Issuing a publisher use license off-line in a digital rights management (DRM) system

• US 8,700,535 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2008
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bourne, Steve, Dillaway, Blair Brewster, Jacomet, Pierre, Venkatesh, Chandramouli, Rose, Charles F III, Malviarachchi, Rushmi U, Parambir, Kumar B, Rozenfeld, Yevgeniy Eugene
• Primary Examiner(s): Ravetti, Dante
• Application Number:
  US12/053,090
• Publication Number:
  US 20080215896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,216 Days
• Field of Search: 705/59, 705/16, 705/21, 705/73, 380/33, 380/262, 380/278, 380/279
• US Class Current: 705/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/107 License processing; Key processing
• 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 63/104 Grouping of entities

Abstract

A publishing user publishes digital content and issues to itself a corresponding digital publisher license to allow itself to render the published digital content. The publishing user is supplied with a publishing certificate from a digital rights management (DRM) server, where the publishing certificate allows the publishing user to so publish the digital content and to so issue the publisher license.

Claims

1. A method executed by a publishing computing device for rendering encrypted digital content using a self-issued digital publisher use license, the method comprising:

obtaining, by the publishing computing device, an off-line publishing (OLP) certificate from a digital rights management (DRM) server, the OLP certificate comprising;

a public key (PU-OLP); and

an encrypted private key (PU-ENTITY(PR-OLP)), the PU-ENTITY(PR-OLP) created by encrypting a private key (PR-OLP) with a public key (PU-ENTITY) of the publishing computing device;

retrieving encrypted digital content (CK(content)), the CK(content) created by encrypting digital content with a content key (CK);

issuing, by the publishing computing device without contacting the DRM server, the digital publisher use license comprising an encrypted content key PU-ENTITY(CK) encrypted with the PU-ENTITY for off-line access to the CK(content), the issuing comprising;

retrieving, by the publishing computing device, the PR-OLP from the OLP certificate by applying a private key (PR-ENTITY) of the publishing computing device to the PU-ENTITY(PR-OLP); and

signing, by the publishing computing device, the digital publisher use license with the PR-OLP;

obtaining the PU-OLP from the OLP certificate;

verifying the signature of the digital publisher use license by employing the PU-OLP;

retrieving the PU-ENTITY(CK) from the digital publisher use license;

obtaining the CK by applying the PR-ENTITY of the publishing computing device to the PU-ENTITY(CK);

obtaining the digital content by applying the CK to the CK(content); and

rendering the digital content without contacting the DRM server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the OLP certificate further has a digital signature and is accompanied by a chain of certificates leading back to a root authority, the method further comprising:

verifying the OLP certificate based on the digital signature and the chain of certificates leading back to the root authority.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital publisher use license further comprises rights data specifying rights and conditions for rendering of the CK(content), the method further comprising:

verifying that the specified rights and conditions of the rights data are satisfied before allowing rendering of the CK(content).

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the digital publisher use license comprises the rights data in an encrypted form (CK(rights data)), the method further comprising:

decrypting the CK(rights data); and

verifying that the specified rights and conditions of the rights data are satisfied before allowing rendering of the CK(content).

5. A method executed by a publishing computing device for rendering encrypted digital content using a self-issued digital publisher use license, the method comprising:

obtaining, by the publishing computing device, an off-line publishing (OLP) certificate from a digital rights management (DRM) server, the OLP certificate comprising;

a public key (PU-OLP); and

an encrypted private key (PU-ENTITY(PR-OLP)), the PU-ENTITY(PR-OLP) created by encrypting a private key (PR-OLP) with a public key (PU-ENTITY) of the publishing computing device;

retrieving encrypted digital content (CK(content)), the CK(content) created by encrypting digital content with a content key (CK);

issuing, by the publishing computing device without contacting the DRM server, the digital publisher use license comprising an encrypted content key PU-ENTITY(CK) encrypted with the PU-ENTITY for off-line access to the CK(content), the issuing comprising;

retrieving, by the publishing computing device, the PR-OLP from the OLP certificate by applying a private key (PR-ENTITY) of the publishing computing device to the PU-ENTITY(PR-OLP); and

signing, by the publishing computing device, the digital publisher use license with the PR-OLP;

retrieving the PU-ENTITY(CK) from the digital publisher use license;

obtaining the CK by applying the PR-ENTITY of the publishing computing device to the PU-ENTITY(CK);

obtaining the digital content by applying the CK to the CK(content); and

rendering the digital content without contacting the DRM server.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the OLP certificate further has a digital signature and is accompanied by a chain of certificates leading back to a root authority, the method further comprising:

verifying the OLP certificate based on the digital signature and the chain of certificates leading back to the root authority.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the digital publisher use license further comprises rights data specifying rights and conditions for rendering the CK(content), the method further comprising:

verifying that the specified rights and conditions of the rights data are satisfied before allowing rendering of the CK(content).

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the digital publisher use license comprises the rights data in an encrypted form (CK(rights data)), the method further comprising:

decrypting the CK(rights data); and

verifying that the specified rights and conditions of the rights data are satisfied before allowing rendering of the CK(content).

9. The method of claim 5, the method further comprising:

obtaining the PU-OLP from the OLP certificate; and

verifying the signature of the digital publisher use license la employing the PU-OLP.