Method and system for restricting content redistribution

• US 20040215734A1
• Filed: 12/12/2003
• Published: 10/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Kondo, Takashi, Maeda, Yoshiaki, Inomata, Toshihiro, Nagai, Riko
• Granted Patent: US 7,376,705 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/207
• 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]

Abstract

A content server 10, in transmitting content appended with redistribution restriction information to a communication terminal 50, determines whether communication terminal 50 has a redistribution restriction function on the basis of identification data contained in a user agent header contained in a HTTP message transmitted from communication terminal 50. When the determination is affirmative, content server 10 transmits to communication terminal 50 the content via the Internet 20, gateway server 30, and mobile packet communication network 40.

Claims

1. A communication device capable of transmitting content to another communication device, comprising:

determining means for determining whether said another communication device has a function for restricting redistribution of content to which redistribution restriction information is appended; and

transmitting means for transmitting said content to which said restriction information is appended when it is determined by said determining means that said another communication device to which said content is to be transmitted is provided with a function for restricting redistribution of said content.

2. A communication device according to claim 1, wherein said determining means comprises:

acquisition means for acquiring first identification information from said another communication device for identifying whether said another communication device has said function for restricting redistribution of said content; and

memory storage means for storing second identification information for identifying communication devices having said function for restricting redistribution of said content,

wherein said determining means determines whether said first identification information acquired by said acquisition means corresponds to any of second identification information stored in said memory storage means, and decides that said another communication device has said function for restricting redistribution of said content when it is determined that said first identification information acquired by said acquisition means corresponds to any of second identification information stored in said memory storage means.

3. A communication device according to claim 1, further comprising:

redistribution restriction information appending means for appending said redistribution restriction information to said content in response to a user instruction,

wherein said transmitting means transmits to said another communication device said content to which said redistribution restriction information is appended by said redistribution restriction information appending means.

4. A transmission restriction method for use in a communication device capable of transmitting content to another communication device, comprising:

an instruction detection step of detecting an instruction for transmitting said content to said another communication device where said content is appended with redistribution restriction information instructing said another communication device to restrict output of said content to an external device;

a function detection step of detecting, after said instruction detection step, that said another communication device has a redistribution restriction function for restricting output of said content to an external device according to said redistribution restriction information; and

a transmission step of transmitting, after said function detection step, said content to said another communication device.