Protection of the distribution of digital documents in a peer to peer network
First Claim
1. A central server in a network of a hybrid peer to peer type, comprising:
- a memory and a processor;
receiving means for receiving a request from a non-peer client for obtaining a digital document by that non-peer client, said request containing a reference of said digital document, wherein the non-peer client does not constitute a peer of the network;
selecting means for selecting a peer system of the network likely to contain said digital document, by searching in a database of said central server for an active peer system containing said digital document;
generating means for generating an access key for controlling access to the digital document by said non-peer client, said generating means generating said access key by an encrypting method using a private key of said central server to encrypt a character string containing a current time when said encrypting method is executed and an address of said non-peer client on the network;
sending means for sending a message to the non-peer client, comprising the reference of the digital document, an address of the selected peer system on the network and the generated access key, wherein said message contains information allowing said non-peer client to connect to the selected peer system via an Internet web browser; and
authenticating means for authenticating an identifier of a user of said non-peer client,wherein said character string further comprises said identifier of said user of the non-peer client, andwherein said access key is designed to enable validation by said selected peer system of the network of an access request to said digital document by the user of the non-peer client on said selected peer system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A central server in a network of a hybrid peer to peer type, receives a request from a client for obtaining a digital document, where the request contains a reference of the digital document. The server selects a peer system of the network likely to contain the digital document, and generates an access key for controlling access to the digital document by the client, where the access key is generated by an encrypting method using a private key of the central server, a current time when the encrypting method is executed and an address of the client on the network. The server then sends a message to the client, where the message has the reference of the digital document, an address of the selected peer system on the network and the generated access key.
31 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A central server in a network of a hybrid peer to peer type, comprising:
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a memory and a processor; receiving means for receiving a request from a non-peer client for obtaining a digital document by that non-peer client, said request containing a reference of said digital document, wherein the non-peer client does not constitute a peer of the network; selecting means for selecting a peer system of the network likely to contain said digital document, by searching in a database of said central server for an active peer system containing said digital document; generating means for generating an access key for controlling access to the digital document by said non-peer client, said generating means generating said access key by an encrypting method using a private key of said central server to encrypt a character string containing a current time when said encrypting method is executed and an address of said non-peer client on the network; sending means for sending a message to the non-peer client, comprising the reference of the digital document, an address of the selected peer system on the network and the generated access key, wherein said message contains information allowing said non-peer client to connect to the selected peer system via an Internet web browser; and authenticating means for authenticating an identifier of a user of said non-peer client, wherein said character string further comprises said identifier of said user of the non-peer client, and wherein said access key is designed to enable validation by said selected peer system of the network of an access request to said digital document by the user of the non-peer client on said selected peer system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method of protecting the distribution of a digital document, the protection method being implemented in a central server of a network of a hybrid peer to peer type and comprising:
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a receiving step of receiving a request from a non-peer client for obtaining a digital document by that non-peer client, said request comprising a reference of said digital document, wherein the non-peer client does not constitute a peer of the network; a selecting step of selecting a peer system of said network likely to contain said digital document, by searching in a database of said central server for an active peer system containing said digital document; a generating step of generating an access key for controlling access to the digital document by the non-peer client, said generating step comprising generating the access key by an encrypting method using a private key of said central server to encrypt a character string containing a current time when said encrypting method is executed and an address of said non-peer client on the network; a sending step of sending a message to said non-peer client, comprising said reference of said digital document, an address of said selected peer system on said network and said generated access key, wherein said message contains information allowing said non-peer client to connect to the selected peer system via an Internet browser; and authenticating an identifier of a user of said non-peer client, wherein said character string further comprises said identifier of said user of the non-peer client, and wherein said access key is designed to enable validation by said selected peer system of the network of an access request to said digital document by the user of the non-peer client on said selected peer system. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A digital document distribution peer device in a network of a hybrid peer to peer type, comprising:
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receiving means for receiving a request from a client for obtaining a digital document for that client, the request containing a reference of said document; obtaining means for obtaining an address of at least one second peer device in the network likely to contain said digital document; comparison means for comparing at least one attribute of said peer device with at least one corresponding attribute of said at least one second peer device, wherein said attribute and said corresponding attribute is a characteristic of a peer device representative of a load or of a communication capacity of said peer device to serve documents; deciding means for deciding, based on a result of the comparison by said comparison means, whether said peer device is to serve the document or whether the address of the second peer device is to be sent to the client; serving means for serving the document to the client in a case where the deciding means decides that the peer device is to serve the document; sending means for sending said address of said at least one second peer device to said client in a case where the deciding means decides that the address of the second peer device is to be sent to the client; access control means for using an access key included in said request for controlling access to the digital document by said client, in order to validate or refuse the request; validation means for validating or refusing the request; and redirecting means for forwarding a message to said client to redirect said client to a central server of the network, in the case where the request is refused. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of distributing a digital document implemented in a peer device of a hybrid peer to peer type network, comprising
a receiving step of receiving a request, from a client, for obtaining a digital document for said client, the request containing a reference of said digital document; -
an obtaining step of obtaining an address of at least one second peer device likely to contain said digital document; a comparison step of comparing at least one attribute of said peer device with at least one corresponding attribute of said at least one second peer device, wherein said attribute and said corresponding attribute is a characteristic of a peer device representative of a load or of a communication capacity of said peer device to serve documents; a deciding step of deciding, based on a result of the comparison by said comparison step, whether said peer device is to serve the document or whether the address of the second peer device is to be sent to the client; a serving step of serving the document to the client in a case where the deciding step decides that the peer device is to serve the document; a sending step of sending said address of said at least one second peer device to said client in a case where the deciding step decides that the address of the second peer device is to be sent to the client; an access control step for using an access key included in said request for controlling access to the digital document by said client, in order to validate or refuse the request; a validation step for validating or refusing the request; and a redirecting step for forwarding a message to said client to redirect said client to a central server of the network, in the case where the request is refused. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which can be read by a computer and on which is stored a computer-executable program for implementing a method of protecting the distribution of a digital document, the protection method being implemented in a central server of a network of a hybrid peer to peer type and comprising:
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a receiving step of receiving a request from a non-peer client for obtaining a digital document by that non-peer client, said request comprising a reference of said digital document, wherein the non-peer client does not constitute a peer of the network; a selecting step of selecting a peer device of said network likely to contain said digital document, by searching in a database of said central server for an active peer device containing said digital document; a generating step of generating an access key for controlling access to the digital document by the non-peer client, said generating step comprising generating the access key by an encrypting method using a private key of said central server to encrypt a character string containing a current time when said encrypting method is executed and an address of said non peer client on the network; a sending step of sending a message to said non-peer client, comprising said reference of said digital document, an address of said selected peer device on said network and said generated access key, wherein said message contains information allowing said non-peer client to connect to the selected peer device via an Internet browser; and authenticating an identifier of a user of said non-peer client, wherein said character string further comprises said identifier of said user of the non-peer client, and wherein said access key is designed to enable validation by said selected peer system of the network of an access request to said digital document by the user of the non-peer client on said selected peer system.
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27. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which can be read by a computer and on which is stored a computer-executable program for implementing a method of distributing a digital document in a peer device of a hybrid peer to peer type network, comprising
a receiving step of receiving a request, from a client, for obtaining a digital document for said client, the request containing a reference of said digital document; -
an obtaining step of obtaining an address of at least one second peer device likely to contain said digital document; a comparison step of comparing at least one attribute of said peer device with at least one corresponding attribute of said at least one second peer device, wherein said attribute and said corresponding attribute is a characteristic of a peer device representative of a load or of a communication capacity of said peer device to serve documents; a deciding step of deciding, based on a result of the comparison by said comparison step, whether said peer device is to serve the document or whether the address of the second peer device is to be sent to the client; a serving step of serving the document to the client in a case where the deciding step decides that the peer device is to serve the document; a sending step of sending said address of said at least one second peer device to said client in a case where the deciding means decides that the address of the second peer device is to be sent to the client; an access control step for using an access key included in said request for controlling access to the digital document by said client, in order to validate or refuse the request; a validation step for validating or refusing the request; and a redirecting step for forwarding a message to said client to redirect said client to a central server of the network, in the case where the request is refused.
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Specification