JP2008217162A - Content distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To partially view content even when the content is not protected or prepared on the assumption that partial viewing such as the partial encryption of content is performed. <P>SOLUTION: Meta data including the viewing section of content to be partially viewed by a meta data generation means 80 are generated, and stored in a meta data storage means 140. In the case of viewing content, a content reproduction means 100 acquires the stored meta data, and requests content distribution to a content distribution relay means 60. The content distribution relay means 60 acquires the stored meta data, and confirms that the content distribution has been requested through the meta data, and confirms that a viewing section requesting content distribution is the viewing section of the content carried by the meta data, and requests content distribution to a content distribution means 20, and when receiving the content distribution, confirms whether or not it is within the section of the content carried by the meta data, and when it deviates from the section, interrupts the relay of the content distribution. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content distribution system.

  An example of a conventional content distribution system capable of viewing a part of content is described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1, this conventional content distribution system includes a NAV server, distribution server, DRM server, encryption server, billing server, viewer management / authentication server, client terminal, external payment system, and It consists of various databases.

  The conventional content distribution system having such a configuration operates as follows.

  The encryption server divides the content data to be distributed into a plurality of encryption sections, and encrypts them with different encryption keys for each encryption section. A user who wants to partially view the content obtains the encrypted content from the distribution server using the client terminal, and obtains the encryption key of the corresponding content from the DRM server. At this time, the billing server and the viewer management / authentication server perform billing necessary for user authentication and partial viewing of the content.

In other words, in order to realize partial viewing while encrypting and protecting the content, it is necessary to replace the encryption mechanism in the existing content distribution system, and the content must also be divided into encrypted sections and encrypted again. There's a problem. In addition, since the partial viewing section depends on the encrypted sections that are divided in advance, partial viewing in an arbitrary section is impossible.
JP 2004-133801 A

  However, in the above prior art, the content is divided into several parts and encrypted with different keys, and in the case of partial viewing, only the corresponding section is decrypted and viewed using the decryption key of the viewing section. Since the section is determined in advance at the time of conversion, there is a problem that partial viewing of an arbitrary section cannot be performed.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to enable partial viewing of content without preserving or creating the content on the premise of partial viewing such as partial encryption of the content.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a metadata for generating metadata including content distribution means for distributing audiovisual content data having a time axis and a viewing section of the content to be partially viewed. Generating means; metadata storing means for storing metadata generated by the metadata generating means; and metadata of content to be viewed is obtained from the metadata storing means, and the content distributing means is obtained according to the metadata. A content distribution request to the content distribution means for obtaining the content distribution of the viewing section included in the metadata and reproducing the content distribution, and relaying the content distribution request issued from the content reproduction means to the content distribution means Obtain metadata of requested content from the metadata storage means Content delivery relay means for confirming that the content delivery request is a request via metadata and relaying the content delivery from the content delivery means to the content reproduction means, and the content delivery relay means Is a content distribution system in which relaying of content distribution is interrupted when it deviates from the viewing section of the content included in the metadata.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the content distribution system according to the first aspect, a license management unit that manages the license of the content, and a license request relay that relays a license request that the content reproduction unit requests the license management unit. The content reproduction means obtains metadata of the requested content from the metadata storage means before making a content distribution request when viewing the content, and relays the license request according to the metadata. When the license request relay means receives the license request, the license request relay means obtains metadata from the metadata storage means, confirms that the license request is a license request via metadata, Sent to the license management means, When the license is sent from the sense management means, and wherein the sending the license to the content reproduction unit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the content distribution system according to the first or second aspect, the distribution of the content is received from the content distribution unit, the viewing section of the content is specified by the input of the metadata creator, and the content is used Content reproduction editing means for generating information, wherein the metadata generation means generates metadata of the content based on the content usage information generated by the content reproduction editing means, and the metadata storage means It is characterized by making it accumulate in.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the content distribution system according to the third aspect, further comprising contract information storage means for storing contract information for the content of the metadata creator, wherein the content reproduction / editing means is the contract information storage means. From the above, the metadata creator obtains contracted contract information, and generates content usage information of contracted content.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the content distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the metadata generation means stores information for identifying a metadata creator in the metadata storage means together with the generated metadata. When the license request relay unit receives a license request from the content reproduction unit, the license request relay unit obtains information specifying the metadata creator from the metadata storage unit together with the metadata, Information to be specified is added to the license request and sent to the license management means.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the content distribution system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the content distribution relay means requests content distribution when receiving a content distribution request from the content reproduction means. If the viewing section exceeds the viewing section included in the metadata obtained from the metadata storage means, the viewing section requesting the content distribution is changed to the viewing section included in the metadata. To do.

  According to the present invention, content can be partially viewed without protecting or creating the content on the premise of partial viewing such as partial encryption of the content. More specifically, the following three effects are obtained by the present invention.

  The first effect is that partial viewing of content can be performed without user registration while protecting the content without changing the content distribution system. The reason is that the content distribution system operates based on a contract concluded between the metadata creator and the content distribution system operator by relaying the license request to the content distribution system and the content distribution request by the content relay system. Because.

  The second effect is that unauthorized viewing unintended by the creator of the metadata can be prevented. This is because the content is distributed via the content relay system, and the content relay system checks whether the status of the distributed content matches the metadata.

  The third effect is that partial viewing of an arbitrary section of the encrypted content is possible. The reason is that the distributed content is relayed while referring to the predefined metadata, and when the content is relayed outside the defined section, the relay of the content distribution is stopped.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, a content distribution system 1 that distributes moving image content, a content editing system 2 that edits content, a content reproduction system 3 that views content, a content editing system 2, and a content reproduction system 3 includes a license request from 3 to the content distribution system 1 and a license relay system 4 that relays the content request. A plurality of content distribution systems 1, content editing systems 2, and content reproduction systems 3 can exist.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the content distribution system 1 includes a license management unit 10, a content distribution unit 20, a contract management unit 30, a license storage unit 110, a content storage unit 120, and a contract information storage unit 130. Has been.

  The content editing system 2 includes metadata generation means 80 and content reproduction editing means 90.

  The content reproduction system 3 includes content reproduction means 100.

  The content relay unit 4 includes a metadata management unit 40, a metadata verification unit 50, a content distribution relay unit 60, a license request relay unit 70, and a metadata storage unit 140.

  Each of these means generally operates as follows.

  When there is a license request for content from the license request relay unit 70, the content reproduction / editing unit 90, and the content reproduction unit 100, the license management unit 10 inquires of the contract management unit 30 about the license contract status and issues a license. If it is good, the license file is read from the license storage means 110, and the license file is sent to the license request source after appropriate protection is applied to the license file. Here, the license is data necessary for reproducing the content, and is not necessarily in the file format, but may be data including the data necessary for reproducing the content. Also good.

  The content distribution unit 20 may inquire about the license contract status to the contract management unit 30 and distribute the content when there is a content request from the content distribution relay unit 60, the content reproduction editing unit 90, and the content reproduction unit 100. In this case, the content that matches the request is read from the content storage unit 120, and the content is distributed to the request source. Here, the content refers to data having a time axis composed of moving images, audio, and the like.

  The contract management unit 30 is called from the license management unit 10 and the content distribution unit 20, receives user information and content information, and uses information held in the contract information storage unit 130 to determine whether the user has contracted for content. Judgment is made and the caller is notified of the contract availability. Also, the content server name that is called from the content reproduction / editing means 90, obtains a list of contents contracted by the user specified by the received user ID from the contract information storage means 130, and stores the content metadata. At the same time, it is returned to the content reproduction / editing means 90.

  Furthermore, when the user ID is not received when called from the content reproduction / editing means 90, the content IDs and content server names of all the contents stored in the content storage means 120 are obtained via the content distribution means 20. The content list is sent to the content reproduction / editing means 90. If there is a content contract request for the list sent from the content reproduction / editing means 90, contract processing is performed and the contract information is recorded in the contract information accumulating means 130.

  The metadata management unit 40 receives the metadata and the user ID that identifies the user who created the metadata from the metadata generation unit 80, and passes the received metadata to the metadata verification unit 50 as verification target metadata. If the verification result received from the metadata verification means 50 is “no unauthorized use”, the received metadata content server name is set as the server name for identifying the content distribution relay means 60, and the license server name of the received metadata. To the server name that identifies the license request relay means 70, and records it in the metadata storage means 140 together with the name of the user who created the metadata. If the verification result received from the metadata verification unit 50 is “invalid use”, the registration of the metadata is stopped and the metadata generation unit 80 is notified that the registration has failed. When a metadata request is received together with the metadata ID from the content distribution relay means 60, license request relay means 70, and content reproduction means 100, the metadata having the same metadata ID is retrieved from the metadata storage means 140, and the metadata request Send to the original. If the corresponding metadata does not exist, this is notified.

  The metadata verification unit 50 receives the metadata to be verified from the metadata management unit 40, checks whether or not the content metadata has been created within a predetermined range, and determines whether or not the content is illegally used. Return to data management means 40. In the verification target metadata, section information for reproducing a part of the content is described, and it is confirmed whether or not the described reproduction section information is within a range. Here, “within a predetermined range” means, for example, referring to one content within a certain time or within a certain ratio with respect to the content referred to by the metadata.

  The content distribution relay unit 60 receives the content distribution request from the content reproduction unit 100, and manages metadata that matches the metadata ID described in the content distribution request and a user ID that identifies the user who created the metadata. A content distribution request is created so that the content is distributed only from the portion obtained from the means 40 and described in the metadata obtained from the metadata management means 40, and the content creator 20 (representative) to the content distribution means 20. Request delivery. The content distributed from the content distribution unit 20 is distributed to the content reproduction unit 100 that requested the distribution. When content out of the range described in the metadata acquired from the metadata management means 40 is delivered from the content delivery means 20, the content delivery means 20 is requested to stop delivery and relayed to the content reproduction means 100 To stop.

  The license request relay means 70 receives the license request from the content reproduction means 100, the metadata that matches the metadata ID described in the license request, and the user ID that identifies the user who created the metadata is the metadata management means 40. The user information and the server information are added to the license distribution request to create a new license request, and a license request is made to the license management means 10 as a metadata creator. When a license is received from the license management means 10, the license is sent to the content reproduction means 100 that requested the license.

  The metadata generation unit 80 receives content usage information from the content reproduction / editing unit 90, generates metadata in a playlist format for reproducing partial contents continuously, and creates the generated metadata and metadata. The metadata management means 40 requests registration of a user ID that identifies the user who has performed. The registration result from the metadata management means is received and displayed to the user.

  The content reproduction / editing means 90 sends a user ID to the contract management means 30 to obtain a list of contents subscribed to by the user, and when the user selects contents to view from the list, the contents reproduction / editing means 90 A license for the content to be edited is requested and obtained, the metadata of the content for which the license is obtained from the content distribution means 20, and the distribution of the content are requested, and the content is reproduced upon receipt of the distribution. If the user ID is not sent to the contract management means 30, a list in which uncontracted contents are also posted is sent. When an uncontracted content is selected from the contents list, a contract request is sent to the contract management means 30. Then, after the contract processing is completed, the processing after the content selection is performed. Further, during the reproduction of the content, the input of the reproduction start time and the reproduction end time by the user is accepted, the content usage information is generated by combining the data and the metadata received from the content distribution unit 20, and the metadata generation unit 80 hand over.

  Although it has been described here that uncontracted content can also be edited and viewed, the contract processing needs to be coordinated with various means such as authentication and billing, and is outside the scope of the present invention. Not described in detail.

  The content reproduction means 100 obtains metadata from the metadata management means 40, requests a license from the license request relay means 70 in accordance with the obtained metadata, and when the license is obtained, requests content delivery to the content distribution relay means 60, When the content is distributed, the content is played back. When a plurality of contents are described in the metadata, this process is repeated as much as described in the metadata.

  The license storage unit 110 holds a license composed of information for viewing the content delivered from the content management unit 150. An example of the stored license contents is shown in FIG. It consists of a content ID that uniquely identifies the content, a license file name that is a license for the content, and an actual license file. For example, the first line indicates that the content ID is c001 and the license file name is C001-license. The license file specified by the license file name C001-license is composed of a content ID (Content-ID) and an encryption key (Key), and indicates c001 and Key1234567, respectively.

  The content storage unit 120 holds the content and content metadata passed from the content management unit 150. An example of the contents and the contents of the metadata accumulated is shown in FIG. It consists of a content ID for uniquely identifying content, a metadata file name for storing content metadata, a content file name for storing content, and an actual content file. For example, the first line indicates that the content ID is c001, the metadata file name is C001-meta, and the content file name is C001-content. Further, the metadata file name C001-meta is a content ID (Content-ID), a license server name (License-Server) that is a destination for managing the license of the content and requesting the license when viewing the content, and managing the content when viewing the content. It is composed of a content server name (Content-Server) and a content title (Content-Title) that are content distribution request destinations, and indicates c001, Server-L, Server-C, and c001-Title, respectively. The metadata shown here is merely an example, and information necessary for selecting content such as a description of the content and thumbnails, and various information such as the author of the content may be described.

  The contract information storage unit 130 holds the contract information passed from the content management unit 150 and the contract management unit 30. An example of the contents of the stored contract information is shown in FIG. It consists of a user ID that identifies a user who has subscribed to the content, a content ID that identifies the contracted content, a content server name that identifies the server in which the content is stored, and the contract details. For example, the first line indicates that a user whose user ID is User-A has purchased the content c001 of the content server Server-C and has signed a distribution contract via the content relay system.

  The metadata storage unit 140 holds the metadata received from the metadata management unit 40. An example of the content of the held metadata is shown in FIG. It consists of a metadata ID that identifies metadata, a user ID that identifies the user who created the metadata, a metadata file name that identifies the file in which the metadata is stored, and an actual metadata file. For example, the first line indicates that the metadata with the metadata ID m001 is created by the user User-A, and the file name of the metadata is m001-meta. The content of the metadata file name m001-meta is composed of a metadata ID and sub-blocks constituting the metadata. The content is reproduced according to the contents described in the sub-blocks, The content is reproduced according to the contents described in the sub-block. For example, the metadata shown in FIG. 6 includes sub-blocks 601 and 602. The sub-block 601 includes a content ID (Content-ID) c001, a license server (License-Server) Server-SL, and a content server (Content). -Playing content whose Server is Server-SC and whose content title is Content-Title is c001-Title from the playback start time (START) 0:00:15 to the playback end time (END) 0:01:23. Is shown.

  The content management unit 150 is operated by a management user who manages content, receives content, metadata, and a license from the management user, registers the content and metadata in the content storage unit 120, and registers a license in the license storage unit 110. . Also, an input of the contract status with the user is received from the management user, and is registered in the contract information storage unit 130. In the following description of the present invention, it is assumed that all contents, licenses, and contract information are registered in advance using the content management unit 150, and the processing flow of the content management unit 150 itself will not be described.

  Although only registration has been described here, each means can cope with deletion and correction.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  With reference to FIG. 7, an operation from editing content registered in the content distribution system 1 using the content editing system 2 to registering metadata will be described. Here, editing the content means not only cutting and pasting the video data itself, but only generating metadata for partially viewing the video data as shown in FIG. 6A. It is assumed that the original video content does not change.

  In response to an instruction from the user, the content reproduction / editing means 90 requests the contract management means 30 for a list of available contents together with the user ID. The contract management unit 30 selects content that matches the user information received from the contract information storage unit 130, and returns at least the content ID and the content server name as a content list (step 701 in FIG. ).

  The content reproduction / editing means 90 presents the acquired content list to the user, and when the user selects the content (S702), the content reproduction means 100 sends the content distribution means 20 of the server specified by the server name of the selected content. On the other hand, the metadata of the content specified by the content ID is requested. The content distribution unit 20 that has received the metadata request obtains the metadata that matches the content ID included in the content distribution request from the content storage unit 120 and returns the metadata to the content reproduction / editing unit 90 (S703). An example of metadata provided by the content distribution unit 20 is shown in FIG. This is metadata that is returned when the metadata of the content whose content ID is c001 is requested. The content ID (Content-ID), the license server name (License-Server), the content server name (Content-Server), It is composed of content titles (Content-Title).

  Upon receiving the metadata, the content reproduction / editing means 90 requests the license of the content specified by the content ID from the license server specified by the license server name described in the metadata together with the user ID (S704).

  Upon receiving the license request, the license management unit 10 passes the content ID and user ID included in the license request to the contract management unit 30. The contract management unit 30 checks whether the received combination of the user ID and the content ID exists in the contract information storage unit 130. If there is, the contract management unit 30 checks the contract details. " If the combination of the user ID and the content ID does not exist in the contract information storage unit 130 or the contract contents are not in the “purchased” state even if they exist, it is determined as “uncontracted”.

  When the contract status is confirmed, the contract management means 30 returns the contract status to the license management means 10. For example, when the content of the contract information storage unit 130 is the content shown in FIG. 5 and the user ID is User-A and the content ID is c001 from the license management unit 10, the contract state is contracted and the user ID is User-. A. When the content ID is c003, it is not contracted. When the contract status is “contracted” (Yes in S705), the license management means 10 obtains the corresponding license file from the license management means 110 and sends it to the content reproduction editing means 90 that requested the license (S706). If the contract status is “not contracted” (No in S705), the contract status is returned to the content reproduction editing means 90. Receiving the information that the contract status is “uncontracted”, the content reproduction editing means 90 ends the processing for the corresponding content, displays the content list, and asks the user whether there is any other content to be used (S712).

  The content reproduction / editing means 90 that has received the license requests the content distribution means 20 identified by the content server name described in the metadata to distribute the content together with the user ID (S707). The content distribution unit 20 inquires of the contract management unit 30 about the contract status. The contract management means 30 confirms the contract status in the same procedure as in S705, and returns the contract status to the content distribution means 20.

  When the contract status is contracted (S708 Yes), the content distribution unit 20 acquires the corresponding content from the content storage unit 120, and distributes the content to the content reproduction / editing unit 90 that requested the content distribution. If the contract status is not contracted (No in S708), the contract status is returned to the content reproduction editing means 90. Receiving the information that the contract status is not contracted, the content reproduction / editing means 90 ends the processing for the corresponding content, displays the content list, and asks the user whether there is any other content to be used (S712).

  Upon receiving the content distribution, the content reproduction / editing means 90 reproduces the content (S709) and requests the user to input the reproduction start time and the reproduction end time. When the user inputs the playback start time and playback end time (S710), the content playback editing unit 90 generates content usage information from the input time information and the metadata received from the content distribution unit 20, and generates metadata. It passes to the means 80 (S711). An example of the content usage information generated by the content reproduction / editing means 90 is shown in FIG. For example, FIG. 9A shows that the content ID (Content-ID) is c001, the license server (License-Server) is Server-L, the content server (Content-Server) is Server-C, and the content title (Content-Title). ) Indicates the content usage information when the reproduction start time (Start) is specified as 0:00:15 and the reproduction end time (End) is specified as 0:01:23 for the content of c001-Title. Yes. Information other than the playback start time and playback end time uses information described in the metadata obtained from the content distribution means 20, and the playback start time and playback end time use information input by the user.

  The content reproduction / editing means 90 that has passed the content usage information to the metadata generation means 80 presents a content list to the user and asks whether there is any other content to be used (S712). When the user selects another content (Yes in S712), the processing from S702 is repeated. When it is input that there is no other content to be used (No in S712), the content reproduction editing unit 90 notifies the metadata generation unit 80 of the end of editing. The metadata generation unit 80 generates metadata by combining the received content usage information (S713).

  An example of the generated metadata is shown in FIG. Here, after generating a metadata ID that uniquely identifies the metadata, the metadata is generated by sequentially listing the content usage information received so far, but this is not restrictive, For example, a tag may be added using XML (extensible Markup Language). Further, the arrangement of the content usage information may be changed by the user. FIG. 10 shows metadata generated when the metadata generation means receives the content usage information shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. First, there is a metadata ID (m001) for specifying metadata. After that, it is composed of the content usage information of FIG. 9A and the content usage information of FIG. 9B.

  The metadata generation unit 80 that generated the metadata sends the generated metadata and a user ID that identifies the user who created the metadata to the metadata management unit 40, and requests registration of the metadata (S714).

The metadata management means 40 that has received the metadata registration request passes the received metadata to the metadata verification means 50. The metadata verification unit 50 confirms whether the metadata of the content is created within a predetermined range, and returns the presence / absence of unauthorized use to the metadata management unit 40. For example, when the reproduction range permitted as metadata is predetermined as 2 minutes and the metadata shown in FIG. 10 is received, the content c001 is reproduced from the metadata by 0:01:08, and the content c002 is 0. : It can be seen that only 02:04 is reproduced, and the content c002 deviates from the predetermined range of 2 minutes, so that it is determined that the content is illegally used. If the determined range is 3 minutes, both content c001 and content c002 are within the range, and it is determined that the content is not illegally used.

  In addition, when 2% is predetermined as the percentage permitted as metadata, when the content length is 01:40:00 (100 minutes) for both the content c001 and the content c002, the playback portion of the content c002 is Since it is 2% or more of the total, it is determined to be unauthorized use. If 3% is determined in advance as the percentage permitted as metadata, both content c001 and content c002 fall within the range, and it is determined that the content is not illegally used.

  Here, as an example, the case of a certain ratio within a certain time for all contents has been described, but these rules may be changed for each content, and metadata from 0:00 to 00:00 It is possible to add conditions such as inability to refer to.

  When the metadata verification unit 50 determines that the content is not illegally used in the metadata (Yes in S716), the metadata management unit 40 selects the metadata license server, the content server as the license request relay unit 70, and the content distribution relay. Information is rewritten to indicate the means 60 (S717). For example, when the server name specifying the content distribution relay means 60 is Server-SC and the server name specifying the license request relay means 70 is Server-SL, when the metadata shown in FIG. 10 is received, the License-Server, Content -The Server part is rewritten to the contents shown in FIG. Note that information indicating the license request relay unit 70 and the content distribution relay unit 60 is generally expressed by an IP address, URL, URI, or the like.

  The metadata management unit 40 registers the rewritten metadata in the metadata storage unit 140, returns the registration result to the metadata generation unit 80, and ends the process.

  If the metadata verification unit 50 determines that the content is illegally used in the metadata (No in S716), the metadata management unit 40 sends a metadata registration refusal notification to the metadata generation unit 80 to register the metadata. Receiving the rejection notice, the metadata generation means 80 displays the fact to the user and ends the processing.

  The operation of viewing the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit 140 using the content playback unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In response to an instruction from the user, the content reproduction unit 100 obtains a metadata list including at least a metadata ID for identifying metadata from the metadata management unit 40 for each content and presents it to the user. When the user selects content to be viewed from the content list (S1201), the content reproduction unit 100 requests metadata from the metadata management unit 40 together with the metadata ID, and the metadata management unit 40 receives the metadata from the metadata storage unit 140. Search for the corresponding metadata and return the metadata to the request source.

  When the content reproduction means 100 obtains the metadata (S1202), in order to reproduce the first partial content described in the metadata, the content reproduction unit 100 first requests a license from the license server described in the metadata (S1203). ). When the metadata described in FIG. 11 is obtained, connection to the Server-SL is made, but the license server described in the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit 140 is S717 in FIG. Since the license request relay means 70 has been rewritten, the license request relay means 70 is connected. An example of a license request is shown in FIG. It consists of a request content (Request), a content ID (Content-ID), and a metadata ID (Metadata-ID). In the example of FIG. 13, the requested content is content issuance, the content ID is c001, and the metadata ID is m001.

  When the license request relay unit 70 receives the license request from the content reproduction unit 100, the license request relay unit 70 determines whether the license request is via the metadata, and if the license request is via the metadata, the license request relay unit 70 may relay the license request. If the license request is not via metadata, it is determined that the license request should not be relayed (S1204). Specifically, the license request relay unit 70 acquires the metadata specified by the license request and the creation user ID of the metadata via the metadata management unit 40, and (1) the metadata described in the license request. It is confirmed that the data ID (Metadata-ID) matches the metadata ID described in the metadata obtained from the metadata management means 40. (2) Further, the content ID (Content-ID) included in the license request ) Is present in the metadata acquired from the metadata management means 40 as a Content-ID, and (1) and (2) if neither of these is a problem, it is determined that the license acquisition relay may be performed. (S1204 Yes). If there is a problem in either (1) or (2), it is determined that the license acquisition relay should not be performed (No in S1204).

  For example, when the metadata shown in FIG. 11 is obtained from the metadata management means 40 in response to the content request shown in FIG. 13, the metadata ID (Metadata-ID) in FIG. 13 is the metadata ID (Metadata-ID) in FIG. 13 and the content-ID (content ID) c001 in FIG. 13 exists as the content ID (Content-ID) in FIG. 11, so it is determined that the license acquisition relay may be performed.

  The license request shown in FIG. 13 includes only the request content, content ID, and metadata content ID, but a signature is added to the license request in order to prevent generation or alteration of the license request by an unauthorized user. It goes without saying that various measures against fraud such as protecting the communication path with SSL (Secure Socket Layer) are necessary.

  When the license request relay unit 70 determines that the license acquisition may be relayed (S1204Y), the license request relay unit 70 adds a created user ID that identifies the user who created the metadata to the license request, and manages the license. A license is requested from the means 10 (S1205). FIG. 14 shows an example of the rewritten license request. A user ID (User-ID) User-A obtained from the metadata management means 40 at the time of obtaining the metadata and a server name (Server) Server-SL for specifying the license request relay means 70 are added.

  When the license request relay means 70 determines that the license request relay is not allowed (S1204 No), the processing is stopped and the content reproduction means 100 is notified to that effect, and the content reproduction means 100 notifies the user of the reason. The process ends.

  When the license management means 10 receives the license request from the license request relay means 70, it passes the content ID, parent content ID, and user ID included in the license request to the contract management means 30. The contract management unit 30 confirms whether the received combination of the user ID and the content ID exists in the contract information storage unit 130. If there is, the contract management unit 30 confirms the contract details and confirms the “purchased” state or the “content distribution relay system” If it can be “distributed via delivery”, the contract is concluded (S1206 Yes). When the metadata ID is passed from the license management unit 10 to the contract management unit 30, it is determined that “distribution via the content distribution relay system”. Here, the contract type is determined based on whether or not the metadata ID is passed. However, for example, all license requests from the license contract means 70 may be determined as “distribution via the content distribution relay system”. Alternatively, if the user specified by the received user ID has “purchased” the corresponding content, the license may be issued unconditionally, and may be changed according to the business form.

  If the combination of the user ID and the content ID does not exist in the contract information storage unit 130, or the contract content is not in the “purchased” state or “can be distributed via the content distribution relay system” even if it exists, it is not contracted.

  The contract management unit 30 returns the contract status determination result (contracted or not contracted) to the license management unit 10.

  When the license management unit 10 receives “contracted” from the contract management unit 30 (Yes in S1206), the license management unit 10 obtains the license of the corresponding content from the license storage unit 110, and performs a license request after appropriately protecting the license file. The license file is sent to the relay means 70 (S1207). For example, when the content ID is c001, the file shown in FIG. 3A is protected and transferred to the license request relay means 70. Upon receiving the license file, the license request relay unit 70 sends the received license file as it is to the content reproduction unit 100 that requested the corresponding license (S1208).

  When the license management unit 10 receives “not contracted” from the contract management unit 30 (No in S1206), the license management unit 10 stops processing and notifies the license request relay unit 70 that the license cannot be issued. The content reproduction means 100 notifies the user of the reason and the process is terminated.

  The content reproduction unit 100 that has received the license file next requests the content distribution relay unit 60 described in the metadata to distribute the content (S1209).

  FIG. 15 shows an example of the first content request data issued from the content reproduction means 100 to the content distribution relay means 60 when the metadata shown in FIG. 11 is received. It is composed of a request content (Request), a content ID (Content-ID), and a metadata ID (Metadata-ID). FIG. 15 shows a sub-content whose request content is a content request (Content-Request) and whose metadata ID is m001. This indicates that the content having the content ID c001 configured as a block is requested to be reproduced from 0:00:15 to 0:01:23.

  The content distribution relay means 60 that has received the content distribution request, via the metadata management means 40, has the metadata having the metadata ID described in the content distribution request from the content reproduction means 100 and the user who created the metadata. Get an ID. When the content distribution request shown in FIG. 15 is received, the metadata having the metadata ID m001 shown in FIG. The content distribution relay means 60 that has obtained the metadata checks whether or not the content ID described in the content distribution request is described in the metadata, and adds the content distribution request to the metadata acquired from the metadata management means 40. If the content ID is included, it is determined that the content distribution may be relayed (S1210 Yes). If it is not included, and if the metadata specified by the metadata ID does not exist in the metadata accumulating unit 140, it is determined that the content distribution should not be relayed (No in S1210). For example, when the content distribution request shown in FIG. 15 is received, it is confirmed whether or not the content ID c001 is described in the metadata obtained from the metadata management means 40 shown in FIG. Judge that it is possible to relay.

  If it is determined that the content distribution relay is not allowed (No in S1210), the content reproduction unit 100 is notified to that effect, and the content reproduction unit 100 notifies the user that the content distribution relay cannot be performed and stops the processing.

  If the content distribution relay means 60 determines that the content distribution relay is acceptable (1210 Yes), it confirms whether the distribution request section included in the content reproduction request is the section described in the metadata obtained from the metadata management means 40. If the playback request is made outside the section described in the metadata (No in S1211), the playback request section described in the content playback request is changed to the section described in the metadata (S1212). . When reproduction is requested only for the section described in the metadata (Yes in 1211), and after the processing of S1212 is completed, a content reproduction request to the content distribution unit 30 is created and a content distribution request is made to the content distribution unit 30 (S1213). ). An example of a content distribution request sent from the content distribution relay unit 60 to the content distribution unit 30 is shown in FIG. In addition to the content reproduction request shown in FIG. 15, it is composed of the user ID (User-ID) of the user who created the metadata and the server name (Server) that identifies the content distribution relay means 60. In FIG. 16, User-A is added as the user ID, and Server-CL is added as the server name.

  The content distribution unit 20 that has received the content distribution request from the content distribution relay unit 60 is configured such that the user specified by the user ID described in the content distribution request is identified by the content ID described in the content distribution request. The contract management means 30 is inquired as to whether or not the contract is concluded.

The contract management means 30 confirms the contract using the same procedure as in S1206. If the contract management means 30 is not contracted (No in S1214), the contract management means 30 notifies the content distribution means 20 that it is not yet contracted. The content distribution unit 20 that has been notified that the contract has not been made notifies the content distribution relay unit 60 that the content cannot be distributed, and the content distribution relay unit 60 notifies the content reproduction unit 100 that the content cannot be relayed. To do. The content reproduction means 100 notifies the user that the content has not been distributed and ends the process.

  When the contract is made (S1214 Yes), the contract management unit 30 notifies the content distribution unit 20 that the contract has been made, and the content distribution unit 20 reads the requested section of the requested content from the content storage unit 120 and distributes it. (S1215). The content distribution relay unit 60 that has received the content distribution from the content distribution unit 20 checks the reproduction position of the distributed content, and distributes the content as it is to the content reproduction unit 100 if it is a section described in the metadata (S1216). . When the content distributed from the content distribution unit 20 deviates from the section described in the metadata, the content distribution relay unit 60 stops the content distribution to the content reproduction unit 100.

  The content reproduction unit 100 that has received the content distribution from the content distribution relay unit 60 reproduces the distributed content (S1217). When the distribution of the content is completed, it is confirmed whether there is a next content described in the metadata. If the content exists (Yes in S1218), the processing from S1203 is started. If there is no next content (No in S1218), the series of processing ends.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment will be described.

  In this embodiment, since the content relay system is configured to check whether the content is used within the range specified by the metadata at the time of content distribution, it deviates from the range specified by the metadata creator. It is possible to prevent unauthorized browsing of content.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the license request to the content distribution system and the content distribution request are relayed by the content relay system, there is no need to change the system on the content distribution system side. Content distribution and partial reference distribution of the content shown in the present embodiment can be realized by the same content distribution system. Also, trial listening before content purchase and advertisement digest can be realized by editing only metadata, and new editing and encryption of content are not required.

  In the present embodiment, the content relay system is further configured so that a license request for a content by a general user is handled as a license request from a metadata creator so that the general user can obtain a license from the content distribution system. Therefore, when the metadata creator signs a partial content usage agreement with the content distribution system operator, the metadata creator and the content distribution system are transferred to the metadata creator and the content distribution system. It can be browsed without a general user making a purchase contract within the scope of a contract with an operating business operator. For content distribution system operators, it is possible to recover the cost of partial use of content from the metadata creator, and in some cases, a general user signs a contract to view all the content partially referenced in the metadata There is a possibility. For metadata creators, by making a contract with the content distribution system operator, the metadata edited by him can be made widely available to the general public, and general users who have viewed this metadata content can purchase the content. You can get a part of the content purchase price from the content distribution system operator. For general users, metadata contents can be browsed without making a contract with a content distribution system operator.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, the present invention can be applied to uses such as a content distribution system and a content distribution service that encrypt video and distribute it.

It is a figure which shows the structure of embodiment by this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the content delivery system 1 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the stored license content of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the stored content and metadata of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the stored contract information of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the hold | maintained metadata of this embodiment. It is a flowchart figure for demonstrating operation | movement until it edits the content registered into the content delivery system 1 using the content edit system 2, and registers metadata. It is a figure which shows an example of the metadata which the content delivery means 20 of this embodiment provides. It is a figure which shows an example of the content utilization information which the content reproduction edit means 90 of this embodiment produced | generated. It is a figure which shows an example of the metadata which the metadata production | generation means 80 of this embodiment produces | generates. It is a figure which shows an example of the metadata which the metadata management means 40 rewritten the metadata shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of viewing metadata stored in a metadata storage unit 140 using the content reproduction unit 100 according to the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the license request | requirement of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the license request which the license request relay means 70 rewritten the license request shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of initial content request data issued from the content reproduction unit 100 to the content distribution relay unit 60 when the metadata illustrated in FIG. 11 is received. It is a figure which shows an example of the content delivery request | requirement sent to the content delivery means 30 from the content delivery relay means 60 of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content distribution system 2 Content editing system 3 Content reproduction system 4 Content relay system 10 License management means 20 Content distribution means 30 Contract management means 40 Metadata management means 50 Metadata verification means 60 Content distribution relay means 70 License request relay means 80 Meta Data generation means 90 Content reproduction editing means 100 Content reproduction means 110 License storage means 120 Content storage means 130 Contract information storage means 140 Metadata storage means 150 Content management means 601 and 602 Sub-blocks

Claims (6)

Content distribution means for distributing audiovisual content data having a time axis;
Metadata generating means for generating metadata including a viewing section of the content to be partially viewed;
Metadata storage means for storing metadata generated by the metadata generation means;
Obtain metadata of content to be viewed from the metadata storage means, issue a content distribution request to the content distribution means according to the metadata, obtain content distribution of the viewing section included in the metadata, Content playback means for playback;
The content distribution request issued from the content reproduction means to the content distribution means is relayed, the metadata of the requested content is obtained from the metadata storage means, and the content distribution request is a request via metadata. Content distribution relay means for relaying the content distribution from the content distribution means to the content reproduction means,
The content distribution relay means interrupts the relay of content distribution when it deviates from the viewing section of the content included in the metadata. License management means for managing the license of the content;
A license request relay unit that relays a license request requested by the content reproduction unit to the license management unit;
The content playback means obtains the metadata of the requested content from the metadata storage means before making a content distribution request when viewing the content, and sends a license request to the license request relay means according to the metadata,
When receiving the license request, the license request relay means obtains metadata from the metadata storage means, confirms that the license request is a license request via metadata, and sends it to the license management means, 2. The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein when the license is sent from the license management means, the license is sent to the content reproduction means. Content reproduction means for receiving content distribution from the content distribution means, receiving designation of the viewing section of the content by input of a metadata creator, and generating content usage information;
The metadata generation unit generates the metadata of the content based on the content usage information generated by the content reproduction / editing unit and stores the metadata in the metadata storage unit. 2. The content distribution system according to 2. Having contract information storage means for storing contract information for the content of the metadata creator;
4. The content according to claim 3, wherein the content reproduction / editing unit obtains contract information for which the metadata creator has contracted from the contract information accumulating unit, and generates content usage information of the contracted content. Distribution system. The metadata generation means stores information identifying a metadata creator together with the generated metadata in the metadata storage means,
When the license request relay unit receives a license request from the content reproduction unit, the license request relay unit obtains information specifying the metadata creator from the metadata storage unit together with the metadata, 5. The content distribution system according to claim 4, wherein information to be specified is added to the license request and sent to the license management means.   When the content distribution relay means receives a content distribution request from the content reproduction means, if the viewing section requesting content distribution exceeds the viewing section included in the metadata obtained from the metadata storage means, 6. The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein a viewing section for requesting content distribution is changed to a viewing section included in the metadata.

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