Patent ID: 8806558

Claim:
A machine-implementable method for uniquely watermarking content objects according to end user identity, comprising: transcoding an original content object to form a transcoded content object, the transcoded content object having a format that is compatible with: transmission to an end user system, and display by the end user system to an end user; storing the transcoded content object in a storage medium that is accessible by one or more points of presence (POPs) of a content delivery network; receiving, at one of the one or more POPs of the content delivery network, a first request and a second request for the transcoded content object from first and second end user systems respectively, wherein the first request for the transcoded content object conveys first identifying information that is associated with at least one of: identity of the first end user system and identity of a first end user of the first end user system; the second request for the transcoded content object conveys second identifying information that is associated with at least one of: identity of the second end user system and identity of a second end user of the second end user system; the first and second end users are not the same, and the first and second end user systems are not the same; adding, by the one of the one or more POPs of the content delivery network, first and second uncorrected digital watermark information to the transcoded content object to form respective first and second uniquely watermarked content objects, wherein: the first and the second uncorrected digital watermark information are different from one another, and correspond to the first and second identifying information respectively, and both the first and the second uncorrected digital watermark information are correctable by error correction capability of the respective end user systems such that the respective first and second end user systems display content that is indistinguishable by the first and second end users from the transcoded content object; and transmitting the first and second uniquely watermarked content objects from the one of the one or more POPs of the content delivery network to the first and second end user systems respectively.