Data protection management apparatus and data protection management method

• US 20060173787A1
• Filed: 03/23/2004
• Published: 08/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kubota, Kenichi, Weber, Daniel, Walter, Stefan
• Application Number:
  US10/549,450
• Publication Number:
  US 20060173787A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level

Abstract

The data protection management apparatus protects digital licenses and digital data, so that the abuse and illegal use of digital data is prevented. The apparatus has an I/O port, session manager, license management engine, usage rules administrator, encryption engine, memory manager, and memory. The license management engine acquires, stores, and manages licenses in sessions opened by the session manager, and the usage rules administrator provides an encryption algorithm and protocol for securely storing and sending digital license data by applying the usage rules to the use of licenses managed by the license management engine.

Claims

1. A data protection management system enabling data communication of a license and encrypted content between a sender and a receiver while protecting and managing the communicated data, the data protection management system comprising:

a session manager for executing a process for acquiring a license and encrypted content from a sender;

a license management engine for storing and managing the license acquired by the session manager; and

memory for storing the license;

wherein when a challenge, which is a request for proof of a license, is received, the session manager generates a certificate verifying the license and sends the generated certificate to the receiver.

2. A data protection management system as described in claim 1, further comprising a usage rules administrator for determining usage rules related to the license, and applying the usage rules to processing at least one of the license and content.

3. A data protection management system as described in claim 1, wherein the session manager encrypts the certificate.

4. A data protection management system as described in claim 1, wherein the session manager adds an optional item from the license to the certificate.

5. A data protection management system as described in claim 4, wherein the optional item data is encrypted using a key contained in the license.

6. A data protection management system as described in claim 2, wherein the usage rules include information for determining, based on the license, data to be added to the certificate.

7. A data protection management system as described in claim 1, wherein the session manager, when a license change is received from the sender, reads the license before the change from the license management engine, changes the license, and saves the changed license in the license management engine.

8. A data protection management system as described in claim 1, wherein the session manager uses the key to decrypt content.

9. A data protection management system as described in claim 1, wherein session manager re-encrypts the decrypted content.

10. A data protection management system as described in claim 9, wherein the key used for re-encryption is generated based on information from the sender.

11. A data protection management method enabling data communication of a license and encrypted content between a sender and a receiver while protecting and managing the communicated data, the data protection management method comprising:

a session step for executing a process for acquiring a license and encrypted content from a sender;

a step for storing and managing the license acquired by the session manager [sic];

a step for storing a key required for decrypting the encrypted content; and

a step for storing the license;

wherein when a challenge, which is a request for proof of a license, is received, the session step generates a certificate verifying the license and sends the generated certificate to the receiver.

12. A data protection management method as described in claim 11, further comprising a step for determining usage rules related to the license, and a step for applying the usage rules to processing at least one of the license and content.

13. A data protection management method as described in claim 11, wherein said session step encrypts the certificate.

14. A data protection management method as described in claim 11, wherein said session step adds an optional item from the license to the certificate.

15. A data protection management method as described in claim 14, wherein the optional item data is encrypted using a key contained in the license.

16. A data protection management method as described in claim 12, wherein the usage rules includes information for determining, based on the license, data to be added to the certificate.

17. A data protection management method as described in claim 11, wherein the session step comprises, when a license change is received from the sender, reading the license before the change from the license management engine, changing the license, and saving the changed license in the license management engine part.

18. A data protection management method as described in claim 11, wherein the session step uses the key to decrypt content.

19. A data protection management method as described in claim 18, wherein the session step re-encrypts the decrypted content.

20. A data protection management method as described in claim 19, further comprising the step for generating the key used for re-encryption based on information from the sender.