Digital Content Piracy Detection Using Blockchain Technology
Pooja K H
Department of Information Science and Engineering,
RV Institute of Technology and Management, Bengaluru,India
poojakh2026@gmail.com
Sai Disha J
Department of Information Science and Engineering,
RV Institute of Technology and Management, Bengaluru,India
dishajayaram11@gmail.com
Suravi S Thatha
Department of Information Science and Engineering,
RV Institute of Technology and Management, Bengaluru,India
suravi810@gmail.com
Vinoth Kumar M
Department of Information Science and Engineering,
RV Institute of Technology and Management, Bengaluru,India
vinojimail@gmail.com
Uday Hiremath
Department of Information Science and Engineering,
RV Institute of Technology and Management, Bengaluru,India
udayhiremath45@gmail.com
Abstract— Digital piracy, characterized by unauthorized copying and distribution of digital images, audio, video, and software, remains a pressing socioeconomic concern affecting creators and digital platforms. This paper presents a decentralized piracy detection system that integrates perceptual hashing and learned fingerprints for robust detection, leverages IPFS for off-chain content storage, and employs blockchain-based smart contracts for automated piracy reporting and royalty assignment. The system is implemented as a decentralized application combining a React.js frontend, Node.js backend, MongoDB metadata management, and Ethereum-compatible smart contracts deployed on the Polygon. Key features include duplicate prevention through SHA-256 and perceptual hashes, transparent and tamper-proof provenance via blockchain anchoring, and automated enforcement mechanisms through smart contracts. Testing demonstrates effective detection of exact and near-duplicate pirated content across images, audio, and short videos, while balancing operational scalability and cost. The study advances prior work by providing a reproducible, scalable framework addressing gaps in traceability, detection robustness, and decentralized enforcement without employing restrictive DRM. Future work will focus on extending fingerprinting to streaming media, optimizing blockchain transaction costs, and strengthening adversarial resistance to enhance practical deployment.
Keywords— Digital piracy detection, blockchain technology, perceptual hashing, decentralized storage, IPFS, smart contracts, content fingerprinting, provenance, royalty management.
