Method and system for monitoring utilizing condition of contents, computer program and recording medium

• US 20020035688A1
• Filed: 08/31/2001
• Published: 03/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shimakawa, Keiso, Okamoto, Shinichi, Shimada, Muneki, Okada, Toyoshi, Hashimoto, Minoru, Kutaragi, Ken
• Granted Patent: US 7,275,261 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/101 by binding digital rights to specific entities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2109 Game systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2153 Using hardware token as a secondary aspect

Abstract

In a contents distributing system, a monitoring server is equipped on a network with which all user terminals being capable of utilizing contents are allowed to connect, and a member card is issued to a user operating the user terminal. In the contents distributed from an information service server, a middleware for storing a history of utilizing contents (log data etc.) to the member card and for transmitting this history of utilizing contents along with a user ID to the monitoring server is embedded. The monitoring server generates utilization information indicating how much the particular contents are utilized by the user, based on the collected history of utilizing contents and the collected user ID.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring utilization condition of contents comprising the steps of:

equipping information gathering means on a network with which a user terminal is allowed to connect, said user terminal carrying out information processing by utilizing said contents;

distributing digital information embedded in said contents to said user terminal, said digital information causing said user terminal to transmit a contents utilizing history indicating said utilizing condition of the contents to said information gathering means at a predetermined timing while said user terminal is connected with said network; and

creating utilizing information indicating how much the particular content is utilized, based on said contents utilizing history collected through said information gathering means.

2. A method for monitoring utilization condition of contents comprising the steps of:

issuing a recording medium to a user operating a user terminal which carries out information processing by utilizing said contents, said recording medium having a data recording area for recording user identification data and a nonvolatile memory area;

equipping information gathering means on a network with which said user terminal is allowed to connect;

distributing digital information embedded in said contents to said user terminal to which said issued recording medium is loaded, said digital information causing said user terminal to store a contents utilizing history indicating said utilizing condition of the contents to said memory area, and to read said stored contents utilizing history so as to transmit said contents utilizing history to said information gathering means along with said user identification data at a predetermined timing while said user terminal is connected with said network; and

creating utilizing information indicating how much the particular content is utilized by which user, based on said contents utilizing history and said user identification data collected through said information gathering means.

3. A method for monitoring utilizing condition of contents according to claim 2, further comprising the step of authenticating whether said user terminal and said contents utilized in said user terminal are proper or not, based on registered history data of transaction indicating that said contents are properly transacted, and also based on registered user terminal identification data for authentication.

4. A method for monitoring utilizing condition of contents according to claim 3, wherein said authenticating step is executed on said user terminal to which said recording medium is loaded, by recording said user terminal identification data to said data recording area of the recording medium and distributing said history data of transaction along with said contents.

5. A method for monitoring utilization condition of contents according to claim 2, wherein said user terminal transmits said contents utilizing history to said information gathering means, on condition that the number of times of utilizing the same content by the same user exceeds a predetermined number.

6. A system for monitoring utilization condition of contents comprising:

information gathering means for gathering information from a network with which a user terminal is allowed to connect, said user terminal carrying out information processing by utilizing said contents;

contents distributing means for distributing digital information embedded in said contents to said user terminal, said digital information causing said user terminal to transmit a contents utilizing history indicating said utilizing condition of the contents to said information gathering means at a predetermined timing while said user terminal is connected with said network; and

utilizing information creating means for creating utilizing information indicating how much the particular content is utilized, based on said contents utilizing history collected through said information gathering means.

7. A system for monitoring utilization condition of contents comprising:

means for issuing a recording medium to a user operating a user terminal which carries out information processing by utilizing said contents, said recording medium having a data recording area for recording user identification data and a nonvolatile memory area;

information gathering means for gathering information from a network with which said user terminal is allowed to connect;

contents distributing means for distributing digital information embedded in said contents to said user terminal to which said issued recording medium is loaded, said digital information causing said user terminal to store a contents utilizing history indicating said utilizing condition of the contents to said memory area, and to read said stored contents utilizing history so as to transmit said contents utilizing history to said information gathering means along with said user identification data at a predetermined timing while said user terminal is connected with said network; and

utilizing information creating means for creating utilizing information indicating how much the particular content is utilized by which user, based on said contents utilizing history and said user identification data collected through said information gathering means.

8. A system for monitoring utilizing condition of contents according to claim 7, wherein

said contents distributing means is so constructed as to distribute said contents after encrypting or compressing said contents, and

key data for decrypting said encrypted or compressed data is recorded in a data area of said recording medium.

9. A system for monitoring utilization condition of contents according to claim 7, wherein

said contents distributing means distributes history data of transaction indicating that said content are properly transacted along with said contents, and

said user terminal is so constructed as to be allowed to utilize only said properly transacted contents based on said history data of transaction.

10. A system for monitoring utilization condition of contents according to claim 7, wherein

pre-registered user terminal identification data is recorded in said data recoding area of the recording medium, and

said user terminal is so constructed that only the proper user terminal is allowed to utilize said contents by the proper user based on said user terminal identification data.

11. A computer program for causing a computer system connectable to a network with which a user terminal for executing information processing by utilizing contents is allowed to connect, to operate as a utilizing condition monitoring system for monitoring utilizing condition of the contents by said user terminal, said computer program causing said utilizing condition monitoring system to comprise:

information gathering means for gathering information from said network;

contents distributing means for distributing digital information embedded in said contents to said user terminal, said digital information causing said user terminal to transmit a contents utilizing history indicating said utilizing condition of the contents to said information gathering means at a predetermined timing while said user terminal is connected with said network; and

utilizing information creating means for creating utilizing information indicating how much the particular content is utilized, based on said contents utilizing history collected through said information gathering means.

12. A computer-readable recording medium recording the computer program according to claim 11.

14. A computer-readable recording medium recording the computer program according to claim 13.

16. A recording medium according to claim 15, wherein a transaction history data recording area for recording transaction history data indicating that said contents are properly transacted, is provided at a position accessible by said user terminal prior to at least said contents recording area.

13. A computer program for causing a computer system connectable to a network with which a user terminal is allowed to connect, to operate as a utilizing condition monitoring system for monitoring utilizing condition of contents by said user terminal, said user terminal loaded with a recording medium having a data recording area for recording user identification data for identifying a user operating said user terminal and a nonvolatile memory area so as to execute information processing by utilizing the contents, said computer program causing said utilizing condition monitoring system to comprise:

information gathering means for gathering information from said network;

contents distributing means for distributing digital information embedded in said contents to said user terminal, said digital information causing said user terminal to store a contents utilizing history indicating said utilizing condition of the contents to said memory area, and to read said stored contents utilizing history so as to transmit said contents utilizing history to said information gathering means along with said user identification data at a predetermined timing while said user terminal is connected with said network; and

utilizing information creating means for creating utilizing information indicating how much the particular content is utilized by which user, based on said contents utilizing history and said user identification data collected through said information gathering means.

15. A recording medium readable by a user terminal which executes information processing by utilizing contents and is accessible to information gathering means equipped on a network, said recording medium comprising:

a contents recording area in which said contents are recorded and a digital information recording area in which digital information associated with said contents is recorded,

wherein said digital information causes said user terminal to store a contents utilizing history indicating utilizing condition of the contents in a given recording area of the recording medium, and to read said stored contents utilizing history so as to transmit said contents utilizing history to said information gathering means at a predetermined timing while said user terminal is connected with said network.

17. A recording medium detachably loaded in a user terminal which executes information processing by utilizing contents and is accessible to information gathering means equipped on a network, said recording medium comprising:

authentication means;

a data recording area for recording pre-registered user identification data, user terminal identification data for identifying the user terminal allowed to be used properly, and key data indispensable for utilizing said contents;

a rewritable nonvolatile memory area; and

memory control means for causing the user terminal authenticated by said authentication means to store a contents utilizing history indicating utilizing condition of the contents to said memory area, and to read said stored contents utilizing history so as to transmit said contents utilizing history to said information gathering means along with said user identification data at a predetermined timing while said user terminal is connected with said network.