JP3683578B2 - Certification system and recording medium for electronic publications - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for performing public certification of electronic data that is publicly disclosed via a network.

  Recently, the spread of the Internet is remarkable, and many companies, organizations, individuals, etc. have opened homepages on the Internet. Users using the Internet can access many such homepages and obtain a wide variety of information by using a Web browser.

  On the other hand, from the company, group, individual, etc. on the side of providing information on the home page, the information is disclosed to many users who can be accessed via the Internet. Unlike the conventional method of publishing information such as magazines printed on paper and presenting it in a public place, it is expected that there will be a lot of movement to publish publications as electronic data on the Internet.

  In the current situation, what information is posted on which home page is up to the sender of the information, and there is no control over who and what information is posted on which home page. . Therefore, even if the publication is posted on the website as electronic data, all responsibility is borne by the sender of the information.

  Non-Patent Document 1 below describes a public technique service for the purpose of making each company's technical information public instead of filing a patent application, but it is acknowledged that the technical information has been published. It is not because it was published in "Invention Association Public Techniques", but because it was published in a periodicals using paper media. There is nothing different from the announcement in the journal. Even if the “invention association disclosure technique” is disclosed on the WWW, the problem to be solved by the present invention remains as in the case of disclosure of other WWW contents.

In addition, Patent Document 1 below describes determining whether a document has been tampered with using a hash function or certifying when a secret document is established, but there is no suggestion about the public proof of an electronic publication. There is no description to do.
JP-T 6-501571 Information on public techniques, Japan Invention Association, 1995

  As described above, publication of contents (WWW content (WWW: World Wide Web)) as electronic data posted on the homepage is free to the information sender, and issuance of WWW contents. There was no system to prove the release. Therefore, when the information disclosure method is changed from a paper medium to a WWW publishing format (a format for posting as electronic data on a homepage or the like), the information sender not only has the WWW content but also the content (contents) of the same paper medium. We have been certifying the publicly known time and the contents of the book by depositing it to a public institution such as the Diet Library.

  As described above, in order to prove the contents and the publication time, it is necessary to create a printed publication on the paper medium having the same contents separately from the publication of the WWW contents. Therefore, even if the publication of content is digitized, creation of printed publications is unavoidable, and there is an aspect that the advantages of digitization are impaired, such as extra costs and increased stock of unnecessary printed materials. It was.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a system for certifying a publicly disclosed material in the form of electronic data on a network.

  The certification system for electronic publications of the present invention receives and collects applicant management means for registering and managing certification applicants for electronic publications and information on the location of the electronic publications sent from the applicant. Based on the collection destination setting means registered in the destination setting unit and the information on the location registered in the collection destination setting unit, the contents of the electronic publication are collected over the network several times at different dates and times. If the collected electronic publications have the same contents, the contents collection means for determining a period of different date as the publication period, the contents of the electronic publications collected by the contents collection means, and the contents are published on the network When the public start date information and the publication period are recorded in the storage means, and the public proof of the electronic publication is performed, the electronic publication is stored based on the recorded contents of the storage means. Characterized in that it comprises a content publishing certificate recording means for providing the data required to open prove.

  According to the certification system for electronic publications of the present invention, a person who needs public certification of an electronic publication can automatically collect the contents of the electronic publication by registering with the system. Yes, and a public certificate is issued based on this collection result. Therefore, it is not necessary to create a printed matter having the same contents and deliver it to a public institution such as the Diet Library in order to obtain a proof that the electronic publication has become publicly known.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of a WWW content public certification system according to the present invention.
The WWW content public certification system 10 is installed in an organization that performs public certification (for example, public organizations such as various academic societies and organizations). The WWW content public certification system 10 can access the A company homepage 15, the B company homepage 16, the C company homepage 17 and the like via the Internet 14. A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) 1 is assigned to the A company home page 15, a URL 2 is assigned to the B company home page 16, a URL 3 is assigned to the C company home page 17, and so on. By specifying this URL, a desired homepage can be accessed.

  The URL of this server is associated with an IP address unique in the world used in the communication protocol TCP / IP, and it is known that the server is specified by the IP address corresponding to the designated URL.

  The WWW content public certification system 10 mainly includes two data files and one software. The applicant management file 11 is a file for registering an applicant who has requested a public certification of WWW content from an organization having the WWW content public certification system 10, and the applicant has a WWW content public certification via the Internet 14. The ID, password, etc. for receiving the service of the system 10 are stored in correspondence with the applicant's information.

  An applicant (for example, a content creator) who desires public certification of WWW content makes an account (ID, ID, WWW content public certification system 10) in advance with a public certification authority (an organization having the WWW content public certification system 10). Passwords etc.) are distributed by writing or sending e-mail.

  The content collection robot 12 is software called a “robot” that automatically performs data acquisition work of WWW content that should be publicly certified when a predetermined time comes. Currently, robots are actively used in Internet technology, and information on robots can be obtained from the Internet. A robot is a program that automatically follows a hypertext structure on the Web. Once a certain document (page) is obtained, the robot goes to see all the pages referenced from that page. , Etc. are repeated recursively. Here, the order in which the pages are actually viewed is not necessarily based on a certain algorithm, but differs for each program.

  Details of the actual program of the content collection robot 12 used in the present embodiment are left to design by those skilled in the art, and in the following, this embodiment of the content collection robot 12 is specified by specifying the functions that the content collection robot 12 should perform. Disclose the role in.

  The content public certification record file 13 records, as data, the content of the WWW content acquired by the content collection robot 12 for the public certification from the homepage 15 of the company A, the date when the WWW content is acquired, and the like. Is. The content public certification record file 13 is referred to when a public certification request is received from a user, and is used to create a necessary certification document.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first configuration of the content collection robot 12 in the WWW content public certification system 10 of the first embodiment and a processing flow thereof.
A content collection robot 12 of the WWW content public certification system 10 is mounted on the workstation or the personal computer 20 shown in FIG. Of course, the content collection robot 12 may be mounted on a main frame that is a large computer, without being limited to a workstation or a personal computer. The WWW content public certification system is provided with the applicant management file 11 and the content public certification recording file 13 in addition to the content collection robot 12, which are provided together with the content collection robot 12 on the hard disk 21 of the workstation or personal computer 20. However, since the amount of data may be large, a separate recording device is provided, and the files 11 and 13 are stored in the recording device, and the recording device is connected to a workstation via a network such as a LAN. Alternatively, it is preferable to use it connected to the personal computer 20. A database server may be provided to manage the files 11 and 13 as a database. In this case, the database server and the workstation or the personal computer 20 may be connected to the same LAN.

  The workstation or personal computer 20 generally includes a hard disk 21 and a CPU 27, and the content collection robot 12 is recorded on the hard disk 21. The content collection robot 12 mainly includes a parameter setting unit 50a and a function software unit 60a. The workstation or personal computer 20 may have a known configuration in which a CPU, a hard disk, a memory, and various controllers are connected to a bus, and a program is loaded from the hard disk or other auxiliary storage device into the memory and processed by the CPU. Is.

  The parameter setting unit 50 a includes a collection destination URL setting unit 22 and a collection page hierarchy number setting unit 23. The function software unit 60 a includes communication (connection) function software 24 and content collection function software 25. The system clock 26 is built in the system of the workstation or the personal computer 20 and measures the current time.

  The collection destination URL setting unit 22 is a memory area for recording a homepage location (URL) designated by an applicant who has requested public certification, and the content collection robot has a homepage location set in the collection destination URL setting unit 22. Based on the information, access the collection destination homepage and collect the content.

  The collection destination page hierarchy number setting unit 23 is a memory area in which information indicating how far to follow the link destination registered in the collection destination homepage is set. In general, the WWW content has a hierarchical structure composed of a plurality of pages. By following the link destinations posted on the pages of the respective layers, it is possible to sequentially access the pages of the lower layers. In this way, as you follow the links on the page more and more, there is a possibility that you will have to get the content, so as described later, the page of the content page that requires the applicant to have a public certificate The number of hierarchies is designated in advance, and the number of hierarchies is set in the collection destination page hierarchy number setting unit 23.

  The communication (connection) function software 24 of the function software unit 60a is a program for communication connection to WWW content to be collected via the Internet 14, and performs the same operation as the communication function of a Web browser or the like. The content collection function software 25 accesses the target WWW content communicated and connected by the communication function software 24 while referring to the setting value of the collection destination URL setting unit 22. Then, when accessing the home page where the target WWW content is described with the URL set in the collection destination URL setting unit 22, the WWW content is acquired (the WWW content is stored in the hard disk 21 or a storage device provided separately). ).

  When link destinations are posted on the home page of the target WWW content, all the linked destinations are accessed and the content one level below is acquired. If the link destination is also posted in the content one level below, the link destination is accessed again to acquire the content in the lower level. As described above, if there is a link destination in the lower hierarchy, the content in the lower hierarchy is accessed, and the content is acquired for the number of levels set in the collection page hierarchy number setting unit 23. Disconnect.

  A workstation or personal computer 20 on which the content collection robot 12 is mounted is provided with an in-system clock 26, whereby the current time is counted. The system internal clock 26 serves to notify the content collection robot 12 of the time to go to obtain the WWW content of the applicant for public certification.

  The content collection robot 12 composed of the above components is stored in the hard disk 21 as a program and is executed by the CPU 27. This program may be loaded (installed) on a hard disk from a portable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM. A workstation or personal computer 20 which is a WWW content public certification system is connected to a HUB unit 29 by a LAN card 28 and connected to the Internet 14 via the HUB unit 29.

FIG. 2B is a processing flow performed by the content collection robot 12.
When the WWW content public certification applicant is registered, the URL of the WWW content requested by the applicant is set in the collection destination URL setting unit 22 in step S1. In step S <b> 2, the number of hierarchies indicating the number of hierarchies the page of the WWW content that the applicant has requested to apply for public certification is set in the collection page hierarchy number setting unit 23.

  When the system clock 26 reaches 0 o'clock the day after the application date, the communication (connection) software 24 is activated, and the communication software 24 is connected to the URL registered in the collection destination URL setting unit 22. Here, the communication connection time to the collection destination URL is described as 0:00 on the next day of the application date, but it is not necessarily limited to this date and time. Should set the optimal date and time. In addition, after information is set in the URL collection destination URL setting unit 22 and the collection page hierarchy number setting unit 23 in step S1 and step S2, a communication connection may be established immediately.

  When the communication connection is established with the URL of the collection destination, the content collection function software 25 is activated in step S4, and the content collection function software 25 configures the pages in the hierarchy set in the collection page hierarchy number setting unit 23. And the file is collected in the WWW content public certification system 10.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of processing from a WWW content public certification application to a public certification in the system of the first embodiment of FIG.
In step S10, first, a content creator (who wants to receive a public certificate) applies in advance to a content (WWW content) public certification authority through a communication means such as a written document or e-mail.

  Upon receiving this registration application, the content public certification organization registers the applicant in the applicant management file 11 of the WWW content public certification system 10, and notifies the applicant of the ID and password (step S11). The contact method may be e-mail or mailed in writing.

  The applicant who has received the ID and password accesses the WWW homepage of the content publication authorized organization using a Web browser or the like, and opens the content publication certification application screen using the ID and password. Since the items to be input are displayed on the content publication certification application screen, the applicant inputs necessary items in these items.

  In the case of FIG. 3, the input items are “applicant name”, “content name”, “content location (URL)”, “number of pages to be collected”, “contact TEL / e-mail”. Is given as an example. Since these are considered to be necessary at the minimum, if there is an item considered necessary, it may be displayed on the content publication certificate application screen as an input item and prompted for input.

  When the application on the content disclosure certification application screen is completed, the applicant presses an “OK” button shown in FIG. 3 to end the input. Then, the input content is sent to the WWW content public certification system 10 by electronic mail. Accordingly, the location (URL) of the content is automatically set in the collection destination URL setting unit 22 in FIG. 2A, and the number of pages to be collected is automatically set in the collection page hierarchy number setting unit 23. The processing performed by the applicant for the content public certification system 10 ends, and the following processing is performed by the WWW content public certification system 10.

  In the WWW content public certification system 10 that has received the application in step S12, the content collection robot 12 is activated and the communication (connection) function software is activated, for example, when the internal clock 26 reaches 0:00 on the next day of the application date. 24 is connected to the URL registered by the applicant via the Internet 14. Then, the content collection function software 25 sends the files (HTML file and image file) constituting each page in the designated hierarchy of the WWW content at the URL to the WWW content public certification system 10 installed in the content public certification authority. Collect (step S13).

  In step S14, necessary items are recorded as one record from the collected file in the content disclosure certificate recording file. In the example of FIG. 3, “reception number (serial number)”, “applicant name”, “collected content (contents of each page)”, “URL (content location) visited by the content collection robot”, “public” Scope (whether or not the circulated URL is publicly available) "," Circuit collection date and time (record of date and time of content publication) "," Public certification authority (public certification authority) name "are required items (recorded in the record) Item). Here, “tour” indicates that the content collection robot follows the link destinations posted on each page of the content in order. In addition, the range of disclosure is determined by determining, for example, whether the URL of the content exists in a firewall of a private network possessed by a specific company or organization based on the content collection result. In other words, if a connection to a URL specified as a link destination cannot be established even if an attempt is made, it is determined that the page of the URL is in a private state within the firewall. If none of the pages are in the firewall, for example, “Public range” may be set to “Public”, and if some pages are in the firewall, “Partial” will be considered. It is done. Moreover, you may comprise so that "public" and "non-public" may be recorded for every circulated URL.

  In step S15, the record record obtained in step S14 is copied to make two copies. Among them, one copy is stored as it is (step S16), and in step S17, this record is posted on a WWW server (not shown) of the content public certification system 10, and the content public certification is provided as a content with a public certification function by the WWW server. It will be published on the website of the institution (various academic societies, organizations, etc.).

  Of the record records created in step S15, the other is encrypted and fixed with a hash function to prevent tampering (step S18). Then, the contents of the record record obtained in step S14 are displayed or printed as required for the public certification of the content, and issued as a certificate (step S19).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration and processing flow of the content collection robot of the second embodiment of the WWW content public certification system of the present invention.
The difference in the second embodiment is the operation of the content collection robot 12. Specifically, the content collection robot 12 goes to acquire the same WWW content twice at different dates and times. Therefore, the configuration of the second embodiment corresponding to FIG. 1 is the same as that of FIG.

  It is a figure which shows the structure of the content collection | recovery robot 12 of the WWW content public certification | authentication system of 2nd Embodiment mounted in the workstation or personal computer 40 shown by Fig.4 (a). In FIG. 4A, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in FIG.

  The workstation or personal computer 40 is connected to the HUB unit 29 via the LAN card 28 as in the case of FIG. 2A, and is connected to the Internet 14 via the HUB unit 29. The hard disk 21 stores the content collection robot 12 in the second embodiment as a program, and this program is executed by the CPU 27. This program may also be loaded (installed) on a hard disk from a portable recording medium as in the first embodiment.

  The communication (connection) function software 24, the content collection function software 25, and the system internal clock 26 of the function software section 60b perform functions similar to those shown in FIG. That is, the communication (connection) function software 24 is for communication connection to the target WWW content via the Internet 14, and the content collection function software 25 is used for communication of the WWW content connected by the communication (connection) function software 24. The contents of each page are acquired. The system clock 26 notifies the CPU 27 of the time when the content collection robot is activated.

  The collection destination URL setting unit 22 and the collection page hierarchy number setting unit 23 of the parameter setting unit 50b also perform the same functions as those described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment, in addition to these, a timer 1 setting unit 41 and a timer 2 setting unit 42 are provided.

  The timer 1 setting unit 41 and the timer 2 setting unit 42 are storage areas in which the activation time of the content collection robot 12 is set. In particular, in the second embodiment, the content collection robot 12 collects WWW content with the same URL twice, so two timer setting units are provided for setting the date and time when the robot is activated for the collection. Yes.

  The reason why the content collection robot goes to collect WWW content with the same URL twice is to confirm that the WWW content acquired at the first time has been released. For example, if the applicant for public certification puts the WWW content on the homepage only when the content collection robot comes to the collection, and immediately deletes the WWW content from the homepage, the public certification that it has been published is obtained. However, since the time when the corresponding information was actually disclosed was short, the information was effectively kept secret. In such a case, in the case of the first embodiment, the public accreditation body will issue a formal public certificate for the WWW content that has not been publicly disclosed. Embodiments are possible.

  As described above, a large computer such as a main frame may be used instead of the workstation or the personal computer 40, and information such as collected contents is recorded on an external recording device. Also good.

FIG. 4B is a processing flow of the content collection robot 12 of the second embodiment.
When there is an application for public certification from the applicant, 0:00 of the next day of the application date is set in the timer 1 setting unit 41 in step S20. The date and time set in the timer 1 setting unit 41 is the date and time when the content collection robot goes to collect the WWW content that was first applied. However, as described above, this date and time does not necessarily have to be 0:00 on the day after the application date, and should be set as appropriate.

  In step S 21, the date and time one month after the date and time set in the timer 1 setting unit 41 is set in the timer 2 setting unit 42. The date and time set in the timer 2 setting unit 42 need not be one month after the date and time set in the timer 1 setting unit 41, and for how long the same content has been posted in the requested URL, it has been released. It should be different depending on whether it is regarded as a thing. This should be determined appropriately by the content public certification authority having the WWW content public certification system, and is not particularly defined in the present embodiment.

  In step S22, the requested URL is registered in the collection destination URL setting unit 22. In step S <b> 23, the number of hierarchies indicating the number of hierarchies of the content page in the requested collection destination server is registered in the collection page hierarchy setting unit 23.

  In step S24, the CPU 27 determines whether or not the system clock 26 has reached the date and time set in the timer 1 setting unit 41. If the date and time has been reached, the communication (connection) function software 24 is activated in step S26. When activated, the communication (connection) function software 24 communicates and connects to the URL registered in the collection destination URL setting unit 22. In step S27, the content collection function software 25 is activated, copies the files constituting each page in the hierarchy indicated in the collection page hierarchy number setting unit 23, and copies the files to the WWW content disclosure certification system. 10 to collect.

  Next, in step S <b> 25, it is determined whether or not the system clock 26 has reached the date and time set in the timer 2 setting unit 42. If the system clock 26 does not indicate the date and time set in the timer 2 setting unit 42, the content collection robot enters a standby state, but one content collection robot is dedicated to only one applicant's public certification process. Since it is not efficient, it is preferable to perform processing for another URL between the next collection date and time (the date and time set in the timer 2 setting unit 42) for one URL. .

  When the system clock 26 indicates the date and time of the timer 2 setting unit 42 in step S25, the communication (connection) function software 24 of the content collection robot is activated in step S26, and the communication (connection) function software 24 is collected. Communication connection is made to the URL registered in the previous URL setting unit 22 (the same URL as in the first collection). Then, as in the first time, the content collection function software 25 is activated, and the content collection function software 25 copies the file of the page constituting the WWW content according to the setting of the collection page hierarchy number setting unit 23. The file is collected in the WWW content public certification system 10.

  As described above, WWW contents with the same URL are retrieved again at a predetermined time, and the contents (HTML file and image file) of the two contents collected by the contents collection robot 12 are compared with the WWW contents public certification system 10. If they are the same, public proof is given.

The flow of such processing will be described below.
FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are diagrams showing a flow from WWW content public certification application to public certification in the second embodiment.

  In step S30, the content creator (who wants to receive a public certificate) makes a registration application in advance to the content public certification authority through a communication means such as a document or an e-mail. In step S31, the content public certification authority that has received the registration application from the applicant registers the applicant in the applicant management file 11 of the WWW content public certification system 10, and notifies the applicant of the ID and password.

  The applicant connects to the WWW homepage of the accreditation body and opens the content public certification application screen using the ID and password. An example of the content publication certificate application screen is as shown in FIG. 5 and is the same as FIG. The applicant sends the input content to the WWW content public certification system 10 by e-mail by pressing the “OK” button.

  In step S33, the WWW content public certification system 10 extracts the URL from the received mail and automatically registers it in the collection destination URL setting unit 22 of the content collection robot 12. In step S34, the first content collection robot is activated. The date and time are set in the timer 1 setting unit 41. In step S35, the start date and time of the second content collection robot is set in the timer 2 setting unit 42. Here, for example, the setting date and time of the timer 1 setting unit 41 is set to 0 o'clock the day after the application date, and the setting date and time of the timer 2 setting unit 42 is set to one month after the setting date and time of the timer 1 setting unit 41.

  When the system clock 26 indicates the set date and time of the timer 1 setting unit 41, the content collection robot is activated in step S36, and the content collection robot connects to the designated URL and connects each page in the designated hierarchy. The configured file is collected in the WWW content public certification system 10 installed in the content public certification authority.

  In step S37, the data acquired in the above step is recorded in the content disclosure certificate recording file 13. In the first collection, all of the items shown in step S37 in FIG. 6 except for the “publication period” can be recorded from the contents acquired in steps S32, 34, and 35 and the collected contents. When the first collection ends in step S37, the process returns to step S36 to wait for the second collection time.

  When the system clock 26 indicates the date and time set in the timer 2 setting unit 42, the content collection robot is activated, and the content collection robot collects the content with the same URL as the first time. In step S38, the WWW content public certification system 10 collates the content collected for the second time with the content collected for the first time, and determines in step S39 whether they are the same or different. Based on this determination, the contents to be entered in the “publication period” among the recording items in step S37 in FIG. 6 are determined.

  In step S37, if the contents of the second collection and the contents of the first collection are the same, the recorded contents of “publication period” is, for example, “no change after one month”. Is less than one month ". Further, if the first collection contents and the second collection contents are the same, the first and second collection dates may be recorded. As a result, necessary items are recorded in the content publishing certificate recording file 13, so that the recording record is duplicated in step S40 to make two copies.

  A part is stored as it is (step S41), and the data of the record record is placed on the WWW server, and the WWW server publishes this data as a content with a public certification function on the homepage of the content publication certification organization (step S42). The other recording record is encrypted and fixed with a hash function to prevent tampering (step S43). Then, if necessary for certification, based on the encrypted record record, the contents recorded in step S37 are displayed or printed to form public certificates (step S44).

  If there is no WWW content corresponding to the URL at the time of the first collection in the second collection, it is determined that the WWW content has been deleted, and steps S38 and S39 are skipped. "Less than one month" and display that there is currently no content corresponding to the URL.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the third embodiment of the WWW content public certification system of the present invention.
As in the first and second embodiments of FIG. 1, the WWW content public certification system 70 accesses the home pages 75, 76, and 77 of the A company, B company, and C company via the Internet 74. It is possible. In the third embodiment, the WWW content public certification system 70 includes an applicant management file 71, a content public certification recording file 72, and a WWW server function 73.

  In the configuration of FIG. 7, an applicant management file 71 and a content disclosure certificate recording file 72 are provided as in FIG. The applicant management file 71 applies for the ID and password given to this applicant when a person (applicant) who wishes to publish the content has applied for registration with the public certification authority in writing or by e-mail. Registered with the user. The content public certification recording file 72 is a file for acquiring and recording data necessary for the public certification of the WWW content such as the content and the publication period of the WWW content created by the content creator.

  In the third embodiment, a WWW server function 73 is provided instead of the content collection robot. In other words, in the first and second embodiments, the content collection robot 12 is configured to acquire the WWW content designated by the applicant and record it in the content disclosure certificate recording file 13. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, the WWW content desired by the applicant is transmitted and recorded in the WWW content public certification system 70 to receive the public certification. The WWW content transmitted from the applicant is recorded in the content publication certificate recording file 72 and posted on the Internet 74 by the WWW server function 73.

By adopting such a method, the procedure for performing public certification of content can be simplified, and the configuration of the WWW content public certification system can be simplified.
As a configuration of the WWW content public certification system 70 in FIG. 7, the recording function of the applicant management file 71 and the content public certification recording file 72 and the WWW server function 73 may be realized using the mainframe. Only a server function 73 is provided in a workstation, a personal computer, etc., and the applicant management file 71 and the content disclosure certificate recording file 72 are recorded on a separate recording medium, which is realized by a relatively small computer system. It is also possible to do.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flow of processing from the WWW content public certification application to the public certification in the third embodiment.
In step S50, the content creator (who wants to receive a public certificate) applies in advance to a content public certification authority through a communication means such as a document or an e-mail.

  In step S51, the content public certification organization (institution having a content public certification system such as various academic societies and organizations) registers the applicant in the applicant management file 71 of the WWW content public certification system 70, and the ID, password and applicant are registered. The directory name in the content public certification system 70, which is a destination for sending the content by electronic communication, is notified. There are various protocols for the applicant to send the content to the content public certification system 70. Here, ftp (file transfer protocol) is used.

  In step S52, the applicant connects to the server (not shown) of the content certification organization by ftp, logs in with the received ID / password, and uploads the file that constitutes the content to receive public certification to the specified directory. (In the case of ftp, there is a command “put” as a command for uploading a file, which is used).

  On the WWW content public certification system 70 side, the content transferred from the applicant is made public on the Internet by the WWW server function 73 (step S53). In step S54, the applicant makes a telnet connection to the server of the content public certification authority, logs in using the ID / password, and opens the content public certification application screen. Register the required items from this screen. In the case of FIG. 8, “applicant name”, “content name”, and “contact TEL / e-mail” are listed as necessary items. However, items may be reduced or added as necessary. Good. When the applicant finishes inputting necessary items and presses the “OK” button in FIG. 8, the necessary items are sent to the content disclosure certification system 70 using telnet. In the above explanation, it was explained that the connection to the server of the content public certification organization was made using telnet. However, the applicant finished input by accessing the normal WWW homepage and creating a screen for entering necessary items there. It may be configured that data of necessary items is sometimes sent to the content public certification system 70.

  The content public certification system 70 that has received the necessary items records the necessary items in the content public certification recording file 72 (step S55). Here, the item corresponding to the “publication period” in the above-described embodiment is “content publication start date and time” in the third embodiment. This is because the content transferred from the applicant has already been made public by the WWW server function 73 in step S53. Moreover, since it is the content publication certification organization side that makes it public, the date and time when the content publication has started is known by the content publication certification organization side. Therefore, there is no need to go to the applicant for confirmation of this item, and there is an advantage that the content that has been transferred can be disclosed to the public without fail.

  The item of step S55 is “file composing the content”, which means an HTML sentence or image data file composing the content published in step S53.

  When necessary items are written as records in the content public certification record file 72 in step S55, the recording record (public certification record record) is copied into two copies in step S56. A part is stored as it is (step S57) and replaced with the content published in step S53 and not yet provided with the public certification record (step S58). In step S59, the content and the public certification record data are set as a set. Publicly available on the Internet 74. This can be used as a WWW publication publishing system with a public certificate.

  Of the record records created in step S56, the other is encrypted and fixed with a hash function to prevent falsification (step S60). Then, according to the necessity of proof, the recorded contents obtained in step S55 are displayed or printed to form a public certificate (step S61).

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a recording medium.
The WWW content public certification system described in the above embodiment of the present invention can be realized as a program activated on a workstation or a personal computer. In the above description, this program is recorded on the hard disk 82 of a workstation or a personal computer (information processing apparatus) and is described as being activated as necessary.

  However, the program of the WWW content public certification system is not necessarily recorded on the hard disk 82 of the information processing apparatus. For example, the program is loaded from a portable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM into the information processing apparatus. You may make it perform.

  Alternatively, the information processing apparatus may communicate via a line, download the WWW content public certification system program from the recording medium 80 of the information provider, and start up on the information processing apparatus.

 According to the present invention, when a document or the like in an electronic data format such as WWW content is created, the creator publishes it on a paper medium by registering with the content publication certification system of the electronic publication of the present invention. You can get the contents and proof of publicly known time without printing the thing separately.

It is a block diagram of 1st Embodiment of the WWW content public certification system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure and processing flow of the content collection | recovery robot of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the flow from the WWW content public certification application in 1st Embodiment to performing public certification. It is a figure which shows the structure and processing flow of a content collection | recovery robot of 2nd Embodiment of the WWW content public certification system of this invention. It is the figure (the 1) which shows the flow from performing the WWW content public certification application to performing public certification in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure (the 2) which shows the flow from the WWW content public certification application to performing public certification in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram of 3rd Embodiment of the WWW content public certification system of this invention. It is the figure which showed the flow from the WWW content public certification application in 3rd Embodiment to performing public certification. It is a figure which shows a recording medium.

Explanation of symbols

10, 70 WWW Content Public Proof System 11, 71 Applicant Management File 12 Content Collection Robot 13, 72 Content Public Proof Record File 14, 74 Internet 15, 75 Company A Homepage 16, 76 Company B Homepage 17, 77 Company C Homepage 20 , 40 Workstation or PC 21 Hard disk 22 Collection destination URL setting unit 23 Collection page hierarchy number setting unit 24 Communication (connection) function software 25 Content collection function software 26 System clock 27 CPU
28 LAN card 29 HUB unit 41 Timer 1 setting unit 42 Timer 2 setting unit 50a, 50b Parameter setting unit 60a, 60b Function software unit 73 WWW server function 80 Recording medium 81 Portable recording medium 82 Hard disk

Claims (2)

Applicant management means for registering and managing certification applicants for electronic publications,
A collection destination setting means for receiving information on the location of the electronic publication sent from the applicant and registering it in the collection destination setting section;
Based on the information on the location registered in the collection destination setting unit, if the contents of the electronic publication are collected via the network multiple times at different dates and the electronic publications collected at different dates are the same contents Content collection means for determining a period of different date and time as a publication period;
When the contents of the electronic publication collected by the contents collection means, the publication start date information published on the network and the publication period are recorded in the storage means, and the publication of the electronic publication is performed, Content public certification recording means for providing data necessary for public certification of the electronic publication based on the recorded contents of the storage means;
An electronic publication proof system comprising: On the computer,
Applicant management procedure for registering and managing certification applicants for electronic publications,
A collection destination setting procedure for receiving information on the location of the electronic publication sent from the applicant and registering it in the collection destination setting section;
Based on the information on the location registered in the collection destination setting unit, if the contents of the electronic publication are collected via the network multiple times at different dates and the electronic publications collected at different dates are the same contents , A content collection procedure that determines the period of the different date and time as the publication period,
When the contents of the electronic publication collected by the content collection procedure, the publication start date information published on the network and the publication period are recorded in the storage means, and the publication of the electronic publication is performed, A content public certification recording procedure for providing data necessary for the public certification of the electronic publication based on the recording content of the storage means;
The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program which performs this.

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