Description

A study of how to implement a copy protection scheme in a device. Uses the Envelope Follower Live 12.0.5 stock device as a test object for comparability.                                                                                                                                                           

- Device must be unlocked with a unique response key per machine

- key file is saved at the users documents folder

- Opening the editor does not reveal the main patcher

- unfreezing assets works, but the main patcher is an encrypted file

Conclusion: The Max C API allows us to act while a device is loading. We can freeze the device with an empty main patcher and an external inserts the appropriate patcher data, based on tested conditions and before the device even initializes. The possibility of encrypting embedded files such as abstractions, js files etc. was not explored further here.

Finally, the "weak spot" is that all max4live devices run in the same namespace, so it is possible to access and extract patchers of other loaded devices at runtime.