is also described in Figure 2. Station 5 represents the procedure by which the data identifying each pay-per-view or pay-per-tape transaction, including the use of copy protection, is sent through the upper box 10 back through the transmission networks of station 3, generally to the respective control and billing center (tracking) of the video service provider. The center includes billing procedures that are a subset of the system's control software and that processes the return-through data to provide subscriber billing for the use of pay-per-view or pay-per-tape transactions. Station 6 represents the procedure by which each of the authorized video service providers reports the use of copy protection to the rights holder of the program, whereby the provider pays the charges for copying protection to the owner of the program. the rights, that is, the grantor. Figure 2 illustrates in greater detail the subscriber's installation, station 4 of Figure 1, receiving the digital, and usually compressed, pay-per-view transmissions of the transmission networks represented as station 3 of Figure 1. The signal of compressed digital video, or the like, is supplied to the respective upper box 10 of a multitude of top boxes wherein each box includes conventional circuits for decoding and converting the compressed video signal into an analog video signal (baseband). The upper case 10 also includes a digital color coder IC 20 mentioned above, which contains a copy protection circuit to apply the selected copy protection waveforms to the analog or (digital) video signal, namely the programs that are being protected. In this example, the video of the protected analog baseband is supplied by the installation box superior to the television set 22 where the protected pay-per-view program is displayed for display if the subscriber is authorized to watch the program . If the subscriber is not authorized for a protected program of payment for private viewing, the corresponding image is modified until it is not visible. In the event that a subscriber records the protected pay-per-view program via a video cassette recorder 24 to obtain a tape copy 26 without authorization, the unauthorized copy will be degraded to the extent that it is not visible, as represented by a television set 28. However, if the subscriber subscribes to a pay-per-tape transaction and the highest pay-per-tape transaction charge required, then the copy is authorized and the tape copy would be easily visible. Referring to Figure 3, an architecture of the upper case (s) 10 of Figures 1, 2 is illustrated in greater detail. After the upper case 10 is turned on, the configuration bits stored in the flash memory 48 will read and write within the appropriate CP control registers 52 in the NTSC / PAL 20 encoder. When the compressed digital video signal, including the copy protection control commands of the previous and following comments, are supplied via the network of delivery mentioned above (satellite, HFC, MMDS, telephone line) to a demodulator circuit 32, as represented by an input driver 30. The demodulated video / audio and control signals are supplied to a demultiplexer circuit 34 where the video / audio signals are separated in the respective channels and supplied to the MPEG-2 decoder and a digital decompression circuit 36. Copy protection control commands are supplied from the demultiplexer 34 to a module of the conditional access system 38. The commands are supplied to a microprocessor in a central processing unit 40. The central processing unit processes the information located in the memory that is associated with the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) 45 or executes the copying protection application software 44 resident in the memory 42 to supply the activation command to the NTSC / PAL 20 encoder. The electronic program guide may have also data that is used to determine if protection should be activated when copying. There are additional methods that can be used to activate copy protection. In response to the control commands, the central processing unit 40 supplies control signals to the NTSC / PAL IC encoder 20 mentioned above, Figure 2. The IC encoder 20 includes the copy protection control registers 50, 52 for receiving the mode bits and the control of the configuration, respectively, of the previous and following comments. The configuration bits 52 determine the shape of the copy protection (ie, where the pseudo synchronization and automatic gain control pulses will be located at positions of the color strip lines etc.) The byte on / off / mode 50 determines which components of the copy protection process will be activated. See table 1 below. The encoder IC 20 also receives decompressed video from the MPEG-2 decoder and the digital decompression circuit 36. The IC 20 encoder produces a radio frequency signal, a composite video signal and / or an S-video signal via the conductors of video 54. The decompressed audio signal is supplied from the circuit 36 to an audio processing circuit 56 which, in turn, produces the left and right channel stereophonic signals and / or an AC-3 signal in the conductors audio 58. According to the invention, the upper box needs to satisfy some requirements to ensure that the copying protection process is generated, controlled and tracked correctly. The control and tracking of the use of the copy protection process is carried out in the control and billing center of the video service provider, station 2 of Figure 1. This in turn requires that there be some capabilities that include the box superior, the control system and billing systems and programs in order to meet these requirements. A description follows of the requirements that ensure that the copying protection process or technique is properly activated and controlled and its use is tracked. It is expected that if improper upper box equipment is connected to the digital supply network, each authorized service provider will be able to identify that equipment as inadequate and will retain the protected programs upon copying from the respective subscriber. The implementation of these requirements on the network (that is, control of the anticopy process from the control center and billing of program origin) requires knowledge of the system and process of controlling the upper case, the application of program interfaces (API ) present in the box and the dialogue between it and the integrated circuit (IC) that incorporates the copying protection device. The copy protection control software (CPCS) is a software module or set of software modules that reside in the system control software of the service provider (SCS). It provides an operator of the system (that is, the service provider) with an interface for managing the necessary attributes of the copy-to-watch protection, in accordance with the present invention. For security reasons, it is necessary to have the ability to control access to the copy protection control software from the system control software. This restriction is designed to limit access to copying protection control software for control of the copy protection process. The operating system that supports the system control software is usually the first level of security. Every employee needs to enter a logical account and a password. Without these, an employee has denied access. The employee's account specifies the respective privileges. A system administrator of the service provider is responsible for assigning employee privileges. Thus, any executable file resident in the central compiler that is capable of modifying the operational status of the copy protection process has restricted permissions to authorized personnel. Without appropriate permissions, the staff is unable to execute the executable software. The copy protection control software is the portion of the software control of the video service provider where the decision to apply pay-per-view and pay-per-tape options are applied on a program-by-program basis. There is an access control to the copy protection control software, either through the control of passwords or the assignment / denial of privileges by means of the software. If the password control is the selected method then once the correct initial password is entered, the copy protection control software forces the selection of a new password for future access to the copy protection control software. In this way, the service provider can limit access to the copy protection control software to those employees who have the authority to modify the copy protection database. The password is valid for a reasonable amount of time before expiring and the selection of a new password is required. Additionally, there is an access control to a subsystem within the copy protection control software that allows the modification of selected bits that define the control and configuration mode, and thus determine the characteristics of the copy protection process. Any unauthorized change to these bits can result in serious problems of reproduction and effectiveness. In order to maximize the security of the system the video service provider needs to have a short list of staff that is authorized to change these bits. A mode control group controls access to the mode bits. This group has the ability to change the content of the byte (s) so that it is sent with each pay-per-view program to enable or disable the copy protection process. The membership of this group is controlled by the system administrator. The number of personnel of the service provider allowed in this group is kept at the minimum. Similarly, a configuration control group controls access to the configuration bits. This group has the ability to change the contents of the configuration bits that define the copy protection process. These are the bits that are sent periodically to each top box to ensure that all the boxes are using the correct version of the process. The number of the staff of the service provider allowed in this group is kept to a minimum as well. Each password described below shall be at least eight (8) alpha-numeric characters in length. The system administrator is responsible for defining and distributing the current password to authorized personnel. Each password described below must have a life of no more than four months before the system administrator changes the password. The software access password that applies or withdraws the copy protection process on a per-program basis is designed to consult authorized mode group or configuration control personnel for an authorization password to ensure that they are members. If the authorized personnel enter the password correctly they can apply or withdraw the copy protection for a series or a particular case of pay-per-view events. ConverselyIf authorized personnel fail to enter the password, they will be denied access to that portion of the database. It is the responsibility of the system administrator to ensure that only authorized personnel know the password for control of either mode or configuration. Unauthorized personnel will be allowed three attempts to be entered before a message is generated for the system administrator that an unauthorized request was made to modify the application or remove the copy protection. Alternative proposals for accessing the copy protection control software and controlling access to the mode and configuration of the copy protection process can be developed by one skilled in the art. The copy protection control software will perform the following functions: turn on / off the copy protection and the mode control; validation of copy protection; functionally open the protection capacity when copying in a top box; and reprogram the configuration of the copy protection process. The copying protection process incorporated in the upper box is controlled by the copy protection control software at the central control and billing location of the authorized video service provider. The need to invoke protection when copying an individual program is part of a description of each program. An omission for copy protection within the descriptor needs to be turned off (that is, not copy protection). It is necessary to take measures to prevent protection being applied to the copying of non-pay-per-view program channels, since copying protection can only be authorized for pay-per-view programming. If the system control software automatically verifies that a program is designated for pay-per-view use, this requirement may be automatic. Similarly, access to copy protection control software can be automatically denied for non-pay per view programming. If an automatic verification is not carried out, a warning message is generated when the copy protection control software has access to a change in the protection status when copying a program. This warning needs to be displayed until a specific keyboard entry is made to recognize the warning. In the case of MPEG signals, the MPEG rights header bits by themselves are not sufficient to activate copy protection in the upper box.

The following reasons are the basis for not allowing the MPEG header bits to be used as the sole control of the copy protection process. An application routine is required in order to (a) differentiate between the protection conditions when copying from digital to digital and from digital to analog, (b) providing sufficient control capability to set the protection operation mode to copying, and (c) facilitate access to the copy protection system only for authorized video service providers. It is preferred that the on / off control of the copy process is achieved by setting all the bits of the individual on / off and mode parameters in place of a master on / off control. This requires that the NO (N-zeros) bits in the control bit list be set as required. Depending on the individual system, this will require control from 5 to 8 bits. The provision of the mode byte for the upper case to activate or deactivate the copy protection process can be achieved in several ways. Each method has its positive aspects as well as its negative aspects. When a mechanism is selected to control the copy protection technology, a service provider selects one of the following means or can develop a completely new medium. One method may be for the mode byte to be supplied via the conditional access system via the rights control message (ECM). Another method could be to include the byte mode in a private data field in the MPEG transport data stream. Another method can supply the mode byte in a defined user section of the electronic program guide that is not identified in the released documentation as it controls the protection of the copy. This method also requires some additional security to prevent unauthorized changes to the position of the mode byte memory and the establishment of a return flag indicating the actual status of the mode byte when it is transmitted to the -NTSC encoder. Another method may be a combination of the conditional access of the rights control message and the electronic program guide. The transport of the byte mode in the electronic program guide could be combined with two bits within the rights control message. To activate the copy protection technology, then it would be an operation between the bits of the rights control message and the bits of the electronic program guide. If any are set, the protection technology when copying, both the rights control message and the electronic program guide should indicate that deactivation is necessary. When viewing a payment program to be protected from copying, part of the information that will be needed to be tracked will be the actual establishment of the mode byte. In this way, both the copy protection process and the service provider will have a means to discover if copy protection was avoided in the upper case. The return flag can be a single bit set to 'true' to indicate that the copy protection process was activated correctly and 'false' if it was activated incorrectly. It is required that the mode byte be sent to the NTSC encoder periodically. The frequency of the transmission is in the order of once per minute. Setting the operation mode of the copying protection process requires independent activation of the three component parts of the copying protection process (pulses within the vertical target range, pulses at the end of a field, phase modification of color discontinuity) and up to 5 additional mode setting parameters using NO bits as indicated above. Access to copy protection in the upper box by the video service provider needs to be restricted to authorized providers. This should not be confused with access to the copy protection control software as defined above. What follows is that it requires that each system operator or video service provider procure the means (ie, keys / codes, etc.) to activate the control software of the copy protection system on a program-by-program basis. When a service provider obtains the means to activate copy protection, the provider will gain access to the copy protection process in the upper box. The copy protection process (that is, the on / off / mode commands) or reprogramming in the top box needs controlled access so that only authorized vendors can issue valid commands to the box. The upper box needs to reject the commands for the protection process when copying unauthorized video service providers. The upper boxes, such as those shown in Figures 1 and 2, can be shipped by the manufacturer with the installed copy protection capacity, but functionally blocked. This means that the top box will not respond to any copy protection control code. However, the upper box will be unlocked, (ie, enabled) by a message initiated via the copy protection control software or system control software and sent through the system by an authorized service provider. video. This message can be sent as part of a login routine when a consumer has access to a provider. This message only needs to be activated once by the upper box during the life of the box. Only the authorized providers of the video service are provided with the unlock message data. The unlock message of the copy protection consists of at least 8 bytes. The top boxes are manufactured with an appropriate unlock message code. This code is provided by the upper case manufacturer only to the copy protection dealer, who in turn provides the code to the authorized video service providers. The unlock message of the copy protection is different for each manufacturer of upper cases, but it is the same for all cases made by the same manufacturer. Alternative proposals on the methodology to enable the protection process for copying in the upper box will be apparent to those skilled in the art. To ensure that during the life of the upper case the copying protection process provides maximum effectiveness with video cassette recorders and compatibility with television sets, the copy protection system needs to be able to be improved on a wide system base. means of commands initiated by the copy protection control software. This will result in the transmission of new process configuration data. In response, the upper box processes the data to reconfigure the adjustable parameters of the copy protection process. The upper box can be placed in a "diagnostic" mode for the implementation of this feature, or the configuration data can be sent and activated by the box by routine as part of the program description data or starting routine . However, it is recommended that the rights control message (ECM) be used. The rights holder control message gets into the conditional access system. In one version, 108-bit configuration data is provided to accommodate the reconfiguration data, however, 108 bits does not fall into a byte limit. Therefore, it is recommended that 112 be sent with four zeros. The data is presented to the supplier in the form of hexadecimal numbers to enter into the copy protection control software. The 112 bits are thus entered as a string of 28 hexadecimal numbers. In another version, the 132-bit configuration data is not a byte limit. Thus, it is recommended that 136 be sent with four zeros. The data is presented to the supplier in the form of hexadecimal numbers to enter into the copy protection control software. The 136 bits are thus entered as a string of 34 hexadecimal numbers. It is possible to verify the current configuration stored by the copy protection control software by accessing the current contents of the configuration bits presented as hexadecimal characters of the correct number. An alphanumeric password of at least 8 bytes is required to have access to change the programming data within the copy protection control software. This password is separate from the password that allows access to the copy protection control software. The service provider has the option to receive the source code 'C' of an executable file to which to pass parameters. The following warning notice is displayed on the screen of the control center and operational billing of a supplier after entering the correct password: WARNING Changing this protection configuration data to copying without written authorization leads to serious risk of problems with the operation of the copy protection system and degraded image quality.

This warning notice is displayed visually until a specific keyboard entry is made to acknowledge the warning. By way of example only, Table 1 illustrates a list of control bits so as to define the corresponding bit pattern or command, which provides the routine selection functions on / off and mode when transmitted to the upper boxes via supply networks. The bit list of configuration control is generally equivalent to that of the mode control, although relatively longer, since it controls considerably more control and reprogramming functions.

TABLE 1 List of Mode Control Bits Routine Selection On / Off and Mode O Control of On / Off and Mode; 8 bits OR [7] Reserved CPCO [3] O [6] Payment per allowed / prohibited tape (Allowed = 1, Omission = 0) CPCO [2] OR [5] VBI pulses On / Off (VBIP) (ON = 1 ) CPCOfl] O [4] End of Field Backplate Impulses On / Off (EOFP) (ON = 1) CPCO [0] NO [3] Color band process On / Off (CSP) (ON = l) CPC1 [3] NO [2] Normal impulse AGC (Cycling = Omission = l) CPC1 [2] (amplitude cycling / static mode selection) (AGCY) N0 [1] Amplitude reduction Synchronization Horizantal On / Off (HAMP) (On = l) CPC1 [1] N0 [0] Amplitude reduction Synchronization Vertical On / Off (VAMP) (On = l) CPC1 [0 ] The pay-per-view transaction information is collected by each video service provider for each subscriber so that the copy protection activity reports required for the payment of royalties and other fees can be generated. The reports include information regarding the number of subscribers who have access to each copied protected program, with subtotals of the copied protection status or options selected by the respective subscribers. The reports also include classified information by pay-per-view title, pay-per-view program provider, copying protection activation status requested by the subscriber, and by the model code of the upper box. The reports are provided by the report generator software mentioned earlier in the video service provider's centers. The activity report includes a model descriptor code and model type in the recognition transaction between the upper case and the control and billing system when reporting a payment transaction by the supplier. The copying protection control software and the upper box are able to apply and report the use of anti-copy according to the following conditions. The global system allows subscriber copying protection to be turned off in the box only as permitted by the title of the pay-per-view program rights. (a) The holder of the rights of the program of payment-by-see allows only to see it: The mode of payment-by tape is prohibited (turned off) All top boxes produce protected copy waveforms. That is, the copy protection waveform appears unconditionally in the analog video output signal of the upper case. This is reported to the billing system as a protected transaction of "pay-per-view" copy. (b) The holder of the rights allows to see and record it: The pay mode by tape bit is installed for pay-per-tape allowed (lit). Within this option, when the subscriber selects the "pay-per-tape" option, the copy protection process is turned off in the upper box to allow the pay-per-view program to be greyed (on tape) by a higher transaction rate than for "just watch it". That is, the waveform of the copy protection will not be present in the analog video output signal of the upper case. This is reported to the billing system as a protection transaction when copying "pay per tape". The following Table 2 provides a summary of the control options and includes additional information TABLE 2 Pay-Per-View and Pay-Per-Pay Control Options for Pay-Per-View Programs Result Request Descriptor Consumer PPV program (pay-per-view or pay-per-tape) Protection to N / A ACP off copied NO required Payment-per-see Protection ACP will be copied ON REQUIRED. Transaction Cost Notification of Payment-by allowed to be incurred by the consumer Payment-by-tape protection Option requested copied not available. REQUIRED ACP will be recording NOT ON, allowed. Cost of Payment Transaction-to see incurred by the consumer Payment-by-see protection ACP will be lit copied by the REQUIRED system. Control of the STB Recording. allowed (to a Cost of transaction Transaction plus Payment-to see high). incurred by the consumer Payment-by-tape protection ACP will be turned off copied by the REQUIRED system. Control of the STB Recording. Permitted cost (to a Transaction of Payment-cost to see transaction more incurred by the stop). consumer It will be understood that several terms used in the description in 1? present are interchangeable. For example, a "video service provider" is also known as a pay-per-view (PPV) provider or a system operator, and "system administration software" is preferably software control software. Likewise, the "control and billing" centers of the pay-per-view providers represented by station 2 (and generally station 5) can also be referred to as operations / tracking control centers, centers of origin / program termination, input end (cable) / uplink (satellite) control centers, etc. An installation of the authorized pay-per-view provider provides the necessary control instructions to the associated software and / or circuits in a top box to allow the respective subscriber to access the material of the program to which he or she is entitled, and also receives at designated times of the week, month, etc., the use data automatically returned e for the upper box. A subset of billing fee software and system control software permits then enables each pay-per-view provider to bill subscribers and report and pay concession fees to right holders, etc. .

Accordingly, the foregoing description of the invention is illustrative and not limiting. Other modifications will be apparent to the person skilled in the art in light of this description. For example, although the invention is described herein in relation to a video signal, and primarily an analog video signal, it will be understood that the concepts of the invention can be applied to other signals with properties equivalent to a video signal in where copying protection is desired. In the same way, the invention is applicable to the protection of copying of digital and analogue signal materials, such as those described in the aforementioned Patent of the United States of America Number: 5,315,448. In addition, although a specific example of a code word is described herein to enable the copy protection process via the upper box, other combinations and numbers of bits may be used. In addition, a selected portion of the control software for effecting the protection process may reside in the upper case in the form of an insertable "smart" card, where for example, the smart card contains the data concerning the subscriber's options and privileges. . Thus, the scope of the invention is defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims (29)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the foregoing invention, it is considered as a novelty and, therefore, the content of the following is claimed as property. CLAIMS 1. A method to provide protection to the copying of signal material transmitted via digital supply networks to a consumer's top box, to prevent unauthorized viewing or copying of signal material, characterized by the acts of: providing controls of protection when copying indicators of the protection to the desired copying for the material of the signals; store a copy protection configuration in the upper box; transmit commands derived from, and in response to, copy protection controls that activate copying protection for the signal material; and applying anticopy waveforms to the signal material in response to commands to prevent unauthorized viewing of copyrighted material from a recorded copy of the copy protected copying material, where the unauthorized copy lacks value of entertainment.
2. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the act of supply includes: establishing the requirements to activate and control a process that enables copying protection and which prepares reports on the corresponding use thereof; and provide copying protection control software in response to requirements, this software provides copying protection controls to activate and control the copy protection process and usage reports.
3. 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the establishment act includes: establishing requirements that differentiate between protection conditions when copying from digital to digital and from digital to analog, which determines a mode and configuration of operation of the copy protection process, and which ensures that there is only an authorized access to the copy protection process.
4. 4. The method, according to claim 2, characterized in that the act of supply includes: generating the commands in the form of a bit pattern in response to the copy protection control software, and those commands include a first pattern of bits that allows the control of the on / off / mode in real time, and a second pattern of bits that determines a programmable configuration of protection when copying.
5. The method, according to claim 4, characterized in that it includes the act of: receiving the first and second bit patterns to activate the copy protection and to control and reconfigure the copying protection process respectively, in response to it; and wherein the anticopy waveforms are applied to the material of the signals to provide copy protection.
6. 6. The method, according to claim 2, characterized in that it includes the act of: limiting access to acts of establishment and supply to prevent unauthorized access to the application of the copying protection process or software from protection control to copying that activates and controls the process.
7. The method, according to claim 2, characterized in that the act of application includes: storing in the memory the protection controls for copying in a receiving facility of a service provider; and storing control data in the memory in a receiving facility of signal material whose stored control data responds to the commands to activate, control and reconfigure the stored copy protection process.
8. 8. The method, according to claim 2, characterized in that it includes the act of: collecting periodic information of copying protection activity that includes the activation status of the copy protection as the number of material event events. signals seen from pay-per-view and pay per tape.
9. 9. The method, in accordance with what is claimed in claim 8, characterized in that it includes the acts of generating reports that include the access number to the receiving facilities, the holder of the rights of the events of the signal material, the total number of events seen and the corresponding billing information.
10. The method, according to claim 2, characterized in that the act of applying includes: modifying a selected synchronization signal in a corresponding target range of a television line in response to commands to degrade a subsequent decoding of the synchronization signal in the event that a recording of the corresponding signal material is made.
11. The method, according to claim 2, characterized in that the material of the signal is an analog or digital video signal.
12. The method, according to claim 1, characterized in that the act of supply includes: developing copying protection control software that describes the control signals to apply the copy protection process to the signal material and to return to a service provider indicators data of the selected signal material to the consumer's facilities; generating control bit patterns in response to the copy protection control software; and transmitting the control bit patterns to the top box of the consumer's facility when the consumer joins the supply network and subsequently on the basis of a prescribed routine.
13. 13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that it includes the acts of: storing in the upper box the copy protection application software that activates and controls the copying protection process; and enabling the stored application software in response to the transmitted control bit pattern to selectively activate and / or modify the configuration of the copy protection process.
14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that it includes the acts of: modifying the configuration control bit pattern provided with a desired change in the copy protection process; and transmitting the modified configuration control bit pattern to the upper case to effect the change in the copy protection process.
15. 15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that it includes the acts of: storing the consumer information in the upper box that is indicative of the desired copying options in the consumer's facility; and comparing the control bit pattern with the consumer information stored in the upper case when a selection of the signal material is made to determine whether the consumer is authorized to only see and / or to copy the material.
16. 16. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that: the signal material is a pay-per-view signal (PPV) or pay per tape (PTT); and the supply act includes establishing the requirements to activate and control the protection process for the payment-by-view and payment-by-tape copying and to report the corresponding use activity of the process to the service provider; and providing copying protection control software in response to requirements, this software provides the control bit pattern for activating, controlling and modifying the protection process when copying pay-per-view and pay-per-tape.
17. 17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that it includes the act of: providing limited access to the acts of establishment and supply to prevent unauthorized access to the control of the copying protection process or control software of protection when copying.
18. 18. The method, according to claim 16, characterized in that the material of the signal is a pay-per-view or pay-per-tape analog or digital video signal.
19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that the act of applying includes: modifying a selected synchronization signal in a corresponding target range of a television line in response to the control bit pattern to degrade any subsequent decoding of the synchronization signal when an unauthorized attempt is made to view or copy the pay-per-view signal.
20. 20. The method, according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes the acts of storing the application software in the upper boxes; receive and write the bit pattern so in the top boxes; and wherein the stored application software responds to the transmitted mode bit pattern to activate, control and modify the copy protection process as defined by the configuration control bit pattern.
21. 21. The method, according to claim 20, characterized in that the upper box is functionally blocked including: loading, via the service provider, a selected software or bit pattern adapted to functionally unlock the upper case.
22. 22. Apparatus for controlling protection when copying the copyrighted signal material transmitted via digital supply networks, where a service provider enables a copying protection process which prevents the unauthorized copying of the signal material by the consumers, the apparatus is characterized by: a control / billing center [2] for supplying protection control signals to the copy as they are directed by the service provider. means for transmitting commands [3] in response to the copy protection control signals to selectively control the copy protection process; and localized means with each consumer [4] to apply anticopy signals from the copying protection process to the signal material in response to the selected commands transmitted to avoid or allow copying of the signal material.
23. The apparatus, according to claim 22, characterized in that the protection control signals to the copying of the service provider include: a mode command to activate the localized element with each consumer; and a configuration bit pattern to determine the operation configuration of the copy protection process.
24. 24. The apparatus, in accordance with claim 23, characterized in that the copy protection control signals include an access password to identify that the authorized personnel of a service provider has access to, and controls, the process of protection when copying.
25. The apparatus, according to claim 23, characterized in that the means located with each consumer includes an upper case having a coding means that contains a copying protection circuit adapted to add anticopy signals to the signal material as response to command signals.
26. 26. The apparatus, according to claim 25, characterized in that the upper case includes memory means for storing the copy protection configuration and / or the copy protection mode; and the encoding means includes means for receiving the mode command and the configuration bit pattern and for controlling the activation and configuration of the stored copy protection process in response to the command and the bit pattern.
27. 27. The apparatus, as claimed in claim 25, characterized in that the upper box includes software to return the usage data back to the control center / billing of the service provider, using the data of the use of the service provider to bill the service provider. consumers and to provide a report on the use and the corresponding concession fees.
28. 28. The apparatus, in accordance with claim 23, wherein the signal material is an analog or digital pay-per-view or pay-per-tape signal.
29. 29. The apparatus, according to claim 22, characterized in that the control and billing center includes: instructional information establishing the requirements to activate and control the copying protection process and to report the copying protection activity; and wherein the service provider supplies the copy protection control software provided with said requirements, and the copy protection control signals in response to the control software. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method and system for providing protection to the copying of analog and digital video signals and the like, wherein the signals are transmitted via a digital supply network, and may comprise, for example, materials from pay-per-view programs (PPV) ) protected by the copyright of the respective owners of the program rights. The owners of the right authorize service providers (3) to apply copying protection to the program material. The copy protection process is provided to the rights owners or service providers (3) through a grantor of the copy protection process. Video service providers (3) provide adequate copy protection control software via the respective control and billing (tracking) centers to generate commands that activate, control and reconfigure the copy protection process that is applied to programs that are being transmitted. A top box (10) is provided to each consumer and contains a copy protection circuit that is adapted to apply selected anticopy waveforms to the video signal corresponding to the program material in response to the commands of the service providers. (3) . The relevant usage data for each consumer is returned through the upper box (10) to the service providers (3), which then report the use of copying protection to the respective owners of the rights and to the grantor of the process.