Utilizing and delivering contents

• US 20020120465A1
• Filed: 02/15/2002
• Published: 08/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mori, Masaya, Okamoto, Yoriko
• Application Number:
  US10/078,053
• Publication Number:
  US 20020120465A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1
• 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: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/725 operating on a secure reference time value
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/45457 applied to a time segment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63345 by transmitting keys key distribution for secret or secure communication H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

The present invention provides for deterring and/or preventing an illegal use of contents by users when an expiration date is established for the use of the contents. Contents or contents execution programs have information indicative of an expiration date. In an example, expiration date information is embedded into external files, contents or contents execution programs. The expiration date information could be a start, end or last date of use, which is used as authentication data to conduct authentication when making use of the contents. An example embodiment has two requirements satisfied when using the contents in order to execute the execution program, including (1) the current date acquired from the system timer is between the start date of use and the end date of use (expiration date); and (2) the current date is posterior to the last date of use (last date of access).

Claims

1. A method for utilizing contents, comprising the steps of:

acquiring authentication data including a start date of use for the contents, an end date of use for the contents, and a last date of use;

acquiring a current date from a system timer when using the contents;

determining whether said last date of use is prior to said current date;

determining whether said current date is prior to said end date of use;

regenerating said contents if both of said steps of determining result in true; and

updating said last date of use with a date when said regenerating step is finished.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of said contents are encoded using encryption data contained in said authentication data, the method further comprising the step of decoding the encoded contents using said encryption data.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of nullifying said encryption data if a step of determining results in false.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said authentication data is recorded using at least one scheme taken from a group of schemes including:

a scheme of storing said authentication data in a file generated as a hidden file;

a scheme of embedding said authentication data in said contents; and

a scheme of embedding said authentication data in a program that regenerates said contents.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein a program for implementing a counter function is provided in a computer system on which said contents are utilized, the counter operating while the system operates and/or an OS of said system operates, the method further comprising the steps of:

initializing a time of said counter function with a date acquired from the system timer when activating said system or said OS of said system;

recording a difference between a date of said counter and a date of the system timer when utilizing said contents; and

correcting said last date of use and said end date of use or said current date using a time period corresponding said difference.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of regenerating includes executing the contents.

20. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing content utilization, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the steps of claim 1.

22. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for content utilization, said method steps comprising the steps of claim 1.

5. A method for delivering contents;

comprising the steps of;

in response to a download request of the contents, generating authentication data using a date when said request is accepted, wherein said authentication data includes a start date of use specifying the start date of use for the contents and an end date of use specifying an expiration date of the contents; and

sending the contents, a regeneration program for said contents, and said authentication data, wherein the regeneration program comprising the functions of;

acquiring a current date from a system timer;

determining first whether the last date of use of said contents is prior to said current date;

determining secondly whether said current date is prior to said end date of use;

regenerating said contents if determinations made by both of said determination functions result in true; and

updating said last date of use with a date when the regeneration of said contents is finished.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising encoding at least a part of said contents using encryption data contained in said authentication data and forming encoded contents, wherein said regeneration program further includes the function of decoding said encoded contents using said encryption data.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said regeneration program further comprising the function of nullifying said encryption data if a step of determining results in false.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein said authentication data is recorded using at least one schemes taken from a group of schemes including:

a scheme of storing said authentication data in a file generated as a hidden file of a system in which said regeneration program is executed;

a scheme of embedding said authentication data in said contents; and

a scheme of embedding said authentication data in said regeneration program.

16. The method according to claim 5, wherein the sending steps sends said contents, a regeneration or execution program for said contents and said authentication data or an encoded file thereof, and sends a program at the same time which implements a counter function that always operates while the system operates or an OS of said system operates, and wherein the program for implementing said counter comprises the function of initializing a time of said counter function with a date acquired from the system timer when activating said system or said OS of said system;

and the function of counting a time independent of said system timer, and wherein said regeneration and execution program further comprises the function of recording a difference between a date of said counter and a date of the system timer; and

the function of correcting said last date of use and said end date of use or said current date using a time period corresponding said difference.

21. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing content delivery, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the steps of claim 5.

23. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for content delivery, said method steps comprising the steps of claim 5.

9. A system for delivering contents;

said system in response to a download request of the contents, comprising;

means for generating authentication data using a date when said request is accepted, wherein said authentication data includes a start date of use specifying the start date of use for the contents and an end date of use specifying an expiration date of the contents; and

means for sending said contents, a regeneration program for said contents, and said authentication data, wherein said regeneration program comprises functions of;

acquiring a current date from a system timer;

determining first whether the last date of use of said contents is prior to said current date;

determining secondly whether said current date is prior to said end date of use;

regenerating said contents if determinations made by both of said determining functions result in true; and

updating said last date of use with a date when the regeneration of said contents is finished.

10. The system according to claim 9, further comprising means for encoding at least a part of said contents using encryption data contained in said authentication data and forming encoded contents, wherein said regeneration program further comprising the function of decoding said encoded contents using said encryption data.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein said regeneration program further comprising the function of nullifying said encryption data if a determination made by a determining function results in false.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein said authentication data is recorded using means taken from a group of means including:

storing means for storing said authentication data in a file generated as a hidden file of a system in which said regeneration program is executed;

first embedding means for embedding said authentication data in said contents; and

second embedding means for embedding said authentication data in said regeneration program; and

any combination of these means.

14. The program according to claim 13, wherein at least a part of said contents are encoded using encryption data contained in said authentication data, the program further comprising the functions of:

decoding the encoded contents using said encryption data; and

nullifying said encryption data if a determination made by either the first or second determining step results in false.

17. The system according to claim 9, wherein the sending means sends said contents, a regeneration or execution program for said contents and said authentication data or an encoded file thereof, and sends a program at the same time which implements a counter function that operates while the system operates and/or an OS of said system operates, and wherein the program for implementing said counter comprises the function of initializing a time of said counter function with a date acquired from the system timer when activating said system or said OS of said system, and the function of counting a time independent of said system timer, and wherein said regeneration and execution program further comprises the function of recording a difference between a date of said counter and a date of the system timer;

and the function of correcting said last date of use and said end date of use or said current date using a time period corresponding said difference.

18. The program according to claim 13, wherein the program includes a counter program comprising the functions of initializing a time of said counter function with a date acquired from the system timer when activating the system or said OS of said system;

and counting a time independent of said system timer, the program further comprising the functions of;

acquiring a date from the counter program;

recording a difference between a date of said counter and a date of the system timer; and

correcting said last date of use and said end date of use or said current date using a time period corresponding said difference.

24. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing content delivery, the computer readable program code means in said computer program product comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the functions of claim 9.

13. A program executable by a computer to perform a method for utilizing contents;

the program comprising the functions of;

acquiring authentication data including a start date of use specifying the start date of use for the contents, an end date of use specifying an expiration date of the contents, and a last date of use specifying when the contents were last used;

acquiring a current date from a system timer;

determining first whether said last date of use is prior to said current date;

determining secondly whether said current date is prior to said end date of use;

regenerating said contents if determinations made by both of said determination functions result in true; and

updating said last date of use with a date when the regeneration of said contents is finished.