Content transmission apparatus and content reception apparatus

• US 20050160274A1
• Filed: 05/17/2004
• Published: 07/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Okamoto, Hiroo, Kudo, Yoshimichi, Yukimatsu, Takanori
• Application Number:
  US10/846,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20050160274A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/182
• 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 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/045 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply hybrid encryption, i.e. combination of symmetric and asymmetric encryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements using a plurality of keys or algorithms H04L9/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0869 for achieving mutual authentication cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for mutual authentication H04L9/3273

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to protect a copyright of a content by suppressing creation of illegal copies of the content and prevent a content from being transmitted beyond a range of personal use in a process to transmit the content through a wire or wireless LAN. Before transmitting a content from a content transmission apparatus to a content reception apparatus, the content transmission apparatus and the content reception apparatus authenticate each other. In the authentication, a timer measures a time interval between a transmission of an authentication request and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of the request or between a transmission of a response to a received authentication request and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of the response. If the time interval does not exceed an upper limit, a content encrypted by using a shared key is transmitted from the content transmission apparatus to the content reception apparatus, and the address of the content reception apparatus as well as apparatus information unique to the content reception apparatus are cataloged in the content transmission apparatus. Thus, in order to transmit another content, the content is merely encrypted prior to the transmission without measuring a time interval.

Claims

1. A content transmission apparatus comprising:

a network communication process means for transmitting and receiving data by way of a network;

a transmission-content generation means for supplying a content to be transmitted to a content reception apparatus, which is connected to said content transmission apparatus through said network, to said network communication process means;

an authentication means for receiving an authentication request from said content reception apparatus, carrying out an authentication determination for said received authentication request and issuing its own authentication request to said content reception apparatus;

an encryption means for generating a key based on information produced by said authentication means as a result of execution of an authentication process in said authentication means and encrypting a content to be transmitted to said content reception apparatus by using said key;

a timer means used if necessary for measuring a time interval between a transmission of its own authentication request to said content reception apparatus and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of said authentication request from said content reception apparatus or between a transmission of a response to an authentication request received from said content reception apparatus to said content reception apparatus and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of said response from said content reception apparatus; and

an apparatus-information management means for cataloging and managing apparatus information of said content reception apparatus;

wherein said apparatus-information management means controls operations to catalog the address of said content reception apparatus and apparatus information stored in advance at an apparatus-manufacturing time as information unique to said content reception apparatus in dependence on a measurement result produced by said timer means.

2. A content transmission apparatus according to claim 1 wherein, if a measurement result produced by said timer means does not exceed a predetermined value in said timer means, said address of said content reception apparatus and said apparatus information unique to said content reception apparatus are stored in said apparatus-information management means.

3. A content transmission apparatus according to claim 1 wherein, when a request for a content is received from said content reception apparatus, an address and apparatus-unique information, which have been cataloged in said apparatus-information management means, are compared with said address of said content reception apparatus and apparatus information unique to said content reception apparatus respectively and, if they match each other, said requested content is transmitted to said content reception apparatus without driving said timer means to measure a time interval.

4. A content reception apparatus comprising:

a network communication process means for transmitting and receiving data by way of a network;

a content reception process means for receiving a content from said network communication process means receiving said content from a content transmission apparatus connected to said content reception apparatus through said network;

an authentication means for issuing an authentication request to said content transmission means and carrying out an authentication determination for an authentication request received from said content transmission apparatus;

an encryption means for generating a key based on information produced by said authentication means as a result of execution of an authentication process in said authentication means and decrypting a content received from said content transmission apparatus by using said key;

a timer means used if necessary for measuring a time interval between a transmission of an authentication request to said content transmission apparatus and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of said authentication request from said content transmission apparatus or between a transmission of a response to an authentication request received from said content transmission apparatus to said content reception apparatus and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of said response from said content transmission apparatus; and

an apparatus-information management means for cataloging and managing apparatus information of said content transmission apparatus;

wherein said apparatus-information management means controls operations to catalog the address of said content transmission means and apparatus information stored in advance at an apparatus-manufacturing time as information unique to said content transmission apparatus in dependence on a measurement result produced by said timer means.

5. A content reception apparatus according to claim 4 wherein, if a measurement result produced by said timer means does not exceed a predetermined value in said timer means, said address of said content transmission apparatus and said apparatus information unique to said content transmission apparatus are stored in said apparatus-information management means.

6. A content reception apparatus according to claim 4 wherein, when a request for a reception of a content is received from said content transmission apparatus, an address and apparatus-unique information, which have been cataloged in said apparatus-information management means, are compared with said address of said content transmission apparatus and apparatus information unique to said content transmission apparatus respectively and, if they match each other, said requested content is received from said content reception apparatus without driving said timer means to measure a time interval.

7. A content transmission apparatus comprising:

an authentication means for receiving an authentication request from a content reception apparatus connected to said content transmission apparatus by a network, carrying out an authentication determination for said received authentication request and issuing its own authentication request to said content reception apparatus in a process to transmit a content to said content reception apparatus;

a timer means used if necessary for measuring a time interval between a transmission of its own authentication request to said content reception apparatus and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of said authentication request from said content reception apparatus or between a transmission of a response to an authentication request received from said content reception apparatus to said content reception apparatus and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of said response from said content reception apparatus; and

an apparatus-information management means for cataloging and managing apparatus information of said content reception apparatus;

wherein said apparatus-information management means catalogs the address of said content reception apparatus and apparatus information unique to said content reception apparatus if a measurement result produced by said timer means does not exceed a predetermined value.

8. A content transmission apparatus according to claim 7 wherein, when a request for a content is received from said content reception apparatus, an address and apparatus-unique information, which have been cataloged in said apparatus-information management means, are compared with said address of said content reception apparatus and apparatus information unique to said content reception apparatus respectively and, if they match each other, said requested content is transmitted to said content reception apparatus without driving said timer means to measure a time interval.

9. A content reception apparatus comprising:

an authentication means for receiving an authentication request from a content transmission apparatus connected to said content reception apparatus by a network, carrying out an authentication determination for said received authentication request and issuing its own authentication request to said content transmission apparatus in a process to receive a content from said content transmission apparatus;

a timer means used if necessary for measuring a time interval between a transmission of its own authentication request to said content transmission apparatus and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of said authentication request from said transmission reception apparatus or between a transmission of a response to an authentication request received from said content transmission apparatus to said content transmission apparatus and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of said response from said content transmission apparatus; and

an apparatus-information management means for cataloging and managing apparatus information of said content transmission apparatus;

wherein said apparatus-information management means catalogs the address of said content transmission apparatus and apparatus information unique to said content transmission apparatus if a measurement result produced by said timer means does not exceed a predetermined value.

10. A content reception apparatus according to claim 9 wherein, when a request for a reception of a content is received from said content transmission apparatus, an address and apparatus-unique information, which have been cataloged in said apparatus-information management means, are compared with said address of said content transmission apparatus and apparatus information unique to said content transmission apparatus respectively and, if they match each other, said requested content is received from said content transmission apparatus without driving said timer means to measure a time interval.

11. An information-processing apparatus comprising:

an authentication means for receiving an authentication request from another information-processing apparatus connected to said information-processing apparatus by a network, carrying out an authentication determination for said received authentication request and issuing its own authentication request to said other information-processing apparatus in a process to output information to said other information-processing apparatus;

a time-interval measurement means used if necessary for measuring a time interval between a transmission of its own authentication request to said other information-processing apparatus and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of said authentication request from said other information-processing apparatus or between a transmission of a response to an authentication request received from said other information-processing apparatus to said other information-processing apparatus and a reception of an acknowledgement of a reception of said response from said other information-processing apparatus; and

an apparatus-information management means for cataloging and managing apparatus information of said other information-processing apparatus;

wherein said apparatus-information management means catalogs the address of said other information-processing apparatus and apparatus information unique to said other information-processing apparatus if a measurement result produced by said time-interval measurement means does not exceed a predetermined value.

12. An information-processing apparatus according to claim 11 wherein, when a request for information is received from said other information-processing apparatus, an address and apparatus-unique information, which have been cataloged in said apparatus-information management means, are compared with said address of said other information-ping apparatus and apparatus information unique to said other information-processing apparatus respectively and, if they match each other, said requested information is transmitted to said other information-processing apparatus without driving said time-interval measurement means to measure a time interval.