Macrovision Corporation

E Fraser Morrison

John O Ryan

Gregory C Copeland

A system for providing security and tracking data for rental video media, including digital video discs and digital video cassettes. Those new formats for video players and media allow for inclusion of security features which both allow tracking of rental of such media and prevent unauthorized rental thereof. Each player includes a decision circuit which plays a particular disc (or tape) only if a player identification number recorded on a special separate authorization memory card is the same as the player identification stored in the player, and if a movie identification number optically read from the disc matches a movie identification number recorded on the special card. A corresponding apparatus is provided at the video rental store which, at the time of rental, records on the authorization card in encrypted form the movie identification number and the number of the particular disc player for which that rental is intended. The encryption uses the private key of a public key system, the public key and the modulus being pre-recorded on the optical portion of the disc.

Video media security and tracking system

A video disc designed for providing security and tracking data in the rental video media market. Those new formats for video players and media allow for inclusion of security features which both allow tracking of rental of such media and prevent unauthorized rental thereof Each player includes a decision circuit which plays a particular optical disc only if a player identification number recorded on a special separate magnetic track on the optical disk is the same as the player identification stored in the player, and if a movie identification number optically read from the disc matches a movie identification number recorded on the special separate magnetic track. A corresponding apparatus is provided at the video rental store which, at the time of rental, records on a magnetic portion of the media in encrypted form the movie identification number and the number of the particular disc player for which that rental is intended. The authorization encryption uses the private key of a public key system, the public key and the modulus being pre-recorded on the optical portion of the disc.

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Redwood City, CA, United States of America

E Fraser Morrison