The US Patent Office has granted Liquid Audio a patent for its
copy protection technology used with consumer devices, such as
portable music players. The streaming media company describes its
invention as providing “a digital rights system for consumer
devices that enables the playback of multimedia while protecting
and enforcing the rights of content owners.”
This new patent is a component of Liquid Audio's Secure Portable
Player Platform (SP3), a licensable technology that enables
consumer electronics companies and chipset manufacturers to create
portable devices that playback digital audio in accordance with the
rights and business rules of content owners.
According to the company, its SP3 technology provides a digital
rights management (DRM) system that allows for authorised playback
of digital content on either internal or external memory; sharing
of content between authorised playback systems; unauthorised
tampering of content meta data; and relocation and renewal of
security keys on a device. Companies currently utilising SP3
include ARM, AIWA, Cirrus Logic, Hitachi, I-O Data, Mpuls3, Palm,
Sanyo, TDK and Texas Instruments.
