Musical-score-generating information processing apparatus and method

• US 20040159212A1
• Filed: 02/19/2003
• Published: 08/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Terada, Kosei
• Granted Patent: US 7,019,204 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/477R
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/00 Teaching music metronomes G04F5/02

Abstract

Musical-score-related data set, including musical score information and right-to-use information defining a usable range of the musical score information, is distributed via a network or the like, and such a musical-score-related data set is stored in memory of an apparatus having received the data set. The right-to-use information includes information indicating that storage of the corresponding musical score is authorized or not authorized. When the musical score is to be displayed, the musical score information of the memory-stored musical-score-related data set is read out so that the musical score is visually displayed on a display device. When a musical score storage instruction or musical-score-display termination instruction is given by a user, a determination is made, on the basis of the right-to-use information of the memory-stored musical-score-related data set, whether storage of the musical score is authorized or not, and, if the storage of the musical score is not authorized, the corresponding musical score data set is deleted from the memory. The right-to-use information also includes information indicating that transmission of the corresponding musical score is authorized or not authorized, and, only when it is determined that the transmission is authorized, the transmission, to another apparatus, of the musical score is authorized.

Claims

1. A musical-score-generating information processing apparatus comprising:

a display device;

a data input section that inputs musical-score-related data into said information processing apparatus from outside, the musical-score-related data including musical score information and right-to-use information defining a usable range of the musical score information;

a storage section that stores musical-score-related data inputted via said data input section;

an instruction supply section that gives an instruction to be executed by said information processing apparatus; and

a control section that, when a musical score display instruction is given by said instruction supply section, performs control to read out the musical score information of musical-score-related data stored in said storage section, and that, when a predetermined instruction is given by said instruction supply section, determines, on the basis of the right-to-use information of corresponding musical-score-related data stored in said storage section, whether or not storage of a corresponding musical score is authorized, said control section performing control to delete the corresponding musical-score-related data from said storage section if said control section determines that the storage of the corresponding musical score is not authorized.

2. A musical-score-generating information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein, when a musical score storage instruction or musical-score-display termination instruction is given, as the predetermined instruction, by said instruction supply section, said control section makes the determination, based on the right-to-use information, as to whether or not the storage of the corresponding musical score is authorized.

3. A musical-score-generating information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a transmission section that transmits, to outside said information processing apparatus, musical-score-related data stored in said storage section, and wherein the right-to-use information includes information indicating that storage of a corresponding musical score is authorized or not authorized, and

when a musical-score-related-data transmission instruction is given by said instruction supply section, said control section reads out musical-score-related data stored in said storage section, rewrites the right-to-use information of the read-out musical-score-related data into such contents as to not authorize storage of a corresponding musical score, and then causes said transmission section to transmit the musical-score-related data with the rewritten right-to-use information.

4. A musical-score-generating information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the right-to-use information includes information indicating that transmission of a corresponding musical score is authorized or not authorized, and

when the musical-score-related data transmission instruction is given by said instruction supply section, said control section further determines, on the basis of the right-to-use information of the musical-score-related data read out from said storage section, whether or not transmission of the corresponding musical score is authorized, and, if said control section determines that the transmission of the corresponding musical score is authorized, said control section authorizes transmission, by said transmission section, of the musical-score-related data with the rewritten right-to-use information.

5. A musical-score-generating information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a read/write section that reads out or write data from or to a removable external storage medium, and

wherein, when a musical score display instruction for displaying musical-score-related data stored in an external storage medium is given by said instruction supply section, said control section causes said read/write section to read out corresponding musical-score-related data stored in the external storage medium and causes said display device to display a musical score based on the musical-score-related data read out by said read/write section, and

when a musical score storage instruction or a musical-score-display termination instruction is given by said instruction supply section, said control section causes said read/write section to read out the right-to-use information of corresponding musical-score-related data stored in the external storage medium and determines, on the basis of the read-out right-to-use information, whether or not storage of a corresponding musical score is authorized, and if the storage of the corresponding musical score is not authorized, said control section causes said read/write section to delete the corresponding musical-score-related data from the external storage medium.

6. A musical-score-generating information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a read/write section that reads out or write data from or to a removable external storage medium, and

wherein a musical score storage instruction for storing a musical score in an external storage medium is given by said instruction supply section, said control section reads out musical-score-related data corresponding to musical score data being displayed on said display device, rewrites the right-to-use information of the read-out musical-score-related data into such contents as to not authorize storage of a corresponding musical score, and then causes said read/write section to write, into the external storage medium, the musical-score-related data with the rewritten right-to-use information.

7. A musical-score-generating information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said data input section includes a reception section that receives the musical-score-related data via a global communication network.

8. A musical-score-generating information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said data input section includes a reception section that receives the musical-score-related data via a local communication network.

9. A musical-score-generating information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the local communication network is organized by a plurality of said musical-score-generating information processing apparatus.

10. A musical-score-generating information processing method comprising:

a step of storing, in a memory, musical-score-related data including musical score information and right-to-use information defining a usable range of the musical score information;

a step of receiving an instruction;

a step of, when the instruction received by said step of receiving is a musical score display instruction, reading out the musical score information of musical-score-related data stored in the memory, and

a determination/deletion step of, when a predetermined instruction is received by said step of receiving, determining, on the basis of the right-to-use information of corresponding musical-score-related data stored in the memory, whether or not storage of a corresponding musical score is authorized, and deleting the corresponding musical-score-related data from the memory if the storage of the corresponding musical score is not authorized.

11. A musical-score-generating information processing method as claimed in claim 10 wherein, when a musical score storage instruction or musical-score-display termination instruction is received, as the predetermined instruction, by said step of receiving, said determination/deletion step makes the determination, based on the right-to-use information determination, whether or not the storage of the corresponding musical score is authorized.

12. A musical-score-generating information processing method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the right-to-use information includes information indicating that storage of a corresponding musical score is authorized or not authorized, and

which further comprises a transmission step of, when a musical-score-data-related transmission instruction is received by said step of receiving, reading out corresponding musical-score-related data stored in the memory, rewriting the right-to-use information of the read-out musical-score-related data into such contents as to not authorize storage of a corresponding musical score, and then transmitting the musical-score-related data with the rewritten right-to-use information.

13. A musical-score-generating information processing method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the right-to-use information includes information indicating that transmission of a corresponding musical score is authorized or not authorized, and

said transmission step determines, on the basis of the right-to-use information of the musical-score-related data read out from the memory, whether or not transmission of a corresponding musical score is authorized, and transmits the musical-score-related data with the rewritten right-to-use information if the transmission of the corresponding musical score is authorized.

14. A computer program including a group of instructions for causing a computer to perform a musical-score-generating information processing method, said method comprising:

a step of storing, in a memory, musical-score-related data including musical score information and right-to-use information defining a usable range of the musical score information;

a step of receiving an instruction;

a step of, when the instruction received by said step of receiving is a musical score display instruction, reading out the musical score information of musical-score-related data stored in the memory, and

a determination/deletion step of, when a predetermined instruction is received by said step of receiving, determining, on the basis of the right-to-use information of corresponding musical-score-related data stored in the memory, whether or not storage of a corresponding musical score is authorized, and deleting the corresponding musical-score-related data from the memory if the storage of the corresponding musical score is not authorized.

15. A machine-readable storage medium containing the computer program recited in claim 14.

16. A machine-readable storage medium containing a musical-score-related data set including musical score information and right-to-use information specifying a usable range of the musical score information, the right-to-use information including information indicating that storage of a corresponding musical score is authorized or not authorized.

17. A machine-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 16 wherein the right-to-use information further includes information indicating that transmission of the corresponding musical score is authorized or not authorized.