Content sharing system; content processing apparatus; information processing apparatus; program; recording medium; and content sharing method

• US 20050114333A1
• Filed: 10/22/2004
• Published: 05/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nagano, Motohiko, Tanabe, Mitsuru, Sato, Ichiro, Kuno, Hiroshi, Ebihara, Munetake
• Granted Patent: US 7,512,607 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A content sharing system is disclosed that can efficiently execute copyright management for limiting illegal utilization of content, and can promote the degree of freedom in utilization of content within a legal range of private utilization. In the content sharing system, a content processing apparatus on the content providing side includes a source ID addition section for adding, to the content data, a source ID for specifying a providing source of content data. Meanwhile, another content processing apparatus on the content acquiring side includes a content rendering section having a rendering permission ID list including source IDs, added to content data whose rendering is permitted, for limiting, based on the source ID added to the acquired content data and the rendering permission ID list, rendering of acquired content data rendering. The content sharing system further includes a list management section for permitting updating of the rendering permission ID list.

Claims

1. A content sharing system, comprising:

a plurality of content processing apparatuses by which content data are shared;

a content providing side one of said content processing apparatuses including;

a source ID addition section for adding to the content data a source ID for specifying a providing source of content data, and a content providing section for providing the content data having the source ID added thereto to a content acquiring side one of said content processing apparatuses;

the content acquiring side content processing apparatus including;

a content acquiring section for acquiring from the content providing side content processing apparatus the content data having the source ID added thereto, and a content rendering section having a rendering permission ID list including source IDs added to content data whose rendering is permitted for limiting rendering of the content data acquired by said content acquisition section based on the source ID added to the acquired content data and said rendering permission ID list; and

a list management section for permitting updating of said rendering permission ID list.

2. A content processing apparatus that shares content data with an external apparatus, comprising:

a source ID addition section for adding a source ID for specifying a providing source of content data to the content data; and

a content providing section for providing to the external apparatus the content data having the source ID added thereto by said source ID addition section.

3. The content processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the source ID is added uniquely in a measurement of a content providing apparatus that provides content data.

4. The content processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the source ID is added uniquely in a measurement of a user of a content providing apparatus that provides content data.

5. The content processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the source ID includes type information of the content data and/or identification information of a providing source of the content data.

6. The content processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a content production section for producing content data, said source ID addition section adding, to the content data produced by said content production section, a source ID corresponding to said content production section, said content processing apparatus, or a user of said content processing apparatus.

7. The content processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said content processing apparatus is formed as a client connected to a distribution server for distributing content data via a network, and said source ID addition section adds, to content data received from said distribution server, a source ID corresponding to said content processing apparatus or to a user of said content processing apparatus.

8. The content processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said processing apparatus is formed as a distribution server for distributing, via a network, content data to one or more clients, and said source addition section adds, to any of the content data to be distributed to the clients, a source ID corresponding to the client of the destination of the distribution or to a user of the client.

9. The content processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said content providing section transmits, via a network, the content data having the source ID added thereto to said external apparatus to provide the content data having the source ID added thereto to said external apparatus.

10. The content processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said content providing section provides the content data having the source ID added hereto to said external apparatus via a recording medium on which the content data having the source ID added thereto is recorded.

11. The content processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a content acquiring section for acquiring, from the external apparatus, content data having the source ID added thereto ; and

a content rendering section, having a rendering permission ID list including the source IDs added to content data whose rendering is permitted, for limiting, based on the source ID added to the acquired content data and said rendering permission ID list, rendering of the content data acquired by said content acquisition section rendering.

12. The content processing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a list management section for permitting updating of said rendering permission ID list.

13. A content processing apparatus, which shares content data with an external apparatus, comprising:

a content acquiring section for acquiring, from the external apparatus, content data having a source ID added thereto for specifying a providing source of content data; and

a content rendering section, having a rendering permission ID list including source IDs added to content data whose rendering is permitted, for limiting, based on the source ID added to the acquired content data and said rendering permission ID list, rendering of the content data acquired by said content acquiring section rendering.

14. The content processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said content rendering section can render the acquired content data if the source ID added to the acquired content data is included in said rendering permission ID list, but cannot render the acquired content data if the source ID added to the acquired content data is not included in said rendering permission ID list.

15. The content processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said content acquiring section receives content data having a source ID added thereto through a network to acquire the content data having the source ID added thereto from said external apparatus.

16. The content processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said content providing section acquires the content data having a source ID added thereto from said external apparatus via a recording medium on which is recorded the content data having the source ID added thereto.

17. The content processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a list updating requesting section for issuing, to a list management section that permits updating said rendering permission ID list, a request to update said rendering permission ID list rendering.

18. The content processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein if the source ID added to the acquired content data is not included in said rendering permission ID list, said list updating requesting section issues, to the list management section, a request to add, to said rendering permission ID list, the source ID added to the acquired content data rendering.

19. The content processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a list management section for permitting updating of said rendering permission ID list.

20. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a list management section for permitting updating of a rendering permission ID list of source IDs each for specifying a providing source of content data, said rendering permission ID list including a source ID added to content data whose rendering by a content rendering section of a content processing apparatus is permitted.

21. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said list management section permits addition of the source ID to said rendering permission ID list, thereby to permit rendering, by said content rendering section, of the content data having the source ID added thereto rendering.

22. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said list management section includes a list synchronization section for synchronizing said rendering permission ID list with another rendering permission ID list that relates to a different content rendering section.

23. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said list management section permits updating of said rendering permission ID list in response to a request, from said content rendering section, for updating of said rendering permission ID list rendering.

24. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said list management section permits, based on the number of source IDs included in said rendering permission ID list, updating of said rendering permission ID list rendering.

25. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said list management section permits, based on type information of a providing source of the content data included in the source ID, updating of said rendering permission ID list.

26. The information processing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said list management section permits, based on a connection form between said content rendering section of the source of the request for updating and said list management section, updating of said rendering permission ID list rendering.

27. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said list management section permits, based on an illegal ID list that includes source IDs added to content data whose rendering is inhibited, updating of said rendering permission ID list rendering.

28. The information processing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said list management section permits, based on a result of authentication of the content processing apparatus that includes said content rendering section of the source of the request for updating or authentication of a user of the content processing apparatus, updating of said rendering permission ID list rendering.

29. The information processing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said list management section permits, based on whether or not an accounting process for the request for updating is involved, updating of said rendering permission ID list.

30. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said information processing apparatus is formed as a management server connected, via a network, to a plurality of content processing apparatus each including a content rendering section, and said list management section permits, in response to a request for updating of said rendering permission ID list from any of the content production sections, updating of said rendering permission ID list rendering.

31. The information processing apparatus according to claim 30, further comprising an updating request tabulation section for tabulating requests, from the content rendering sections, for updating of said rendering permission ID list rendering.

32. The information processing apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said updating request tabulation section tabulates requests for addition of a source ID to said rendering permission ID list from the content rendering sections and, based on a result of the tabulation of the requests for addition, produces an illegal ID list that includes source IDs added to content data whose rendering is inhibited.

33. A program for causing a computer to execute:

a step of adding, to content data, a source ID for specifying a providing source of the content data.

34. A program for causing a computer to execute:

a step of limiting, based on a rendering permission ID list that includes source IDs added to content data whose rendering is permitted and on a source ID added to content data, rendering of the content data rendering.

35. A program for causing a computer to execute:

a step of permitting updating of a rendering permission ID list of source IDs each for specifying a providing source of content data, the rendering permission ID list including a source ID added to content data whose rendering, by a content rendering section of a content processing apparatus, is permitted.

36. A recording medium for being read by a content processing apparatus on which content data is rendered, said recording medium having recorded thereon:

content data, to each of which a source ID for specifying a providing source of the content data is added; and

a rendering permission ID list including source IDs attached to content data whose rendering, by said content production apparatus, is permitted.

37. A content sharing method for sharing content data between a plurality of content processing apparatuses, comprising:

adding a source ID, executed by a content providing side one of said content processing apparatuses, of adding, to the content data, a source ID for specifying a providing source of content data;

providing a content, executed by the content providing side content processing apparatus, of providing, to a content acquiring side one of said content processing apparatuses, the content data having the source ID added thereto; and

rendering a content rendering, executed by the content acquiring side content processing apparatus, of limiting, based on a rendering permission ID list including source IDs added to content data whose rendering is permitted and the source ID added to the provided content data, rendering of the content data provided by the content providing step rendering.

38. The content sharing method according to claim 37, wherein said content rendering step includes the steps of:

determining whether or not the source ID added to the provided content data is included in said rendering permission ID list; and

rendering, if the source ID added to the provided content data is included in said rendering permission ID list, the provided content data;

but

limiting, if the source ID added to the provided content data is not included in said rendering permission ID list, rendering of the provided content data.

39. The content sharing method according to claim 37, further comprising a list updating permitting step of permitting updating of said rendering permission ID list.

40. The content sharing method according to claim 39, further comprising:

an addition requesting step of issuing, if the source ID added to the provided content data is not included in said rendering permission ID list, a request to add the source ID added to the provided content data to said rendering permission ID list;

said list updating permitting step, in response to the request for addition, permitting the addition, to said rendering permission ID list, of the source ID rendering.