System for processing information, device for processing information, and program

• US 7,765,601 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2005
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takeda, Takashi, Sukigara, Ryu, Ohshige, Yoichi, Koresawa, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim; Jung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lemma; Samson B
• Application Number:
  US11/165,219
• Publication Number:
  US 20060005261A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,859 Days
• Field of Search: 726/27
• US Class Current: 726/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data

Abstract

An information processing system including: first and second information processing devices in communication through a network. The first device has a license information-sending unit that sends license information containing utilizing-time limit information for utilizing a content in response to a request from the second device. The second device has: a license information-receiving unit that receives the license information sent by the license information-sending unit; a time information acquisition unit that acquires time information through the network; an internal clock-setting unit that refers to the time information acquired by the time information acquisition unit to set time information of a built-in internal clock; and a utilization-controlling unit that controls utilization of the content in association with the license information received by the license information-receiving unit based on the time information of the internal clock set by the internal clock-setting unit or a counter working independently of the internal clock.

Claims

1. An information processing system, comprising:

a first information processing device; and

a second information processing device operable to communicate with said first information processing device through a network;

said first information processing device having,

a license information-sending unit that sends license information containing utilizing-time limit information for utilizing a content in response to a request from said second information processing device; and

said second information processing device having,

a license information-receiving unit that receives the license information sent by said license information-sending unit,

an interface that acquires time information through the network,

an internal clock-setting unit that refers to the time information acquired by said interface to set time information of a built-in internal clock, and

a microprocessor configured to control a utilization of the content, which the license information received by said license information-receiving unit targets, based on the time information of said built-in internal clock set by said internal clock-setting unit or time information of a counter working independently of said built-in internal clock;

a flag-checking unit configured to receive, from said first information processing device, a contents playback-authorizing flag showing whether the utilization of the content is available when the utilization of the content is directed, said microprocessor exercising a control to forbid the utilization of the content wherein when the contents playback-authorizing flag shows that the utilization of the content is not available;

a time judging unit configured to judge whether the time information of said built-in internal clock is faster than the time information of said counter; and

a counter-setting unit configured to set the time information of said counter to coincide with the time information of said built-in internal clock when said time-judging unit judges that the time information of said built-in internal clock is faster than the time information of said counter.

2. An information processing device operable to receive information for utilizing a content from a different information processing device through a network, the information processing device comprising:

an interface that receives license information containing utilizing-time limit information for utilizing the content from said different information processing device;

a time information acquisition unit that acquires time information through the network;

an internal clock-setting unit that refers to the time information acquired by said time information acquisition unit to set time information of a built-in internal clock; and

a microprocessor configured to control a utilization of the content, which the license information received by said interface targets, based on the time information of said built-in internal clock set by said internal clock-setting unit or time information of a counter working independently of said built-in internal clock;

a time-judging unit configured to judge whether the time information of said built-in internal clock is faster than the time information of said counter;

a counter-setting unit configured to set the time information of said counter to coincide with the time information of said built-in internal clock when said time-judging unit judges that the time information of said built-in internal clock is faster than the time information of said counter;

a flag-checking unit configured to receive, from said different information processing device, a contents playback-authorizing flag showing whether the utilization of the content is available, when the utilization of the content is directed, wherein when the contents playback-authorizing flag shows that the utilization of the content is not available, said microprocessor exercises a control to forbid the utilization of the content.

3. The information processing device of claim 2, wherein the license information contains a utilizing-limit datum for utilizing the content offline, the information processing device further comprising:

a number-of-utilizations-counting unit that counts a number of times that the content is utilized when said microprocessor controls an offline utilization of the content; and

a utilizing-limit-judging unit configured to judge whether the number of times counted by said number-of-utilizations-counting unit is equal to or less than the utilizing-limit datum when the offline utilization of the content is directed, said microprocessor exercising a control to forbid the offline utilization of the content when said utilizing-limit-judging unit judges that the number of times is above the utilizing-limit datum.

4. The information processing device of claim 3, wherein said number-of-utilizations-counting unit resets the number of times when the contents playback-authorizing flag shows that the utilization of the content is available.

5. A computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium including a program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to execute a process to receive information for utilizing a content from an information processing device through a network, the process comprising:

receiving license information containing utilizing-time limit information for utilizing the content from the information processing device;

acquiring time information through the network;

referring to the time information acquired in the acquiring to set time information of a built-in internal clock;

controlling, with the computer, a utilization of the content, which the license information received in the receiving targets, based on the time information of the built-in internal clock or time information of a counter working independently of the built-in internal clock;

receiving, from said information processing device, a contents playback-authorizing flag showing whether the utilization of the content is available, when the utilization of the content is directed;

forbidding the utilization of the content, when the contents playback-authorizing flag shows that the utilization of the content is not available;

judging whether the time information of said built-in internal clock is faster than the time information of said counter; and

setting the time information of said counter to coincide with the time information of said built-in internal clock when it is judged in the judging that the time information of said built-in internal clock is faster than the time information of said counter.