Method of controlling content access and method of obtaining content key using the same

• US 8,341,402 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2005
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Han, Sung-hyu, Kim, Myung-sun, Yoon, Young-sun, Lee, Sun-nam, Kim, Bong-seon, Lee, Jae-heung
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALMEIDA, DEVIN E
• Application Number:
  US11/300,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20060179478A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,567 Days
• Field of Search: 713/166
• US Class Current: 713/163
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0822 using key encryption key
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0833 involving conference or group key network architectures or network communication protocols for key management in group communication in a packet data network H04L63/065
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3226 using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083

Abstract

Provided is a method of controlling content access in a home network. The method includes: (a) defining a predetermined sub group and allocating a sub group key for the sub group; and (b) checking whether a user belongs to the sub group and transmitting the sub group key to a user device requested by the user, wherein the user device obtains an encrypted content key using a domain key and the sub group key. Since a content key is twice encrypted using a domain key and a sub group key and transmitted to a user device, it is possible to provide authorized content access to a user.

Claims

1. A method of controlling content access in a home network, comprising:

defining groups in a home domain of the home network based on an attribute of users, where the groups of the home domain in the home network comprise a first sub group of first users among a plurality of users and a second sub group of second users among the plurality of users, wherein all members of a subscriber household form a single home domain;

allocating by a computer a first sub group key for the first sub group of first users and a second sub group key for the second sub group of second users, where the first sub group key decrypts an encrypted first content key of first contents, the encrypted first content key generated from a domain key encrypting the first content key, the first content key encrypting first contents, and the second sub group key decrypts an encrypted second content key of second contents, the encrypted second content key generated from the domain key encrypting the second content key, the second content key encrypting second contents;

determining whether a user who requests access to at least one of the first encrypted contents and second encrypted contents belongs to the first sub group or the second sub group; and

transmitting one of the first sub group key allocated to the first sub group and the second sub group key allocated to the second sub group to a user device requested by the user, based on a result of the determining.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

encrypting the first content key using the domain key and encrypting the second content key using the domain key;

encrypting the encrypted first content key using the first sub group key and encrypting the encrypted second content key using the second sub group key; and

transmitting one of the encrypted first content key encrypted using the first sub group key and the encrypted second content key encrypted using the second sub group key, and the domain key to the user device, based on the allocating.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises:

receiving a user identifier and a password from the user;

checking whether the user identifier and the password are identical to a user identifier and a user password within the first sub group or the second sub group; and

transmitting the first sub group key of the first sub group or the second sub group key of the second sub group to the user device based on a result of the checking.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a computer program for executing the method of claim 1.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer is a home server that stores sub group information of the first sub group and the second sub group, each of the sub group information comprising a sub group identifier, a sub group key, a user identifier that identifies each of the users in the sub group and a sub group table comprising a user password for each of the users and wherein the first sub group and the second sub group only comprises users of the same domain.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first contents and the second contents are a same contents.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute of users comprises user age and relates to access rights of the users to view the first or second contents.

4. A method of obtaining a content key by a user device in a home network, the method comprising:

transmitting, to a home server in the home network that determines one of groups in a home domain of the home network based on an attribute of users, where the groups of the home domain in the home network comprise a first sub group of first users among a plurality of users and a second sub group of second users among the plurality of users to which a user of the user device belongs, a request to access at least one of first encrypted contents and second encrypted contents, the request comprising a user identifier and a user password that indicate the one of the first sub group and the second sub group to which user belongs, wherein all members of a subscriber household form a single home domain;

receiving one of a first sub group key allocated to the first sub group and a second sub group key allocated to the second sub group, and a domain key, from the home server of the home network, the first sub group key decrypting an encrypted first content key of first contents, the encrypted first content key generated from the domain key encrypting the first content key, the first content key encrypting the first contents, and the second sub group key decrypting an encrypted second content key of second contents, the encrypted second content key generated from the domain key encrypting the second content key, the second content key encrypting the second contents; and

decrypting the at least one of the first encrypted contents and the second encrypted contents using the received domain key and the received one of the first sub group key and the second sub group key.