RIGHTS MANAGEMENT USING DIGITAL FINGERPRINTS

A system comprises a combination of digital fingerprint authentication techniques, processes, programs, and hardware that facilitate the assignment, management, and enforcement of rights related to the usage of a physical object and associated digital objects or a digital object itself. An unspoofable, secure linkage is created between a physical key object through its digital fingerprint to one or more digital, physical, or hybrid objects (protected assets), where there need be no other relationship between the key object and the protected assets than the key object digital fingerprint. The digital fingerprint must be unambiguously derived from the key object. It should remain matchable with high confidence even as the key object ages or wears. A rights server or platform qualifies access to a protected asset based on the linked digital fingerprint and manages distribution and usage of the asset according to policies and rights stored in or associated to the digital fingerprint.