DE20100527U1 - Disk - Google Patents

Description

Gesthuysen, by Rohr & Eggert

01.0030.4.do

Essen, 11 January 2001

Utility model application

the company

with the label

Phenomedia AG Lohrheidestrasse 1

44866 Bochum

Data carrier

-&igr;-

The present invention relates to a data carrier according to the preamble of claim 1 or 10.

Data storage media in the above sense are currently considered to be CDs (compact disks) or DVDs (digital versatile disks). These data storage media are also preferred as storage media for software, digital data and the like - user data. In particular with the widely used CDs and DVDs, there is an increasing problem that copies can be made very easily and very cheaply using a suitable burner or similar, i.e. particularly on a home computer or similar. This leads to considerable financial disadvantages for manufacturers and distributors, especially in the case of expensive software.

The present invention is based on the object of specifying a data carrier for producing a copy-protected data carrier, so that copying of the data carrier can be prevented or at least made very difficult in at least a relatively simple manner.

The above object is achieved by a data carrier according to claim 1 or 10. Advantageous further developments are the subject of the subclaims.

In the following explanations, reference is primarily made to a CD as the preferred version of a proposed data storage medium. However, the same also applies to other, particularly similar, data storage media, and in particular to a DVD.

A basic idea of the present invention is to additionally store on the data carrier memory areas that are not readable or cannot be read without errors or that cannot be rewritten or saved on a blank data carrier by a conventional writing device, in particular a burner. This means that the otherwise widespread copying using a CD burner or the like is prevented in a surprisingly simple manner. Instead, only the complex mechanical production of the data carrier, in particular by pressing the CD, is possible. This effectively prevents unauthorized copying of data carriers modified in this way.

The proposed solution is preferably intended for data storage devices containing user data in the sense mentioned above, i.e. where there is no continuous, automatic, sequential reading of all storage areas stored on the data storage device, as is the case with an audio CD or similar.

Further advantages, objects, properties and features of the present invention will become clear from the following description of the drawing of a preferred embodiment. It shows:

Fig. 1 is a schematic, not to scale representation of a

appropriate data carrier; and

Fig. 2 a partial enlargement of the dotted circle

area of Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 shows schematically, in a non-scale representation, a preferred embodiment of a proposed data carrier 1. The data carrier 1 is in particular a recorded CD or CD/ROM.

The data carrier 1 has a large number of stored or written storage areas 2. In particular, these are logical areas, i.e. not areas that are actually physically formed on the data carrier 1. For the sake of illustration, however, the storage areas 2 are shown as defined, localized areas on the data carrier 1 that are arranged in concentric tracks 3. The storage areas 2 are so-called sectors, particularly in the case of a CD/ROM.

Each storage area or sector 2 has, at least in the case of data storage in accordance with the ISO-9660 standard, address data 4, user data 5 and control data 6, which are stored in successive sections of each sector 2, as shown in the partial enlargement of the dot-dash circular area V in Fig. 2. Alternatively or additionally

The following standards and norms apply when storing data on the CD:

CD Audio ICE 908

ISO/IEC10149 CD-ROM
CD-ROM ISO-9660 (logical format)
&iacgr;&ogr; CD recordable ISO/IEC 11172/1/2/3

CD-recordable ECMA 168 / IS 13940 (logical format)

In particular, when storing data on the CD, the full CD/ROM standard in mode 1 according to ISO-9660 is essential. Accordingly, a storage area or sector 2 has 2352 bytes and is structured as follows:

Contents

0000 0000 11111111 0000 0000

Minutes Seconds

Block number

User data mode

EDC

0000 0000 P-parity Q-parity

In the aforementioned data format of the memory areas or sectors 2, the address data 4 comprises bytes 0 to 15 or at least 12 to 14. The user data 5 corresponds to bytes 16 to 2063. The control data - the second level of error detection and correction - comprises bytes 2064 to 2351 or at least 2064 to 2067 and 2076 to 2351.

Byte number ! 0 -10 1 11 12 16- 13 2064 14 2068 15 2076 -2063 2248 -2067 -2075 -2247 -2351

The EDC coding is a cyclic redundancy code that is applied to bytes 0 to 2063. The Q and P parity data are also generated, in particular according to IEC 10149. The EDC data and the parity data represent the control data 6, which are generated according to the control algorithms mentioned.

Further preferably subsequent steps for modifying or coding the data of a storage area or sector 2 in order to ultimately generate the data actually to be stored on the data carrier 1, in particular a CD, such as scrambling bytes 12 to 2351, dividing into separate Fl frames, generating F2 frames, subcoding into F3 frames, EFM modulating the F3 frames and the like, are not crucial for the present exemplary embodiment. Reference may be made here to the state of the art and in particular to the norms and standards already mentioned. It should be noted, however, that the logical structure or arrangement of the data shown as an example in Figs. 1 and 2 is ultimately not stored on the data carrier 1 or the CD in such a way that it is localized and easily identifiable, but only in a form derived from this.

The storage areas 2 or data encoded as explained above are stored on the data carrier 1, particularly in the CD format, between a reading start area 7 - usually referred to as lead-in - and a reading end area 8 - usually referred to as lead-out - as indicated in Fig. 1. The data derived from the storage areas or sectors 2 are therefore stored in the form of depressions and/or elevations (pits and/or bumps) between the reading start area 7 and the reading end area 8. Accordingly, the reading start area 7 and the reading end area 8 are particularly important when the data carrier 1 is being completely read and copied.

Normally, only readable sectors, which in particular contain the desired user data or other data, are arranged between the reading start area 7 and the reading end area 8. A basic idea of the proposed solution is to create additional storage areas or sectors 2 on the data carrier 1, in particular between the reading start area 7 and the reading end area 8.

start area 7 and the reading end area 8, whereby these additional memory areas or sectors 2 (hereinafter referred to as copy protection areas) are or are modified in such a way that they are not readable or cannot be read without errors or, if they should be readable, at least cannot be written to a blank data carrier or blank CD using a conventional data carrier writing device, in particular a CD burner. In particular, the copy protection areas cannot be read or corrected at all using conventional readers and/or burners due to their high error rate or error susceptibility. Alternatively or additionally, memory areas or sectors 2 of the user data that are not required can also be converted into such copy protection areas or stored as such on the data carrier 1, if available.

The copy protection areas are, in particular, like the readable storage areas or sectors 2, logical data areas or fields that are not stored or created in this form directly and in such a way that they can be located on the data carrier 1. Rather, the data in these areas is modified or encoded, as already indicated above, in order to achieve the desired and usual physical implementation or realization on the data carrier 1.

It goes without saying that the present solution can alternatively or additionally be applied to different abstraction levels or logical and/or physical levels of coding user data to be stored in a usual or desired format on the data carrier 1.

The following explains in more detail how copy protection areas are preferably formed, in particular from storage areas or sectors 2 in the above-mentioned sense. First, the preferably intended change of logical contents and then the possible implementation in the mass production of data carriers 1 are presented.

To form one of the aforementioned copy protection areas, in the case of an additional storage area or sector 2 not required for user data, the control data 6, in particular at least the

·

·

-6-

EDC data and/or the parity data, the user data 5 of this memory area and/or the address data 4 of this memory area 2 are modified. In particular, this data is at least partially set to "0". Preferably, both the user data 5 and all control data 6 are set to "0", in the embodiment shown, bytes 16 to 2351 of the respective memory area or sector 2 are set to "0". This creates a copy protection area that at least cannot be read without errors or at least cannot be written to or stored on the data carrier 1 by a conventional burner or other writing device. This provides a very effective copy protection in a simple manner, particularly for a CD/ROM.

Alternatively, the data that is changed to create a copy protection area can be partially set to "0" or, for example, all set to "1".

Preferably, at least 1% of the total storage capacity of the data carrier 1, in particular approximately 30 to 50 MB, are formed as copy protection areas on the data carrier 1 and/or substantially 5000 to 25000 storage areas or sectors 2 are formed as copy protection areas on the data carrier 1.

To produce CDs, master data containing the user data is modified by adding at least one file. An image file, particularly in RAW format, is then created from the supplemented or modified master data. If the image file is not in mode 1 of the ISO-9660 standard, it is converted accordingly. The image file is then modified in the storage areas of the added file(s) to form the copy protection areas. Finally, the modified image file is used to produce a pattern for pressing CDs, particularly the so-called glass master. The modified image file is usually further converted so that the storage areas or sectors 2, even if they have been converted to copy protection areas, are (further) converted or encoded into the corresponding format with the associated coding, particularly in accordance with the full CD/ROM standard.

The pattern or the glass master is then used to press a large number of CDs as data carriers 1. These data carriers 1 are surprisingly very effectively protected against unauthorized copying, in particular by means of a conventional burner or the like.

The proposed solution can generally also be transferred to other data storage media, in particular optically readable data storage media. In particular, the proposed solution can also be used as copy protection on a data storage media for an electronic game and/or in particular on a DVD.

Of course, instead of the creation of copy protection by modifying additional sectors on a CD/ROM as explained in detail above, a corresponding or similar modification can also be made at another logical and/or physical level of data processing during the manufacture of the data carrier 1 to implement effective copy protection by means of memory areas that are not readable or at least cannot be written or saved when copying. In particular, this naturally also applies to formats other than the embodiment described in detail here with regard to the full CD/ROM standard.

The protection against unwanted copying can be further increased by designing software stored on the data carrier 1 or used together with the proposed data carrier 1 in such a way that the software checks the data carrier 1 for the presence of copy protection areas, i.e. unreadable memory areas or sectors 2. If these copy protection areas are missing, the software determines that an unauthorized copy is present. The use or execution can then be automatically aborted accordingly.

In particular, the errors in the copy protection areas cannot be corrected by the usual error correction methods or routines, so that a copy of the entire data carrier 1 is eliminated. This is achieved in particular by the individual copy protection areas having sufficiently severe errors and/or by a sufficiently large number of copy protection areas being formed - preferably at least partially in succession.

Claims (10)

1. Data carrier ( 1 ), in particular optically readable, in particular CD or DVD, with a plurality of in particular logical storage areas ( 2 ) stored on the data carrier ( 1 ), preferably in modified or encoded form, each comprising
in particular address data ( 4 ) for identifying the respective memory area ( 2 ), its temporal position and/or its other assignment,
User data ( 5 ) and/or
Control data ( 6 ),
wherein in particular readable user data ( 5 ) forming a software program are stored in a first part of the memory areas ( 2 ), the respective control data ( 6 ) of which are formed from the user data ( 5 ) and possibly further data of the same memory area ( 2 ) according to a control algorithm,
characterized ,
that in a second part of the memory areas ( 2 ) which do not contain any user data ( 5 ) to be read or required, the address data ( 4 ) are incorrect and/or the control data ( 6 ) deviate from or violate the control algorithm. 2. Data carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the control data ( 6 ) of the memory areas ( 2 ) of the second part comprise parity data. 3. Data carrier according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the control data ( 6 ) of the memory areas ( 2 ) of the second part are at least partially, preferably all, set to "0". 4. Data carrier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the user data ( 5 ) of the memory areas ( 2 ) of the second part are set to "0". 5. Data carrier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second part comprises at least 1%, preferably more than 2% of all storage areas ( 2 ) storable on the data carrier ( 1 ) and/or substantially 5000 to 25000 storage areas ( 2 ). 6. Data carrier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the storage areas ( 2 ) of the first and second parts are arranged between a reading start area ( 7 ) and a reading end area ( 8 ). 7. Data carrier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the storage areas ( 2 ) of the second part are divided into at least two non-adjacent groups. 8. Data carrier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the memory areas ( 2 ) of the first part correspond to the full CD/ROM standard or the ISO-9660 standard, in particular mode 1 , in particular wherein the bytes from the 17th byte or from byte number 16 of each memory area ( 2 ) of the second part are set to "0". 9. Data carrier according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the memory areas ( 2 ) of the first part correspond to the DVD format, in particular wherein the bytes of each memory area ( 2 ) of the second part at least partially deviate therefrom, in particular are at least partially set to "0". 10. Data carrier ( 1 ), in particular optically readable, in particular CD or DVD, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, with a multiplicity of readable memory areas ( 2 ), in particular logical ones, stored on the data carrier ( 1 ), preferably in modified or coded form, which in particular contain stored user data ( 5 ) forming a software program and which are arranged between a reading start area ( 7 ) and a reading end area ( 8 ) on the data carrier ( 1 ), characterized in that memory areas ( 2 ) which are not readable or cannot be read without errors and/or whose data violate a control algorithm or formatting are additionally inserted between the reading start area ( 7 ) and the reading end area ( 8 ) and stored on the data carrier ( 1 ).