Broadcast and reception, and conditional access system therefor

• US 7,644,429 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2002
• Issued: 01/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nagra France SAS (Kudelski SA)
• Original Assignee: Nagra Thomson Licensing SA (Kudelski SA)
• Inventors: De La Tullaye, Pierre, Jezequel, Jean-Francois, Bayassi, Mulham
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley, Christopher
• Assistant Examiner(s): Newlin, Timothy R
• Application Number:
  US10/201,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20040068541A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,722 Days
• Field of Search: 725/147, 725/110, 725/65, 725/66, 725 1- 8, 725 86-104, 725/151, 725/152
• US Class Current: 725/63
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/10 Adding special bits or symbols to the coded information, e.g. parity check, casting out 9's or 11's
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1435 using file system or storage system metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/357 Cards having a plurality of specified features
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40975 using encryption therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 9/007 Transform coding, e.g. discrete cosine transform
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/102 External programming circuits, e.g. EPROM programmers; In-circuit programming or reprogramming; EPROM emulators
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/105 Circuits or methods for updating contents of nonvolatile memory, especially with 'security' features to ensure reliable replacement, i.e. preventing that old data is lost before new data is reliably written
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• 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: H04N 17/004 for digital television systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 involving video stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2351 involving encryption of additional data arrangements using cryptography for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/23
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25816 involving client authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26606 : for generating or managing entitlement messages, e.g. Entitlement Control Message [ECM] or Entitlement Management Message [EMM] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 : Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42676 : for modulating an analogue carrier signal to encode digital information or demodulating it to decode digital information, e.g. ADSL or cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4353 : involving decryption of additional data arrangements using cryptography for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/23
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 : involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44236 : Monitoring of piracy processes or activities protecting computer platforms against harmful, malicious or unexpected behaviour or activities using intrusion detection and counter measures G06F21/566; computer virus detection and handling G06F21/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4623 : Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 : for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6137 : involving transmission via a telephone network, e.g. POTS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 : involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6187 : involving transmission via a telephone network, e.g. POTS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6332 : directed to client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63345 : by transmitting keys key distribution for secret or secure communication H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6377 : directed to server one-way streaming services wherein the source is controlled by the destination H04L65/613
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 : Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 : Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 : Transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A digital satellite television system has a plurality of set-top-boxes associated with a plurality of end users'"'"' television receivers, a modem and a decoder housed in each STB, a Subscriber Authorization System (SAS) incorporating or having associated therewith a plurality of communication servers, means included in the SAS for generating Electronic Managements Messages (EMM), a back channel interconnecting each of the STBs individually with the SAS, means included in the SAS and each STB so that the necessary information required to inject a relevant EMM into the system is supplied directly to the relevant communication server included in or associated with the SAS to authorize the release of the said EMM and/or means to connect the modem to the back channel and means whereby an EMM is transmissible to the decoder directly from a relevant communication server included in or associated with the SAS. Further important features are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A conditional access system for affording conditional access to subscribers, comprising:

a receiver for a subscriber;

a subscriber management system for at least storing subscription information of said subscriber;

a subscriber authorization system coupled to the subscriber management system;

a communications server, wherein said communications server is connected directly to the subscriber authorization system without passing through the subscriber management system; and

a direct link for connecting the receiver with the communications server, wherein the subscriber management system sends a subset of the subscriber information to said subscriber authorization system, wherein the subset of the subscriber information comprises subscriber access rights,

wherein said subscriber authorization system is adapted to;

generate entitlement management messages using the subset of the subscriber information, in response to a command received from said receiver via said communications server, and wherein said entitlement management messages are sent back to said receiver via the direct link; and

renew the subscriber'"'"'s access rights automatically, wherein the subscriber authorization system stores the subset of subscriber information received from the subscriber management system for generating renewal messages.

2. A conditional access system according to claim 1, further comprising a receiver/decoder for the subscriber, the receiver/decoder being connectable to said communications server, and hence to said subscriber authorization system, via a modem and a telephone link.

3. A conditional access system according to claim 2, further comprising a satellite transponder, said subscriber authorization system being arranged to transmit a message as a packet of digital data to said receiver/decoder either via said communications server or via said satellite transponder.

4. The conditional access system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a subscriber receiver/decoder operatively connected to the communications server; and

the subscriber authorization system, comprising;

an order centralized server connected to the communications server for receiving commands from the receiver/decoder and subscriber information from the subscriber management system;

an authorization server connected to the order centralized server for identifying and validating a subscriber in response to an authorization request from the order centralized server; and

a message generator connected to the order centralized server for generating entitlement management messages in response to a command received from the order centralized server, wherein the message generator is part of a subscription chain located in the SAS;

said order centralized server being adapted to issue said command to the message generator in response to data received from at least one of said authorization server and said subscription management system, and to transmit said entitlement management messages to the receiver/decoder via the communications server.

5. The conditional access system of claim 1, wherein the subscriber management system sends subscriber information to the subscriber authorization system when changes occur in the subscriber'"'"'s data.

6. The conditional access system of claim 1, wherein the command is at least one command selected from a group consisting of a product order command, a subscription modification request command, and a parental code reset command.