Secure content transfer systems and methods to operate the same

• US 9,811,789 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2014
• Issued: 11/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kahn, Raynold M., Klauss, Peter M., Dulac, Stephen P., Schlacht, David N., Basse, Hanno, James, Thomas H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coppola, Jacob C.
• Application Number:
  US14/321,436
• Publication Number:
  US 20170024667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,225 Days
• 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: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management
• 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

Abstract

Secure content transfer systems and methods to operate the same are disclosed. An example system includes a content server to encrypt content according to an encryption key, and to transfer the encrypted content, the encryption key and a license to a client that supports a digital rights management technology. The example system further includes a broadcast system headend to determine the encryption key, wherein the broadcast system headend is physically separate from the content server, and a digital rights management license server to provide the license.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first interface of a broadcast system headend located at a service-provider location physically remote from a plurality of client premises, the first interface to receive a content transfer authorization request from an integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) device located at a first client premises of the plurality of client premises, the IRD device being physically separate from a client device located at the first client premises;

memory including instructions; and

a conditional access system of the broadcast system headend including a processor to execute the instructions to perform operations including;

determining an encryption key based on at least one of the content transfer authorization request or content associated with the content transfer authorization request;

obtaining a license having the encryption key embedded in the license from a digital rights management license server by conveying the encryption key in conjunction with a license request to the digital rights management license server; and

conveying the license with the encryption key embedded in the license to the IRD device, the IRD device to form encrypted content by encrypting unencrypted content received from the broadcast system headend according to the encryption key, the IRD device to convey the encrypted content and the license to the client device, the client device including a digital rights manager configured to control access to the encrypted content based on the license and a decrypter configured to decrypt the encrypted content based on the embedded encryption key.

2. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the broadcast system headend is configured to broadcast at least one of a satellite broadcast signal, a wireless broadcast signal, a wired broadcast signal, a cable television broadcast signal, an Ultra High Frequency (UHF)/Very High Frequency (VHF) radio frequency broadcast signal, a Multi-channel Multi-point Distribution System (MMDS) broadcast signal, a Local Multi-point Distribution System (LMDS) broadcast signal, an Internet-based broadcast signal, a cellular broadcast signal, a power-line broadcast signal, a fiber optic broadcast signal, or any point-to-point or multicast Internet Protocol (IP) delivery mechanism.

3. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the content includes at least one of video data, audio data, computer data, interactive data, gaming data, messaging data, or website data.

4. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the IRD device is configured to detect a content transfer initiated by the client device via at least one of a second interface of the IRD device communicatively coupled to the client device, a user interface implemented by the IRD device, or a content management application executing in the IRD device.

5. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the IRD device includes a security device configured to perform at least one of storing the license having the encryption key embedded in the license or storing the encryption key.

6. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the conditional access system is to encrypt the encryption key prior to conveying the encryption key to the IRD device.

7. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the first interface is to receive the content transfer authorization request from the IRD device in response to the client device requesting the content from the IRD device.

8. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the IRD device is configured to detect a content transfer initiated by the client device via at least one of a user interface implemented by the client device or a transfer request received from the client device.

9. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the IRD device is configured to detect a content transfer initiated by the client device via a command received from a broadcast transmission device.

10. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the IRD device is configured to detect a content transfer initiated by the client device via a command received from the digital rights management license server.

11. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the IRD device includes a security device configured to decrypt an encrypted version of the encryption key.

12. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the digital rights management license server is implemented within the IRD device.

13. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the license or the encryption key are renewed without request from the client device.

14. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the license or the encryption key are renewed automatically periodically.

15. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the digital rights management license server is to communicate with the IRD device via the Internet.

16. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein the conditional access system is to convey the license with the encryption key embedded in the license to the IRD device via a satellite broadcast signal communication path.