SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING AND PROTECTING ELECTRONIC CONTENT AND APPLICATIONS

• US 20070226790A1
• Filed: 04/27/2007
• Published: 09/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PLS IV, LLC (Pretium Partners, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Inventors: Maher, David, Landsman, Richard, Swenson, Eric, Rudd, James
• Granted Patent: US 7,694,342 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/18
• 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 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• 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: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for managing and protecting electronic content and applications. Applications, content, and/or users can be given credentials by one or more credentialing authorities upon satisfaction of a set of requirements. Rights management software/hardware is used to attach and detect these credentials, and to enforce rules that indicate how content and applications may be used if certain credentials are present or absent. In one embodiment an application may condition access to a piece of electronic content upon the content'"'"'s possession of a credential from a first entity, while the content may condition access upon the application'"'"'s possession of a credential from a second entity and/or the user'"'"'s possession of a credential from a third entity. Use of credentials in this manner enables a wide variety of relatively complex and flexible control arrangements to be put in place and enforced with relatively simple rights management technology.

Claims

1-16. -16. (canceled)

17. A method for managing the use of electronic content at a user'"'"'s computing device, the method including:

executing an application program on the user'"'"'s computing device, the application program being capable of rendering electronic content, the application program having at least a first digital certificate associated therewith;

requesting the application program to render a piece of electronic content, the piece of electronic content having at least a second digital certificate associated therewith, and the piece of electronic content further having associated therewith at least one electronic rule, the at least one electronic rule including data specifying one or more conditions associated with rendering the piece of electronic content, the one or more conditions including a condition that the piece of electronic content may be rendered by an application program having the first digital certificate associated therewith;

verifying, at the user'"'"'s computing device, the association of the second digital certificate with the piece of electronic content;

using a rights management program running on the user'"'"'s computing device to examine the data included in the at least one electronic rule and to determine that the piece of electronic content may be rendered by an application program having the first digital certificate associated therewith;

verifying the association of the first digital certificate with the application program using the rights management program; and

rendering the piece of electronic content using the application program.

18. A method as in claim 17, wherein the first digital certificate is generated by a first entity, and the second digital certificate is generated by a second entity different from the first entity.

19. A method as in claim 18, wherein the first entity comprises an association of one or more content providers, and the first digital certificate is associated with the application program if the application program meets certain predefined criteria set by the association.

20. A method as in claim 19, wherein the second entity comprises an entity concerned with controlling the nature of the electronic content rendered by the application program, and the second digital certificate is associated with the piece of electronic content if the piece of electronic content meets certain predefined standards.

21. A method as in claim 20, wherein the second entity comprises an entity that determines whether content is appropriate for particular individuals, and the second digital certificate indicates that the piece of electronic content is deemed to be appropriate for particular individuals.

22. A method as in claim 19, wherein the piece of electronic content comprises an authorized document, and wherein the first entity associates the first digital certificate with the application program if it is determined that the application program will handle the authorized document with at least a predefined level of security.

23. A method as in claim 22, wherein the predefined level of security includes a requirement that the application verify that an application user has a predefined certificate before rendering the authorized document.

24. A method as in claim 23, wherein predefined certificate indicates that the application user is an individual who can provide an item based on the authorized document.

25. A method as in claim 23, wherein an individual is identified by a digital certificate issued by a third entity different from the first and second entities, wherein the individual is an individual who can provide an item based on the authorized document.

26. A method as in claim 22, wherein the second entity associates the second digital certificate with the authorized document if the authorized document originated from an individual granting the authorized document.

27. A method as in claim 26, wherein the individual granting the authorized document is identified by a third digital certificate issued by a third entity different from the first and second entities.

28. A method as in claim 27, wherein the second entity determines that a authorized document originated from the individual granting the authorized document by checking for the presence of the third digital certificate issued by the third entity.

29. A method as in claim 28, wherein the application program is further associated with a fourth digital certificate, the fourth digital certificate attesting to a determination having been made by a fourth entity that the application program possesses a predefined functionality.

30. A method as in claim 29, wherein the predefined functionality includes functionality that ensures that the application program verifies the association of the second digital certificate with the piece of electronic content before rendering the piece of electronic content.

31. A method as in claim 30, further including:

verifying the association between the application and the fourth digital certificate.

32. A method as in claim 17, wherein the step of verifying the association of the second digital certificate with the piece of electronic content is performed during or after the step of verifying the association of the first digital certificate with the application program.

33. A method as in claim 17, wherein the step of verifying the association of the first digital certificate with the application program includes computing a hash of at least part of the application program and comparing the hash to a value contained in the digital certificate.

34. A method as in claim 17, further including:

decrypting a secure container containing the piece of electronic content and the at least one electronic rule; and

retrieving the at least one electronic rule from the secure container.

35. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method for managing the use of electronic content at a user'"'"'s computing device, the method comprising:

executing an application program on the user'"'"'s computing device, the application program being capable of rendering electronic content, the application program having at least a first digital certificate associated therewith;

requesting the application program to render a piece of electronic content, the piece of electronic content having at least a second digital certificate associated therewith, and the piece of electronic content further having associated therewith at least one electronic rule, the at least one electronic rule including data specifying one or more conditions associated with rendering the piece of electronic content, the one or more conditions including a condition that the piece of electronic content may be rendered by an application program having the first digital certificate associated therewith;

verifying, at the user'"'"'s computing device, the association of the second digital certificate with the piece of electronic content;

using a rights management program running on the user'"'"'s computing device to examine the data included in the at least one electronic rule and to determine that the piece of electronic content may be rendered by an application program having the first digital certificate associated therewith;

verifying the association of the first digital certificate with the application program using the rights management program; and

rendering the piece of electronic content using the application program.