File system operation and digital rights management (DRM)

• US 7,383,586 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2003
• Issued: 06/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Leach, Paul J., Cross, David B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moise; Emmanuel L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Davis; Zachary A
• Application Number:
  US10/346,429
• Publication Number:
  US 20040143736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,964 Days
• Field of Search: 726 27- 31, 713/165, 705/51, 705/57, 705/59
• US Class Current: 726/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers

Abstract

File system interaction with digital rights management (DRM) is facilitated by enabling one or more file system components to be DRM-aware. These one or more file system components may be part of a computer operating system. An exemplary system implementation includes: one or more processors; and one or more media in operative communication therewith, the media storing one or more file system components that are configured to provide content having DRM controls to a requesting program in either a raw form or a decrypted form in dependence on whether the DRM controls comprise simple DRM content controls or complex DRM content controls. In another exemplary system implementation, the one or more file system components are configured to provide files with simple DRM content controls to requesting applications in a decrypted form and to provide files with complex DRM content controls to requesting applications in an unaltered form.

Claims

1. One or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform actions comprising:

inspecting, by one or more file system components, one or more digital rights management (DRM) controls from a tag of DRM-controlled content;

determining, by one or more file system components, if the one or more DRM controls are simple DRM controls or complex DRM controls;

if the one or more DRM controls are determined to be simple DRM controls, decrypting, by the one or more file system components, the DRM-controlled content into a decrypted form and providing the decrypted content to an application; and

if the one or more DRM controls are determined to be complex DRM controls, providing, by the one or more file system components, the DRM-controlled content in an encrypted form to a DRM enabled application for further processing.

2. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 1, wherein the simple DRM controls comprise at least one of read, write, or modify.

3. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more file system components comprise at least part of an operating system for a computer.

4. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more file system components comprise at least part of at least one middleware component for a computer.

5. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 1, wherein the actions of inspecting, determining, and providing are performed responsive to an action of receiving a request for the DRM-controlled content from a program.

6. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 5, wherein the action of providing comprises the action of providing the DRM-controlled content in the decrypted form or in the encrypted form to the program.

7. One or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform actions comprising:

determining, by one or more file system components, whether a requested file is protected;

if the requested file is protected, determining, by the one or more file system components, whether the requested file is protected with one or more simple digital rights management (DRM) controls or one or more complex DRM controls;

if the requested file is determined to be protected with one or more simple DRM controls, decrypting, by the one or more file system components, the requested file and providing the decrypted requested file to a requesting application; and

if the requested file is determined to be protected with one or more complex DRM controls, providing, by the one or more file system components, the requested file unaltered to the requesting application; and

if the requested file is not protected, providing, by the one or more file system components, the requested file unaltered to the requesting application.

8. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 7, wherein at least one of the one or more file system components comprise at least one file system component of an operating system.

9. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 7, wherein the action of determining whether a requested file is protected comprises the action of determining whether the requested file is protected with at least one DRM content control.

10. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media as recited in claim 7, wherein the electronically-executable instructions, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform, if the requested file is determined to be protected with the one or more simple DRM controls and prior to the action of decrypting, a further action comprising:

verifying that a current user context possesses a license to access the requested file.

11. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 10, wherein the action of verifying is initiated by at least one DRM client component.

12. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 10, wherein the current user context corresponds to at least one of a human user and the requesting application.

13. One or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform actions comprising:

providing, by one or more file system components, content with digital rights management (DRM) content controls to requesting applications in a decrypted form when the DRM content controls only comprise one or more of reading, writing, or modifying controls; and

providing, by the one or more file system components, content with DRM content controls to requesting applications in an unaltered form when the DRM content controls include at least one control that does not comprise a reading, a writing, or a modifying control.

14. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 13, wherein the at least one of the one or more file system components comprise at least part of a middleware component.

15. The one or more electronically-accessible storage media comprising the electronically-executable instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic apparatus to perform the actions as recited in claim 13, wherein the action of providing content with DRM content controls to requesting applications in an unaltered form comprises the action of:

providing the content with DRM content controls to the requesting applications in the unaltered form only after the requesting applications have been verified as trusted and DRM-aware.