Chain-of-custody of digital content in a database system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11455380-B2
Application number	US-201816196876-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 20, 2018
Priority date	Nov 20, 2018
Publication date	Sep 27, 2022
Grant date	Sep 27, 2022

Abstract

An example operation may include one or more of authorizing a blockchain for a video file, generating a first tracking value for an entry block referencing the video file, the first tracking value generated based on first data and the video file, receiving second data for each of additional blocks in the blockchain, generating second tracking values based on the second data of the additional blocks, forming the additional blocks including the second tracking values, respectively, appending the additional blocks to the entry block, the entry block and the additional blocks cryptographically linked in an ordered sequence, each of the additional blocks referencing a version of the video file which corresponds to an original version of the video file as referenced by the entry block or a processed version of the video file, the second data in each of the additional blocks indicative of processing performed on the version of the video file in that block, and tracing through the blockchain based on the first and second tracking values to confirm an auditable and immutable chain-of-custody of the video file.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a hardware-implemented interface to receive and store a video file;
a hardware-implemented storage area to store a blockchain that references the video file, the blockchain including a plurality of blocks in an ordered sequence, each of the plurality of blocks including a header, a version of the video file with metadata, and a tracking value, the version of the video file in each of the plurality of blocks corresponding to an original version of the video file or a processed version of the video file that is based on a shared or a changed ownership of the video file or on an access or a view of the video file by an entry block of the blockchain or a subsequent one of the plurality of blocks,
wherein version of the video file includes a sequential arrangement of video frames, metadata relating to corresponding ones of the video frames, and information that references a previous one of the video frames; and
a hardware-implemented processor to:
append each of the plurality of blocks, except an entry block, to a previous block of the plurality of blocks with no change to the previous block to form the blockchain,
generate the tracking value for each of the plurality of blocks based on one or more attributes identifying what processing was performed on the version of the video file in a corresponding block, and
trace through the plurality of blocks in the blockchain based on the tracking value for each of the plurality of blocks to confirm an auditable and immutable chain-of-custody of the video file.

2. The hardware-implemented system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more attributes in relation to the version of the video file referenced by each of the plurality of blocks include one or more of:
a hash value for the original version of the video file,
identification information of a camera device that captured video of the video file,
a timestamp for the version of the video file,
a storage location of the version of the video file, and
a blockchain network member identification information.

3. The hardware-implemented system of claim 1 , wherein the processed version of the video file is further based on one or more of:
redaction, alteration, or other action related to all or portions of the video file referenced by the entry block or a subsequent one of the plurality of blocks,
a copy the video file referenced by the entry block or a subsequent one of the plurality of blocks,
a tag of metadata to the video file in the entry block or a subsequent one of the plurality of blocks, and
movement of a storage location of the video file referenced by the entry block or a subsequent one of the plurality of blocks.

4. The hardware-implemented system of claim 1 , further comprising:
one or more smart contracts including rules that define rights of participants to the blockchain or levels of actions permitted by participants for the blockchain.

5. The hardware-implemented system of claim 1 , further comprising:
one or more smart contracts including rules to control collection of data, characteristics, or properties of the video file to be added into one or more of the plurality of blocks of the blockchain by the processor.

6. The hardware-implemented system of claim 1 , wherein the metadata is based on output of a sensor or device which gathers location information or other data for the video file.

7. A method comprising:
authorizing a blockchain for a video file;
generating a first tracking value for an entry block of the blockchain referencing the video file, the first tracking value generated based on first data and the video file;
receiving second data for each of additional blocks in the blockchain;
generating second tracking values corresponding to each additional block based on the second data, the second tracking values identifying what processing was performed on the video file in each corresponding block of the additional blocks;
forming the additional blocks including corresponding second tracking values;
appending the additional blocks to the entry block, the entry block and the additional blocks linked in an ordered sequence, each of the additional blocks referencing a version of the video file that corresponds to an original version of the video file, as referenced by the entry block or a processed version of the video file that is based on sharing or changing an ownership of the video file or accessing or viewing the video file or a subsequent one of the additional blocks, the second data in each of the additional blocks indicative of processing performed on the version of the video file in that block,
wherein the referenced version of the video file includes a sequential arrangement of video frames, metadata relating to corresponding ones of the video frames, and information that references a previous one of the video frames; and
tracing through the blockchain based on the first tracking value and the second tracking values to confirm an auditable and immutable chain-of-custody of the video file.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first tracking value and the second tracking values are based on one or more attributes relating to the version of the video file in corresponding ones of the entry block and additional blocks.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more attributes include one or more of:
a hash value for the original version of the video file,
identification information of a camera device that captured video of the video file,
a timestamp for the version of the video file,
a storage location of the version of the video file, and
a blockchain network member identification information.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the processed version of the video file is further based on one or more of:
redacting or altering portions of the video file referenced by the entry or a subsequent one of the plurality of blocks,
copying the video file referenced by the entry or a subsequent one of the plurality of blocks,
tagging metadata to the video file in the entry or a subsequent one of the plurality of blocks, and
moving a storage location of the video file referenced by the entry or a subsequent one of the plurality of blocks.

11. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
controlling appending of the additional blocks based on one or more smart contracts, wherein the one or more smart contracts include rules that define rights of participants of the blockchain or levels of processing permitted by participants for the blockchain.

12. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
controlling generating transactions corresponding to the entry block and the additional blocks of the blockchain based on one or more smart contracts.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first data and the second data are based on output of a sensor or device which gathers location information or other data for the video file.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions that when executed by a processor configure the processor to:
authorize a blockchain for a video file;
generate a first tracking value based on first data and the video file;
form an entry block of the blockchain referencing the video file and the first tracking value;
generate second tracking values corresponding to each additional block of the blockchain based on the second data, the second tracking values identifying what processing was performed on the video file in each corresponding block of the additional blocks;
form the additional blocks including corresponding second tracking values;
append the additional blocks to the entry blo

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Patel Sumit
• Williamson Leigh
• Anglin Howard N
• Crane Christopher M

Classifications

• H04L9/0643

  Hash functions, e.g. MD5, SHA, HMAC or f9 MAC · CPC title

• H04L9/0637

  Modes of operation, e.g. cipher block chaining [CBC], electronic codebook [ECB] or Galois/counter mode [GCM] · CPC title

• H04L2209/60

  Digital content management, e.g. content distribution · CPC title

• H04L9/3239 Primary

  involving non-keyed hash functions, e.g. modification detection codes [MDCs], MD5, SHA or RIPEMD · CPC title

• H04L9/50

  using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees · CPC title