Method and apparatus for managing license

• US 20080027870A1
• Filed: 01/19/2007
• Published: 01/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Nam, Su-hyun, Choi, Sang-su
• Application Number:
  US11/655,091
• Publication Number:
  US 20080027870A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/59
• 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 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/603 Digital right managament [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions

Abstract

A method and apparatus for effectively managing a plurality of licenses are provided. The method includes selecting a value, which corresponds to license information, from a Hash mapping table; selecting a node corresponding to the license information from a tree structure corresponding to the value; and searching for a license by using license location information contained in the node. The apparatus includes a Hash function processor which computes a first value corresponding to the license information using a Hash function; a controller which selects a tree structure corresponding to the license information based on the first value computed by the Hash function processor; a tree structure manager which selects a node corresponding to the license information from the tree structure; and a storage unit which stores the license.

Claims

1. A method of searching for a license, the method comprising:

selecting a value, which corresponds to license information, from a Hash mapping table;

selecting a node corresponding to the license information from a tree structure corresponding to the value; and

searching for a license by using license location information contained in the node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the license information is related to content that is to be controlled by the license.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the license information is an identification of the license.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the value comprises:

computing a first value by performing a Hash function with a license identifier as a Hash value; and

selecting a second value corresponding to the first value from Hash mapping table.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the node comprises selecting the node using the license information as a key of the tree structure.

6. A method of adding a license, the method comprising:

selecting a value, which corresponds to license information, from a Hash mapping table;

determining a presence of a node corresponding to the license information in a tree structure corresponding to the value; and

adding the node to the tree structure

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, if a tree structure corresponding to the license is not present, a tree structure corresponding to the license information is newly generated, and a node corresponding to the license information is added to the newly generated tree structure.

8. An apparatus for managing a license, the apparatus comprising:

a Hash function processor which computes a first value corresponding to the license information using a Hash function;

a controller which selects a tree structure corresponding to the license information based on the first value computed by the Hash function processor;

a tree structure manager which selects a node corresponding to the license information from the tree structure; and

a storage unit which stores the license.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising Hash mapping table storage unit storing a Hash mapping table which contains information for mapping the first value into a second value used to select a tree structure corresponding to the license information.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the license information is an identification of the license.

11. A method of reproducing content, the method comprising:

extracting license information corresponding to the content from the content;

selecting a tree structure by applying a Hash function to the license information;

searching the tree structure for license location information;

obtaining the license using the license location information; and

controlling reproduction of the content by using the license.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein selecting the tree structure comprises:

computing a first value by applying a Hash function to the license information; and

selecting a tree structure corresponding to the first value from a Hash mapping table.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein searching the tree structure for the license location information comprises selecting a corresponding node in the tree structure by using the license information as a key value of the tree structure.