Method of managing metadata

• US 8,301,884 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2003
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Choi, Yang-Iim
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): DOAN, TRANG T
• Application Number:
  US10/662,812
• Publication Number:
  US 20040123109A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,332 Days
• Field of Search: 707/100
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3239 involving non-keyed hash functions, e.g. modification detection codes [MDCs], MD5, SHA or RIPEMD
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80

Abstract

Managing metadata in a metadata transmission server by generating a plurality of metadata fragment data by partitioning metadata to be transmitted based upon predetermined segment units, selecting predetermined metadata fragment data from among the plurality of the metadata fragment data, generating metadata-related authentication information using the selected metadata fragment data, and transmitting the selected metadata fragment data and the metadata-related authentication information including data format information indicating type of the selected metadata fragment data. A metadata receiving client uses the transmitted metadata fragment data, the metadata-related authentication information and the metadata format type information to authenticate the received metadata.

Claims

1. A method of managing metadata in a metadata transmission server, comprising:

generating a plurality of metadata fragment data by partitioning metadata to be transmitted based upon a predetermined semantic unit;

selecting a predetermined metadata fragment data from among the plurality of metadata fragment data;

generating, using a processor, metadata-related information using the selected metadata fragment data; and

transmitting a container including the selected metadata fragment data, the metadata-related information, and a header including data format information indicating a data format type of the selected metadata fragment data,

wherein the metadata-related information comprises values obtained by substituting the selected metadata fragment data into a unidirectional function, the method of applying the function varies depending on the data format type indicated in the header.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected metadata fragment data, the metadata-related information, and the data format information of the selected metadata fragment data are transmitted in a metadata container.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data format information indicates whether the selected metadata fragment data has a binary XML format or a text XML format, and each container includes metadata fragment data having only one of a binary XML format and a text XML format.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein a metadata authentication level flag specifying a metadata authentication level is further contained in the metadata container.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata-related information is metadata digest information obtained by substituting the selected metadata fragment data into a unidirectional function.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the unidirectional function is a hash function.

7. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

generating metadata authentication signature information using the metadata-related information and a first encryption key; and

inserting the metadata authentication signature information in the metadata container containing the selected metadata fragment data.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the metadata authentication signature information is obtained by substituting the metadata-related information and the first encryption key into a unidirectional function.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

encrypting the first encryption key using a second encryption key; and

inserting the encrypted first encryption key into the metadata container containing the selected metadata fragment data.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of metadata fragment data and corresponding metadata-related information are inserted into the metadata container, and each metadata fragment data and the corresponding metadata-related information are connected to each other by pointer information.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of metadata fragment data and corresponding metadata-related information and metadata authentication signature information are inserted into the metadata container, and each metadata fragment data and the corresponding metadata-related information and metadata authentication signature information are connected to one another by pointer information.

12. A method of managing metadata, the method comprising:

generating, using a processor, a plurality of metadata fragment data by partitioning metadata to be transmitted based upon a predetermined semantic unit having a predetermined meaning;

selecting a predetermined metadata fragment data from among the plurality of metadata fragment data;

generating metadata digest information by substituting the selected metadata fragment data into a unidirectional function; and

transmitting, using a metadata transmission server, a metadata container including the selected metadata fragment data, the metadata digest information, and a header including data format information indicating a data format type of the selected metadata fragment data,

wherein the method of applying the unidirectional function varies depending on the data format type indicated in the header; and

receiving the metadata container in a metadata receiving client, the client identifying a format of the metadata fragment data using the data format information in the header and using the identified format to determine whether an authentication signature is valid based upon the selected metadata fragment data and the metadata digest information.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein in the metadata receiving client, an algorithm used by the unidirectional function in the generating of the metadata digest information is identified by reading the data format information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein in the metadata receiving client, the selected metadata fragment data and the metadata digest information are read from the metadata container, and local metadata digest information is generated using the identified algorithm.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein in the metadata receiving client, the metadata transmitted by the metadata content provider is authenticated by comparing the metadata digest information read from the metadata container and the local metadata digest information generated by the metadata receiving client.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the metadata transmitted by the metadata content provider is determined as authenticated by the metadata receiving client when the metadata digest information read from the metadata container and the local metadata digest information generated by the metadata receiving client are identical.

13. A method of managing metadata in a metadata transmission server, comprising:

generating, using a processor, a plurality of metadata fragment data by partitioning metadata to be transmitted based upon a predetermined semantic unit having a predetermined meaning;

selecting a predetermined metadata fragment data from among the plurality of metadata fragment data;

generating metadata container-level authentication message digest information by substituting the selected metadata fragment data into a unidirectional function, wherein the method of applying the unidirectional function varies depending on the data format type indicated in the header; and

transmitting a metadata container-level authentication container including the selected metadata fragment data, the metadata container-level authentication message digest information, and a header including data format information indicating a data format type of the selected metadata fragment data, wherein the data format information is used to determine whether the generated metadata digest information is valid.