Search Results (23)

Watermarking protocols represent a possible solution to the problem of digital copyright protection of content distributed on the Internet. Their implementations, however, continue to be a complex problem due to the difficulties researchers encounter in proposing secure, easy-to-use and, at the same time, “trusted third parties” (TTPs)-free solutions. In this regard, implementations based on blockchain and smart contracts are among the most advanced and promising, even if they are affected by problems regarding the performance and privacy of the information exchanged and processed by smart contracts and managed by blockchains. This paper presents a watermarking protocol implemented by smart contracts and blockchain. The protocol uses a “layer-2” blockchain execution model and performs the computation in “trusted execution environments” (TEEs). Therefore, its implementation can guarantee efficient and confidential execution without compromising ease of use or resorting to TTPs. The protocol and its implementation can, thus, be considered a valid answer to the “trilemma” that afflicts the use of blockchains, managing to guarantee decentralization, security, and scalability. Full article

The issue of image copyright infringement is prevalent in current e-commerce activities. Users employ methods such as image cropping, compression, and noise addition, making it difficult for traditional copyright detection technologies to identify and track infringements. This study proposes an image copyright registration, protection, and management method based on artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, aiming to address the current challenges of low accuracy in digital copyright infringement judgment, the vulnerability of image fingerprints stored on the chain to tampering, the complexity of encryption algorithms and key acquisition methods through contract calls, and the secure storage of image information during data circulation. The research combines artificial intelligence technology with traditional blockchain technology to overcome the inherent technical barriers of blockchain. It introduces an originality detection model based on deep learning technology after conducting both off-chain and on-chain detection of unidentified images, providing triple protection for digital image copyright infringement detection and enabling efficient active defense and passive evidence storage. Additionally, the study improves upon the traditional image perceptual hashing in blockchain, which has poor robustness, by adding chaotic encryption sequences to protect the image data on the chain, and its effectiveness has been verified through experiments. Ultimately, the research hopes to provide e-commerce entities with an effective and feasible digital copyright protection and management solution, safeguarding their intellectual property rights and fostering a legal and reasonable competitive environment in e-commerce. Full article

Blockchain technologies provide new opportunities for media copyright management. To provide an overview of the main initiatives in this blockchain application area, we have first reviewed the existing academic literature. The bibliometric analysis of the literature about copyright and blockchain in the Scopus database identifies four main areas of activity, namely “Digital Rights Management”, “Copyright Protection”, “Social Media”, and “Intellectual Property Rights”. However, it also shows that the literature is still scarce and immature in many aspects, which becomes more evident when comparing it to initiatives coming from the industry. Blockchain has been receiving significant inflows of venture capital and crowdfunding, which have boosted its progress in many fields, including its application to media management. Consequently, we have complemented the review with a business perspective. Existing reports about blockchain and media have been studied and consolidated into four prominent business use cases: “Copyright Management”, “Digital Content Scarcity”, “Marketing, Fan Engagement and Fundrising”, and “Disintermediated Distribution”. Moreover, each one has been illustrated through existing businesses already exploring them. Combining the academic and industry perspectives, this review helps researchers identify the current trends in academic research about media copyright management using blockchain technologies, but without losing track of the state of the art in the industry, which in many cases is more advanced, and the business use cases they can connect their research to. Full article

This paper examines the intellectual property (IP) challenges introduced by 3D printing, a transformative technology enabling widespread innovation, but also raising critical legal questions. It focuses on three main areas: (1) IP issues associated with 3D printing hardware, (2) copyright and licensing complexities related to downloadable 3D files, and (3) IP concerns for commercialized 3D printed items. Through a comprehensive review, the paper highlights how existing IP frameworks struggle to keep pace with the flexibility and accessibility inherent in 3D printing. Proposed solutions, such as blockchain for secure design tracking and enhanced digital rights management (DRM), point towards a more controlled future for digital design protection. Additionally, the study underscores the need for international cooperation to harmonize IP laws, facilitating more effective cross-border enforcement. This work aims to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on IP rights in 3D printing, proposing adaptive strategies to support legal clarity while fostering technological advancement. Full article

This paper conducts a systematic review and interdisciplinary analysis of the ethical challenges of generative AI technologies (N = 37), highlighting significant concerns such as privacy, data protection, copyright infringement, misinformation, biases, and societal inequalities. The ability of generative AI to produce convincing deepfakes and synthetic media, which threaten the foundations of truth, trust, and democratic values, exacerbates these problems. The paper combines perspectives from various disciplines, including education, media, and healthcare, underscoring the need for AI systems that promote equity and do not perpetuate social inequalities. It advocates for a proactive approach to the ethical development of AI, emphasizing the necessity of establishing policies, guidelines, and frameworks that prioritize human rights, fairness, and transparency. The paper calls for a multidisciplinary dialogue among policymakers, technologists, and researchers to ensure responsible AI development that conforms to societal values and ethical standards. It stresses the urgency of addressing these ethical concerns and advocates for the development of generative AI in a socially beneficial and ethically sound manner, contributing significantly to the discourse on managing AI’s ethical implications in the modern digital era. The study highlights the theoretical and practical implications of these challenges and suggests a number of future research directions. Full article

Despite advancements in digital technology, outdoor advertising remains a robust communication tool with broad audience appeal. However, heightened environmental awareness necessitates proactive measures within the industry. This study examines the environmental impact of banners and proposes sustainable strategies. Market analysis underscores the widespread use of banners despite alternative advertising methods, prompting an investigation into their environmental implications and mitigation solutions. The research specifically focuses on prolonging banner lifespan and campaign duration through innovative recycling approaches aligned with circular economy principles. A comprehensive literature review informs these models and strategies, identifying opportunities for sustainable banner management. A case study approach is employed to present the transformation of banners into functional raincoats using Gemini X20 Pattern Designer software. The study emphasizes the optimization of resources and adherence to copyright regulations. This practical example demonstrates the feasibility and benefits of recycling in outdoor advertising. Collaborations with tailoring workshops facilitate community engagement and contribute to economic benefits. The implementation of these practices by companies serves to enhance their sustainability credentials and leadership in environmental responsibility within the outdoor advertising sector. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into sustainable practices that mitigate environmental impacts while fostering economic and social benefits. Full article

In a global context characterized by a pressing need to find a solution to the problem of digital copyright protection, buyer-seller watermarking protocols based on asymmetric fingerprinting and adopting a “buyer-friendly” approach have proven effective in addressing such a problem. They can ensure high levels of usability and security. However, they usually resort to trusted third parties (TTPs) to guarantee the protection process, and this is often perceived as a relevant drawback since TTPs may cause conspiracy or collusion problems, besides the fact that they are generally considered as some sort of “big brother”. This paper presents a buyer-seller watermarking protocol that can achieve the right compromise between usability and security without employing a TTP. The protocol is built around previous experiences conducted in the field of protocols based on the buyer-friendly approach. Its peculiarity consists of exploiting smart contracts executed within a blockchain to implement preset and immutable rules that run automatically under specific conditions without control from some kind of central authority. The result is a simple, usable, and secure watermarking protocol able to do without TTPs. Full article

As the demand and diversity of digital content increase, consumers now have simple and easy access to digital content through Over-the-Top (OTT) services. However, the rights of copyright holders remain unsecured due to issues with illegal copying and distribution of digital content, along with unclear practices in copyright royalty settlements and distributions. In response, this paper proposes an automated OTT service copyright distribution management system using the Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) to safeguard the rights of copyright holders in the OTT service field. The proposed system ensures that the rights to exercise copyright transactions and agreements, such as trading of copyright, can only be carried out when all copyright holders of a single digital content agree based on the Threshold Schnorr Digital Signature. This approach takes into account multiple joint copyright holders, thereby safeguarding their rights. Furthermore, it ensures fair and transparent distribution of copyright royalties based on the ratio information outlined in ODRL. From the user’s perspective, the system not only provides services proactively based on the rights information specified in ODRL, but also employs zero-knowledge proof technology to handle sensitive information in OTT service copyright distribution, thereby addressing existing privacy concerns. This approach not only considers joint copyright holders, but also demonstrates its effectiveness in resolving prevalent issues in current OTT services, such as illegal digital content replication and distribution, and the unfair settlement and distribution of copyright royalties. Applying this proposed system to the existing OTT services and digital content market is expected to lead to the revitalization of the digital content trading market and the establishment of an OTT service environment that guarantees both vitality and reliability. Full article

This research contributes to the discussion around the importance of the long-term preservation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and minted digital artworks. The paper is based on a review of the literature on blockchain in art and heritage management and conservation, with particular attention to references related to the production, marketing, maintenance, and distribution of NFT-based digital art. The aims of this paper involve anticipating potential problems in the oversight of NFTs and setting out good long-term management principles and practices as well as specific preservation strategies. Despite the fact that it also discusses issues over authorship, copyright, creative commons, and open access, the paper is particularly devoted to raising concerns about the high energy consumption associated with blockchain technology and its impact on climate change. It also highlights how the preservation of NFTs cannot be neglected, despite the belief that they last forever. Most studies dedicated to analysing the impact of blockchain technology on the cultural heritage sector ignore the most important issue: preserving not only the minted digital artworks themselves but also the respective blockchain networks. Overall, this paper seeks to foster a collective awareness of the need to reflect on blockchain-related art practices and their implications for the long-term protection of cultural property. Full article

Watermarking protocols, in conjunction with digital watermarking technologies, make it possible to trace back digital copyright infringers by identifying who has legitimately purchased digital content and then illegally shared it on the Internet. Although they can act as an effective deterrent against copyright violations, their adoption in the current web context is made difficult due to unresolved usability and performance issues. This paper aims at providing researchers with the basics needed to design watermarking protocols suited to the web context. It is focused on two important aspects. The first concerns the basic requirements that make a protocol usable by both web users and content providers, whereas the second concerns the security primitives and how they have been used to implement the most relevant examples of watermarking protocols documented in the literature. In this way, researchers can rely on a quick guide to getting started in the field of watermarking protocols. Full article

NBA (National Basketball Association) trading cards are a hot collector’s item, with sales increasing rapidly every year. However, with the popularity of online trading, some sellers have started to intentionally and unintentionally sell imitation trading cards, and even PwC (Pricewaterhouse Coopers) is not immune. However, the PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), which is the authentication agency, is not liable for this. Faced with the above situation, we moved trading cards online and proposed a blockchain-based anti-counterfeit and traceable NBA digital trading card management system, using blockchain technology to protect digital trading cards, and special digital copyright, to move from relying on other regulators to achieve the fight against counterfeit cards and maintain the security of the digital trading card market. Finally, we analyzed the security of the system and compared it with other methods. Our system uses Hyperledger Fabric to share data while protecting corporate privacy. Proxy re-encryption enables secure and trusted access authorization for digital transaction cards. Asymmetric encryption protects the data and uses signatures to achieve traceability and non-repudiation. Overall, our system solves the problem of counterfeiting and traceability that can occur in the digital trading card process from production to purchase. Full article

The significant volume of sharing of digital media has recently increased due to the pandemic, raising the number of unauthorized uses of these media, such as emerging unauthorized copies, forgery, the lack of copyright, and electronic fraud, among others. In particular, several applications integrate services or products such as music distribution, content management, audiobooks, streaming, and so on, which require users to demonstrate and guarantee their audio ownership. The use of acoustic fingerprint technology has emerged as a solution that is widely used to secure audio applications. This technique extracts and analyzes certain information that identifies the inherent properties of a partial or complete audio file. In this paper, we introduce two audio fingerprinting hardware architectures with a feature extraction system based on spectrogram saliency maps (SSM) and a brute-force search. The first of these conducts a search in 33 saliency maps of 32 × 32 pixels in size. After analyzing the first algorithm, a second architecture is proposed, in which the saliency map is reduced to 27 × 25 pixels, requiring 75.67% fewer hardware resources, lowering the power consumption by 64.58%, and improving the efficiency by 3.19 times via a throughput reduction of 22.29%. Full article

Copyright protection of digital content has become a problem not only for web content providers but also for ordinary web users who like to publish their digital contents on social or user generated content platforms. Among the possible solutions to such a problem, digital watermarking, in conjunction with watermarking protocols, appears to be a valid alternative to current DRM (digital rights management) systems. In fact, watermarking based solutions insert perceptually invisible copyright information into the copies of contents published or distributed on the web in order to track them. Such insertions are carried out according to the watermarking protocols, which have evolved over the years from the classic “buyer and seller” paradigm into a simpler and versatile “buyer friendly” and “mediated” approach. However, such an approach cannot exploit the new technologies that characterize the current Internet. This paper presents a new watermarking protocol able to adapt the “buyer friendly” and “mediated” approach to the use of innovative technologies such as cloud platforms and blockchain. In this way, (1) content providers and common web users can take advantage of the computing and storage resources made available by cloud platforms; (2) the involvement of trusted third parties in the protocols can be reduced by using blockchain without complicating the protection scheme. In fact, these two goals make the protocol particularly suited for the current Internet. Full article

With the emerging growth of digital data in information systems, technology faces the challenge of knowledge prevention, ownership rights protection, security, and privacy measurement of valuable and sensitive data. On-demand availability of various data as services in a shared and automated environment has become a reality with the advent of cloud computing. The digital fingerprinting technique has been adopted as an effective solution to protect the copyright and privacy of digital properties from illegal distribution and identification of malicious traitors over the cloud. Furthermore, it is used to trace the unauthorized distribution and the user of multimedia content distributed through the cloud. In this paper, we propose a novel fingerprinting technique for the cloud environment to protect numeric attributes in relational databases for digital privacy management. The proposed solution with the novel fingerprinting scheme is robust and efficient. It can address challenges such as embedding secure data over the cloud, essential to secure relational databases. The proposed technique provides a decoding accuracy of 100%, 90%, and 40% for 10% to 30%, 40%, and 50% of deleted records. Full article

Digital image watermarking algorithms have been designed for intellectual property, copyright protection, medical data management, and other related fields; furthermore, in real-world applications such as official documents, banknotes, etc., they are used to deliver additional information about the documents’ authenticity. In this context, the imperceptible–visible watermarking (IVW) algorithm has been designed as a digital reproduction of the real-world watermarks. This paper presents a new improved IVW algorithm for copyright protection that can deliver additional information to the image content. The proposed algorithm is divided into two stages: in the embedding stage, a human visual system-based strategy is used to embed an owner logotype or a 2D quick response (QR) code as a watermark into a color image, maintaining a high watermark imperceptibility and low image-quality degradation. In the exhibition, a new histogram binarization function approach is introduced to exhibit any watermark with enough quality to be recognized or decoded by any application, which is focused on reading QR codes. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can embed one or more watermark patterns, maintaining the high imperceptibility and visual quality of the embedded and the exhibited watermark. The performance evaluation shows that the method overcomes several drawbacks reported in previous algorithms, including geometric and image processing attacks such as JPEG and JPEG2000. Full article