Content distribution system and method

• US 20060171535A1
• Filed: 01/11/2006
• Published: 08/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Omae, Koji, Matsumoto, Yoichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,716,245 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/201
• 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: G06F 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 involving video stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63345 by transmitting keys key distribution for secret or secure communication H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

In a content distribution method, two or more certification marks (130) are produced for the content to be delivered, each of the certification marks containing a temporary access information item defining an accessing right to the content. Each of the certification marks is distributed to a user at a shop. In a content delivery server, two or more content delivery information items are stored in association with the content, each of the delivery information items containing said temporary access information item. A network device (120) reads the temporary access information item from the certification mark purchased by the user. The network device accesses the content delivery server (110) using the temporary access information item, and receives the content from the content delivery server.

Claims

1. A content delivery server comprising:

a storage unit configured to store two or more content delivery information items in association with content to be delivered, each of the content delivery information items including a temporary access ID defining an accessing right to the content;

a certification mark generating unit configured to produce a certification mark containing an access information item corresponding to the content delivery information item, the access information item including said temporary access ID; and

a data delivery unit configured to deliver the content upon receiving a request for the content specified by the temporary access ID read from a physical representation of the certification mark.

2. The content delivery server of claim 1, further comprising:

a encrypting unit configured to encrypt the content when delivering the content;

wherein the storage unit stores the content delivery information items, each of the content delivery information items consisting of a pair of said temporary access ID and a temporary encryption key used to encrypt the content in response to the request.

3. A content distribution system including a content delivery server and a network device,

wherein the content delivery server comprises:

a storage unit configured to store two or more content delivery information items in association with content to be delivered, each of the content delivery information items including a temporary access ID specifying an accessing right to the content;

a certification mark generating unit configured to produce a certification mark containing an access information item corresponding to the content delivery information item, the access information item including said temporary access ID; and

a data delivery unit configured to deliver the content upon receiving a request for the content specified by the access ID read from a physical representation of the certification mark, and

wherein the network device comprises;

a reader configured to read the access information item from the physical representation of the certification mark; and

a transmitting/receiving unit configured to transmit a request for the content to the content delivery server using the access information item and receive the content from the content delivery server.

4. A content distribution method comprising the steps of:

producing two or more certification marks for a content item;

each of the certification marks containing a temporary access information item defining an accessing right to the content;

distributing each of the certification marks to a user at a shop;

storing in a content delivery server two or more content delivery information items in association with the content, each of the delivery information items containing said temporary access information item;

allowing a network device to read the temporary access information item from the certification mark purchased by the user; and

accessing the content delivery server from the network device using the temporary access information item to acquire the content specified by the temporary access information item.

5. The content distribution method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of:

keeping the certification marks in a first space at the shop which only an authorized shop staff member is permitted to access, while displaying actual products corresponding to the certification marks in a second space at the shop which customers freely access.

6. The content distribution method of claim 4, wherein payment for the certification mark is made at a cashier desk of the shop.

7. The content distribution method of claim 4, further comprising the step of:

limiting a number of accesses from the same certification mark to a prescribed number.

8. The content distribution method of claim 4, wherein the content is received at the network device by streaming or downloading.