Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and computer-readable storage medium

• US 7,523,211 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2005
• Issued: 04/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nakano, Takehiko, Takabayashi, Kazuhiko, Minoya, Yasushi
• Primary Examiner(s): WON, MICHAEL YOUNG
• Application Number:
  US11/063,498
• Publication Number:
  US 20050198293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,518 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/223, 709/229, 709/219, 709/225
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/108 when the policy decisions are valid for a limited amount of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

An information-processing apparatus, functioning as a content-utilization management server, includes a storage unit for storing a list of member clients, which are each a client having a right to utilize a content, and a data-processing unit for carrying out a process to register a client on the list of member clients to serve as a member client.

The data-processing unit carries out a process to register a client on the member-client list to serve as a member client on condition that results of confirmation indicate that a client making a request for registration of the client to serve as a member client is a client in the same local network as the content-utilization management server and indicate that a user of the content-utilization management server has given an approval of the requested registration of the client to serve as a member client.

Claims

1. A content-utilization management server on a local network, the server comprising:

a storage unit for storing a list of member clients having a right to use content; and

a data-processing unit for;

receiving a member registration request from a client;

confirming whether the client is on the same local network as the server based on a media access control (MAC) address included in a packet received from the client;

confirming whether a user of the server has given approval to allow the client to use the content; and

registering the client on the list of member clients when it is confirmed that the client is on the same local network as the content-utilization management server and that the user has given the approval.

2. The content-utilization management server according to claim 1, wherein the data-processing unit determines whether the user has given an approval based on user input entered via a user interface.

3. A content-utilization management server, comprising:

a storage unit for storing a list of member clients having a right to use content; and

a data-processing unit for;

receiving a request from a client to delete the client from the list of member clients;

confirming whether the client has remaining time on a license to use the content;

confirming whether a user of the server has given approval to allow the client to be deleted from the list of member clients; and

deleting the client from the list of member clients when it is confirmed that the client has no remaining time on a license to use the content and that the user has given the approval.

4. The content-utilization management server according to claim 3, wherein:

the list of member clients includes licenses to use the content granted to the member clients; and

the data-processing unit includes a license management unit for determining whether the client has remaining time on a license to use the content based on a time limit on a license for the client included in the list of member clients.

5. The content-utilization management server according to claim 3, wherein the data-processing unit determines whether the user has given the approval based on user input entered via a user interface.

6. A method for registering a client on a list of member clients having a right to use content, the method comprising:

receiving from the client a request to register the client as a member on the list of member clients;

confirming whether the client is on the same local network as a server based on a media access control (MAC) address included in a packet received from the client;

confirming whether a user of the server has given approval to the client to use the content; and

registering the client on the list of member clients when it is confirmed that the client is on the same local network as the server and that the user has given the approval.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the approval is confirmed based on user input entered via a user interface.

8. A method for deleting a client from a list of member clients having a right to use content, the method comprising:

receiving a request from the client to delete the client from the list of member clients;

confirming whether the client has remaining time on a license to use the content;

confirming whether a user of the server has given approval to allow the client to be deleted from the list of member clients; and

deleting the client from the list of member clients when it is confirmed that the client has no remaining time on a license to use the content and that the user has given the approval.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein:

the list of member clients includes licenses to use the content granted to the member clients; and

it is confirmed whether the client has remaining time on a license to use the content based on a time limit on a license for the client included in the list of member clients.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein it is confirmed whether the user has given the approval based on user input entered via a user interface.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed by a server, causes the server to perform a method for registering a client as a member on a list of member clients having a right to use content, the method comprising:

receiving from the client a request to register the client as a member on the list of member clients;

confirming whether the client is on the same local network as the server based on a media access control (MAC) address included in a packet received from the client;

confirming whether a user of the server has given approval to the client to use the content; and

registering the client on the list of member clients when it is confirmed that the client is on the same local network as the server and that the user has given the approval.

12. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed by a server, causes the server to perform a method for deleting a client from a list of member clients having a right to use content, the method comprising:

receiving a request from the client to delete the client from the list of member clients;

confirming whether the client has remaining time on a license to use the content;

confirming whether a user of the server has given approval to allow the client to be deleted from the list of member clients; and

deleting the client from the list of member clients when it is confirmed that the client has no remaining time on a license to use the content and that the user has given the approval.