Data distribution system and data selling apparatus therefor, data retrieving apparatus, duplicated data detecting system, and data reproduction apparatus

• US 7,676,401 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2005
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Iwasaki, Keisuke, Saiga, Hisashi, Yamanoue, Masafumi, Kitamura, Yoshihiro, Sawada, Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Airapetian; Mila
• Application Number:
  US11/314,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20060106677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,540 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/127 Shopping or accessing services according to a time-limitation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• 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 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00173 wherein the origin of the content is checked, e.g. determining whether the content has originally been retrieved from a legal disc copy or another trusted source
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0071 involving a purchase action
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00753 wherein the usage restriction limits the number of copies that can be made, e.g. CGMS, SCMS, or CCI flags
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00768 wherein copy control information is used, e.g. for indicating whether a content may be copied freely, no more, once, or never, by setting CGMS, SCMS, or CCI flags
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00797 wherein the usage restriction limits the number of times a content can be reproduced, e.g. using playback counters
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0084 wherein the usage restriction can be expressed as a specific time or date
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1062 Data buffering arrangements, e.g. recording or playback buffers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2529 Mini-discs

Abstract

A data distribution system includes a plurality of data sources each capable of transmitting a data item, and a data vending machine capable of receiving the data item from the plurality of data sources and selling the received data item to a user. The data vending machine includes a data selecting apparatus operated by a user to select a desired data item, a data source selecting apparatus connected to the data selecting apparatus for selecting, among the plurality of data sources, one that holds the data item selected by the data selecting apparatus, in accordance with a specific standard, a data receiving apparatus connected to the data source selecting apparatus for receiving selected data item from the data source selected by the data source selecting apparatus, and a data updating apparatus to which an external storage device is detachably mounted, for writing the data item received by the data receiving apparatus to the external storage device.

Claims

1. A display apparatus for reproducing and displaying digital data stored on storage media, said digital data including data to be displayed, reproducing apparatus specifying information specifying an apparatus capable of reproduction and copy permission information, said reproducing apparatus specifying information and said copy permission information being stored on said storage media together with said data to be displayed, comprising:

a memory storing display ID information unique to said display apparatus;

means for reading out said digital data from said storage media;

copy permission determining means for checking said copy permission information read out from said storage media separately of said reproducing apparatus specifying information and for determining based on said copy permission information whether copying of said digital data is permitted or not;

ID information determining means for determining whether the display apparatus is capable of reproducing said data to be displayed based on said display ID information stored in said memory and said reproducing apparatus specifying information; and

display control means for controlling display and non-display of said data to be displayed dependent on determinations by said copy permission determining means and said ID information determining means.

2. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said display control means controls said display or non-display such that said digital data is displayed regardless of the result of said determination by said ID information determining means, when it is determined by said copy permission determining means that copying of said digital data is permitted.

3. A computer readable media storing a program for causing a computer including a display to execute processes as a display apparatus for reproducing and displaying digital data stored on data storage media, said digital data including data to be displayed, reproducing apparatus specifying information specifying an apparatus capable of reproduction and copy permission information, said reproducing apparatus specifying information and said copy permission information being stored on said storage media together with said data to be displayed, wherein said processes comprise the steps of:

storing to a storage device associated with said computer display apparatus ID information unique to said program when said program is installed on said computer;

reading out said digital data from said data storage media;

checking said copy permission information read out from said data storage media separately of said reproducing apparatus specifying information;

determining based on said copy permission information whether copying of said digital data is permitted or not;

determining whether said computer is capable of reproducing said data to be displayed based on said stored display apparatus ID information and said reproducing apparatus specifying information; and

controlling display and non-display of said data to be displayed dependent on determinations of whether copying of said digital data is permitted and of whether said computer is capable of reproducing said data to be displayed.

4. A display method for causing a computer including a display to execute processes as a display apparatus for reproducing and displaying digital data stored on data storage media, said digital data including data to be displayed, reproducing apparatus specifying information specifying an apparatus capable of reproduction and copy permission information, said reproducing apparatus specifying information and said copy permission information being stored on said data storage media together with said data to be displayed, said method comprising the steps of:

providing said computer with ID information unique to a program installed on said computer for causing said computer to function as the display apparatus;

storing to a storage device associated with said computer said ID information unique to said program installed on said computer;

reading out said digital data from said data storage media;

checking said copy permission information read out from said data storage media separately of said reproducing apparatus specifying information;

determining based on said copy permission information whether copying of said digital data is permitted or not;

determining whether said computer is capable of reproducing said data to be displayed based on said ID information provided to said computer and said reproducing apparatus specifying information stored in said storage media; and

controlling display and non-display of said data to be displayed dependent on determinations of whether copying of said digital data is permitted and of whether said computer is capable of reproducing said data to be displayed.