Region-based controlling method and system for electronic documents

• US 20080313527A1
• Filed: 09/07/2007
• Published: 12/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Clenet Technologies (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Clenet Technologies (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Chen, Jing
• Application Number:
  US11/896,954
• Publication Number:
  US 20080313527A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2139 Recurrent verification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/83 Generation or processing of protective or descriptive data associated with content; Content structuring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

The invention provides a region-based controlling method and system of electronic documents. In this method, the electronic document is first encapsulated within a virtual “container”, forming a new electronic file (system), which contains at least a region judgment module, used to judge the current location of the document, and contains a play/display module that controls the status of playing or displaying the document. When the document needs to be played or displayed, the play/display module sends the request to the region judgment module to confirm the current location, and the region judgment module sends the region Authentication request to the region server via the terminal device. After the region authentication session finishes, the response from the region server is received by the terminal device. If the response indicates that the terminal device is within the authorized region, the play/display module will continue to play or display the document, and otherwise the play/display module will reject the request to open the document. By this invention, unauthorized copy and propagation of electronic files can be prevented.

Claims

1. An electronic file system, in which a document is encapsulated, comprising:

a region judgment module, for judging the current location of the system; and

a play/display module, for controlling a status of playing or displaying the document;

wherein,

the region judgment module is connected with the play/display module, when the region judgment module detects that the system is not within a preset authorized region, it notifies the play/display module to reject or stop the access of the document.

2. The electronic file system according to claim 1, further comprising an anti-copy module that could prevent from copying operations.

3. The electronic file system according to claim 1, further comprising a timer module that could trigger the region judgment module and play/display module at a given time points;

the timer module is connected with the said region judgment module, play/display module and anti-copy module.

4. The electronic file system according to claim 1, wherein the preset authorized region is a preset local area network.

5. A region-based controlling system for electronic documents, comprising:

at least one region server and many terminal devices connected with the at least one region server, the terminal device storing the electronic file systems of claim 1;

the region judgment module communicates with the region server via the terminal device;

the region server identifies and judges whether the terminal device is an authorized device that locates in the preset authorized region, with a device identifier and a current access address of the terminal device;

the preset region is a preset local network area.

6. A region-based controlling method for electronic documents based on the system of claim 1, the method comprising:

a step for encapsulating the document to be protected within the electronic file system;

a step for the region server to identify the terminal device as an authorized device located in the preset authorized region every time the terminal device connects the region server, and then transmitting a fresh nonce to the terminal device, the region server identifying the terminal device as an authorized device with the device identifier and current access address;

a step for the play/display module to request the region judgment module to verify the current location of the terminal device when the document is to be played or displayed;

a step for the region judgment module to send a region authentication request via the terminal device to the region server, the region authentication request including the device identifier, current access address and the fresh nonce;

a step for the region server to verify the terminal device as an authorized device in the preset authorized region with the device identifier and the current access address, and to check if the fresh nonce received from the terminal device matches the fresh nonce sent from the region server to the terminal device, and to send a response for confirming that the terminal device is located in the preset authorized region if the received fresh nonce matches;

a step for the region judgment module to notify the play/display module to play or display the content of the document when the response for confirming that the terminal device is located in the preset authorized region is received.

7. A region-based controlling method for electronic documents according to claim 6, wherein message between the region server and the terminal devices is encrypted by a public key corresponding to a part which receives the message and signed by a private key corresponding to a part which sends the message.

8. A region-based controlling method for electronic documents according to claim 6, wherein the document is prevented from being copied when the document is being played or displayed.

9. A region-based controlling method for electronic documents according to claim 6, wherein the play/display module is requested by the timer module to verify the response from the region judgment module at the given time point.

10. A region-based controlling method for electronic documents according to claim 6, wherein the play/display module is notified by the region judgment module that the terminal device is now out of the authorized region;

the play/display module notifies a user of the terminal device that the terminal device is out of the authorized region or the document being played or displayed is about to be closed, otherwise, directly closes the document being played or displayed.