Method and apparatus for establishing usage rights for digital content to be created in the future

• US 20050197963A1
• Filed: 02/08/2005
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ContentGuard Holdings, Inc. (Pendrell Corporation)
• Original Assignee: ContentGuard Holdings, Inc. (Pendrell Corporation)
• Inventors: Wang, Xin, Ta, Thanh, Tadayon, Bijan, Valenzuela, Edgardo, Raley, Michael C., Nahidipour, Aram, Lao, Guillermo
• Granted Patent: US 7,725,401 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/54
• 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 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2153 Using hardware token as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0021 involving encryption or decryption of contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0071 involving a purchase action
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/83555 using a structured language for describing usage rules of the content, e.g. REL

Abstract

Usage rights for a digital work are established prior to creation of the corresponding content. The rights can be associated with the content after the content is created. A content creation, such as a video recorder or a still camera, device can store labels of the rights and can associate usage rights with content in real time as the content is created.

Claims

1. A method for creating a digital work, said digital work having content and usage rights and specifying a manner of use for the content, said digital work being adapted to be used within a system of repositories for enforcing usage rights so that the content can be used only in accordance with the manner of use specified by the usage rights, the method comprising:

generating a label representing the content of a digital work before the content is created;

generating usage rights associated with the label before the content is created associating the content and the label to thereby indicate that the content can be used only in accordance with the manner of use specified by the usage rights associated with the label.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating the content after said generating steps.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising encrypting and storing the content and the label.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising a repository granting access to the content in accordance with the usage rights.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said associating step comprises generating a content indicator in the label.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the content indicator is a pointer to the content.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of generating usage rights comprises generating usage rights specifying a user'"'"'s right to at least one of alter, edit, copy, print, or view the content represented by the label.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein said creating step comprises creating least one of a written, aural, graphical, audio, pictorial or video based element as the content after said generating step.

9. The method of claim 2, further comprising securing the content and the label.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said step of generating a label comprises assigning a predetermined secure key to be associated with the content and wherein said securing step comprises encrypting the content and the label with the secure key.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said creating step comprises recording content with a recording device and wherein said associating step and said securing step are accomplished the recording device.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein said step of generating a label comprises creating the label in an external computing device and downloading the label into the recording device.

13. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein said step of generating a label comprises creating the label in the recording device.

14. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein said creating step comprises selecting content from plural instances of content.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein said selecting step comprises receiving information relating to a user environment and selecting content appropriate for the user environment.

16. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the content is a future appropriation of content for a distributor.

29. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein said means for generating a label comprises means for creating the label in the recording device.

17. A apparatus for creating a digital work, said digital work having content and usage rights and specifying a manner of use for the content, said digital work being adapted to be used within a system of repositories for enforcing usage rights so that the content can be used only in accordance with the manner of use specified by the usage rights, the apparatus comprising:

means for generating a label representing the content of a digital work before the content is created;

means for generating usage rights associated with the label before the content is created means for associating the content and the label to thereby indicate that the content can be used only in accordance with the manner of use specified by the usage rights associated with the label.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising means for creating the content after said generating steps.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising means for encrypting and storing the content and the label.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a repository configured to grant access to the content in accordance with the usage rights.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said means for associating comprises means for generating a content indicator in the label.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the content indicator is a pointer to the content.

23. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said means for generating usage rights comprises means for generating usage rights specifying a user'"'"'s right to at least one of alter, edit, copy, print, or view the content represented by the label.

24. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said means for creating comprises means for creating at least one of a written, aural, graphical, audio, pictorial or video based element as the content after said usage rights have been generated by aid means for generating usage rights.

25. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising means for securing the content and the label.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said means for generating a label comprises means for assigning a predetermined secure key to be associated with the content and wherein said means for securing comprises means for encrypting the content and the label with the secure key.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein said means for creating step comprises means for recording content with a recording device and wherein said means for associating and said means for securing are part of the recording device.

28. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, wherein said means for generating a label comprises means for creating the label in an external computing device and downloading the label into the recording device.

30. The apparatus as recited in claim 18, wherein said means for creating comprises means for selecting content from plural instances of content.

31. The apparatus as recited in claim 30, wherein said means for selecting comprises means for receiving information relating to a user environment and selecting content appropriate for the user environment.

32. The apparatus as recited in claim 17, wherein the content is a future appropriation of content for a distributor.

33. The apparatus as recited in claim 17, wherein said means for generating usage rights, said means for generating a label, and said means for associating comprise computer readable instructions recorded on media.