Digital data distribution system

• US 20020073102A1
• Filed: 12/08/2000
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sovereign Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kozuka, Masayuki, Minami, Masataka, Okamoto, Ryuichi, Inoue, Mitsuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 6,732,106 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/922 Communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/966 Distributed
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

The distribution server administers downloading of contents and writing in storage media.

The distribution server 1001 includes the obtained rights administration database 1006 that stores information regarding rights to receive distribution of contents, and the history database 1007 that stores information regarding contents that have been distributed to the user in the past. The distribution server 1001 administers distribution of contents to each user.

Claims

1. A digital data distribution system comprising a user device and a distribution server, wherein

said user device includes

communication means for accessing said distribution server,

browsing means for browsing information sent from said distribution server and responding to the information,

a storage media in which the digital data distributed by said distribution server is written, and

storage media access means for reading and writing data from and in said storage media;

and

said distribution server includes

sending and receiving means for sending and receiving information and digital data to and from said user device,

a distribution front end that creates information to be sent to users and processes accesses by the users,

a user administration database that stores user IDs and related account information of the users,

a digital data administration database that stores digital data IDs and digital data storage locations of digital data to be distributed,

an obtained rights administration database that stores information regarding rights to receive distribution of digital data that each user has obtained,

a history database that stores information regarding digital data that have been distributed to the users in the past,

distributed digital data storage means for storing digital data to be distributed, and

digital data distribution means for sending digital data to the users based on the information from said distribution front end.

2. A digital data distribution control method for the digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said distribution front end processes a request for distribution of digital data sent from a user, based on information from said obtained rights administration database and said history database.

3. A digital data distribution cancellation method for the digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said distribution front end processes a request for canceling the right to distribution of digital data sent from a user, based on information from said obtained rights administration database and said history database.

4. The digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said user device includes

said storage media having a media ID that can uniquely identify each storage media,

media ID detecting means for detecting said media ID and sending said media ID to said distribution server, and

media access process control means for executing control of writing the digital data distributed by said distribution server in said storage media that has said media ID;

and

said distribution server includes

encryption means for encrypting the distributed digital data using a key that is created based on said media ID received from said user device, and

said digital data distribution means sending to said user device the digital data that has been encrypted by said encryption means.

5. The digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 4, wherein

in said user device,

said storage media has a digital data ID that identifies the digital data,

when said storage media access means deletes the digital data written in said storage media,

said media ID detecting means sends said media ID of said storage media to said distribution server,

said media access process control means sends said digital data ID to said distribution server, and

said distribution server includes a history database that stores said media ID received from said user device and a flag information indicating that the digital data has been distributed when the digital data is distributed to a user, said history database storing said media ID received from said user device and a flag information indicating that the digital data has been deleted when a user has deleted the digital data.

6. The digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 5, wherein said user device includes

said media access process control means that sends said media ID of said storage media to said distribution server when the storing of the distributed encrypted digital data in said storage media is successful;

and

said distribution server includes

said history database that stores said media ID along with information regarding the encrypted digital data, said media ID being received after the encrypted digital data is sent to said user device, and

said distribution front end that detects in response to a request for distribution of digital data from the user, a number of types of media ID to which digital data has been distributed in the past, said distribution front end not processing the request for distribution if the number is greater than a predetermined number.

7. The digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said user device includes

said storage media having more than two different memory regions, at least one of said memory regions being a secure data area that cannot be accessed without an authorization between said storage media and said storage media access means, said storage media having a media ID that can uniquely identify each storage media,

media ID detecting means for detecting said media ID and sending said media ID to said distribution server, and

media access process control means for storing encrypted digital data distributed by said distribution server in a memory region that is not said secure data area, and storing an encrypted decryption key distributed by said distribution server in said secure data area after decrypting the encrypted decryption key with said media ID;

and

said distribution server includes

said distributed digital data storage means storing the encrypted distributed digital data and the encrypted decryption key that decrypts the encrypted distributed digital data,

encrypting means for encrypting the decryption key using a key that is created based on said media ID received from said user device, and

said digital data distributing means sending the encrypted digital data and the decryption key that is encrypted by said encrypting means to said user device.

8. The digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 7, wherein

said user device includes

said storage media having a digital data ID that identifies digital data,

when said storage media access means deletes the digital data that is written in said storage media,

said media ID detecting means sending said media ID of said storage media to said distribution server, and

said media access process control means to which said distribution server sends said digital data ID;

and

said distribution server includes

a history database that stores said media ID received from said user device and a flag information indicating that the digital data has been distributed when the digital data is distributed to a user, said history database storing said media ID received from said user device and a flag information indicating that the digital data has been deleted when the user deletes the digital data.

9. The digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 7, wherein

said user device includes

cache storage means that is separate from said storage media,

said media access process control means storing the distributed encrypted digital data in said storage media and said cache storage means, and sending said storage location information to said distribution server, and

said media access process control means storing encryption data designated by said storage location information in said memory region which is not said secure data area, when said storage location information of the encryption digital data stored in said cache storage means is received instead of receiving the encrypted digital data from said distribution server;

and

said distribution server includes

said history database that stores said storage location information along with information regarding the encrypted digital data, said storage location information being received after the encrypted digital data is sent to said user device, and

said distribution front end that refers to said history database in response to the digital data distribution request from the user, said distribution front end sending said storage location information instead of the digital data if the requested digital data is digital data that has been distributed in the past and its storage location information exists.

10. The digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 7, wherein

said user device includes

said media access process control means that sends said media ID of said storage media if the distributed encrypted digital data is stored in said storage media successfully;

and

said distribution server includes

said history database that stores said media ID that is received after the encrypted digital data is sent to said user device along with information regarding the encrypted digital data, and

said distribution front end that detects the number of types of media ID to which the digital data of which distribution is requested has been sent in the past in response to the request for digital data distribution from the user, said distribution front end not processing the distribution request if the number is greater than a predetermined number.

11. The digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said distribution server includes

a common account database for storing account information of another digital data distribution system the user has joined,

an inter-server gateway that communicates with the another digital database distribution system registered in said common account database and accesses the another digital data distributions system using said account information stored in said common account database when a user whose information is in said common account database accesses said distribution front end, and

said distribution front end that checks said common account database when the user accesses, said distribution front end obtaining and writing information from and in the user administration database, the digital data administration database, the obtained rights administration database, and the history database of the another digital data distribution system via said inter-server gateway, if the account information under the user ID of the user is stored.

13. A digital data distribution control method for the digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 12, wherein

in response to a request for digital data distribution from a user who is accessing said distribution server,

said distribution front end directs said device ID detecting means to identify said device ID,

then, said device ID detecting means detects said device ID and sends said device ID to said distribution server,

then, said distribution front end checks whether said device ID that has been received is registered in said user device administration database as the corresponding user'"'"'s information, and directs said digital distribution means to distribute the requested digital data to said device ID that has been sent if said device ID is registered,

then, said digital data distribution means sends the digital data and said device ID to said user device, and then, said access process control means confirms whether said device ID that has been received is the same as its own device ID, and if it is, directs writing of the digital data in said storage media that is connected to said storage media access means.

14. A device information registration method for the digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 12, wherein

in response to a request for digital data distribution from a user who is accessing said distribution server,

said distribution front end directs said device ID detecting means to identify a current device ID,

then, said device ID detecting means identifies said device ID and sends said device ID to said distribution server, and

then, said device ID that said distribution front end received is registered in said user device administration database along with a corresponding user ID.

16. A digital data distribution control method for the digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 15, wherein

in response to a request for digital data distribution from a user who is accessing said distribution server,

said distribution front end directs said device ID detecting means to identify said device ID,

then, said device ID detecting means detects said device ID of said storage media access means that is currently connected to said user device, and sends said device ID to said distribution server,

then, said distribution front end displays to the user said device IDs that are registered in said user device administration database as information of the corresponding user out of the device IDs that said distribution front end has received,

then, the user selects at least one of the device IDs that are displayed using said browsing means,

then, said browsing means sends the selected device ID to said distribution server,

then, said distribution front end directs said digital data distribution means to send the requested digital data to said device ID that has been sent,

then, said digital data distribution means sends the digital data and said device ID to said user device, and

then, said media access process control means directs writing of the digital data that has been received in the storage media that is connected to said storage media access means having said device ID.

17. The digital data distribution system as set forth in claim 15, wherein

in response to a request for digital data distribution from a user who is accessing said distribution server,

said distribution front end directs said device ID detecting means to identify a current device ID,

then, said device ID detecting means identifies said device ID and sends said device ID to said distribution server, and

then, said device ID that said distribution front end received is registered in said user device administration database along with a corresponding user ID.

12. A digital data distribution system comprising a user device and a distribution server, wherein

said user device includes

communication means for accessing said distribution server,

a device ID that can uniquely identify each user device,

device ID detecting means for detecting said device ID and sending said device ID to said distribution server,

browsing means for browsing information sent from said distribution server and responding to the information,

a storage media in which the digital data distributed by said distribution server is written,

storage media access means for reading and writing data from and in said storage media;

and

access process control means for controlling the reading and writing of said storage media by said storage media access means; and

said distribution server includes

sending and receiving means for sending and receiving information and digital data to and from said user device,

a distribution front end that creates information to be sent to users and processes accesses by the users,

a user administration database that stores user IDs and related account information of the users,

a digital data administration database that stores digital data IDs and digital data storage locations of digital data to be distributed,

a user device administration database that stores the device ID that each user uses;

distribution digital data storage means for storing digital data to be distributed, and

digital data distribution means for sending digital data to the users based on the information from said distribution front end.

15. A digital data distribution system comprising a user device and a distribution server, wherein

said user device includes

communication means for accessing said distribution server, browsing means for browsing information sent from said distribution server and responding to the information,

a storage media in which the digital data distributed by said distribution server is written,

storage media access means for reading and writing data from and in said storage media, a device ID that can uniquely identify said storage media access means,

device ID detecting means for detecting said device ID and sending said device ID to said distribution server, and

access process control means for controlling the reading and writing of said storage media by said storage media access means;

and

said distribution server includes

sending and receiving means for sending and receiving information and digital data to and from said user device,

a distribution front end that creates information to be sent to users and processes accesses by the users,

a user administration database that stores user IDs and related account information of the users,

a digital data administration database that stores digital data IDs and digital data storage locations of digital data to be distributed,

a user device administration database that stores said device ID that each user uses;

distributed digital data storage means for storing digital data to be distributed, and

digital data distribution means for sending digital data to the users based on the information from said distribution front end.