Machine-readable optical disc with reading-inhibit agent

An optical disc comprising:

• a substrate;
• at least one layer supported by the substrate and having machine-readable, information-encoding features;
• a reservoir included in the disc;
• a passageway interconnecting the reservoir and a portion of the disc comprising the information-encoding features;
• and
• a reading-inhibit agent, included in the reservoir and automatically activated by machine-reading the disc, said information-encoding features being machine-readable prior to activation of the reading-inhibit agent, said reading-inhibit agent operative, once activated, to alter the disc to inhibit further reading of the disc.

A method for inhibiting reading of an optical disc, comprising the following steps:

• (a) providing an optical disc comprising a substrate, at least one layer supported by the substrate and having machine-readable, information-encoding features, and reading-inhibit agent, said information-encoding features being machine-readable prior to activation of the reading-inhibit agent, said inhibit agent activated by optical radiation and operative, one activated, to alter the disc to inhibit further reading;
• (b) providing a reading device operative to read the disc, said reading device comprising a source of optical radiation;
• and
• (c) reading the disc with the reading device and concurrently activating the inhibit agent with optical radiation from the source.

A method for inhibiting reading of an optical disc, comprising the following steps:

• (a) providing an optical disc comprising a substrate, at least one layer supported by the substrate and having machine-readable, information-encoding features, and a reading-inhibit agent, said information-encoding features being machine-readable prior to activation of the reading-inhibit agent, said inhibit agent activated by optical radiation and operative, one activated, to alter the disc to inhibit further reading;
• (b) providing a reading device operative to read the disc, said reading device comprising first and second sources of optical radiation;
• and
• (c) reading the disc with the first source and concurrently activation the inhibit agent with the second source.