Statutory license restricted digital media playback on portable devices

• US 9,531,686 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2014
• Issued: 12/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Navar, Murgesh, Yruski, Andrey, Puranik, Rajiv, Hsu, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Shepperd, Eric W
• Application Number:
  US14/242,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20140215224A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,001 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• 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: H04B 1/3827 Portable transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0457 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply dynamic encryption, e.g. stream encryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for stream encryption H04L9/065
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1059 End-user terminal functionalities specially adapted for real-time communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0894 Escrow, recovery or storing of secret information, e.g. secret key escrow or cryptographic key storage

Abstract

Systems and methods are described for, e.g., providing a statutory audio content service on a portable device that complies with the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The user can select a playlist subject to DMCA restrictions but cannot access individual items. Content playback, including skipping of content, is restricted to enforce relevant DMCA provisions. Encryption used to implement digital rights management (DRM) may be modified to enforce such content play rules or, alternatively, an additional layer of encryption may be imposed. Limitations on playback are stored along with the playlist structure in a form that is protected against modification. Information logging content playback is maintained in protected form to be uploaded and relayed to the service provider for the purpose of calculating royalty payments.

Claims

1. A method for permitting playback of digital content comprising:

retrieving a list of encrypted digital content at a portable device, wherein the encrypted digital content includes a plurality of content types, the plurality of content types including a first content type and a second content type, and wherein the first content type is encrypted using a first encryption scheme and the second content type is encrypted using a second encryption scheme;

identifying each of a plurality of items of encrypted digital content on the retrieved list as being of a first content type or a second content type;

decrypting a second content type using a first key maintained at a firmware level;

decrypting a first content type item using a second key maintained at the firmware level when the first content type item satisfies a plurality of content play rules, wherein the content play rules require location of the portable device within one or more predefined locations; and

permitting playback of the decrypted second content type items and the decrypted first content type items on the portable device, wherein playback of each content type items is permitted until at least one content play rule has been violated.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one content play rule limits content looping to a predetermined number of times.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one content play rule requires content deletion after a predetermined period of time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one content play rule requires content deletion after a predetermined number of content loops.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one content play rule limits content skipping to a predetermined number of times.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one content play rule requires content shuffling after a predetermined number of content loops.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising decrypting a digital log file, updating the digital log file, and re-encrypting the digital log file when playback occurs.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the digital log file includes at least one content identification and at least one length of playback associated with a playback.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one content play rule is predetermined by a content owner.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one content play rule is predetermined by a content provider.

11. A system for permitting playback of digital content, the system comprising:

memory; and

a processor that executes instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by the processor;

retrieves at list of encrypted digital content at a portable device, wherein the encrypted digital content includes a plurality of content types, the plurality of content types including a first content type and a second content type, and wherein the first content type is encrypted using a first encryption scheme and the second content type is encrypted using a second encryption scheme,

identifies each of a plurality of items of encrypted digital content on the retrieved list as being of a first content type or a second content type,

decrypts a second content type using a first key maintained at a firmware level,

decrypts a first content type item using a second key maintained at the firmware level when the first content type item satisfies a plurality of content play rules, wherein the content play rules require location of the portable device within one or more predefined locations, and

permits playback of the decrypted second content type items and the decrypted first content type items on the portable device, wherein playback of each content type items is permitted until at least one content play rule has been violated.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one content play rule limits content looping to a predetermined number of times.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one content play rule requires content deletion after a predetermined period of time.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one content play rule requires content deletion after a predetermined number of content loops.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one content play rule limits content skipping to a predetermined number of times.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one content play rule requires content shuffling after a predetermined number of content loops.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein a digital log file is decrypted, updated, and reencrypted when playback occurs.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the digital log file includes at least one content identification and at least one length of playback associated with a playback.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one content play rule is predetermined by a content owner.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor to perform a method for permitting playback of digital content, the method comprising:

retrieving a list of encrypted digital content at a portable device, wherein the encrypted digital content includes a plurality of content types, the plurality of content types including a first content type and a second content type, and wherein the first content type is encrypted using a first encryption scheme and the second content type is encrypted using a second encryption scheme,

identifying each of a plurality of items of encrypted digital content on the retrieved list as being of a first content type or a second content type,

decrypting a second content type using a first key maintained at a firmware level,

decrypting a first content type item using a second key maintained at the firmware level when the first content type item satisfies a plurality of content play rules, wherein the content play rules require location of the portable device within one or more predefined locations, and

permitting playback of the decrypted second content type items and the decrypted first content type items on the portable device, wherein playback of each content type items is permitted until at least one content play rule has been violated.