Communication system, communication device, communication method, and computer program

• US 9,363,578 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2010
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Fukui, Toshiharu, Kori, Teruhiko, Nakano, Takehiko, Ogasawara, Atsuko
• Primary Examiner(s): Arani, Taghi
• Assistant Examiner(s): PLECHA, THADDEUS J
• Application Number:
  US13/393,467
• Publication Number:
  US 20120159575A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,168 Days
• Field of Search: 726/3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/445 by mutual authentication, e.g. between devices or programs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/601 Broadcast encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0869 for achieving mutual authentication cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for mutual authentication H04L9/3273
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0844 with user authentication or key authentication, e.g. ElGamal, MTI, MQV-Menezes-Qu-Vanstone protocol or Diffie-Hellman protocols using implicitly-certified keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3273 for mutual authentication network architectures or network communication protocols for achieving mutual authentication in a packet data network H04L63/0869
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/835 Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10

Abstract

To securely transmit content through remote access via an external network, such as a WAN, while exceeding restrictions of an RTT and a TTL.

A way of handling a flag for controlling remote access of content is explicitly defined, and an authentication method is explicitly defined when a content using device performs remote access. Thus, also in remote access, similarly to access of the related art in a household, a copyright protection environment of content based on the DTCP-IP is constructed.

Claims

1. A communication system that performs communication for transmitting content between a content providing device and one or more content using devices, the communication system comprising circuitry configured to:

register in advance, by the content providing device, a content using device after undergoing a registration mutual authentication procedure with the content using device in which a time restriction for a round trip time of a first command is imposed and a hop count restriction of an Internet Protocol (IP) router is imposed, wherein the registering further comprises registering bio-information of a user for remote access;

perform a remote access mutual authentication procedure between the content providing device and the registered content using device in which the time restriction on the round trip time of a second command is not imposed and the hop count restriction of the IP router is not imposed, thus allowing a requested content to be remotely accessed by the registered content using device from any location; and

provide the requested content to the authenticated content using device that requests the content through remote access in response to authenticating the content using device registered in advance.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the time restriction is seven milliseconds.

3. A communication apparatus for providing content comprising circuitry configured to:

register in advance, by the circuitry, a content using device after undergoing a registration mutual authentication procedure with the content using device in which a time restriction for a round trip time of a first command is imposed and a hop count restriction of an Internet Protocol (IP) router is imposed, wherein the registering further comprises registering bio-information of a user for remote access;

perform a remote access mutual authentication procedure with the registered content using device in which the time restriction on the round trip time of a second command is not imposed and the hop count restriction of the IP router is not imposed, thus allowing a requested content to be remotely accessed by the registered content using device from any location; and

provide the requested content to the content using device,

wherein the circuitry provides the requested content to the content using device that requests the content through remote access in response to authenticating the content using device registered in advance.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the circuitry is configured to identify whether or not remote access has been allowed on the basis of information indicating allowance/disallowance of remote access, the information being superimposed in a predetermined control descriptor of the requested content.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the circuitry is configured to identify whether or not remote access has been allowed on the basis of described content of a predetermined control descriptor of the requested content.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the circuitry is configured to identify whether or not remote access has been allowed on the basis of described content of copy control information.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a storage that can store content, wherein the circuitry is configured to identify that content in the storage has been allowed for remote access.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

receive broadcast content, and

identify whether or not real time content that is being broadcast has been allowed for delayed remote access on the basis of an elapsed time after the completion of the broadcast.

9. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a storage that stores content, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

receive broadcast content,

store the received broadcast content in the storage and,

after storing is complete, identify that the content has been allowed for remote access.

10. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a storage having a first area for storing remote-access allowed content and a second area for storing remote-access disallowed content,

wherein content items are sorted into the first or second area on the basis of authenticating the content using device registered in advance.

11. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein authenticating the content using device registered in advance further comprises using a portable medium on which authentication information for remote access has been written.

12. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein authenticating the content using device registered in advance further comprises authenticating the content using device that performs remote access through a dongle tied to another device.

13. The communication apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein registering further comprises registering one or more content items that are used by a second content using device at the time of remote access, and

wherein providing the requested content comprises providing only pre-registered content.

14. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein authenticating the content using device registered in advance further comprises authenticating the content using device that performs remote access through a log-in process for a predetermined authentication server.

15. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein authenticating the content using device registered in advance further comprises authenticating the content using device that performs remote access on the basis of an information bit indicating allowance/disallowance of remote access, the information bit being provided in a mutual authentication control command from the content using device.

16. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein authenticating the content using device registered in advance further comprises authenticating the content using device that performs remote access in accordance with a mutual authentication procedure dedicated to remote access.

17. The communication apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein providing further comprises encrypting and transmitting content requested through remote access from the content using device by using an encryption mode dedicated to remote access.

18. The communication apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein providing further comprises providing content while prohibiting output of content through remote access.

19. The communication apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, further comprising a storage that stores content, wherein when information indicating that remote access is allowed has been appended to content stored in the storage, output through remote access is prohibited.

20. The communication apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, further comprising a storage that stores content, wherein when content to which information indicating that remote access is possible has been appended is to be stored in the storage, information to remote access disallowed is rewritten.

21. The communication apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein when information indicating allowance/disallowance of remote access has not been appended to content received in accordance with a predetermined protocol, on which copyright protection has been performed, the circuitry is configured to handle the content as being remote access disallowed.

22. The communication apparatus according to claim 15, wherein when information indicating allowance/disallowance of remote access has not been appended to content received in accordance with a predetermined protocol, on which copyright protection has been performed, the circuitry is configured to identify whether or not the content has been allowed for remote access on the basis of copy control information that is set in the content.

23. The communication apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising a storage that stores content, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

temporarily store content that is not made to be disallowed for remote access in the storage and thereafter handle the content as being remote access allowed, and

handle the content as being disallowed for remote access in a state before the content is stored in the storage.

24. The communication apparatus of claim 3, wherein the time restriction is seven milliseconds.

25. A communication method comprising:

registering in advance, by a content providing device, a content using device after undergoing a registration mutual authentication procedure with the content using device in which a time restriction for a round trip time of a first command is imposed and a hop count restriction of an Internet Protocol (IP) router is imposed, wherein the registering further comprises registering bio-information of a user for remote access;

performing a remote access mutual authentication procedure between the content providing device and the registered content using device in which the time restriction on the round trip time of a second command is not imposed and the hop count restriction of the IP router is not imposed, thus allowing a requested content to be remotely accessed by the registered content using device from any location; and

providing the requested content to the content using device,

wherein in the providing step, the requested content is provided to the content using device that requests the content through remote access in response to authenticating the content using device.

26. The communication method of claim 25, wherein the time restriction is seven milliseconds.

27. A computer program, stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium and written in a computer-readable format so that a process for providing content via a network is performed in a computer, causing the computer to perform the steps of:

registering in advance, by a content providing device, a content using device after undergoing a registration mutual authentication procedure with the content using device in which a time restriction for a round trip time of a first command is imposed and a hop count restriction of an Internet Protocol (IP) router is imposed, wherein the registering further comprises registering bio-information of a user for remote access;

performing a remote access mutual authentication procedure between the content providing device and the registered content using device in which the time restriction on the round trip time of a second command is not imposed and the hop count restriction of the IP router is not imposed, thus allowing a requested content to be remotely accessed by the registered content using device from any location; and

providing the requested content to the content using device,

wherein providing further comprises providing the requested content to the content using device that requests the content through remote access in response to authenticating the content using device.

28. The computer program of claim 27, wherein the time restriction is seven milliseconds.