Microsoft To Leverage Ethereum Blockchain Network to Fight Online Piracy

One of the major challenges ahead of Big-Tech giant today is handling customer data and fighting against piracy. Microsoft, the American multinational technology corporation, plans to fight piracy leveraging Ethereum's blockchain network. 

As the most favoured OS (Operating System) on the desktop, Microsoft's Windows has the highest market share worldwide with nearly 72% users. With that said, Microsoft's office applications are also highly preferred over any other applications. Naturally, with such a wide footprint, Microsoft becomes one of the most vulnerable victims of digital piracy.

Researchers Microsoft, Alibaba, and Carnegie Mellon University jointly have published a research paper describing Argus's blockchain-based anti-piracy campaign system. Titled as "Argus: A Fully Transparent Incentive System for Anti-Piracy Campaigns" this system is based on the Ethereum blockchain network. This makes it a fully transparent incentive that is more effective than current anti-piracy initiatives.

Argus works by backtracking pirated content to the source with a corresponding watermark algorithm ("proof of leakage") detailed in the paper. Information of hiding procedure is involved within the algorithm, which helps informers report the exact watermarked copy without actually owning it.

As per their viewpoint of "the current anti-piracy efforts and challenges as a distribution problem", the researchers propose a network with transparent incentive mechanisms that consolidate the interest of all various stakeholders, including owners and licensees.

"The groundwork of Argus is to formulate the objectives for fully transparent incentive mechanisms, which securely and comprehensively consolidate the different interests of all roles."

In an oversimplified concept, the "licensee", when purchased by the "open population", will be verified by "OTEvidence" provided by the issuer. The algorithm, which helps whistle-blowers, is designed to encourage the open population to report pirated copies to the system without owning them. It is posted for "Appeal" as a "proof of leakage". At the same time, a ledger clock runs in the background.

The three researchers have also affirmed that the solution has great performance and efficiency, with an off-chain throughput of 82.6 data trades per second per machine. The on-chain expense is roughly equivalent to sending 14 Ether transfer transactions per the public Ethereum blockchain report.

They also noted enhancements to fundamental operations like the Sybil-proof incentive function, which avoids creating multiple identities of the original license.

Previously, Microsoft collaborated with Enjin, a blockchain technology that concluded in May 2021 for a decentralized identity system and an NFT rewards system.