APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, MANAGEMENT METHOD, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20070288391A1
• Filed: 04/30/2007
• Published: 12/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Atsushi, Nakamura, Mitsuhiro, Kawamoto, Youji, Adachi, Seiichi, Futagami, Motomasa
• Application Number:
  US11/742,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20070288391A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1012 to domains

Abstract

A management apparatus supplying a license for use of content to an information processing apparatus includes a group management unit that registers at least one information processing apparatus in each group and delivers a group key specific to each group to the information processing apparatus; a storage unit that stores an ID of the information processing apparatus associated with a group ID of the group and the group key; a license issuing unit that issues a license including use conditions of the content and a content key with which encrypted content is decrypted, at least either of the use conditions of the content and the content key being encrypted with the group key; and a right information issuing unit that issues right information used for permitting the use of the content in a specified usage mode on the basis of the license to the permitted information processing apparatus.

Claims

1. A management apparatus supplying a license for use of content to an information processing apparatus, the management apparatus comprising:

a group management unit configured to register at least one information processing apparatus in each group and to deliver a group key specific to each group to the information processing apparatus registered in the group;

a storage unit configured to store an ID of the information processing apparatus registered in each group, a group ID of the group to which the information processing apparatus belongs, and the group key, which are in associated with each other;

a license issuing unit configured to issue a license which includes use conditions of the content and a content key with which encrypted content is decrypted and in which at least either of the use conditions of the content and the content key is encrypted with the group key, in response to a request from the information processing apparatus; and

a right information issuing unit configured to issue right information used for permitting the use of the content in a specified usage mode on the basis of the license to the information processing apparatus registered in the group, to which the use of the content in the specified usage mode is permitted.

2. The management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the information processing apparatus is registered in the group of each user who owns the information processing apparatus.

3. The management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the right information includes a right information ID specific to the right information, and

wherein the right information ID associated with at least one usage mode of the content is described in the use conditions in the license.

4. The management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the license includes multiple types of content keys corresponding to the usage modes of the content and at least any of the multiple types of content keys is encrypted with a use key, and

wherein the right information includes the use key with which the encrypted content is decrypted.

5. The management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the right information issuing unit restricts the number of the information processing apparatuses to which the right information can be issued so as not to exceed a predetermined upper limit for every usage mode of the content in each registered group of the information processing apparatus owned by the same user.

6. The management apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the storage unit stores the ID of the information processing apparatus to which the right information has been issued in association with the group ID of the group.

7. The management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the storage unit stores the remaining number of times when the content can be used in association with the group ID for every usage mode in the registered group of the information processing apparatus, and

wherein the license issuing unit issues the license in which a state value for every usage mode is set, the state value not exceeding the remaining number of times of use stored in the storage unit, and updates the remaining number of times of use on the basis of the set state value.

8. The management apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein the group management unit receives the state value for every usage mode of the content from the information processing apparatus, along with a request to cancel the registration of the information processing apparatus registered in the group, to update the remaining number of times of use on the basis of the state value.

9. The management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the right information issuing unit adds a signature to the right information.

10. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a storage unit configured to store a group key, a license, and right information used for permitting the use of content in a predetermined usage mode on the basis of the license, the group key being specific to a group in which at least one information processing apparatus is registered by a management apparatus, the license including use conditions of the content and a content key with which encrypted content is decrypted, at least either of the use conditions of the content and the content key being encrypted with the group key; and

a use controlling unit configured to decrypt the license with the group key stored in the storage unit in response to a request to use the content in a specified usage mode to control the use of the content on the basis of the decrypted license and the presence of the right information corresponding to the specified usage mode.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the right information includes a right information ID specific to the right information,

wherein the right information ID associated with at least one usage mode of the content is described in the use conditions in the license, and

wherein the use controlling unit controls the use of the content in the usage mode including the right information ID described in the use conditions in the license on the basis of whether the right information corresponding to the right information ID exists.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the license includes multiple types of content keys corresponding to the usage modes of the content and at least any of the multiple types of content keys is encrypted with a use key,

wherein the right information includes the use key with which the encrypted content key is decrypted, and

wherein the use controlling unit controls the use of the encrypted content key corresponding to the specified usage mode on the basis of whether the right information including the use key with which the encrypted content key is decrypted exists.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a content using unit configured to use the content in the specified usage mode if the use controlling unit permits the use of the content in the specified usage mode; and

a state storage unit configured to store a state value, which indicates the number of times when the content can be used, described for every usage mode in the use conditions in the license.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

a registration processing unit configured to transmit the state value stored in the state storage unit to the management apparatus in cancellation of the registration of the information processing apparatus.

15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein a signature is added to the right information and the use controlling unit verifies the validity of the right information on the basis of the signature.

16. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the registration processing unit transmits an ID of the information processing apparatus and an ID of a user who owns the information processing apparatus to the management apparatus when a request to register the information processing apparatus in the group is submitted to the management apparatus.

17. A management method of supplying a license for use of content to an information processing apparatus, the management method comprising the steps of:

registering at least one information processing apparatus which belongs to the same group in one group;

delivering a group key specific to the group to the information processing apparatus registered in the group;

storing an ID of the information processing apparatus registered in the same group, a group ID of the group to which the information processing apparatus belongs, and the group key, which are associated with each other;

issuing a license which includes use conditions of the content and a content key with which encrypted content is decrypted and in which at least either of the use conditions of the content and the content key is encrypted with the group key; and

issuing right information used for permitting the use of the content in a specified usage mode on the basis of the license to the information processing apparatus registered in the group, to which the use of the content in the specified usage mode is permitted.

18. An information processing method comprising the steps of:

storing a group key, a license, and right information used for permitting the use of content in a predetermined usage mode on the basis of the license in a storage unit, the group key being specific to a group in which at least one information processing apparatus is registered by a management apparatus, the license including use conditions of the content and a content key with which encrypted content is decrypted, at least either of the use conditions of the content and the content key being encrypted with the group key;

decrypting the license with the group key in response to a request to use the content in a specified usage mode; and

controlling the use of the content on the basis of the use conditions in the decrypted license and the presence of the right information corresponding to the specified usage mode.

19. A management apparatus supplying a license for use of content to an information processing apparatus, the management apparatus comprising:

group managing means for registering at least one information processing apparatus in each group and delivering a group key specific to each group to the information processing apparatus registered in the group;

storing means for storing an ID of the information processing apparatus registered in each group, a group ID of the group to which the information processing apparatus belongs, and the group key, which are in associated with each other;

license issuing means for issuing a license which includes use conditions of the content and a content key with which encrypted content is decrypted and in which at least either of the use conditions of the content and the content key is encrypted with the group key, in response to a request from the information processing apparatus; and

right information issuing means for issuing right information used for permitting the use of the content in a specified usage mode on the basis of the license to the information processing apparatus registered in the group, to which the use of the content in the specified usage mode is permitted.

20. An information processing apparatus comprising:

storing means for storing a group key, a license, and right information used for permitting the use of content in a predetermined usage mode on the basis of the license, the group key being specific to a group in which at least one information processing apparatus is registered by a management apparatus, the license including use conditions of the content and a content key with which encrypted content is decrypted, at least either of the use conditions of the content and the content key being encrypted with the group key; and

use controlling means for decrypting the license with the group key stored in the storage means in response to a request to use the content in a specified usage mode to control the use of the content on the basis of the decrypted license and the presence of the right information corresponding to the specified usage mode.