Electronic music apparatus and program

• US 20030029304A1
• Filed: 08/09/2002
• Published: 02/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Ochi, Mitsunori
• Granted Patent: US 6,989,485 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/609
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0066 using a MIDI interface

Abstract

There is provided an electronic music apparatus that can make effective use of song data by separately controlling external outputting of the song data according to songs while protecting the rights. When song data is selected, the song data is read from a second ROM or a flash memory and written into a RAM together with a copyright flag CRF indicating that the song data has a copyright, when it is set to “1”. When an external output instruction is given, when the copyright flag CRF corresponding to the selected song data is set to “0”, it is judged that the song data has no copyright to be protected. Then, the song data is output according to the external output instruction. On the other hand, if CRF=1 holds, it is judged that the song data has a copyright to be protected, and then an output inhibition message is displayed to inhibit external outputting of the song data.

Claims

1. An electronic music apparatus comprising:

a first storage device that stores a plurality of song data and predetermined right data corresponding to each of the plurality of song data in correspondence with each other;

a musical tone signal generating device that externally generates musical tone signals based on the song data stored in said first storage device;

an external output device capable of outputting the song data stored in said first storage device;

an output accepting device that accepts an output instruction for selectively outputting the song data stored in said first storage device; and

an output control device responsive to acceptance of the output instruction by said output accepting device, for controlling external outputting of the song data by said external output device based on the predetermined right data corresponding to the song data selected according to the accepted output instruction.

2. An electronic music apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second storage device, and wherein when the song data stored in the first storage device are externally output, the output song data are transferred together with the predetermined right data corresponding thereto to said second storage device, wherefrom the transferred song data are externally output, and wherein said output control device reads the predetermined right data corresponding to the selected song data out from said second storage device, and controls external outputting of the song data by said external output device based on the read predetermined right data.

3. An electronic music apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output control device provides such control that if the predetermined right data corresponding to the selected song data indicates that no right protection is required, the selected song data is permitted to be externally output, and if the predetermined right data corresponding to the selected song data indicates that right protection is required, the selected song data is inhibited from being externally output.

4. An electronic music apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first storage device comprises a first built-in memory that stores the plurality of song data and the corresponding predetermined right data.

5. An electronic music apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first storage device comprises a first built-in memory in which are stored in advance the plurality of song data and the corresponding predetermined right data, and a second built-in memory capable of loading and storing the song data and the predetermined right data from at least one of an external data providing device in which are stored in advance the plurality of song data and the corresponding predetermined right data and said first built-in memory.

6. An electronic music apparatus according to claim 5, comprising a conversion and loading device operable when the song data and the predetermined right data are loaded from the external data providing device into said second built-in memory, to convert the predetermined right data into a predetermined format before being stored in said second built-in memory irrespective of a format in which the predetermined right data are stored in said external data providing device.

7. An electronic music apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the song data and the predetermined right data are loaded from said first built-in memory into said second built-in memory, the predetermined right data are directly stored without being changed in said second built-in memory together with the corresponding song data.

8. An electronic music apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said external output device has at least one of a function of outputting the song data in a form of a file and a function of outputting in real time the song data in a form of MIDI data.

9. An electronic music apparatus that provides different songs contained therein for different destinations, comprising:

a song data storage device that stores a plurality of song data and destination corresponding data indicative of destinations for respective ones of the plurality of song data in correspondence with each other;

a destination data storage device that stores destination data indicative of a destination set for the electronic music apparatus;

an access device that makes access to the song data stored in said song data storage device to use the song data; and

an access control device that provides such control that said access device is permitted to make access to only song data, out of the song data stored in said song data storage device, corresponding to destination corresponding data matching the destination data stored in said destination data storage device, and is inhibited from accessing other song data.

10. An electronic music apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said song data storage device stores song data for a plurality of destinations and destination corresponding data corresponding to respective ones of the song data for the plurality of destinations, whereby said song data storage device can be shared by electronic music apparatuses for the plurality of destinations.

11. A program for causing a computer to execute a method of controlling an electronic music apparatus having a storage device that stores a plurality of song data and predetermined right data corresponding to each of the plurality of song data in correspondence with each other, the program comprising:

a musical tone generating module for generating musical tone signals based on the song data stored in said storage device;

an external output module capable of externally outputting the song data stored in said storage device;

an output accepting module for accepting an output instruction for selectively outputting the song data stored in said storage device; and

an output control module responsive to acceptance of the output instruction by said output accepting module, for controlling external outputting of the song data by said external output module based on the predetermined right data corresponding to the song data selected according to the accepted output instruction.

12. A program for causing a computer to execute a method of controlling an electronic music apparatus that provides different songs contained therein for different destinations, the electronic music apparatus having a song data storage device that stores a plurality of song data and destination corresponding data indicative of destinations for respective ones of the plurality of song data in correspondence with each other, and a destination data storage device that stores destination data indicative of a destination set for the electronic music apparatus, the program comprising:

an access module for making access to the song data stored in said song data storage device to use the song data; and

access control module for providing such control that said access module is permitted to make access to only song data, out of the song data stored in said song data storage device, corresponding to destination corresponding data matching the destination data stored in said destination data storage device, and is inhibited from accessing other song data.