Document file, document file generating apparatus, and document file usage method

• US 8,122,483 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2007
• Issued: 02/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Tamai, Yoshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): REZA, MOHAMMAD W
• Application Number:
  US12/003,035
• Publication Number:
  US 20080201783A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,525 Days
• Field of Search: 726/28, 726/2, 726/27, 713/154, 713/162
• US Class Current: 726/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS

Abstract

A document file is configured to restrict, without a costly special-purpose terminal or the like, use of document data contained therein, if the document data is taken out of a predetermined location. A document file contains (i) electronic document data, (ii) usage location information indicating one or more usage locations in which use of the electronic document data is less restricted, and (ii) a data management program that causes, when a user requests use of the electronic document data, a computer to request for user location information indicating the current location of the user. Under control of the data management program, use of the electronic document data is permitted within a first usage pattern, if the user location is included in the usage locations. If not, use of the electronic document data is prohibited or permitted within a second usage pattern which is more restricted than the first usage pattern.

Claims

1. A nontransitory computer-readable recording medium, including:

a document file recorded thereon, the document file comprising;

electronic document data that is available for use by a user;

usage location information indicating one or more usage locations in which use of the electronic document data is less restricted than in other locations; and

a data management program that causes a computer to;

(i) make, in response to a user request for use of the electronic document data, a request for usage location information indicating a current location of the user, (ii) judge, upon acquisition of the user location information, whether or not the current location of the user indicated by the acquired user location information is included in the one or more usage locations indicated by the usage location information, (iii) if the judgment results in an affirmative, permit use of the electronic document data within a first usage pattern, and (iv) if the judgment results in a negative, entirely prohibit use of the electronic document data or permit use of the electronic document data within a second usage pattern that is more restricted than the first usage pattern;

wherein while the electronic document data is in use within the first usage pattern, the data management program further causes the computer to make another request for user location information indicating a current location of the user, to newly acquire the user location information, and to judge whether or not the current location of the user indicated by the newly acquired user location information is included in the one or more usage locations indicated by the usage location information, and if the judgment made based on the newly acquired user location information results in a negative, the data management program causes the computer to (i) forcefully terminate the use of the electronic document data within the first usage pattern and (ii) permit use of the electronic document data within the second usage pattern or to entirely prohibit use of the electronic document data.

2. The nontransitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 1, wherein the document file further comprises:

server specifying information that specifies a server computer to which the inquiry about the current location of the user is to be made, and the data management program causes the computer to make the request for the user location information to the server computer that is specified by the server specifying information, thereby causing the user location information to be acquired from the server computer.

3. The nontransitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 1, wherein the data management program causes the computer to make the judgment as to whether or not the current location of the user is included in the one or more of usage locations, when a request is made to open the electronic document data, if the judgment results in the affirmative, the data management program causes the computer to open the electronic document data in an editable mode, and if the judgment results in the negative, the data management program causes the computer to open the electronic document data in a viewable and non-editable mode or not to open the document.

4. The nontransitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 1, wherein the document file further comprises:

authorization information indicating a usage pattern of restrictively permitted use of the electronic document data, and if the judgment results in the negative, the data management program causes the computer to restrict use of the electronic document data according to the authorization information.

5. The nontransitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 1, wherein if the user location information is failed to be acquired despite the request for the user location information, the data management program causes the computer to impose, on use of the document data, a similar restriction to the restriction imposed when the judgment results in the negative.

6. The nontransitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 1, wherein if the current location of the user is failed to be specified despite the request for the user location information, the data management program causes the computer to impose, on use of the document data, a similar restriction to the restriction imposed when the judgment results in the negative.

7. The nontransitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 1, wherein the document file further comprises:

first authorization information indicating the first usage pattern; and

second authorization information indicating the second usage pattern, the data management program causes the computer to (i) permit use of the electronic document data within the first usage pattern if the current location of the user is included in the one or more usage locations, and (ii) permit use of the electronic document data within the second usage pattern if the current location is not included in the one or more usage locations, and after causing use of the document within the first usage pattern to be forcefully terminated, the data management program causes the computer to alter at least either of the first and second authorization information to indicate more restricted use than normally permitted.

8. The nontransitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 7, wherein the document file further comprises:

a termination counter that stores a count of how many times use of the electronic document data within the first usage pattern is forcefully terminated, the data management program causes the computer to increment the termination counter, each time use of the electronic document data within the first usage pattern is forcefully terminated, and when the termination counter reaches a predetermined count, the data management program causes the computer to alter at least either of the first and second authorization information to indicate more restricted use than normally permitted.

9. The nontransitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 1, wherein the electronic document data has been converted into a format that is not usable unless decrypted by the computer under control of the data management program, the data management program includes a decryption protocol used to decrypt the converted electronic data into a format usable by the computer, if the current location of the user is included in the one or more usage locations, the data management program causes the computer to decrypt the converted electronic document data using the decryption protocol and to use the electronic document data having been converted into a usable format, and if the current location of the user is not included in the one or more usage locations, the management program does not cause the computer to decrypt the converted electronic document data, so that the electronic document data remains unusable.

10. A document file generating apparatus for generating the document file as defined by claim 1, the document file generating apparatus comprising:

a computer for executing program code including;

a converter for encrypting the requested electronic document data;

a merging unit for merging the usage location information and the encrypted electronic document data and for outputting the merged result, as the document;

wherein while the electronic document data is in use within the first usage pattern, the data management program further causes the computer to make another request for user location information indicating a current location of the user, to newly acquire the user location information, and to judge whether or not the current location of the user indicated by the newly acquired user location information is included in the one or more usage locations indicated by the usage location information, and if the judgment made based on the newly acquired user location information results in a negative, the data management program causes the computer to (i) forcefully terminate the use of the electronic document data within the first usage pattern and (ii) permit use of the electronic document data within the second usage pattern or to entirely prohibit use of the electronic document data.

12. The document file generating apparatus of claim 10, wherein the data management program is merged by the merging unit in the document file, the data management program causing the computer receiving the document file to make the judgment as to whether or not the current location of the user is included in the one or more of usage locations, when a request is made to open the electronic document data, if the judgment results in the affirmative, the data management program causing the computer to open the electronic document data in an editable mode, and if the judgment results in the negative, the data management program causing the computer to open the electronic document data in a viewable and non-editable mode or not to open the electronic document data.

13. The document file generating apparatus of claim 10, wherein the merging unit further merges authorization information indicating a usage pattern of restrictively permitted use of the electronic document data in the document file, and if the judgment results in the negative, the data management program causes the computer to restrict use of the electronic document data according to the merged authorization information.

14. The document file generating apparatus of claim 10, wherein if the user location information fails to be acquired despite the request for the user location information, the data management program causes the computer receiving the data file to impose, on use of the electronic document data, a similar restriction to the restriction imposed when the judgment results in the negative.

15. The document file generating apparatus of claim 10, wherein if the current location of the user fails to be specified despite the request for the user location information, the data management program causes the computer receiving the data file to impose, on use of the electronic document data, a similar restriction to the restriction imposed when the judgment results in the negative.

16. The document file generating apparatus of claim 10, wherein the merging unit further merges first authorization information indicating the first usage pattern and second authorization information indicating the second usage pattern such that the data management program causes the computer receiving the document file to (i) permit use of the electronic document data within the first usage pattern if the current location of the user is included in the one or more usage locations, and (ii) permit use of the electronic document data within the second usage pattern if the current location is not included in the one or more usage locations, and after causing use of the electronic document data within the first usage pattern to be forcefully terminated, the data management program causes the computer to alter at least either of the first or second authorization information to indicate more restricted use than normally permitted.

17. The document file generating apparatus of claim 10, wherein the document file further includes a termination counter that stores a count of how many times use of the electronic document data within the first usage pattern is forcefully terminated such that the data management program causes the computer receiving the document file to increment the termination counter, each time use of the electronic document data within the first usage pattern is forcefully terminated, and when the termination counter reaches a predetermined count, the data management program causes the computer receiving the document file to alter at least either of the first or second authorization information to indicate more restricted use than normally permitted.

11. The document file generating apparatus of clam 10, wherein the computer executing program code further includes

a server specifying information generator for generating server specifying information such that the server specifying information is merged by the merging unit in the document file, the server specifying information specifying a server computer to which the inquiry about the current location of the user is to be made, and the data management program causing the computer to make the request for the user location information to the server computer that is specified by the server specifying information, thereby causing the user location information to be acquired from the server computer.

18. A document usage method of using a document file that contains (i) electronic document data, (ii) usage location information indicating one or more usage location in which use of the electronic document data is less restricted than in another location, and (iii) a control program for controlling use of the electronic document, the method comprising:

a user specifying step of specifying a user based on information input by the user;

a program initiating step of initiating, by a client computer, the control program contained in the document file in response to a user request for use of the electronic document data;

a user location requesting step of requesting, by the client computer under control of the control program initiated in the program initiating step, a server computer to supply user location information that indicates a current location of the user specified in the user identifying step;

an acquiring step of acquiring, by the client computer under control of the control program, the user location information that is supplied from the server computer in response to the request issued in the user location requesting step;

a judging step of judging, by the client computer under control of the control program, whether or not the current location of the user acquired in the acquiring step is included in the one or more usage locations indicated by the usage location information contained in the document file;

a first usage step of using, by the client computer under control of the control program, the electronic document data within a first usage pattern if the judgment in the judging step results in an affirmative; and

a second usage step of using, by the client computer under control of the control program, the electronic document data within a second usage pattern that is more restricted than the first usage pattern if the judgment in the judging step results in a negative;

wherein while the electronic document data is in use within the first usage pattern, the control program further causes the client computer to make another request for user location information indicating a current location of the user, to newly acquire the user location information, and to judge whether or not the current location of the user indicated by the newly acquired user location information is included in the one or more usage locations indicated by the usage location information, and if the judgment made based on the newly acquired user location information results in a negative, the control program causes the computer to (i) forcefully terminate the use of the electronic document data within the first usage pattern and (ii) permit use of the electronic document data within the second usage pattern or to entirely prohibit use of the electronic document data.