Management system and terminal apparatus to manage and control distribution and use of software and the like

• US 6,516,318 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2000
• Issued: 02/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Kenji, Iwamura, Keiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Homere, Jean R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wassum, Luke S.
• Application Number:
  US09/512,030
• Publication Number:
  US 20020169742A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,076 Days
• Field of Search: 705/51-54, 705/57-59, 707/10, 717/170-178, 709/217
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2221/2135 Metering

Abstract

A management system for software data in a system in which software data that is transmitted from a management center through a predetermined transmitting system can be used at a terminal. The management center transmits the software data and regulation data to regulate a use style of the software data. The terminal regulates the use of the software data on the basis of the regulation data.

Claims

1. A management system of software data, comprising:

a center for transmitting software data including regulation data to regulate an effective period of said software data;

a transmitting system for transmitting said software data and said regulation data from said center to a terminal apparatus; and

a terminal apparatus for receiving and storing said software data transmitted through said transmitting system, detecting said received regulation data, and regulating a use of said software data on the basis of said regulation data by using a regulation program previously stored in said terminal apparatus, wherein said regulation program automatically deletes said software data from said terminal apparatus that received said data from said center after the elapse of said effective period of the software data and transmits notice of completion of said deletion to said center coincident with deletion of said software data from said terminal apparatus.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said transmitting system comprises a network.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein said network comprises an ATM network.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said terminal apparatus comprises display means for displaying contents of said regulation data.

5. A terminal apparatus comprising:

input means for inputting software data including regulation data to regulate an effective period of said software data, the software data being transmitted to said terminal apparatus by a center for transmitting said software data;

storage means for previously storing a regulation program corresponding to said regulation data; and

control means for extracting said regulation data from said software data and automatically deleting said software data from said terminal apparatus after the elapse of said effective period of the software data on the basis of said regulation data, and transmitting a notice of completion of said deletion to the center for transmitting said software data coincident with deletion of said software data from said terminal apparatus.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said storage means comprises a hard disk device.

7. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said regulation means comprises a CPU and a memory controller.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said CPU retrieves said regulation data on the basis of said regulation program.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said memory controller automatically deletes said software data on the basis of instructions from said CPU.

10. A center for transmitting software data to a terminal through a predetermined transmitting system, comprising:

means for transmitting to said terminal said software data and regulation data to regulate an effective period of said software data;

means for receiving a notice of completion of automatic software deletion from said terminal that received said data from said center after the elapse of said effective period of the software data, the notice being transmitted by said terminal to said center coincident with completion of an operation in said terminal to delete said software data from said terminal after the elapse of said effective period; and

means for managing the presence of said software data at each of a plurality of terminals on the basis of said notice.

11. A recording medium storing computer-executable process steps to be performed in a terminal apparatus, the executable process steps comprising the steps of:

inputting software data including regulation data to regulate an effective period of said software data, the software data being transmitted to the terminal apparatus by a center for transmitting the software data;

previously storing a regulation program corresponding to said regulation data;

extracting said regulation data from said software data;

automatically deleting said software data from said terminal apparatus that received said data after the elapse of said effective period of the software data on the basis of said regulation data; and

transmitting a notice of completion of said deletion to the center for transmitting said software data coincident with deletion of said software data.

12. A recording medium storing computer-executable process steps to be performed in a center for transmitting software data to a terminal through a predetermined transmitting system, the executable process steps comprising the steps of:

transmitting to said terminal said software data and regulation data to regulate an effective period of said software data;

receiving a notice of completion of automatic software deletion from said terminal that received said data from said center after the elapse of said effective period of the software data, the notice being transmitted by said terminal to said center coincident with completion of an operation in said terminal to delete said software data from said terminal after the elapse of said effective period; and

managing the presence of said software data at each of a plurality of terminals on the basis of said notice.