CONTENT DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, CONTENT RECEPTION TERMINAL, CONTENT DISTRIBUTION METHOD AND PROCESSING METHOD PERFORMED WHEN VIEWING STREAMING CONTENTS

• US 20100008502A1
• Filed: 07/02/2009
• Published: 01/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ogasawara, Koichi, Kawahata, Satoshi, Kitazato, Naohisa, Masuda, Yasuto
• Application Number:
  US12/496,686
• Publication Number:
  US 20100008502A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/210
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 involving video stream encryption
• 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 21/26606 for generating or managing entitlement messages, e.g. Entitlement Control Message [ECM] or Entitlement Management Message [EMM] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4623 Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• 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 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

There is provided a system including a plurality of content distribution servers for distributing scrambled contents and streaming-distributing an encrypted scramble key used for releasing the scrambling, a license server for providing a work key for decoding the encrypted scramble key distributed from the predetermined content distribution server, a portal server for providing address information of the predetermined content distribution server, and a content reception terminal for obtaining address information of the predetermined content distribution server from the portal server, referring to the address information to obtain the contents and the scramble key from the predetermined distribution server, decoding the scramble key by using the work key obtained from the license server and descrambling the scrambled contents by using the scramble key.

Claims

1. A content distribution system comprising:

a plurality of content distribution servers for distributing scrambled contents and streaming-distributing an encrypted scramble key used for releasing the scrambling;

a license server for providing a work key for decoding the encrypted scramble key distributed from the predetermined content distribution server;

a portal server for providing address information of the predetermined content distribution server; and

a content reception terminal including

an address information obtaining unit which obtains address information of the predetermined content distribution server from the portal server,

a content obtaining unit which refers to the address information obtained by the address information obtaining unit and obtains the contents and the scramble key from the predetermined content distribution server,

a scramble key decoding unit which decodes the scramble key by using the work key obtained from the license server, and

a descramble unit which descrambles the contents by using the scramble key.

2. The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the portal server further provides information indicating a reproduction control system of the predetermined content distribution server,

the content reception terminal further includes a reproduction control information obtaining unit which obtains information on the reproduction control system from the portal server, and

the content obtaining unit obtains the contents and the scramble key according to the reproduction control system indicated by the information obtained by the reproduction control information obtaining unit.

3. The content distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising a content distribution server for distributing only encrypted contents decodable by using a content key,

wherein the license server provides the work key or the content key depending on a distribution form of contents distributed by the predetermined content distribution server,

the portal server further provides information indicating a distribution form of contents distributed by the predetermined content distribution server,

the content reception terminal further includes:

a distribution form obtaining unit which obtains information indicating a distribution form of contents distributed by the predetermined content distribution server from the portal server; and

a content decoding unit which decodes the encrypted contents by using the content key obtained from the license server, and

the content obtaining unit obtains the encrypted contents to decode the contents by the content decoding unit when the distribution form indicated by the information obtained by the distribution form obtaining unit is a distribution form using a content key system.

4. The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the scramble key decoding unit included in the content reception terminal obtains a work key from the license server when starting to obtain contents using a distribution form in which the content obtaining unit provides contents and a scramble key.

5. The content distribution system according to claim 3, wherein the content decoding unit included in the content reception terminal obtains a content key from the license server when obtaining the encrypted contents by the content obtaining unit.

6. A content reception terminal comprising:

an address information obtaining unit which obtains address information of a content distribution server for streaming-distributing an encrypted scramble key used for descrambling scrambled contents or for releasing the scrambling or a content distribution server for distributing encrypted contents decodable by using a content key;

a distribution form obtaining unit which obtains information indicating a distribution form of contents distributed from a content distribution server corresponding to the address information;

a content obtaining unit which refers to the address information obtained by the address information obtaining unit and obtains the contents and the scramble key, or the encrypted contents from a content distribution server corresponding to the address information depending on the distribution form indicated in the information obtained by the distribution form obtaining unit;

a key obtaining unit which obtains a work key for decoding the scramble key when the distribution form uses a work key system, and obtains the content key when the distribution form uses a content key system;

a scramble key decoding unit which decodes the scramble key by using the work key when the distribution form uses a work key system; and

a content decoding unit which descrambles contents by using the scramble key when the distribution form uses a work key system, and decodes the encrypted contents by using the content key when the distribution form is a content key system.

7. A content distribution method comprising the steps of:

obtaining address information of a predetermined content distribution server for distributing scrambled contents and streaming-distributing an encrypted scramble key used for releasing the scrambling from a portal server;

obtaining a work key for decoding the encrypted scramble key distributed from the predetermined content distribution server from a license server;

referring to the address information obtained in the address obtaining step and obtaining the contents and the scramble key from the predetermined content distribution server;

decoding the scramble key by using the work key obtained in the work key obtaining step; and

descrambling the scrambled contents by using the scramble key decoded in the scramble key decoding step.

8. A processing method performed when viewing streaming contents, comprising the steps of:

obtaining address information of a content distribution server for streaming-distributing an encrypted scramble key used for descrambling scrambled contents or for releasing the scrambling or a content distribution server for distributing only encrypted contents decodable by using a content key;

obtaining information indicating a distribution form of contents distributed from a content distribution server corresponding to the address information;

referring to the address information obtained in the address information obtaining step and obtaining the contents and the scramble key, or the encrypted contents from a content distribution server corresponding to the address information;

obtaining a work key for decoding the scramble key when the distribution form uses a work key system, and obtaining the content key when the distribution form is a content key system;

decoding the scramble key by using the work key when the distribution form uses a work key system; and

descrambling scrambled contents by using the scramble key when the distribution form is a work key system, and decoding the encrypted contents by using the content key when the distribution form is a content key system.