Copyright detection and protection system and method

1. A method for altering the behavior of a network device of a copyright protection computer system based on transmissions of digital works comprising:

maintaining a registry of information permitting identification of digital works in a database hosted by a computer system;

monitoring a network for transmission of at least one packet-based digital signal associated with a digital work, the digital work including at least one of audio content and video content, the digital work optionally having information about the least one of the audio content and the video content;

extracting at least one feature from the at least one digital signal, the at least one feature being part of the at least one of the audio content and the video content of the digital work, the at least one feature not including the information about the least one of the audio content and the video content;

utilizing, by the copyright protection computer system, the extracted at least one feature to compare the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal with registry information to assess whether the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal is a registered digital work; and

altering, by the copyright protection computer system, the functional behavior of the network device based on the comparison of the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal with the registry information, wherein the altering comprises:

upon determining that the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal is a registered digital work, triggering the network device to cause at least one of:

blocking or interrupting the transmission without notifying an intended recipient of the transmission that the transmission includes a registered digital work,

sending a message to at least one of a source address of the transmission and a recipient address of the transmission to provide additional information pertaining to the work or the transmission of the work, and

redirecting a future communication from the recipient address to a web site.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network device is a network appliance operable to analyze content of digital works.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein

the network device is further triggered to cause at least one of: recording the transmission, reporting the transmission, and forwarding an advertisement to the recipient address.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein interrupting the transmission comprises inserting different content into the transmission.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the message sent to at least one of the source address and the recipient address identifies a website with the additional information pertaining to the work or the transmission of the work.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the message is sent to at least one of the source address and the recipient address via an instant messaging protocol.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein sending the message to at least one of the source address and the recipient address comprises:

detecting an active client application on a computing device intended to receive the transmission, the client application having communication capability; and

transmitting the message to the client application.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the client application is a web browser and the message is an HTTP message or an HTTPS message.

9. A computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for altering the behavior of a network device of a copyright protection computer system based on transmissions of digital works, the method comprising:

maintaining a registry of information permitting identification of digital works in a database hosted by a computer system;

monitoring a network for transmission of at least one packet-based digital signal associated with a digital work, the digital work including at least one of audio content and video content, the digital work optionally having information about the least one of the audio content and the video content;

extracting at least one feature from the at least one digital signal, the at least one feature being part of the at least one of the audio content and the video content of the digital work, the at least one feature not including the information about the least one of the audio content and the video content;

utilizing, by the copyright protection computer system, the extracted at least one feature to compare the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal with registry information to assess whether the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal is a registered digital work; and

altering, by the copyright protection computer system, the functional behavior of the network device based on the comparison of the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal with the registry information, wherein the altering comprises:

upon determining that the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal is a registered digital work, triggering the network device to cause at least one of:

blocking or interrupting the transmission without notifying an intended recipient of the transmission that the transmission includes a registered digital work,

sending a message to at least one of a source address of the transmission and a recipient address of the transmission to provide additional information pertaining to the work or the transmission of the work, and

redirecting a future communication from the recipient address to a web site.

10. The computer readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the network device is a network appliance operable to analyze content of digital works.

11. The computer readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the network device is further triggered to cause at least one of: recording the transmission, reporting the transmission, and forwarding an advertisement to the recipient address.

12. The computer readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein interrupting the transmission comprises inserting different content into the transmission.

13. The computer readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein the message sent to at least one of the source address and the recipient address identifies a website with the additional information pertaining to the work or the transmission of the work.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein the message is sent to at least one of the source address and the recipient address via an instant messaging protocol.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein sending the message to at least one of the source address and the recipient address comprises:

detecting an active client application on a computing device intended to receive the transmission, the client application having communication capability; and

transmitting the message to the client application, wherein the client application is a web browser and the message is an HTTP message or an HTTPS message.

16. A computer system for altering the behavior of a network device based on transmissions of digital works, the computer system comprising:

a memory to store a registry of information permitting identification of digital works; and

at least one processor, coupled to the memory, to

monitor a network for transmission of at least one packet-based digital signal associated with a digital work, the digital work including at least one of audio content and video content, the digital work optionally having information about the least one of the audio content and the video content,

extract at least one feature from the at least one digital signal, the at least one feature being part of the at least one of the audio content and the video content of the digital work, the at least one feature not including the information about the least one of the audio content and the video content,

utilize the extracted at least one feature to compare the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal with registry information to assess whether the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal is a registered digital work, and

alter the functional behavior of the network device based on the comparison of the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal with the registry information,

wherein the processor is to alter the functional behavior by determining that the digital work associated with the at least one digital signal is a registered digital work, and to trigger the network device to cause at least one of:

blocking or interrupting the transmission without notifying an intended recipient of the transmission that the transmission includes a registered digital work,

sending a message to at least one of a source address of the transmission and a recipient address of the transmission to provide additional information pertaining to the work or the transmission of the work, and

redirecting a future communication from the recipient address to a web site.

17. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein the network device is a network appliance operable to analyze content of digital works.

18. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein interrupting the transmission comprises inserting different content into the transmission.

19. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein the message is sent to at least one of the source address and the recipient address via an instant messaging protocol.

20. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein sending the message to at least one of the source address and the recipient address comprises:

detecting an active client application on a computing device intended to receive the transmission, the client application having communication capability; and

transmitting the message to the client application, wherein the client application is a web browser and the message is an HTTP message or an HTTPS message.