System for controlling access and distribution of digital property

Abstract

Digital data protection is provided by a processor running an operating system programmed to generate one or more interrupts; an access mechanism detects one or more interrupts at or below a BIOS level, a given detected interrupt being associated with an operating system request to access protected portions of the data, and restricts access to the protected portions of the data by the operating system in accordance with at least one rule; a tamper detecting mechanism prevents access to the data in an unprotected form has means for destroying data stored in the access mechanism when tampering is detected.

1 - 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . A method of authenticating an extract of information in a multimedia application, the method comprising:
 receiving a selection of information to extract;   in response to receiving the selection of information to extract, extracting the selected information as extracted information;   digitally signing the extracted information to produce a digital signature on the extracted information; and   providing the extracted information along with the digital signature on the extracted information.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the multimedia application is a word processor application. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the digital signature includes an identification of a computer performing the method. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the digital signature includes a hyperlink to identify the multimedia application. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the digital signature on the extracted information includes a checksum. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the selection is a selection of text and is associated with a parent data source. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the extracting comprises copying the selected text from the parent data source. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the digital signature indicates that the extracted information has not been subject to unauthorized alterations. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 26  further comprising performing authorized alterations to the extracted information. 
     
     
         35 . A computer readable memory storing instructions configured to, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations for authenticating an extract of information in a multimedia application, the operations comprising:
 receiving an indication of information to extract, wherein the indication is associated with a parent data source;   extracting the indicated information from the parent data source;   digitally signing the extracted information to produce a digital signature, the digital signature configured to indicate that the extracted information has not been subject to unauthorized alterations; and   providing, to the multimedia application, the extracted information along with the digital signature on the extracted information.   
     
     
         36 . The computer readable memory of  claim 35 , wherein the digital signature includes a checksum. 
     
     
         37 . The computer readable memory of  claim 35  further comprising performing authorized alterations to the extracted information. 
     
     
         38 . The computer readable memory of  claim 35 , wherein the digital signature includes an identification of a computer performing the method. 
     
     
         39 . The computer readable memory of  claim 35 , wherein the indication is a selection of text. 
     
     
         40 . The computer readable memory of  claim 35 , wherein the extracting comprises copying the selected text from the parent data source. 
     
     
         41 . The computer readable memory of  claim 35 , wherein the digital signature indicates that the extracted information has not been subject to unauthorized alterations. 
     
     
         42 . The computer readable memory of  claim 37  wherein the authorized alterations comprise one or more of: deleting portions, inserting ellipsis to indicate deletions, and inserting a “[sic]” identifier. 
     
     
         43 . The computer readable memory of  claim 26  wherein the digital signature further comprises a verification link indicating a location accessible to verify the extracted information matches information from the parent data source. 
     
     
         44 . A system that authenticates an extract of information in a multimedia application, the system comprising:
 a memory;   a processor;   an input interface configured to receive an indication of information to extract, wherein the indication is associated with a parent data source;   a data extractor configured to access the parent data source and extract the indicated information;   a verification portion configured to digitally sign the extracted information to produce a digital signature, the digital signature configured to indicate that the extracted information has not been subject to unauthorized alterations; and   an output interface configured to provide the extracted information along with the digital signature on the extracted information.   
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the digital signature indicates that the extracted information has not been subject to unauthorized alterations.