Content delivery apparatus, user terminal device, relief management method and computer program

• US 20080052240A1
• Filed: 07/24/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kurihara, Shinichi
• Granted Patent: US 9,792,755 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/51
• 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 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/127 Shopping or accessing services according to a time-limitation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources

Abstract

A content delivery apparatus, when a content delivery request is outputted from a user terminal device, encrypts the requested content with an encryption key, adds a view period to it to deliver it to a request source and delivers a viewing key in response to a view request from the user terminal device within the view period. A user relief management unit monitors failure information notifying, grasps a delivery disabled period from the failure information, specifies a delivery destination user for a content of which the view period is overlapped with the delivery disabled period and issues a relief right with a relief period specified thereto to the specified user. A contract period processing unit manages the relief right and permits viewing within the relief period set by the relief right when a view right based on the relief right is output from the user terminal device.

Claims

1-4. -4. (canceled)

5. A relief management method of a content delivery system used for a system, when a content delivery is requested from a user terminal device via a network, encrypting a requested content, delivering it to a request source while managing a view period, and delivering view permission information to decrypt the encrypted content in response to a view request within the view period from the user terminal device, comprising:

managing a delivery disabled period in which a delivery of the view permission information becomes impossible;

specifying a delivery destination user for a content of which the view period is overlapped with the delivery disabled period, as a user to be relieved;

issuing a relief right with a relief period specified thereto to the user to be relieved to notify issue to the corresponding user terminal device; and

managing the relief right to deliver the view permission information only within the relief period set to relief right when a view request is output from the user terminal device on the basis of the relief right.

6. The relief management method of the content delivery system according to claim 5, further comprising:

starting the relief period based on a the relief right after expiring the view period and also at a time of the first view request after a relief exertion.

7. The relief management method of the content delivery system according to claim 5, further comprising:

ignoring a view request based on the relief right within the view period.

8. A computer program recorded on a recording medium for a content delivery apparatus which is used for the content delivery apparatus and when a content delivery is requested form a user terminal device via network, makes a computer execute processing of encrypting a requested content delivering it to a request source while managing a view period, and delivering view permission information to decrypt the encrypted content in response to a view request from the user terminal device, causing the content delivery apparatus to execute a content delivery management method comprising the steps of:

managing a delivery disabled period in which a delivery of the view permission information becomes impossible;

specify specifying a delivery destination user for a content of which the view period is overlapped with the delivery disabled period, as a user to be relieved;

issuing a relief right with a relief period specified thereto to the user to be relieved and notify issue to the corresponding user terminal device; and

managing the relief right to deliver the view permission information only within the relief period set to the relief right when a view request is output from the user terminal device on the basis of the relief right.

9. The computer program according claim 8, wherein the content delivery management method further comprises:

instructing the computer to start the relief period based on the relief right after expiring the view period and also at a time of the first view request after a relief exertion.

10. The computer program according to claim 8, wherein the content delivery management method further comprises:

instructing the computer to ignore a view request based on the relief within the view period.