Method and apparatus for controlling a delivery of a broadcast-multicast flow in a packet data communication system

• US 7,634,223 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2005
• Issued: 12/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Balasuriya, Senaka, Kelley, Sean S., Oprescu-Surcobe, Valentin
• Primary Examiner(s): SOBUTKA, PHILIP
• Application Number:
  US11/152,648
• Publication Number:
  US 20060009247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,645 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.01, 455/3.03, 455/410, 455/411, 455/517, 455/503, 380/200, 713/163
• US Class Current: 455/3.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/062 for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

A communication system provides separate subscription keys for a non-subscriber version of a broadcast-multicast flow and a subscriber-only version of the flow, thereby controlling who may store or render the flow. In one embodiment, separate subscription keys may be assigned to a same broadcast-multicast flow. The communication system may then switch the keys used to encrypt the flow, or may use different keys to encrypt different copies of the flow, in order to allow at least non-subscribers to view one version of the flow and only subscribers to view another version of the flow. In another embodiment, the communication system may assign a group subscription key to a group of broadcast-multicast flows that is separate from the keys assigned to each individual flow. The group subscription key may then be used to encrypt a non-subscriber version of any broadcast-multicast flow in the group of broadcast-multicast flows.

Claims

1. A method for distributing subscription keys associated with a broadcast-multicast flow comprising:

conveying a first at least one subscription key associated with a broadcast-multicast flow to a first set of mobile stations; and

conveying a second at least one subscription key associated with the broadcast-multicast flow to a second set of mobile stations, wherein the second at least one subscription key is different than the first at least one subscription key, the second set of mobile stations is different than the first set of mobile stations, the first at least one subscription key and the second at least one subscription key are each used to encrypt the broadcast-multicast flow, the first at least one subscription key is used to create a first encrypted version of the broadcast-multicast flow, the second at least one subscription key is used to create a second encrypted version of the broadcast-multicast flow that is different than the first encrypted version, the first set of mobile stations comprises only subscribers to the broadcast-multicast flow, the second set of mobile stations comprises non-subscribers to the broadcast-multicast flow, and neither the first encrypted version of the broadcast-multicast flow nor the second encrypted version of the broadcast-multicast flow can be viewed by mobile stations not in possession of the first at least one subscription key or the second at least one subscription key.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of mobile stations further comprises subscribers to the broadcast-multicast flow.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the second at least one subscription key to decrypt the second encrypted version of the broadcast-multicast flow.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first at least one subscription key is a first Broadcast Access Key (BAK) and wherein the second at least one subscription key is a second BAK.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second at least one subscription key associated with the broadcast-multicast flow is further associated with other broadcast-multicast flows from a group of broadcast-multicast flows.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second set of mobile stations comprises subscribers to any one or more broadcast-multicast flows of the group of broadcast-multicast flows.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second set of mobile stations comprises one or more mobile stations that are not subscribed to any broadcast-multicast flow in the group of broadcast-multicast flows.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

encrypting a subscriber-only version of broadcast-multicast flow using the first at least one subscription key to produce an encrypted subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow;

conveying the encrypted subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow;

encrypting a non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow using the second at least one subscription key to produce an encrypted non-subscriber version broadcast-multicast flow; and

conveying the second encrypted broadcast-multicast flow.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining a group of one or more broadcast-multicast flows and wherein the second at least one subscription key is associated with each broadcast-multicast flow in the group of broadcast-multicast flows.

10. A method for providing a broadcast-multicast service comprising:

receiving an encrypted subscriber-only broadcast-multicast flow, wherein the encrypted subscriber-only broadcast-multicast flow is encrypted using a first subscription key;

receiving an encrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow, wherein the encrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow is encrypted using a second subscription key;

storing the second subscription key associated with the non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow; and

decrypting the encrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow using the second subscription key, wherein the second subscription key cannot be used to decrypt the encrypted subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow and wherein the broadcast-multicast flow cannot be rendered without application of a key.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

rendering the decrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow;

in response to rendering the decrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow, conveying a request to subscribe to the broadcast-multicast flow; and

receiving a first at least one subscription key that may be used to decrypt the encrypted subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow.

12. A broadcast applications server comprising an at least one memory device that maintains a first at least one subscription key and a second at least one subscription key in association with a broadcast-multicast flow, wherein the first at least one subscription key is used to encrypt the broadcast-multicast flow to produce an encrypted subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow and the second at least one subscription key is used to encrypt the broadcast-multicast flow to produce an encrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow, wherein the encrypted subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow is different than the encrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow, and wherein neither the encrypted subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow nor the encrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow can be viewed by mobile stations not in possession of the first at least one subscription key or the second at least one subscription key.

13. The broadcast applications server of claim 12, wherein the non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow comprises a preview of the broadcast-multicast flow.

14. The broadcast applications server of claim 12, wherein the first at least one subscription key is a first Broadcast Access Key (BAK) and wherein the second at least one subscription key is a second BAK.

15. The broadcast applications server of claim 12, wherein the server further comprises a processor that determines a group of broadcast-multicast flows and wherein the second at least one subscription key is further associated with other broadcast-multicast flows from the group of broadcast-multicast flows.

16. The broadcast applications server of claim 12, wherein the server further comprises a processor that has the subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow encrypted using the first at least one subscription key to produce an encrypted subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow, and has the non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow encrypted using the second at least one subscription key to produce an encrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow.

17. The broadcast applications server of claim 16, wherein the processor further conveys the encrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow and, in response to conveying the encrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow, receives a request to subscribe to the associated broadcast-multicast flow.

18. The broadcast applications server of claim 17, wherein the processor, in response to receiving a request to subscribe to the associated broadcast-multicast flow, conveys the first at least one subscription key.

19. The broadcast applications server of claim 16, wherein the processor further determines a group of broadcast-multicast flows and wherein the second at least one subscription key is associated with each broadcast-multicast flow of the group of broadcast-multicast flows.

20. The broadcast applications server of claim 19, wherein the processor further arranges for a non-subscriber version of any broadcast-multicast flow of the group of broadcast-multicast flows to be encrypted using the second at least one subscription key.

21. A mobile station comprising a processor that receives an encrypted non-subscriber version of a broadcast-multicast flow that is encrypted using a second subscription key, receives the second subscription key, decrypts the encrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow using the second subscription key to produce a decrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow, and renders the decrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow, wherein the second subscription key cannot be used to decrypt an encrypted subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow that is encrypted using a first subscription key and wherein the broadcast-multicast flow cannot be rendered without application of a key.

22. The mobile station of claim 21, wherein the processor, in response to displaying the decrypted non-subscriber version of the broadcast-multicast flow, conveys a request to subscribe to the broadcast-multicast flow and receives the first subscription key that may be used to decrypt the encrypted subscriber-only version of the broadcast-multicast flow.