Digital Content Piracy Detection Using Blockchain Technology

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.