Content usage management system method, and program providing medium therefor

• US 20060112016A1
• Filed: 10/12/2005
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yoshihito Ishibashi
• Original Assignee: Yoshihito Ishibashi
• Inventors: Ishibashi, Yoshihito
• Granted Patent: US 8,117,128 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3273 for mutual authentication network architectures or network communication protocols for achieving mutual authentication in a packet data network H04L63/0869

Abstract

When the encrypted content is provided from a service provider to a user device, a usage log including information of the content usage fee is created in the user device. The created usage log is then sent to the service provider. The service provider compares the content usage fee in the received usage log with a predetermined threshold. If the content usage fee is found to exceed the predetermined threshold, the service provider requests a clearing center to inquire about the electronic money balance of the user. If it is determined that it seems difficult to collect money from the user, the transmission of a content key to the user is suspended. The clearing center also creates an issue log in which the effective period and an allowable amount of money spent by the user are set, and performs settlement processing only when the payment of the content usage fee has been made within the effective period.

Claims

1-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A content usage management system for performing transaction processing of content which is usable by a user device, said content usage management system comprising a clearing center for managing settlement of a content usage fee paid by electronic money of a user, and for sending to said user device an issue log in which an effective period for the payment of the content usage fee by said user device by the electronic money is set, wherein the payment of the content usage fee by said user device is settled only when it is made within the effective period set in said issue log.

23. A content usage management system according to claim 22, wherein said clearing center comprises user management data in which user device identifiers and information of the effective period are associated with each other, and said clearing center extracts a user device having an issue log which expires soon by searching said user management data, and sends a warning message to the extracted user device to instruct the user device to renew the issue log.

24. A content usage management system according to claim 22, wherein said clearing center comprises user management data in which user device identifiers and information of the effective period are associated with each other, and said clearing center extracts a user device having an issue log which has expired by searching said user management data, and sends a warning message to the extracted user device to instruct the user device to create a new issue log.

25. A content usage management system according to claim 22, wherein data of an allowable amount of money is set in said issue log, and said user device pays the content usage fee by the electronic money within the effective period and up to the allowable amount of money set in said issue log.

26. A content usage management system according to claim 25, wherein the effective period set in said issue log is varied according to the allowable amount of money.

27. A content usage management system according to claim 22, wherein the effective period set in said issue log is varied according to the credibility of a management user of said user device.

28. A content usage management system according to claim 22, wherein said user device checks the effective period set in said issue log when paying the content usage fee by the electronic money, and, when it is determined that said issue log has expired, said user device requests said clearing center to create a new issue log before creating a usage log for settling the usage fee, and said user device creates said usage log based on the new issue log.

29. A content usage management system according to claim 22, wherein each of said user device and said clearing center comprises an encryption processing unit, and, when said issue log is sent from said clearing center to said user device, mutual authentication processing is performed between said user device and said clearing center, and said clearing center attaches a digital signature to said issue log, and, upon receiving said issue log, said user device verifies the integrity of the digital signature.

30. A content usage management method for performing transaction processing of content which is usable by a user device, said content usage management method comprising the steps of:

sending from a clearing center which manages settlement of a content usage fee paid by electronic money of a user to said user device an issue log in which an effective period for the payment of the content usage fee by said user device by the electronic money is set; and

settling the payment of the content usage fee paid by said user device only when it is made within the effective period set in said issue log.

31. A content usage management method according to claim 30, wherein said clearing center comprises user management data in which user device identifiers and information of the effective period are associated with each other, and said clearing center extracts a user device having an issue log which expires soon by searching said user management data, and sends a warning message to the extracted user device to instruct the user device to renew the issue log.

32. A content usage management method according to claim 30, wherein said clearing center comprises user management data in which user device identifiers and information of the effective period are associated with each other, and said clearing center extracts a user device having an issue log which has expired by searching said user management data, and sends a warning message to the extracted user device to instruct the user device to create a new issue log.

33. A content usage management method according to claim 30, wherein data of an allowable amount of money is set in said issue log, and said user device pays the content usage fee by the electronic money within the effective period and up to the allowable amount of money set in said issue log.

34. A content usage management method according to claim 33, wherein the effective period set in said issue log is varied according to the allowable amount of money.

35. A content usage management method according to claim 30, wherein the effective period set in said issue log is varied according to the credibility of a management user of said user device.

36. A content usage management method according to claim 30, wherein said user device checks the effective period set in said issue log when paying the content usage fee by the electronic money, and, when it is determined that said issue log has expired, said user device requests said clearing center to create a new issue log before creating a usage log for settling the usage fee, and said user device creates said usage log based on the new issue log.

37. A content usage management method according to claim 30, wherein each of said user device and said clearing center comprises an encryption processing unit, and, when said issue log is sent from said clearing center to said user device, mutual authentication processing is performed between said user device and said clearing center, and said clearing center attaches a digital signature to said issue log, and, upon receiving said issue log, said user device verifies the integrity of the digital signature.

38. A program providing medium for providing a computer program which allows content usage management processing for use in transaction processing of content usable by a user device to run on a computer system, said computer program comprising:

a sending step of sending an issue log in which an effective period is set to said user device; and

a settlement step of settling the payment of a content usage fee by using electronic money by said user device only when it is made within the effective period set in said issue log.