METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTHENTICATING AN OPTICAL DISC USING PURPOSEFULLY PROVIDED DATA ERRORS

摘要

Methods for manufacturing optical discs with purposefully provided errors therein are disclosed, wherein the error instances can be used to identify the authenticity of the optical disc. Additionally, methods for determining the authenticity of an optical disc are disclosed, wherein values derived from descriptors of errors found on the disc (536) are compared with corresponding known values indicative of an authentic disc (540) for determining whether the disc was legitimately manufactured or not (548). Such methods may utilize errors that are correctable, uncorrectable, trackable, and/or untrackable. An end user (or the end user's optical reading laser) may be instructed to purposefully alter a portion of the disc in a predetermined manner (516) so that an unauthorized copy of the disc is easily discoverable by, e.g., activation of an authentication program on the disc or accessible via a network such as the Internet (508). Embodiments of the present invention may be used to manufacture optical discs with predetermined limits on the accessibility of the data thereon.