Microsoft, Alibaba, and Carnegie Mellon University studied a blockchain-based solution against piracy.
The research department of Microsoft released a new paper titled “Argus: A Fully Transparent Incentive System for Anti-Piracy Campaigns.” The new system is built on the Ethereum blockchain and will rely on the transparency offered by the technology.
“It is feasible to build a fully transparent solution without introducing a trusted role. This could enable a paradigm shift for anti-piracy incentive solutions. Also, it is a compelling application scenario for public blockchains.”
Argus can backtrace the source pirated content with the help of a corresponding watermark algorithm called “proof of leakage.” Each report includes an information-hiding policy, making sure that no one but the informer can report the same watermarked copy.
“We see this as a distributed system problem. In the implementation, we overcome a set of unavoidable obstacles to ensure security despite full transparency.”
Argus can also prevent an informer from reporting more than once the same leaked content. “With the security and practicality of Argus, we hope real-world antipiracy campaigns will be truly effective by shifting to a fully transparent incentive mechanism.”
