Trusted infrastructure support systems, methods and techniques for secure electronic commerce, electronic transactions, commerce process control and automation, distributed computing, and rights management

• US 20060218651A1
• Filed: 05/02/2006
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/1995
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Inventors: Ginter, Karl L., Weber, Robert P., Spahn, Francis J., Shear, Victor H., Van Wie, David M.
• Application Number:
  US11/417,323
• Publication Number:
  US 20060218651A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1408 by using cryptography for digital transmission H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/109 by using specially-adapted hardware at the client
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/33 using certificates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/86 Secure or tamper-resistant housings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/007 Encryption, En-/decode, En-/decipher, En-/decypher, Scramble, (De-)compress
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2151 Time stamp
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/023 the neutral party being a clearing house
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• 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: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 : Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 : Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 : Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 : for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 : Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/603 : Digital right managament [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 2463/103 : applying security measure for protecting copy right protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment, e.g. protection the software providers copyright G06F21/10; data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; secrecy systems or subscription systems H04N7/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/068 : using time-dependent keys, e.g. periodically changing keys cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for controlling usage of secret information H04L9/088
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 : using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/321 : involving a third party or a trusted authority
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 : involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 : involving video stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23476 : by partially encrypting, e.g. encrypting the ending portion of a movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 : Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2362 : Generation or processing of Service Information [SI]
• 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 21/2543 : Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 : Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 : involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4143 : embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 : Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 : Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 : involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 : Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 : OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• 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 21/4753 : for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 : Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8166 : involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/835 : Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 : involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 : Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 : Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

The present inventions provide an integrated, modular array of administrative and support services for electronic commerce and electronic rights and transaction management. These administrative and support services supply a secure foundation for conducting financial management, rights management, certificate authority, rules clearing, usage clearing, secure directory services, and other transaction related capabilities functioning over a vast electronic network such as the Internet and/or over organization internal Intranets. These administrative and support services can be adapted to the specific needs of electronic commerce value chains. Electronic commerce participants can use these administrative and support services to support their interests, and can shape and reuse these services in response to competitive business realities. A Distributed Commerce Utility having a secure, programmable, distributed architecture provides administrative and support services. The Distributed Commerce Utility makes optimally efficient use of commerce administration resources, and can scale in a practical fashion to accommodate the demands of electronic commerce growth. The Distributed Commerce Utility may comprise a number of Commerce Utility Systems. These Commerce Utility Systems provide a web of infrastructure support available to, and reusable by, the entire electronic community and/or many or all of its participants. Different support functions can be collected together in hierarchical and/or in networked relationships to suit various business models and/or other objectives. Modular support functions can combined in different arrays to form different Commerce Utility Systems for different design implementations and purposes. These Commerce Utility Systems can be distributed across a large number of electronic appliances with varying degrees of distribution.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A financial clearinghouse comprising:

means for payment processing, the means for payment processing being operable to receive payment information from a plurality of customer protected processing environments and to effect payment transfers between customers and content providers, the payment information relating to access to or use of electronic content by the customer protected processing environments in accordance with one or more rules associated with the electronic content;

means for payment aggregation, the means for payment aggregation being operable to aggregate payment information from the plurality of customer protected processing environments to facilitate effecting one or more content provider payments representing an aggregate amount corresponding to the aggregated payment information; and

means for payment disaggregation, the means for payment disaggregation being operable to disaggregate payment information relating to access to or use of a piece of electronic content in order to facilitate effecting payment of two or more entities for the access to or use of the piece of electronic content.

22. The financial clearinghouse of claim 21, further comprising:

means for micro-payment management.

23. The financial clearinghouse of claim 21, further comprising:

credit-checking means for determining whether a customer has an ability to pay for electronic content.

24. The financial clearinghouse of claim 21, in which the means for payment processing is operable to receive payment information in one or more secure containers.

25. The financial clearinghouse of claim 24, in which the secure containers comprise an encrypted content section and an unencrypted header.

26. The financial clearinghouse of claim 21, in which the means for payment processing is operable to receive payment information on a real-time basis.

27. The financial clearinghouse of claim 21, in which the means for payment processing is operable to receive payment information on an event-driven basis.

28. The financial clearinghouse of claim 21, in which the means for payment processing is operable to receive payment information on a periodic basis.

29. The financial clearinghouse of claim 21, in which the means for payment processing includes means for issuing debit and credit orders to third party financial institutions to effect debiting of consumer accounts and crediting of content provider accounts.

30. The financial clearinghouse of claim 29, in which the third party financial institutions include one or more banks and/or credit card companies.

31. The financial clearinghouse of claim 21, further including means for issuing statements and/or reports to one or more consumers and/or content providers.

32. A clearinghouse comprising:

means for receiving usage information from a first end user protected processing environment, the usage information relating to an end user'"'"'s use of protected electronic content in accordance with one or more rules associated with the protected electronic content;

means for determining an amount of payment due to one or more content providers based on the received usage information; and

means for causing one or more accounts associated with the one or more content providers to be credited for the end user'"'"'s use of the protected electronic content.

33. The clearinghouse of claim 32, further including means for causing a financial account associated with the end user to be debited for the end user'"'"'s use of the protected electronic content.

34. A system comprising:

a secure communications handler operable to facilitating communication with one or more end user electronic appliances over a telecommunications network;

a transaction processor operable to make a determination of amounts due to one or more providers of electronic content, the determination being made based at least in part on information regarding usage of electronic content at one or more end users'"'"' electronic appliances in accordance with one or more controls associated with the electronic content, the information regarding usage having been received from one or more end user electronic appliances via the secure communications handler; and

one or more interface blocks operable to communicate over a telecommunications network with one or more third party settlement services to facilitate crediting one or more financial accounts associated with the one or more providers of electronic content by the amounts determined by the transaction processor.

35. The system of claim 34, in which the secure communications handler is operable to facilitate real-time and/or asynchronous receipt of secure digital containers.

36. The system of claim 34, in which the secure communications handler is operable to facilitate transmission and/or receipt of secure digital containers having control information associated therewith, the control information specifying one or more permitted uses of the secure digital containers'"'"' contents.

37. The system of claim 34, in which the secure communications handler is operable to facilitate receipt of secure digital containers via electronic mail.

38. The system of claim 34, further comprising a protected processing environment including a secure processing unit.

39. The system of claim 34, further comprising:

a database storing information associated with credit limits and account information.

40. The system of claim 34, in which the third party settlement services comprise one or more credit card companies, automated clearinghouses, and/or banks.

41. The system of claim 34, in which the one or more interface blocks are further operable to communicate over a telecommunications network with one or more third party settlement services to facilitate debiting one or more financial accounts associated with the one or more end users.

42. A system comprising:

a plurality of end user electronic appliances, each of the end user electronic appliances comprising a protected processing environment and being operable to provide access to protected electronic content in accordance with one or more rules associated with the protected electronic content, and to collect information related to said access;

a financial clearinghouse, the financial clearinghouse being operable to receive information from said plurality of end user electronic appliances, the information regarding access to or other use of protected electronic content, and to effect a transfer of funds to one or more accounts associated with one or more providers of said protected electronic content; and

a communications network, the communications network being operable to facilitate communication between the financial clearinghouse and the plurality of end user electronic appliances.

43. A method performed by a financial clearinghouse, the method comprising:

receiving payment information from an electronic appliance, the electronic appliance including a protected processing environment, the payment information having been sent by the electronic appliance in connection with an end user'"'"'s use, or requested use, of electronic content protected by one or more electronic controls specifying one or more permitted uses of the electronic content;

disaggregating the payment information into payment portions directed to one or more value chain participants; and

causing one or more financial accounts associated with the one or more value chain participants to be credited or debited by amounts specified in the payment portions.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

causing a financial account associated with the end user to be debited by an amount specified in the payment information.

45. The method of claim 43, in which the protected processing environment includes a secure processing unit, the secure processing unit including:

a tamper-resistant housing;

a memory storing one or more decryption keys for use, at least in part, in decrypting the electronic content; and

a microprocessor.

46. The method of claim 43, in which the one or more value chain participants include at least a creator of the electronic content and/or a distributor of the electronic content.

47. The method of claim 46, in which the one or more value chain participants include an operator of a clearinghouse.

48. The method of claim 43, in which the payment information is received in a secure electronic container with control information specifying how payment is to be distributed.

49. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

aggregating multiple pieces of payment information at the financial clearinghouse before causing financial accounts associated with the one or more value chain participants to be credited or debited by amounts derived at least in part from the multiple pieces of payment information.

50. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

issuing a release signal to the end user'"'"'s electronic appliance, the release signal authorizing the end user'"'"'s electronic appliance to discard information relating to the end user'"'"'s use of the electronic content.

51. A method comprising:

accepting payment from an end user for an electronic budget to access or otherwise use electronic content;

sending a secure container to the end user, the secure container including the electronic budget, the electronic budget directly or indirectly specifying a predefined amount of access to or other use of electronic content that the end user is allowed to make;

receiving auditing information, the auditing information relating to the end user'"'"'s access to or other use of electronic content in accordance with the electronic budget; and

using the audit information to determine a first amount to credit a first financial account associated with a first value chain participant.

52. The method of claim 51, in which the first value chain participant comprises a holder of rights to a piece of electronic content that was accessed or otherwise used by the end user.

53. The method of claim 51, further comprising:

using the audit information to determine a second amount to credit a second financial account associated with a second value chain participant.

54. The method of claim 53, in which the first value chain participant comprises a holder of rights to a piece of electronic content that was accessed or otherwise used by the end user, and in which the second value chain participant comprises a distributor of the piece of electronic content.

55. The method of claim 51, in which the electronic content comprises textual, video, and/or audio digital content.

56. The method of claim 51, in which the electronic content comprises an electronic book, film, or television program.

57. The method of claim 51, in which the predefined amount of access to or other use of electronic content specified by the electronic budget comprises a monetary amount that can be applied to the purchase of electronic content.

58. The method of claim 51, in which the predefined amount of access to or other use of electronic content specified by the electronic budget comprises a specification of a time period during which the end user may access or otherwise use electronic content.

59. A method comprising:

receiving an electronic budget, the electronic budget specifying a limitation on an amount of access to or other use of protected electronic content;

using protected electronic content in accordance with the electronic budget and in accordance with one or more rules associated with the protected electronic content, the rules specifying one or more permitted uses of the electronic content;

determining that the electronic budget has expired or been exhausted;

requesting an additional electronic budget;

receiving the additional electronic budget; and

using protected electronic content in accordance with the additional electronic budget and in accordance with the one or more rules.

60. The method of claim 59, further comprising:

sending usage information over a telecommunications network to a remote clearinghouse, the usage information relating to usage of protected electronic content.

61. The method of claim 59, further comprising:

receiving a protected electronic content item;

receiving, separately from the protected electronic content item, one or more rules specifying one or more permitted uses of the protected electronic content item;

using the protected electronic content item in accordance with the one or more rules and in accordance with the electronic budget and/or the additional electronic budget.

62. The method of claim 59, in which the protected electronic content comprises textual, video, and/or audio digital content.

63. The method of claim 59, in which the limitation specified by the electronic budget comprises a monetary amount that can be applied to purchase protected electronic content.

64. The method of claim 59, in which the limitation specified by the electronic budget comprises a specification of a first time period during which access or other use of protected electronic content is permitted.

65. The method of claim 63, in which the additional electronic budget comprises a replenishment of the electronic budget.

66. The method of claim 64, in which the additional electronic budget comprises a renewal of the electronic budget for a second time period.

67. A method comprising:

receiving, at an end user'"'"'s electronic appliance, an electronic secure container including one or more digital properties and associated controls, the associated controls indicating one or more permitted uses of the one or more digital properties;

making at least one use of at least one of the one or more digital properties, the at least one use being made in accordance with the associated controls, the associated controls being enforced by a protected processing environment running on the end user'"'"'s electronic appliance; and

storing information relating to the at least one use; and

sending auditing information to a remote site for use in compensating a holder of rights in the at least one of the one or more digital properties.

68. The method of claim 67, in which the protected processing environment includes a secure processing unit, the secure processing unit including memory, the memory storing one or more cryptographic keys for use, directly or indirectly, in decrypting one or more of the digital properties.

69. The method of claim 67, in which the auditing information includes at least one of (a) an identification of the end user'"'"'s electronic appliance, (b) an indication of an amount of payment, (c) an identification of the end user, (d) an identification of the holder of rights, (e) an identification of the at least one use, and/or (f) an identification of the at least one of the one or more digital properties.

70. The method of claim 67, in which the auditing information includes at least two of (a) an identification of the end user'"'"'s electronic appliance, (b) an indication of an amount of payment, (c) an identification of the end user, (d) an identification of the holder of rights, (e) an identification of the at least one use, and/or (f) an identification of the at least one of the one or more digital properties.

71. The method of claim 67, in which the auditing information includes at least three of (a) an identification of the end user'"'"'s electronic appliance, (b) an indication of an amount of payment, (c) an identification of the end user, (d) an identification of the holder of rights, (e) an identification of the at least one use, and/or (f) an identification of the at least one of the one or more digital properties.

72. The method of claim 67, in which the one or more permitted uses of the one or more digital properties comprise one or more of:

copying at least one of the one or more digital properties;

modifying at least one of the one or more digital properties;

viewing at least one of the one or more digital properties; and

printing at least one of the one or more digital properties.

73. The method of claim 67, in which the controls include an indication of a first time period during which use of the one or more digital properties is permitted.

74. The method of claim 73, further comprising:

receiving, separately from the electronic secure container, one or more additional controls, the one or more additional controls including an indication of a second time period during which use of the one or more digital properties is permitted.

77. A method comprising:

at a consumer'"'"'s electronic appliance, receiving a secure container including a digital property, the digital property having one or more controls associated therewith, and the consumer'"'"'s electronic appliance including a protected processing environment operable to use the one or more controls to govern use of the digital property;

at the consumer'"'"'s electronic appliance, making at least one use of the digital property in accordance with the one or more controls;

sending, from the consumer'"'"'s electronic appliance to a clearinghouse, information regarding the digital property and/or the at least one use of the digital property;

at the clearinghouse, effecting a crediting of a financial account associated with a first entity holding rights in the digital property.

75. The method of claim 77, in which the sending step is performed in response to occurrence of a predefined event.

76. The method of claim 75, in which the predefined event comprises at least one of (a) exhaustion of a budget, and/or (b) passage of a predefined amount of time.

78. The method of claim 77, further comprising:

at the clearinghouse, effecting a debiting of a financial account associated with the consumer.

79. The method of claim 77, in which the first entity comprises a creator, distributor, or owner of the digital property.

80. The method of claim 77, further comprising:

at the clearinghouse, effecting a crediting of a financial account associated with a second entity.

81. The method of claim 80, in which the second entity is selected from the group consisting of:

a governmental authority, a creator of the digital property, an owner of the digital property, a distributor of the digital property, and a clearinghouse operator.

82. The method of claim 77, further comprising:

at the clearinghouse, generating a report based at least in part on the information; and

sending the report to the first entity.

83. The method of claim 77, further comprising:

at the clearinghouse, generating a report based at least in part on the information; and

sending the report to the consumer.

84. The method of claim 77, in which the step of effecting a crediting of a financial account associated with a first entity holding rights in the digital property includes crediting the account of the first entity by an amount determined by aggregating auditing information received from one or more consumers'"'"' electronic appliances.

85. The method of claim 77, in which the step of effecting a crediting of a financial account associated with a first entity holding rights in the digital property is performed at a predefined interval, and in which the crediting includes crediting the account of the first entity by an amount determined by aggregating auditing information received from one or more consumers'"'"' electronic appliances.

86. The method of claim 77, in which the digital property comprises digital audio content, digital video content, textual content, and/or software.

87. The method of claim 77, in which the sending step is performed in response to occurrence of a predefined event.

88. The method of claim 87, in which the predefined event comprises at least one of (a) exhaustion of a budget, and/or (b) passage of a predefined amount of time.

89. The method of claim 77, in which the information includes at least one of (a) an identification of the consumer'"'"'s electronic appliance, (b) an indication of an amount of payment, (c) an identification of the consumer, (d) an identification of the first entity, (e) an identification of the at least one use, and/or (f) an identification of the digital property.

90. A method comprising:

receiving content usage information at a clearinghouse, the content usage information having been generated as a consequence of an end user'"'"'s access to or other use of protected content, the protected content having control information securely associated therewith, the control information indicating one or more permitted uses of the protected content;

determining a first amount of payment due to a first holder of rights in at least a first part of the protected content;

determining a second amount of payment due to a second holder of rights of at least a second part of the protected content; and

effecting payment of the first amount to the first holder of rights and the second amount to the second holder of rights.

91. The method of claim 90, further comprising:

effecting debiting of the end user'"'"'s account by a third amount.

92. The method of claim 91, in which the third amount is greater than or equal to a sum of the first amount and the second amount.

93. The method of claim 91, in which the third amount is greater than or equal to the sum of the first amount, the second amount, and a fourth amount, wherein the fourth amount corresponds to an amount owed to an operator of the clearinghouse.

94. The method of claim 90, in which the content usage information comprises information relating to an end user'"'"'s aggregate use of protected content over an interval of time.

95. The method of claim 90, in which the protected content comprises multiple content items, and in which the first part comprises a first content item and the second part comprises a second, separate content item.

96. The method of claim 95, in which the first content item comprises at least one of digital audio, video, and/or textual content;

and in which the second content item comprises digital audio, video, and/or textual content.

97. The method of claim 90, in which the one or more permitted uses of the protected content comprise one or more of:

copying at least part of the protected content;

modifying at least part of the protected content;

viewing at least part of the protected content; and

printing at least part of the protected content.

98. A method performed by an end user'"'"'s electronic appliance, the end user'"'"'s electronic appliance comprising a protected processing environment, the method comprising:

receiving a piece of electronic content from a first remote site, the piece of electronic content being encrypted at least in part;

using the protected processing environment to securely control decryption of the piece of electronic content in accordance with control information securely associated with the piece of electronic content, the control information including information specifying one or more permitted uses of the piece of electronic content; and

sending information relating to use of the piece of electronic content to a second remote site.

99. The method of claim 98, further comprising:

requesting the control information from a third remote site; and

receiving the control information from the third remote site.

100. The method of claim 99, in which the first remote site and the second remote site comprise the same site.

101. The method of claim 99, in which the first remote site and the third remote site comprise the same site, and in which the second remote site comprises a different site.

102. The method of claim 99, in which the first remote site comprises a content provider, the second remote site comprises a financial clearinghouse, and the third remote site comprises a rights and permissions clearinghouse.

103. The method of claim 98, in which the control information includes a requirement that information relating to usage of the piece of electronic content be transmitted to a remote site.

104. The method of claim 98, further comprising:

at least temporarily storing aggregate information relating to multiple uses of the piece of electronic content;

wherein the step of sending information relating to use of the piece of electronic content to a second remote site comprises sending said aggregate information.

105. The method of claim 98, further comprising:

storing aggregate information relating to use of multiple pieces of electronic content;

wherein the step of sending information relating to use of the piece of electronic content to a second remote site comprises sending said aggregate information.

106. The method of claim 98, further comprising:

requesting, from a third remote site, additional control information; and

receiving the additional control information from the third remote site.

107. The method of claim 106, in which the control information comprises a first expiration date before which use of the piece of electronic content is permitted, and in which the additional control information comprises a second expiration date before which use of the piece of electronic content is permitted.

108. The method of claim 98, in which the sending step is performed in response to occurrence of a predefined event.

109. The method of claim 108, in which the predefined event comprises at least one of (a) exhaustion of a budget, and/or (b) passage of a predefined amount of time.

110. The method of claim 98, in which the information relating to use of the piece of electronic content includes at least one of (a) an identification of the end user'"'"'s electronic appliance, (b) an indication of an amount of payment, (c) an identification of the end user, (d) an identification of the second remote site, and/or (f) an identification of the piece of electronic content.

111. The method of claim 98, in which the one or more permitted uses of the piece of electronic content comprise one or more of:

copying, modifying, viewing, and/or printing the piece of electronic content.

112. The method of claim 98, in which the protected processing environment includes a secure processing unit, the secure processing unit including:

a tamper-resistant housing;

a memory storing one or more decryption keys for use, at least in part, in decrypting the piece of electronic content; and

a microprocessor.

113. The method of claim 98, in which the end user'"'"'s electronic appliance comprises a portable device.

114. The method of claim 113, in which the sending step comprises a cellular communication.

115. The method of claim 113, in which the receiving step comprises a cellular communication.

116. A method comprising:

receiving a first piece of electronic content;

receiving first control information specifying one or more permitted uses of the first piece of protected electronic content;

using the first piece of protected electronic content in accordance with the first control information; and

sending first information to a remote computing system, the first information for use in authorizing the remote computing system to cause a financial account associated with a first holder of rights in the first piece of protected electronic content to be credited by a first amount.

117. The method of claim 116, in which the first control information is received separately from the first piece of protected electronic content.

118. The method of claim 116, in which the first control information specifies a time period during which the first piece of protected electronic content, or a group of electronic content of which the first piece of protected electronic content is a part, may be used.

119. The method of claim 116, further comprising:

using a second piece of protected electronic content in accordance with second control information associated with the second piece of protected electronic content; and

sending second information to the remote computing system, the second information for use in authorizing the remote computing system to cause a financial account associated with a holder of rights in the second piece of protected electronic content to be credited by a second amount.

120. The method of claim 116, in which the first information is also for use in authorizing the remote computing system to cause a financial account associated with a second holder of rights in the first piece of electronic content to be credited by a second amount.

121. The method of claim 116, in which the first piece of protected electronic content is encrypted, the method further comprising:

using a decryption key retrieved from a secure processing unit to decrypt the first piece of protected electronic content.

122. A method comprising:

receiving, over a telecommunications network, first auditing information, the first auditing information relating to a first user'"'"'s use of two or more digital properties, each of the two or more digital properties having one or more controls associated therewith;

using the first auditing information to determine, at least in part, (a) a first amount due to a first entity holding rights in at least one of the digital properties, and (b) a second amount due to a second entity holding rights in at least another one of the digital properties;

causing a financial account associated with a first entity to be credited by the first amount; and

causing a financial account associated with a second entity to be credited by the second amount.

123. The method of claim 122, in which the first auditing information is received from an electronic appliance associated with the first user, the electronic appliance including a protected processing environment for governing use of digital properties in accordance with one or more controls.

124. The method of claim 122, in which the first auditing information is received from a clearinghouse.

125. The method of claim 122, in which the first auditing information is received from a clearinghouse, the clearinghouse having received the first auditing information from an electronic appliance associated with the first user, the electronic appliance including a protected processing environment for governing use of digital properties in accordance with one or more controls.

126. The method of claim 122, in which the first auditing information comprises information collected by a protected processing environment of an electronic appliance operated by the first user, the protected processing environment being resistant to tampering by the first user, the first auditing information relating to the first user'"'"'s aggregate use of the digital properties over a period of time.

127. The method of claim 122, in which the first auditing information is received in a secure electronic container.

128. The method of claim 122, further comprising:

receiving, over the telecommunications network, second auditing information, the second auditing information relating to a second consumer'"'"'s use of at least one digital property having one or more controls associated therewith.

129. The method of claim 128, further comprising:

using the second auditing information to determine, at least in part, the first amount and the second amount.

130. The method of claim 122, further comprising:

causing a financial account associated with the first user to be debited by a third amount.

131. The method of claim 130, in which the third amount is greater than or equal to a sum of the first amount, the second amount, and a fourth amount credited to an operator of a clearinghouse.