Document distribution method and document management method

• US 20030105950A1
• Filed: 11/22/2002
• Published: 06/05/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Hashimoto, Shinji, Hirano, Hideyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,506,365 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures

Abstract

A document distributing method is proposed using access control information separated into invisible data embedded as an electronic watermark and visible data described in a structured document to achieve prevention of unauthorized alteration of document data, authentication thereof, and prevention of unauthorized access thereto. The method has a step of separating access control information into a first access control information and a second access control information, a step of embedding the first access control information into administrative information-enclosing data, a step of setting an administrative identifier for making the administrative information-enclosing data in which the first access control information has been embedded be an information item in the document data, and a step of enclosing, in the administrative identifier, information content of the administrative information-enclosing data and the second access control information for creating the access control information for accessing the document data together with the first access control information.

Claims

1. A method of distributing a structured document in which identifiers are respectively set for a plurality of information items in document data made of digitized data including text data, image data, music data, and/or other digitized data, and information content of each information item is enclosed in each respective identifier, the method comprising:

(A) a step of creating access control information necessary to access the document data and separating the access control information into a first access control information and a second access control information, the first access control information and the second access control information complimentarily constituting the access control information;

(B) a step of specifying given data as administrative information-enclosing data and embedding the first access control information into the administrative information-enclosing data;

(C) a step of setting an administrative identifier for making the administrative information-enclosing data in which the first access control information is embedded be an information item in the document data; and

(D) a step of enclosing, in the administrative identifier, information content of the administrative information-enclosing data in which the first access control information is embedded, and the second access control information for extracting the first access control information from the administrative information-enclosing data to create the access control information for accessing the document data together with the first access control information.

2. The method of distributing a document as set forth in claim 1, wherein the administrative information-enclosing data comprises digitized data including image data or music data, and in the step (B), the first access control information is embedded as visually or auditorily unrecognizable watermark data into the administrative information-enclosing data.

3. The method of distributing a document as set forth in claim 1, wherein the administrative information-enclosing data comprises digitized data including image data or music data, and in the step (B), the first access control information is embedded as visually or auditorily recognizable watermark data into the administrative information enclosing data.

4. The method of distributing a document as set forth in claim 1, wherein the administrative information-enclosing data has a first data portion and a second data portion, each portion comprising digitized data such as image data or music data;

and in the step (B), encrypted access control information in which the first access control information has been encrypted is created and enclosed in the second data portion, and an encryption key information used to create the encrypted access control information is embedded as visually or auditorily unrecognizable watermark data into the first data portion.

5. The method of distributing a document as set forth in claim 1, wherein the second access control information comprises at least one of range-specifying information specifying the range of unauthorized alteration prevention in the document data, data type-indicating information indicating the type of the digitized data in which the watermark data have been embedded, control type-indicating information indicating the type of information of the first access control information, access policy information for digitized data contained in the document data, watermark control information used when converting the first access control information into a watermark data, and a data name of the first access control information.

6. The method of distributing a document as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first access control information includes at least one of image data, music data, encryption/authentication/signature-related data, and a control program, and has a file format of image data or music data.

7. The method of distributing a document as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a step of creating duplicate information by duplicating the information content enclosed in the administrative identifier and embedding the duplicate information as an electronic watermark into the administrative information-enclosing data.

8. The method of distributing a document as set forth in claim 1, wherein digitized data contained in a predetermined range of the digitized data in the document data are extracted as secret information, digitized data in which the secret information is replaced with other information for display are assigned as the administrative information-enclosing data, and the secret information is enclosed in the administrative information-enclosing data.

9. The method of distributing a document as set forth in claim 8, wherein the secret information is embedded as visually or auditorily unrecognizable watermark data into the administrative information-enclosing data.

10. The method of distributing a document as set forth in claim 8, wherein the secret information is encrypted and is then enclosed in the administrative information-enclosing data.

11. The method of distributing a document as set forth in claim 1, wherein a signature value is computed of digitized data within a predetermined range of the digitized data in the document data, and the signature value is enclosed in the administrative information-enclosing data.

12. An apparatus for creating data of a structured document in which identifiers are respectively set for a plurality of information items in document data made of digitized data including text data, image data, music data, and/or other digitized data, and information content of each information item is enclosed in each respective identifier, the apparatus comprising:

an access control information-creating means for creating access control information necessary to access the document data;

a first administrative information-enclosing means for specifying given data as administrative information-enclosing data and enclosing a first access control information that constitutes a portion of the access control information in the administrative information-enclosing data;

a document structure-creating means for setting identifiers respectively for information items of the digitized data contained in the document data and enclosing information content of each information item in each respective identifier; and

a second administrative information-enclosing means for setting an administrative identifier for making the administrative information-enclosing data be an information item in the document data, and enclosing as an information content of the administrative identifier a second access control information that complimentarily constitutes the access control information together with the first access control information.

13. An apparatus for accessing data of a structured document in which identifiers are respectively set for a plurality of information items in document data made of digitized data including text data, image data, music data, and/or other digitized data, and information content of each information item is enclosed in each respective identifier, the apparatus comprising:

a document parsing means for parsing distributed document data;

a second access control information-extracting means for extracting a second access control information from an administrative identifier contained in the document data; and

a document data-accessing means for allowing access to the document data based on the second access control information and a first control information enclosed in administrative information-enclosing data contained in the document data.

14. A computer executable program for executing a method of distributing a structured document in which identifiers are respectively set for a plurality of information items in document data made of digitized data including text data, image data, music data, and/or other digitized data, and information content of each information item is enclosed in each respective identifier, comprising:

(A) a step of creating access control information necessary to access the document data and separating the access control information into a first access control information and a second access control information, the first access control information and the second access control information complimentarily constituting the access control information;

(B) a step of specifying given data as administrative information-enclosing data and embedding the first access control information into the administrative information-enclosing data;

(C) a step of setting an administrative identifier for making the administrative information-enclosing data in which the first access control information is embedded be an information item in the document data; and

(D) a step of enclosing, in the administrative identifier, information content of the administrative information-enclosing data in which the first access control information is embedded, and the second access control information for extracting the first access control information from the administrative information-enclosing data to create the access control information for accessing the document data together with the first access control information.

15. A method of managing a document comprising:

(A) a step of acquiring as digitized data information in which access control information is embedded as visually or auditorily unrecognizable watermark data;

(B) a step of extracting the access control information from the digitized data;

(C) a step of acquiring document information of the document data made of at least one of specific text data, image data, music data, and other digitized data that correspond to the access control information; and

(D) a step of creating a structured document in which identifiers are respectively set for a plurality of information items in the document information and information content of each information item is enclosed in each respective identifier.

16. The method of managing a document as set forth in claim 15, wherein an image in which the access control information is embedded as the visually unrecognizable watermark is converted into digitized image data.

17. The method of managing a document as set forth in claim 15, wherein the access control information is a link address in a website that is accessible via the Internet.

18. A document management apparatus comprising:

a data acquiring means for acquiring as digitized data information in which access control information is embedded as visually or auditorily unrecognizable watermark data;

an access control information-extracting means for extracting the access control information from the digitized data acquired by the data acquiring means;

a document information acquiring means for acquiring document information of the document data made of at least one of specific text data, image data, music data, and other digitized data that correspond to the access control information extracted from said access control information-extracting means; and

a structure text-creating means for creating a structured document in which identifiers are respectively set for a plurality of information items in the document information acquired by said document information acquiring means and information content of information item is enclosed in each respective identifier.

19. The document managing apparatus as set forth in claim 18, wherein the data acquiring means acquires digitized data of the image in which access control information is embedded as visually unrecognizable watermark, the digitized data having been converted by a digital camera or an image scanner.

20. The document managing apparatus as set forth in claim 18, wherein the access control information is a link address in a website that is accessible via the Internet.

21. A computer executable program for executing a document management method comprising:

(A) a step of acquiring as digitized data information in which access control information is embedded as visually or auditorily unrecognizable watermark data;

(B) a step of extracting the access control information from the digitized data;

(C) a step of acquiring document information of the document data made of at least one of specific text data, image data, music data, and other digitized data that correspond to the access control information; and

(D) a step of creating a structured document in which identifiers are respectively set for a plurality of information items in the document information and information content of each information item is enclosed in each respective identifier.