Smart contracts, (blockchains, distributed ledgers) and rights management broadly construed are the themes of today's Spotlight Patents. Assigned to BofA, the first patent addresses logistics sensors for smart contract arbitration. Assigned to IBM, the second patent addresses techniques for multimedia content player with digital rights management while maintaining privacy of users.
11,423,499, "Logistics sensors for smart contract arbitration," assigned to Bank of America.
Abstract
Systems and methods for electronic arbitration of a smart contract in response to environmental sensor data are provided. An environmental sensor signal may include an electronic sensor identifier. A signal context matcher may process the sensor signal at the IOT edge and route sensor signal data to a remote electronic arbitrator. The arbitrator may identify a smart contract on a distributed ledger based on the sensor signal data. The arbitrator may identify a smart contract modification based on the sensor signal data. The arbitrator may instruct a smart contract reviser to validate and execute modified smart contract code corresponding to the smart contract modification using DLT protocols.
11,423,498, "Multimedia content player with digital rights management while maintaining privacy of users," assigned to IBM.
Abstract
A system, method, and computer readable storage medium configured for delivering services from a server to ensure multimedia content control by content providers (i.e. reduce piracy) and to ensure privacy by content users is described. The method begins with executing at least a portion of a content media player application to the device using a zero-knowledge protocol to ensure privacy of the user. Examples of zero-knowledge verifiable computing are succinct computational integrity and privacy (SCIP) protocol, zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge (zk-snark) protocol, and probabilistically checkable proof (PCP) protocol. The content media player application includes digital right management technology using zero-knowledge verifiable computing to enforce usage conditions on the multimedia content. A response is received from the user device that the content media player application has executed on the user device. Based upon the response indicating a successful execution, accessing the multimedia content by the content media player application.
