Rights Management Using Recording Definition Information (RDI)

• US 20070277234A1
• Filed: 05/23/2006
• Published: 11/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bessonov, Alexander, Grossman, John H.
• Granted Patent: US 7,823,210 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/10
• 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 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data

Abstract

A rights management system is described in which, subsequent to recording a media resource, client-side equipment receives and stores recording definition information (RDI). The RDI provides information that can be used to recover the keys used to decrypt the media resource. When a client device subsequently wishes to consume the media resource, it can forward the RDI to an operations center. At the operations center, a transcription module validates the client device'"'"'s rights and converts the RDI into client targeted information (CTI) by recovering the keys used to decrypt the media resource. The client device receives the CTI from the transcription module and uses it to consume the media resource. The CTI has an expiration date, after which it can no longer be used.

Claims

1. A method for administering rights to consume a resource, comprising:

receiving recording definition information (RDI) from a client device that wishes to consume the resource;

transcribing the RDI to client targeted information (CTI), wherein the transcribing comprises using information in the RDI to recover keys that can be used to consume the resource at the client device; and

forwarding the CTI to the client device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the RDI by:

receiving an RDI request when the resource has been recorded by a client-side recording device;

in response to the RDI request, generating the RDI; and

forwarding the RDI to the client device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving, transcribing, and forwarding are performed by an operations center, and wherein the operations center, prior to receiving the RDI, does not store the keys that can be used to consume the resource at the client device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the CTI includes expiration information that defines an amount of time that the CTI can be used to consume the resource by the client device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the transcribing comprises determining whether the client device has rights to consume the resource.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining of whether the client device has rights comprises consulting rights-related rules which set forth a policy regarding the client device'"'"'s consumption of the resource.

7. One or more machine-readable media containing machine-readable instructions for implementing the method of claim 1.

8. Rights management functionality including logic configured to implement the method of claim 1.

9. A method for granting rights to a user to consume a resource, comprising:

receiving an instruction to consume a resource by a client device;

determining whether client targeted information (CTI) is locally available, wherein the CTI contains keys used to consume the resource by the client device;

if the CTI is not locally available, determining whether recording definition information (RDI) is locally available;

if the RDI is locally available, forwarding the RDI to an operations center;

receiving, in response to the forwarded RDI, the CTI; and

using the CTI received from the operations center to consume the resource at the client device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the client device stores the CTI received from the operations center in a store of a client-side recording device.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising generating the RDI by:

after the resource has been recorded by a client-side recording device, sending an RDI request to the operations center;

in response to the RDI request, receiving the RDI; and

locally storing the RDI for later access by the client device.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein there are plural affiliated client devices, and wherein the determining of whether the RDI information is locally available comprises determining whether another client device can fish the RDI.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the operations center, prior to receiving the RDI, does not store the keys that can be used to consume the resource at the client device.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the CTI includes expiration information that defines an amount of time that the CTI can be used to consume the resource by the client device.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising, if the RDI is not locally available, obtaining the RDI from the operations center.

16. One or more machine-readable media containing machine-readable instructions for implementing the method of claim 9.

17. Client-side functionality including logic configured to implement the method of claim 9.

18. Rights management functionality for administering rights to consume a resource, comprising:

a recording definition information (RDI) issuing module configured to issue recording definition information (RDI) after a resource has been recorded by a client-side recoding device; and

a transcription module configured to;

receive the RDI from a client device that wishes to consume the resource;

convert the RDI into client targeted information (CTI) by recovering keys that can be used by the client device to consume the resource; and

forward the CTI to the client device.

19. The rights management functionality of claim 18, wherein the CTI includes expiration information that defines an amount of time that the CTI can be used to consume the resource by the client device.

20. One or more machine-readable media containing machine-readable instructions for implementing the method of claim 18.