COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM

• US 20120159575A1
• Filed: 07/01/2010
• Published: 06/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Fukui, Toshiharu, Kori, Teruhiko, Nakano, Takehiko, Ogasawara, Atsuko
• Granted Patent: US 9,363,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/445 by mutual authentication, e.g. between devices or programs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/601 Broadcast encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0869 for achieving mutual authentication cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for mutual authentication H04L9/3273
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0844 with user authentication or key authentication, e.g. ElGamal, MTI, MQV-Menezes-Qu-Vanstone protocol or Diffie-Hellman protocols using implicitly-certified keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3273 for mutual authentication network architectures or network communication protocols for achieving mutual authentication in a packet data network H04L63/0869
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• 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

Abstract

To securely transmit content through remote access via an external network, such as a WAN, while exceeding restrictions of an RTT and a TTL.

A way of handling a flag for controlling remote access of content is explicitly defined, and an authentication method is explicitly defined when a content using device performs remote access. Thus, also in remote access, similarly to access of the related art in a household, a copyright protection environment of content based on the DTCP-IP is constructed.

Claims

1. A communication system that performs communication for transmitting content between a content providing device that provides content and one or more content using devices that use the content, the communication system comprising:

authentication means for authenticating a content using device that performs remote access in accordance with a mutual authentication procedure for remote access, in which a restriction on a round trip delay time of a command is not imposed;

identification means for identifying whether or not the content requested through remote access from the content using device has been allowed for remote access; and

transmission means for transmitting the requested content to the authenticated content using device from the content providing device in response to an identification result obtained by the identification means and an authentication result obtained by the authentication means.

2. A communication apparatus comprising:

authentication means for authenticating a content using device that performs remote access in accordance with a mutual authentication procedure for remote access, in which a restriction on a round trip delay time of a command is not imposed;

identification means for identifying whether or not the content requested through remote access from the content using device has been allowed for remote access; and

providing means for providing the requested content to the content using device,

wherein the providing means provides content to the content using device that requests content through remote access in response to an identification result obtained by the identification means and an authentication result obtained by the authentication means.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the authentication means does not impose a restriction on a hop count of an IP (Internet Protocol) router at the time of the mutual authentication procedure for remote access.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the identification means identifies whether or not remote access has been allowed on the basis of information indicating allowance/disallowance of remote access, the information being superimposed in a predetermined control descriptor of the requested content.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the identification means identifies whether or not remote access has been allowed on the basis of the described content of the predetermined control descriptor of the requested content.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the identification means identifies whether or not remote access has been allowed on the basis of the described content of copy control information contained in the predetermined control descriptor of the requested content.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a storage unit that can store content,

wherein the identification means identifies that the content that has been copied in the storage unit has been allowed for remote access.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a receiving unit that receives broadcast content,

wherein the identification means identifies whether or not real time content that is being broadcast has been allowed for remote access on the basis of an elapsed time after the completion of the broadcast.

9. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a receiving unit that receives broadcast content, and a storage unit that can store content,

wherein after the identification means temporarily stores the received broadcast content in the storage unit, the identification means identifies that the content has been allowed for remote access.

10. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a storage unit having a first area for storing remote-access allowed content and a second area for storing remote-access disallowed content,

wherein content items are sorted into the first or second area on the basis of an identification result obtained by the identification means and are stored in the storage unit.

11. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising registration means for registering in advance a content using device after undergoing a mutual authentication procedure for registration in which a restriction on a round trip delay time of a command is imposed,

wherein the authentication means performs an authentication procedure only when the content using device that performs remote access has been registered by the registration means.

12. The communication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the registration means further imposes a restriction on a hop count of an IP router at the time of the mutual authentication procedure for registration.

13. The communication apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein when the registration means pre-registers a content using device, the registration means registers a user ID, a pass phrase or key, bio-information of a user, or other authentication information for remote access in combination, and

wherein when the authentication means authenticates a content using device that performs remote access, the authentication means performs an authentication process using the pre-registered authentication information in combination.

14. The communication apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the authentication means performs an authentication process using the pre-registered authentication information through a portable medium on which the authentication information for remote access has been written.

15. The communication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the authentication means authenticates a content using device that performs remote access through a dongle tied to a relevant device.

16. The communication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein when the registration means pre-registers a content using device, the registration means registers one or more content items that are used by a relevant content using device at the time of remote access in combination, and

wherein the providing means provides only pre-registered content by assuming that the content is used at the time of the remote access to the content using device that performs remote access.

17. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the authentication means performs, instead of the mutual authentication procedure for remote access, a procedure of authenticating the content using device that performs remote access through a log-in process for a predetermined authentication server.

18. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the authentication means authenticates a content using device that performs remote access on the basis of an information bit indicating allowance/disallowance of remote access, the information bit being provided in a mutual authentication control command from the content using device.

19. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the authentication means authenticates a content using device that performs remote access in accordance with a mutual authentication procedure dedicated to remote access.

20. The communication apparatus according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the providing means encrypts and transmits content requested through remote access from the content using device by using an encryption mode dedicated to remote access.

21. The communication apparatus according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the providing means prohibits re-output of content through remote access.

22. The communication apparatus according to claim 18 or 19, further comprising a storage unit that can store content,

wherein when information indicating that remote access is allowed has been appended to content stored in the storage unit, the providing means prohibits re-output through remote access.

23. The communication apparatus according to claim 18 or 19, further comprising a storage unit that can store content,

wherein when content to which information indicating that remote access is possible has been appended is to be stored in the storage unit, the identification means rewrites the relevant information to remote access disallowed.

24. The communication apparatus according to claim 18 or 19, wherein when information indicating allowance/disallowance of remote access has not been appended to the content received in accordance with a predetermined protocol, on which copyright protection has been performed, the identification means handles the relevant content as being remote access disallowed.

25. The communication apparatus according to claim 18 or 19, wherein when information indicating allowance/disallowance of remote access has not been appended to the content received in accordance with a predetermined protocol, on which copyright protection has been performed, the identification means identifies whether or not the relevant content has been allowed for remote access on the basis of copy control information that is set in the relevant content.

26. The communication apparatus according to claim 25, further comprising a storage unit that can store content,

wherein the identification means temporarily stores the content that is not made to be disallowed for remote access in the storage unit and thereafter handles the content as being remote access allowed, and handles the content as being disallowed for remote access in a state before the content is stored in the storage unit.

27. A communication method comprising:

an authentication step of authenticating a content using device that performs remote access in accordance with a mutual authentication procedure for remote access, in which a restriction on a round trip delay time of a command is not imposed;

an identification step of identifying whether or not the content that has been requested through remote access from the content using device has been allowed for remote access; and

a providing step of providing the requested content to the content using device,

wherein in the providing step, content is provided to the content using device that requests content through remote access in accordance with an identification result in the identification step and an authentication result in the authentication step.

28. A computer program written in a computer-readable format so that a process for providing content via a network is performed in a computer, causing the computer to function as authentication means for authenticating a content using device that performs remote access in accordance with a mutual authentication procedure for remote access, in which a restriction on a round trip delay time of a command is not imposed;

identification means for identifying whether or not the content requested through remote access from the content using device has been allowed for remote access; and

providing means for providing the requested content to the content using device,

wherein the providing means provides content to the content using device that requests content through remote access in response to an identification result obtained by the identification means and an authentication result obtained by the authentication means.