JP2003187101A - Information processor, information processing method, storage medium, information processing system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect a copyright of a content when making content transferable by peer-to-peer. <P>SOLUTION: Transmission and receipt of encrypted content data between a content server 4 and a personal computer 1-1 is executed without using public key cryptosystem as shown by (a) in a Figure. User information containing information ID showing the source of the content data is described in a field attached to the content data as shown by b in the Figure. Since the user information is encrypted by the public key of a license server 3, only the license server 3 can read it. Electronically signed preview license acquisition request information or general license acquisition request information is transmitted to the license server 3 as shown by c in the Figure. The information showing the source of the content data is described in the license acquisition request information as shown by d in the Figure. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, a recording medium, an information processing system, and a program, and in particular, content capable of peer-to-peer content transfer between users who receive a service. The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method suitable for use in providing a distribution service, a recording medium, an information processing system, and a program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the increase in storage capacity of personal computers and the improvement of audio and video playback technology,
An increasing number of users are recording and playing music data, video data, etc. inside their personal computers.

So-called content data such as music data and video data can be downloaded from a website operated by a business operator providing a content distribution service via the Internet or the like. It is also possible to send and receive contents peer-to-peer between personal computers.

[0004]

However, when content is exchanged peer-to-peer between personal computers owned by users, it is very difficult to protect the copyright of the content. Therefore, it is considered to deliver the encrypted content data together with the decryption key to the authorized user (for example, the user who paid the fee).

However, if the content data is encrypted so that the user who receives the content data peer-to-peer cannot view the content data, the content can be widely distributed using peer-to-peer. I can't.

[0006] Further, before paying a fee, the user confirms whether or not the content data is suitable for his / her taste, for example, by listening to music data, the contents of the content data are checked. I want to confirm. Therefore, the content distribution service provider needs to distribute, for example, the preview data (for example, a part of the content data) that can be viewed without using the decryption key, in addition to the encrypted content data. Has occurred.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and enables a user to listen to a content before purchasing the content data and protect the copyright of the content while using peer-to-peer to store the content. It enables wide distribution and further enables tracing of the flow of contents.

[0008]

A first information processing apparatus of the present invention comprises an acquisition means for acquiring content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, And generating means for generating fourth information including third information capable of identifying itself,
The first transmitting means for transmitting the fourth information generated by the generating means, the receiving means for receiving the fifth information necessary for reproducing the content, and the fifth information received by the receiving means. An extracting unit that extracts the attached sixth information and an information attaching unit that attaches the sixth information extracted by the extracting unit to the content instead of the first information attached to the content. It is characterized by being provided.

It is possible to further include second transmitting means for transmitting the content, to which the sixth information is attached by the information attaching means, to another information processing apparatus.

The first information and the sixth information can be encrypted with the public key of the destination of the fourth information.

The fifth information may be either the first license information for conditionally reproducing the content or the second license information for completely reproducing the content.

The fourth information generated by the generating means is
An encryption means for encrypting may be further provided.

The encrypting means may encrypt the fourth information with the public key of the destination of the fourth information and give the electronic signature with the private key of the own.

Decoding means for decoding the fifth information received by the receiving means may be further provided.

A first information processing method of the present invention is an acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and oneself. And a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generation step, for generating the fourth information including the third information capable of specifying A reception control step for controlling reception of the fifth information necessary for the extraction, an extraction step for extracting the sixth information attached to the fifth information whose reception is controlled by the processing of the reception control step, and an extraction step And an information attaching step of attaching the sixth information extracted by the processing of step 1 to the content instead of the first information attached to the content. To.

The program recorded in the first recording medium of the present invention includes an acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of content, a first information attached to the content, and a second information for specifying the content. A generation step of generating fourth information including information and third information capable of identifying itself; a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generation step; A reception control step for controlling reception of the fifth information necessary for reproducing the content, and an extraction for extracting the sixth information attached to the fifth information whose reception is controlled by the processing of the reception control step. Step and an information attachment strip that attaches the sixth information extracted by the processing of the extraction step to the content instead of the first information attached to the content. Tsu, characterized in that it comprises a flop.

The first program of the present invention specifies an acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and oneself. A fourth step of generating fourth information including third information that can be
The transmission control step for controlling the transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generation step, the reception control step for controlling the reception of the fifth information necessary for reproducing the content, and the processing of the reception control step The extraction step of extracting the sixth information attached to the fifth information whose reception is controlled, and the sixth information extracted by the processing of the extraction step are changed to the first information attached to the content. Instead, the computer is caused to execute a process including an information attaching step of attaching the content.

The second information processing apparatus of the present invention comprises an acquisition unit for acquiring the content, the first information attached to the content, the second information for specifying the content,
And generating means for generating fourth information including third information capable of identifying itself, transmitting means for transmitting the fourth information generated by the generating means, and necessary for reproducing the content Receiving means for receiving the fifth information, and encrypting means for encrypting the sixth information capable of identifying itself with the public key of the destination of the fourth information,
It is characterized by further comprising information attaching means for attaching the sixth information encrypted by the encrypting means to the content instead of the first information attached to the content.

A second information processing method of the present invention is an acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and oneself. And a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generation step, for generating the fourth information including the third information capable of specifying A reception control step of controlling reception of the fifth information necessary for the above, and an encryption step of encrypting the sixth information capable of identifying itself with the public key of the destination of the fourth information, And an information attaching step of attaching the sixth information encrypted by the processing of the encrypting step to the content instead of the first information attached to the content. To.

The program recorded on the second recording medium of the present invention includes an acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of the content, first information attached to the content, and a second information for specifying the content. A generation step of generating fourth information including information and third information capable of identifying itself; a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generation step; The reception control step of controlling reception of the fifth information necessary for reproducing the content and the sixth information capable of identifying itself are encrypted with the public key of the transmission destination of the fourth information. An encryption step and an information attachment step that attaches the sixth information encrypted by the processing of the encryption step to the content instead of the first information attached to the content. Characterized in that it comprises a flop.

A second program of the present invention, an acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and the self. A fourth step of generating fourth information including third information that can be
A transmission control step for controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generation step, a reception control step for controlling reception of the fifth information necessary for reproducing the content, and identifying itself The sixth step of encrypting the sixth information that can be encrypted with the public key of the destination of the fourth information and the sixth information encrypted by the processing of the encryption step are attached to the content. It is characterized in that the computer is caused to execute a process including an information attaching step of attaching to the content instead of the first information.

A third information processing device of the present invention is a first recording means for recording the first information peculiar to the content, which is used for reproducing the content, and another information processing device holding the content. From the third information, the second information attached to the content, the third information for identifying the content, and the fourth information for identifying the other information processing apparatus.
Of the first information recorded in the first recording means and the receiving means for receiving the fifth information including the information of the first information, and the first information corresponding to the content specified by the third information is extracted. Extracting means, first generating means for generating sixth information including at least information for specifying another information processing apparatus, sixth information generated by the first generating means, and extracting by the extracting means Second generating means for generating seventh information including at least the generated first information, and another information processing apparatus in which the seventh information generated by the second generating means is specified by the fourth information And a transmitting means for transmitting to.

The sixth information generated by the first generating means may be further provided with an encrypting means for encrypting the sixth information with its own public key, and the second generating means may encrypt the sixth information. It is possible to generate the seventh information including at least the sixth information encrypted by the means and the first information extracted by the extracting means.

It is possible to further include a decrypting means for decrypting the second information included in the fifth information received by the receiving means by using the own secret key.
The second information can be information encrypted with the public key.

The first information can be either the first license information for conditionally reproducing the content or the second license information for completely reproducing the content.

An encryption means for encrypting the seventh information generated by the second generation means may be further provided.

The encryption means encrypts the seventh information with the public key of the other information processing apparatus specified by the fourth information, and gives the electronic signature with the private key of the own. be able to.

Decoding means for decoding the fifth information received by the receiving means may be further provided.

The second recording means for recording the second information, the third information, and the fourth information included in the fifth information received by the receiving means, and the second recording means. It is possible to further include an analysis unit that analyzes information regarding the content based on the recorded second information, third information, and fourth information.

A third information processing method of the present invention is a recording control step for controlling recording of the first information unique to the content used for reproducing the content, and another information processing apparatus holding the content. Receiving the fifth information including the second information attached to the content, the third information for identifying the content, and the fourth information for identifying the other information processing device from A reception control step of controlling, an extraction step of extracting the first information corresponding to the content specified by the third information from the first information whose recording is controlled by the processing of the recording control step, and the like, A sixth generation step of generating sixth information including at least information for specifying the information processing apparatus of the first and sixth processing steps of the first generation step.
Of the second information and the seventh information generated by the processing of the second generation step, which generates the seventh information including at least the first information extracted by the processing of the extraction step, A transmission control step of controlling transmission to another information processing device specified by the fourth information.

The program recorded on the third recording medium of the present invention has a recording control step for controlling recording of the first information peculiar to the content, which is used for reproducing the content, and holds the content. The second information attached to the content from another information processing device,
Recording is performed by processing of a reception control step for controlling reception of the third information for specifying the content and the fifth information including the fourth information for specifying the other information processing apparatus, and the recording control step. Of the first information controlled by the third information, an extraction step of extracting the first information corresponding to the content identified by the third information, and a sixth information including at least information identifying another information processing device. A seventh generation step that includes at least a first generation step of generating information, a sixth information generated by the processing of the first generation step, and a first information extracted by the processing of the extraction step.
Of the second generation step of generating the information of the second generation step and the transmission control of controlling the transmission of the seventh information generated by the processing of the second generation step to another information processing apparatus specified by the fourth information. And a step.

The third program of the present invention is a recording control step for controlling the recording of the first information peculiar to the content, which is used for reproducing the content, and a recording control step from another information processing apparatus holding the content. Controlling reception of the fifth information including the second information attached to the content, the third information for identifying the content, and the fourth information for identifying the other information processing apparatus. A reception control step, an extraction step of extracting the first information corresponding to the content identified by the third information from the first information whose recording is controlled by the processing of the recording control step, and other information A first generation step of generating sixth information including at least information specifying a processing device, the sixth information generated by the processing of the first generation step, and extraction The extracted by the processing of step 1
A second generation step of generating seventh information including at least the above information, and to the other information processing apparatus specified by the fourth information of the seventh information generated by the processing of the second generation step. And a transmission control step for controlling the transmission of the.

In the information processing system of the present invention, the first information processing apparatus acquires the content, the first information attached to the content, the second information for specifying the content, and First generation means for generating fourth information including third information capable of identifying itself, and fourth information generated by the first generation means are transmitted to the second information processing device. And a first receiving unit for receiving fifth information necessary for reproducing the content transmitted from the second information processing apparatus,
First extraction means for extracting the sixth information attached to the fifth information received by the reception means, and the sixth information extracted by the first extraction means are attached to the content. A recording means for recording the seventh information peculiar to the content, which is provided with the information attaching means for attaching to the content instead of the first information, and which is used by the second information processing apparatus for reproducing the content; , Second information receiving means for receiving the first information, the second information, and the fourth information including the third information from the first information processing device, and the seventh information recorded in the recording means. Second information extracting means for extracting seventh information corresponding to the content identified by the second information, and sixth information including at least information identifying the first information processing apparatus. Second generation means for Generated by the third generation means and third generation means for generating fifth information including at least the sixth information generated by the generation means and the seventh information extracted by the second extraction means. 5th information to 3rd
Second transmitting means for transmitting to the first information processing device specified by the information of 1.

In the first information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the program of the present invention, the first information for acquiring the content and attached to the content, the second information for specifying the content, and The fourth information including the third information capable of identifying oneself is generated, the generated fourth information is transmitted, the fifth information necessary for playing the content is received, and the fourth information is received. The sixth information attached to the information of No. 5 is extracted, and the extracted sixth information is attached to the content instead of the first information attached to the content.

In the second information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the program of the present invention, the first information for acquiring the content and attached to the content, the second information for specifying the content, and The fourth information including the third information capable of identifying oneself is generated, the generated fourth information is transmitted, the fifth information necessary for reproducing the content is received, and The sixth information that can identify itself is encrypted with the public key of the destination of the fourth information, and the encrypted sixth information replaces the first information attached to the content. Attached to the content.

In the third information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the program of the present invention, the first information peculiar to the content, which is used for reproducing the content, is recorded, and other information which holds the content is recorded. Fifth information including second information attached to the content, third information for identifying the content, and fourth information for identifying the other information processing apparatus is received from the processing device. The first information corresponding to the content identified by the third information is extracted from the recorded first information, and the sixth information including at least information identifying another information processing device is Generated, generated sixth information, seventh information including at least the extracted first information is generated, and the generated seventh information is specified by the fourth information. It is sent to the broadcast processing apparatus.

In the information processing system of the present invention, the first information processing device acquires the content, the first information attached to the content, the second information for specifying the content, and the self information. The fourth information including the third information that can specify the content is generated, the generated fourth information is transmitted to the second information processing device, and the content transmitted from the second information processing device is displayed. The fifth information necessary for reproduction is received, the sixth information attached to the fifth information is extracted, and the extracted sixth information is the first information attached to the content. In place of the above, the seventh information unique to the content, which is attached to the content and is used by the second information processing apparatus to reproduce the content, is recorded. , The second The information and the fourth information including the third information are received, and the seventh information corresponding to the content specified by the second information is extracted from the recorded seventh information, Sixth information including at least information specifying the first information processing device is generated, and generated sixth information and fifth information including at least the extracted seventh information are generated and generated. The fifth information is transmitted to the first information processing device specified by the third information.

[0038]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram used for providing a content distribution service to which the present invention is applied.

The personal computers 1-1 to 1-n owned by the user are connected to the license server 3, the content server 4, and the settlement server 5 via the Internet 2.

Personal computers 1-1 to 1-n
Receives (downloads) content from the content server 4 via the Internet 2. There are various types of content data, such as music data, image data, still image data, moving image data, or video data including moving image data and audio data.

The content server 4 searches the content database 13 for content data desired by the users of the personal computers 1-1 to 1-n, and the personal computer 1-1 to 1- through the Internet 2. n. The content data recorded in the content database 13 is encrypted. The content server 4 may publish a website (download site) where contents can be downloaded on the Internet 2, for example.

The content database 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The content management table registered together with the content data in 3 will be described.

In the content management table, a content ID, which is a unique ID representing the content, address information indicating the location where the content is recorded, and a license ID used when reproducing the corresponding content.
Etc. are recorded. As the license ID, a license ID for a normal license and a license ID for a preview license are registered. Content server 4
Does not issue a license, the content database 13
However, since the license for the content is not stored, it is not always necessary to register the license ID in the content management table. However,
The decryption key (license key) for decrypting the content included in the license is a key that forms a pair with the encryption key that the content server 4 has encrypted each content. It is desirable that the relationship with the content ID be managed.

Here, the normal license is a license that allows the content to be completely reproduced, and the preview license is a so-called trial reproduction (for example, a content It is a license that allows reproduction of parts).

The personal computers 1-1 to 1-n are the contents servers 4
It is possible to transmit / receive the content data received from the personal computer 1-1 to the personal computers 1-n other than oneself in a peer-to-peer manner. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the content data received from another personal computer can be similarly transmitted peer-to-peer to another personal computer.

The content data distributed in this manner is encrypted, and cannot be reproduced and viewed only by receiving the content data. Therefore, the personal computers 1-1 to 1-n request the license server 3 to transmit the license for reproducing the content data via the Internet 2.

Personal computers 1-1 to 1-n
In order to receive the license from the license server 3, it is necessary to execute user registration in advance by the process described later. The license server 3 receives the user registration information from the personal computers 1-1 to 1-n and issues a user ID that is a unique number to each registered user.

A user registration database 11 and a license information database 12 are connected to the license server 3 so that the user can use the personal computer 1
-1 to 1-n is used to issue a license for reproducing the content distributed from the content server 4 or copied from another personal computer on a peer-to-peer basis.

The license includes a normal license capable of decrypting all of the content data, and limited reproduction for confirming the content of the content by the user, that is, only a part of the content, or the bit rate or There is a preview license that allows you to play content with reduced resolution (so-called degraded). The personal computers 1-1 to 1-n are
Request a regular license or a preview license from the license server.

The license includes a license status indicating whether the license is a normal license or a preview license, a decryption key (license key) for decrypting predetermined content, copy guard information, and content is reproduced as necessary. In this case, limit information indicating a limit (for example, a reproducible period, a reproducible number of times, or a reproducible number of times) and user information used for tracing the distribution route of the content are included. The user information includes at least information that can identify the user, such as a user ID, for indicating the distribution source of the content, and is encrypted with the public key of the license server 3. In addition to the above, the license may include various information associated with the content.

The settlement server 5 normally executes a charging process between the user who owns the personal computers 1-1 to 1-n and the administrator of the license server 3 before issuing the license. As a charging method, for example, any method such as credit card payment, payment using a prepaid card, and payment using electronic money may be used.

Also, distributed from the content server 4,
A field for describing user information is added to the content data exchanged peer-to-peer between the personal computers 1-1 to 1-n.

For example, when the content is distributed from the content server 4, user information of the content server 4 including information indicating that the content has been distributed from the content server 4 is described in the field. Then, the personal computer 1-1 owned by the user A
If a license for the corresponding content is obtained (either preview or normal), the license will be
User information including information for specifying the user A is included, and the information described in the field is rewritten with the user information of the user A.

When the content is transmitted from the personal computer 1-1 owned by the user A to the personal computer 1-2 owned by the user B in a peer-to-peer manner, the field indicates the user who is the distribution source of the content. User information of the user A is described. When the license is acquired in the personal computer 1-2 owned by the user B, the license includes the user information of the user B,
The information described in the field attached to the content is rewritten with the user information of the user B.

In this system, the license server 3 and registered personal computers 1-1 to 1-
It is assumed that n uses a public key cryptosystem in order to exchange highly secure information via the Internet 2. Therefore, the license server 3 obtains the public key of the registered user at the time of user registration and transmits the public key of the license server to the personal computers 1-1 to 1-n used by the registered user. .

The public key cryptosystem is one of data encryption systems. In the public key cryptosystem, different keys (bit strings) are used for encrypting the data of the data sender and decrypting the data of the data receiver. , Use the same key for both encryption and decryption).

In the public key cryptosystem, two types of keys, "public key" and "secret key" are used. Among them, the private key is stored in a safe place by the user who generated it, and is not disclosed to anyone. One public key is
Distribute widely to those who may be the source of data (potentially send data to yourself). Specifically, you may attach it to an e-mail and send it to the other party, or leave it with a business operator that manages the public key,
Anyone may refer to it. Then, the sender of the data obtains the public key issued by the recipient and encrypts the data to be sent with the public key of the recipient. In order to decrypt the data thus encrypted, a private key corresponding to the public key used for encryption is required. Therefore, even if a third party who does not have the private key intercepts the data, the data cannot be decrypted.

There are several methods for generating a "public key" and "private key" key pair. Rivest, Shami
The RSA algorithm proposed by r and Adleman is famous. In RSA, a public key and a secret key are generated by using a product of a prime number of a huge number of hundreds of digits. In order to derive one value from one value generated from such a prime number, prime factorization of a huge number is required. The factorization of this huge number requires a huge amount of calculation processing, and it is impossible to give an answer in a realistic time. Here, the RSA algorithm or another method may be used for generating the key pair.

"Private key" in the public key cryptosystem
Can also be used as an "electronic signature" that proves that the sender of the data is who they say they are. As mentioned above, in normal encryption, data is encrypted with the public key issued by the recipient, but in the digital signature, the data sent by the sender (usually the value obtained by hashing the data) is self-signed. It is encrypted with the private key of to obtain a digital signature, added to the data and sent to the other party. The person who received this,
The public key issued by the sender is used to decrypt the electronic signature. Then, the received data (hash value of the data) is compared with the data obtained by decrypting the digital signature, and if they match, it is the information transmitted by the person himself, and it is proved that the information has not been tampered with. Here, it is assumed that the data is encrypted with the public key of the recipient and the data with the digital signature is sent and received with the private key for the electronic signature of the sender.

However, in the public key cryptosystem, it must be illuminated whether or not the public key really belongs to the person. Therefore, a PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) is used for a third party to publicly authenticate the person.

In PKI, a certificate authority (CA) is used.
n Authority), which provides a mechanism to certify the authenticity (identity) of the recipient of data by issuing and managing a public key together with an "electronic certificate" with a digital signature. To do. Thereby, it is possible to prevent wiretapping, falsification, or spoofing of data.

The license server 3 and the personal computers 1-1 to 1-n owned by the registered users are
Exchange public keys with each other. Then, the license server 3 receives the encrypted and signed license acquisition request information from any of the personal computers 1-1 to 1-n owned by the registered user. The license acquisition request information is attached with the user ID of the transmission source user (license request source), the content ID of the content requesting the license acquisition, and the user information described in the fields attached to the content. .

The license server 3 which has received the license acquisition request information refers to the license table from the license information database 12 and refers to the license table, and the license key corresponding to the content ID (decryption key for the content).
To generate user information including information for identifying the license supply destination, such as user ID, encrypt with the public key of the license server, add license status information, restriction information, etc. To generate. The license server 3 encrypts the license,
After the electronic signature is given, it is transmitted to the sender of the license acquisition request information via the Internet 2. The license table will be described later.

Then, the license server 3 adds the license issue table in the license information database 12 to
The history of license issuance is recorded, and based on the information attached to the license acquisition request information, information indicating what kind of user the content data is distributed through (hereinafter referred to as tracing information) It is extracted and recorded in the tracing information table of the license information database 12. The license issue table and the tracing information table will be described later.

Hereinafter, the personal computers 1-1 to 1-n will be simply referred to as the personal computer 1 unless it is necessary to individually distinguish them.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the personal computer 1.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21
Is a signal corresponding to various commands input by the user using the input unit 24 via the input / output interface 22 and the internal bus 23, and the network interface 3.
For example, a signal transmitted from the license server 3 or the like is input via 0, and various processes based on the input signal are executed. ROM (Read Only Memory) 25 is C
It stores basically fixed data of programs used by the PU 21 and parameters for calculation. RAM (Rand
The om access memory) 26 stores programs used in the execution of the CPU 21 and parameters that change appropriately in the execution. The CPU 21, the ROM 25, and the RAM 26 are connected to each other by the internal bus 23.

The internal bus 23 is also connected to the input / output interface 22. The input unit 24 includes, for example, a keyboard, a touch pad, a jog dial, a mouse, etc., and is operated when the user inputs various commands to the CPU 21. The output unit 27 is, for example, a CRT.
(Cathode Ray Tube) and a liquid crystal display device, etc. that displays various information as text or images, a speaker that outputs sound, and a buzzer that generates sound if necessary. It is composed of an LED lamp or the like for transmitting information to the user by turning on or off.

An HDD (hard disk drive) 28 drives a hard disk and records or reproduces a program or information (for example, content data) executed by the CPU 21 on the hard disk. A magnetic disk 31, an optical disk 32, a magneto-optical disk 33, and a semiconductor memory 34 are attached to the drive 29 as needed to exchange data.

The network interface 30 is connected to the Internet 2 and exchanges information with the license server 3 and the like via the Internet 2. The network interface 30 may be connected to, for example, an external storage device that stores content data.

The input section 24 to the network interface 30 are connected to the CPU 21 via the input / output interface 22 and the internal bus 23.

Since the license server 3 to the settlement server 5 also have basically the same configuration as the personal computer 1, detailed description on the hardware thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 4 is a function of the license server 3 that executes user registration of a user who uses the personal computer 1 and issues a normal license or a preview license for reproducing the content data recorded by the personal computer 1. It is a functional block diagram showing.

The control section 41 controls the operation of the license server 3 on the basis of various information transmitted from the personal computer 1 which is input via the Internet 2 and the input / output interface 42. The control unit 41 stores, for example, user registration information transmitted from the personal computer 1 in the user registration database 1
1, the public key of the license server 3 recorded in the memory 43, the content decryption application program, or the like recorded in the memory 43 is transmitted to the personal computer 1 owned by the newly registered user, or the license acquisition request is issued. Upon receiving the license, the license of the corresponding content is generated and is transmitted to the requesting personal computer 1.

The input / output interface 42 is an interface for the license server 3 to exchange information with the user registration database 11, the license information database 12, and the Internet 2.

In the memory 43, the public key of the license server 3, information such as the content decryption application program, which is transmitted to the personal computer 1, and the like.
Various information necessary for the processing of the control unit 41 is recorded.

The encryption / decryption processing unit 44 encrypts and signs the information to be transmitted in communication with the personal computer 1 owned by the registered user, and at the same time,
A process of confirming and decoding the signature of the received information, a process of encrypting the user information attached to the license, and a process of decrypting the user information included in the license acquisition request information are executed. Further, the encryption / decryption processing unit 44 has a secret key recording unit 51 therein, and stores the secret key of the license server 3 used for confirmation of encryption and signature.

The tracing data analysis unit 45 determines how each content is based on the data registered in the tracing information table of the license information database 12 based on the user information attached to the license acquisition request information. It analyzes whether or not it has been delivered to the user through various routes, and extracts various data useful for the content delivery business based on the analysis result.

Next, referring to the flow chart of FIG.
The processing of the personal computer 1 and the license server 3 when executing user registration will be described.

In step S 1, the CPU 21 of the personal computer 1 has the input / output interface 22.
The license server 3 is accessed via the internal bus 23, the input / output interface 22, the network interface 30, and the Internet 2 in accordance with a signal indicating a user operation input from the input unit 24 via the internal bus 23. Personal computer 1
The CPU 21 may start a web browser and access the web page published by the license server 3, for example.

In step S2, the CPU 21 of the personal computer 1 sends the user registration information and the user's public key (for data encryption and signature decryption) to the license server 3. Here, the description has been made assuming that the public key of the user is transmitted to the license server 3. However, for example, when the public key is disclosed to the public, information about how to obtain the public key is transmitted to the license server 3. May be.

In step S3, the control unit 41 of the license server 3 receives the user registration information and the user's public key (or information about how to obtain the public key) via the Internet 2 and the input / output interface 42, User I for newly enrolling users
Set D.

In step S 4, the control unit 41 of the license server 3 registers the user registration information and the user's public key in the user registration database 11 via the input / output interface 42 together with the set user ID.

In the user registration database 11, the user registration management table shown in FIG. 6 is registered. In the user registration management table, for each user ID issued by the license server 3, for example, the public key of the user for exchanging information using the public key encryption method described above, and the email address registered as the license transmission destination. In addition, personal information of the user (including user preference information and the like) and the like are registered as necessary.

In step S 5, the control unit 41 of the license server 3 reads the content decryption application program from the memory 43 and sends it to the personal computer 1 via the input / output interface 42 and the Internet 2. The content decryption application program is used to generate and transmit license acquisition request information in the personal computer 1, execute rewriting processing of user information described in a field attached to the content at the time of license acquisition, It is an application that executes the process of decrypting the content data with the acquired license, and the details thereof will be described later.

In step S6, the CPU 21 of the personal computer 1 receives and installs the content decoding application program. That is, the CPU 21 records the content decryption application program in the HDD 28, and puts it in a state in which it can be loaded into the RAM 26 and executed under the control of the CPU 21.

In step S7, the control unit 41 of the license server 3 sets the public key (for data encryption and signature decryption) of the license server 3 and the user ID set in step S3 to the input / output interface 42 and the Internet. 2 to the personal computer 1 via.

In step S8, the CPU 21 of the personal computer 1 sends the public key of the license server,
Then, the user ID is received, recorded in the HDD 28, and the process ends.

By the registration process described above, a user ID, which is a unique number for each user, is set for the registered user and recorded by both the license server 3 and the personal computer 1. Then, in order to exchange information by the public key cryptosystem, the license server 3
Saves its own private key and publishes the public key to registered users (transmits it to the personal computer 1 owned by the registered user), and the registered user uses the personal computer owned by himself. The private key is stored in 1 and the public key is stored in the license server 3
Publish to.

In FIG. 5, the license server 3 is described as setting the user ID. However, for example, the user ID of another service already provided to the user, a mobile phone, or the like. Even if the device ID etc. individually assigned to the device is diverted,
It does not matter if those IDs are individually assigned to the users.

FIG. 7 shows the personal computer 1 when the content decryption application program received and installed in step S6 of FIG. 5 is running.
It is a functional block diagram of.

The control section 61 controls the operation of the content decryption application program in accordance with the operation input made by the user using the input section 24. The control unit 61 transmits the license acquisition request information encrypted by the processing of the encryption / decryption processing unit 64 and in which the electronic signature is described, to the license server 3 via the input / output interface 62 and the Internet 2. Alternatively, the content data received from the content server 4 is stored in the content database 66, and the process of updating the content management table 67 is controlled.

The input / output interface 62 is an interface for the personal computer 1 to exchange information with the license server 3 to the settlement server 5 via the Internet 2.

The memory 63 includes the HDD 28, the ROM 25,
Alternatively, it corresponds to the RAM 26. The memory 63 is shown in FIG.
License server 3 recorded in step S8 of
The public key, the user ID issued at the time of registration, and the personal information necessary for the billing process, as well as various information necessary for the process of the control unit 61 are recorded.

In the communication with the license server 3, the encryption / decryption processing unit 64 encrypts the information to be transmitted, signs the information, and confirms the signature of the received information.
The decryption process and the process of decrypting the content data using the license distributed from the license server 3 are executed. In addition, the encryption / decryption processing unit 64 has a secret key recording unit 71 therein, and stores a user's secret key used for confirmation of encryption and signature.

The reproduction processing unit 65 receives input of the content data decrypted by the encryption / decryption processing unit 64, and in accordance with a predetermined format, data decompression process, error correction process, various image processes, or D / s of audio data. Necessary processing such as A conversion processing is executed to output image data to the display unit 72 of the output unit 27 and audio data to the speaker 73 of the output unit 27.

The content database 66 records the encrypted content data downloaded from the content server 4. Content management table 6
7 indicates the content I of the downloaded content.
D, address information in which contents are recorded, presence / absence of license, and license ID are recorded in FIG.
Together with the content management table described later using 1.
The license key included in the license received from the license server 3 is stored.

Next, referring to the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and 9, in the personal computer 1 owned by the registered user, the content decryption application program described with reference to FIG. 7 is loaded into the RAM 26, and the CPU 21 The processing when it is executed in step 1 will be described.

In step S21, the controller 61
The desired content is downloaded from the content server 4 via the Internet 2 and the input / output interface 62, stored in the content database 66, and the information recorded in the content management table 67 is updated. For example, the control unit 61 activates a web browser, accesses a web page (download site) published by the content server 4, executes a predetermined operation, and downloads desired content data. good.

The content is encrypted, and even if a malicious third party may steal data on the communication path, the content cannot be reproduced without a corresponding license. Therefore, transmission / reception of content data between the content server 4 and the personal computer 1-1 is executed without using the public key encryption method described above (a in FIG. 10). Although the Internet 2 is not shown in FIG. 10, information is exchanged via the Internet 2.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10b,
In the field attached to the content data downloaded from the content server 4, user information indicating that this content data is data downloaded from the content server 4 (con-se in the figure).
information described as “rver ′)” is described.
Since the user information is encrypted with the public key of the license server 3, it can be decrypted only by the encryption / decryption processing unit 44 of the license server 3.

The user information is the license server 3
By utilizing the fact that it is encrypted with the public key of, and can be read only by the license server 3, information indicating the date and time of license issuance and information regarding the content and license issuance service are added to the user information. It is also possible.

Then, using the content management table 67, the control section 61 manages the encrypted content data downloaded and recorded in the content database 66 and the license corresponding to each content.

Information registered in the content management table 67 will be described with reference to FIG. In the content management table 67, a content ID, which is a unique ID representing the content stored in the content database 66, address information indicating the location where the content is recorded in the content database 66, and the corresponding content are reproduced. A license ID for a normal license and a license ID for a preview license, which are used when doing so, are registered. Of course, the license ID has not been registered for the content for which the license issuance request has not yet been made, and depending on the content, only one of the license ID for the normal license and the license ID for the preview license is registered. There are also cases.

At step S22, the control section 61
Based on a signal indicating the user's operation input from the input unit 24, it is determined whether or not an input for instructing acquisition of a license for preview reproduction is received from the user. Step S2
If it is determined that the input for instructing license acquisition for preview reproduction has not been received in 2, the process proceeds to step S27.

If it is determined in step S22 that an input for instructing license acquisition for preview reproduction has been received, the control section 61 determines in step S23 the content ID of the corresponding content, its own user ID, and its content. User information added to the content (for example, information indicating the content server 4 (con-
The preview license acquisition request information to which the user information including the server) is attached is generated.

At step S24, the control section 61
The preview license acquisition request information generated in step S23 and the public key of the license server 3 recorded in the memory 63 are encrypted and decrypted by the encryption and decryption processing unit 6.
Output to 4. The encryption / decryption processing unit 64 encrypts the preview license acquisition request information with the public key of the license server 3.

In step S25, the encryption / decryption processing unit 64 uses the private key for signature of its own recorded in the private key recording unit 71 to electronically sign the preview license acquisition request information.

At step S26, the control section 61
The preview license acquisition request information encrypted by the encryption / decryption processing unit 64 and digitally signed is shown in FIG.
As indicated by c in the figure of 0, it is transmitted to the license server 3 via the Internet 2. In the preview license acquisition request information transmitted to the license server 3, as shown by d in the drawing of FIG. 10, user information indicating that this content data is data downloaded from the content server 4 (in the drawing, con-se
at least the user ID of the user himself (the information described as a1111111 in the drawing) and the content ID (the information described as XXX in the drawing). Has been done.

Here, the license server 3 determines whether or not the condition for issuing the preview license is satisfied, and if the condition is satisfied, issues the preview license (see FIGS. 15 and 16 described later). Steps S66 to S68 and Step S73
Through the process of step S76).

When it is determined in step S22 that the input for instructing acquisition of the license for preview reproduction has not been received, in step S27, the control unit 61.
Determines whether or not an input for instructing acquisition of a license for normal reproduction has been received from the user based on a signal indicating the user's operation input from the input unit 24. Step S27
If it is determined that the input for instructing acquisition of the license for normal reproduction has not been received, the process proceeds to step S
Returning to step 22, the subsequent processing is repeated.

When it is determined in step S27 that the input for instructing acquisition of the license for normal reproduction is received, the control unit 61 determines in step S28 the content ID of the corresponding content, the user ID of its own,
Also, the normal license acquisition request information attached with the user information added to the content is generated.

In step S29, the controller 61
The normal license acquisition request information generated in step S28 and the public key of the license server 3 recorded in the memory 63 are output to the encryption / decryption processing unit 64. The encryption / decryption processing unit 64 encrypts the normal license acquisition request information with the public key of the license server 3.

In step S30, the encryption / decryption processing unit 64 uses the private key for signature of its own recorded in the private key recording unit 71 to electronically sign the normal license acquisition request information.

In step S31, the control section 61
The normal license acquisition request information encrypted by the encryption / decryption processing unit 64 and digitally signed is displayed in step S
Similar to the case described with reference to FIG. 26, as shown in FIG. 10C, it is transmitted to the license server 3 via the Internet 2. Also in the preview license acquisition request information transmitted to the license server 3, step S
Similar to the case described with reference to FIG. 26, user information indicating that this content data is data downloaded from the content server 4 is described, as indicated by d in the drawing of FIG.

Here, the license server 3 transmits an instruction regarding the charging process to the personal computer 1 and the settlement server 5 (step S69 in FIG. 16 described later).
Processing).

At step S32, the controller 61
As shown by e in the drawing of FIG. 12, the instruction regarding the charging process is received from the license server 5 via the Internet 2 and the input / output interface 62. Here, the information indicating the instruction regarding the billing process may be encrypted with the user's public key and signed with the secret key of the license server 3 as in the case of the license, or another method may be used. May be used to ensure that the information is transmitted securely.

In step S33, the controller 61
If necessary, by the processing of the encryption / decryption processing unit 64, after confirming the signature of the received information and decrypting it, according to the instruction regarding the charging processing, as shown in f in the figure of FIG. To access the charging process.

Here, the settlement server 5 notifies the license server 3 of the issuance request of the normal license when the charging process with the user is correctly executed. Then, the license server 3 determines whether or not the conditions for issuance of the normal license including the charging process are satisfied, and if the conditions are satisfied, the normal license is issued (see FIG. 16 described later). Steps S70 to S
76).

After the processing in step S26 or the processing in step S33 is completed, in step S34, the control unit 61 controls the secret for signature of the license server 3 as shown by h in FIG. Data that is digitally signed with the key and encrypted with the user's public key (ie,
License) from the license server 3 via the Internet 2 and the input / output interface 62.

As shown in g of FIG. 13, the license includes a license status indicating whether the license is a normal license or a preview license, a license key for decoding the content, the number of times of reproduction, It includes restriction information such as reproduction time and user information encrypted with the public key of the license server. The user information included in the license includes information indicating the user who receives the license (for example, the user ID of the user).

This user information, together with the content,
Since the information is sent and received peer-to-peer, it is encrypted with the public key of the license server so that the information indicating the user is not stolen by a third party, but the user information is composed of only the user ID, for example. If so, the encrypted data will have the same value every time. for that reason,
In addition to information for identifying the user such as user ID,
For example, by including other information such as date and time and information about services in the user information, the encrypted value of the user information is changed for each license, and the user information is prevented from being abused by a third party. It is possible.

In step S35, the encryption / decryption processor 64 stores the received data in the memory 63.
The signature is confirmed using the signature public key of the license server 3 stored in.

In step S36, the control section 61
Upon receiving the result of the processing for confirming the signature executed by the encryption / decryption processing unit 64, it is determined whether the transmission source of the received data is the license server 3 without a doubt.

When it is determined in step S36 that the transmission source of the received data is the license server 3, in step S37, the control unit 61 controls the encryption / decryption processing unit 64 and the secret key recording unit. The received data is decrypted with the user's private key recorded in 71.

At step S38, the control section 61
In step S37, the encryption / decryption processing unit 64
Determines whether the received data has been correctly decoded.

If it is determined in step S36 that the transmission source of the received data is not the license server 3, or if it is determined in step S38 that the received data could not be correctly decoded, control is performed in step S39. The unit 61 displays an error message on the display unit 72 of the output unit 27, and the process ends.

If it is determined in step S38 that the received data can be correctly decoded, step S40
In, the control unit 61 extracts the user information included in the decrypted license, and rewrites (overwrites) the user information of the corresponding content, as indicated by i in FIG. Therefore, the user information described in the field attached to the licensed content is the user information including the information indicating the user himself (for example, the user ID).

In step S41, the control section 61
The decrypted license (normal license or preview license) is stored in the content management table 67. Then, the control unit 61 causes the encryption / decryption processing unit 64 to use the license key of the license stored in the content management table 67, if necessary, according to the user's operation input from the input unit 24. Is decrypted and the reproduction processing unit 65 is controlled to reproduce the decrypted content. Of the reproduced contents, the image data is output and displayed on the display unit 72 of the output unit 27, and the audio data is the speaker 2 of the output unit 27.
7 is output, and voice output is performed.

Here, the downloaded content data is encrypted in the content database 6
Stored in 6. That is, since the content decrypted with the license key cannot be recorded, the decryption process is executed with the license key every time the reproduction process is performed. Accordingly, when the license includes a limit on the number of times of reproduction, it is possible to prevent an inappropriate number of times of reproduction processing.

When the number of times of reproduction of the content is limited, the user who reproduces the predetermined number of times newly requests the license server 3 for the normal license and reproduces the corresponding content. In this case, of course, since it is not necessary to re-download the content data, the user is connected to the Internet 2 to download the content data as compared with the case where the content data itself is distributed with the number of times of reproduction restricted. You can spend less time doing. Then, the content distribution service business operator can obtain a proper reward for the distribution of the content data while preventing the reproduction processing of an unreasonable number of times by re-supplying the license.

Next, in step S42, the control unit 6
1 determines whether or not another personal computer has requested a peer-to-peer copy of content data. For example, the personal computer 1- in FIG.
As shown by j in the drawing of FIG. 13, 1 determines whether a copy of the content data has been requested from the personal computer 1-2 that has been registered in the license server.

If it is determined in step S42 that another personal computer has requested a peer-to-peer copy of the content data, step S4
In 3, the control unit 61 transmits the content data to which the user information indicating itself is added to the requesting personal computer, as indicated by k in the figure, and the process ends. If it is determined in step S42 that another personal computer 1 has not requested peer-to-peer content data copying,
The process ends.

The personal computer 1-2 receives the content data (content data indicated by i in FIG. 13) to which the user information of the personal computer 1-1 is added. After that, personal computer 1
2 shows the license acquisition request information to which the content ID, the user ID of the user himself, and the user information of the personal computer 1-1 are added to the license server 3 as shown by l in the drawing of FIG. It can be encrypted with the key, signed with the private key for the signature of the user who owns the personal computer 1-2, and sent to the license server 3 (m in FIG. 14).

The license server 3 executes the above-described predetermined process, encrypts the license with the public key of the user who owns the personal computer 1-2, and signs the license signed with the private key for signature of the license server 3, It is transmitted to the personal computer 1-2 (n in the diagram of FIG. 14). This license includes user information including a license status, a license key, restriction information, and information indicating a user who owns the personal computer 1-2 (for example, a user ID), as indicated by o in the figure. Contains. Upon receiving the license, the personal computer 1-2 rewrites the user information described in the field added to the content data stored in itself to the user information of itself included in the received license. (P in the figure of FIG. 14).

The user who uses the personal computer 1 executes the registration processing by executing the same processing as the registration processing in the license server 3 described with reference to FIG. It goes without saying that the payment server 5 and the personal computer 1 may exchange encrypted information.

In the processing described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, in step S33, the charging processing executed by the settlement server 5 and the personal computer 1 is performed by the normal license acquisition request and the license transmission / reception with respect to the license server 3. Although described as being executed independently, for example, instead of transmitting the normal license acquisition request information from the personal computer 1 to the license server 3, the personal computer 1 transmits the normal license acquisition request information to the settlement server 5. And payment server 5
However, after the end of the charging process, the normal license acquisition request information is displayed together with the user ID of the user who has executed the charging process.
It may be transmitted to the license server 3. In this case, the license server 3 can accept only the normal license acquisition request information transmitted from the payment server 5.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, the processing of the license server 3 executed in parallel with the processing of the personal computer 1 described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the information included in the user information for identifying the user is the user ID.

In step S61, the control unit 41 of the license server 3 is digitally signed by the private key of the user having the personal computer 1, and the license server 3
The data encrypted by the public key of the above (data shown by c in FIG. 10 or m in FIG. 14) is received via the Internet 2 and the input / output interface 42.

In step S62, the control section 41
For example, the public key of the user registered in the user registration database 11 is searched using the address of the sender of the data as the search key and is supplied to the encryption / decryption processing unit 44 together with the data received in step S61, Confirm the digital signature with the public key for signature of the retrieved user.

In step S63, the control section 41
Based on whether or not the decryption processing has been executed in step S62, it is determined whether or not the transmission source of the received data is the personal computer 1 of the registered user.

If it is determined in step S63 that the transmission source of the received data is not the personal computer 1 of the registered user, the process proceeds to step S78 described later.

When it is determined in step S63 that the source of the received data is the personal computer 1 of the registered user, in step S64, the control unit 41 causes the encryption / decryption processing unit 44 to
License server 3 recorded in the private key recording unit 51
The received data is decrypted using the private key of.

In step S65, the control section 41
It is determined whether the received data decrypted in step S64 is preview license acquisition request information. If it is determined in step S65 that the received data is not the preview license acquisition request information,
The process proceeds to step S69 described below.

In step S65, the received data is
When it is determined that it is the preview license acquisition request information, the control unit 41 determines in step S66 whether or not the conditions for issuing the preview license are satisfied. For example, the control unit 41 determines whether there is a mismatch between the decrypted preview license acquisition request information and the registered content of the user registration database 11 (for example, if a password is required, is the password not entered by mistake? , Etc.), or when it is determined that the preview license issuance is performed once per content or less than a predetermined number of times, refer to the license information database 12 and take action. The history of issuance of preview licenses of the user is checked to see if the preview license request has been made a predetermined number of times or more.

When it is determined in step S66 that the conditions for issuing the preview license are not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S78 described later.

When it is determined in step S66 that the condition for issuing the preview license is satisfied, the control unit 41 requests the license based on the decrypted preview license acquisition request information in step S67. Information relating to the license request such as the content ID, the license type of the received license acquisition request information, the user ID included in the user information attached to the license acquisition request information, and the user ID of the license request source is stored in the license information database 12
Register in the tracing information table of.

FIG. 17 shows a tracing information table. In the tracing information table, the content ID attached to the license acquisition request information, the license status indicating the license type, the user ID included in the user information, that is, the user ID of the content distribution source, and the license acquisition. The delivery destination user ID that transmitted the request information is registered.

In step S68, the control section 41
Based on the content ID for which the preview license is requested, the license table of the license information database 12 is referred to, the license key for preview reproduction corresponding to the requested content is searched, and at least the user who transmitted the license acquisition request information. User information including a user ID of a preview license is added, and if necessary, for example, reproduction time, restriction information such as contents of degradation (bit rate and resolution information), and the like are added, and a preview license is generated and processed. Proceeds to step S73 described later.

The license table is shown in FIG. In the license table, the license IDs of the normal license and the preview license for each content ID
Is recorded, and if necessary, address information indicating the recording position where the corresponding license is recorded in the license information database 12 is recorded.

If it is determined in step S65 that the received data is not the preview license acquisition request information, the received data is the normal license acquisition request information. Therefore, in step S69, the control unit 41 issues an instruction regarding the charging process. , Via the input / output interface 42 and the Internet 2 to the personal computer 1 and the settlement server 5, which are normally license request sources.

In step S70, the control section 41
Whether or not the payment server 5 has issued a normal license issuance request of the specified content ID to the corresponding user ID, that is, whether or not the user has correctly completed the charging process with the payment server 5. To judge.

If it is determined in step S70 that the settlement server 5 has not issued a normal license issuance request, the process proceeds to step S78 described later.

If it is determined in step S70 that the settlement server 5 has issued a normal license issuance request, in step S71, step S6.
The same processing as 7 is executed.

In step S72, the control section 41
Based on the content ID for which the normal license is requested, the license table of the license information database 12 is referred to search for a license key for normal playback corresponding to the requested content, and at least the user who has transmitted the license acquisition request information. The user information including the user ID is generated, and the normal license to be issued is generated by adding, for example, restriction information such as the number of times of reproduction and copy guard as necessary.

After the processing of step S68 or the processing of step S72 is completed, in step S73, the control section 41 searches the user registration database 11 for the public key of the user who requested the license, and reads it. The data is supplied to the encryption / decryption processing unit 44.

In step S74, the controller 41
The license generated in the encryption / decryption processing unit 44 (the preview license generated in step S68,
Alternatively, the normal license generated in step S72) is supplied, and the license is searched in step S73,
Encrypt with the public key of the corresponding user.

At step S75, the control section 41
The encryption / decryption processing unit 44 is controlled so that the encrypted license is digitally signed with the private key for signature of the license server 3 recorded in the private key recording unit 51.

In step S76, the control section 41
By referring to the user's e-mail address registered in the user registration management table of the user registration database 11, the encrypted and electronically signed license is requested by the request source via the input / output interface 42 and the Internet 2. To the personal computer 1 of FIG. 13 (data indicated by h in the drawing of FIG. 13 or n in the drawing of FIG. 14).

In step S77, the control section 41
The license issuance table of the license information database 12 is updated, and the process ends.

FIG. 19 shows the license issuance table.
In the license issuance table, the user ID that issued the license, the content ID that issued the license, and the license status indicating the type of issued license are registered.

If it is determined in step S63 that the source of the received data is not the personal computer 1 of the registered user, it is determined in step S66 that the conditions for issuing the preview license are not satisfied. If it is done, or step S
If it is determined in 70 that the normal license issuance request has not been issued from the settlement server 5, the control unit 41 displays an error message on a display unit (not shown) and notifies the administrator of the license server 3 in step S78. While notifying the occurrence of error, if necessary,
An error message is also returned to the personal computer 1 via the input / output interface 42 and the Internet 2, and the process ends.

By the processing described above, the preview license or the normal license is transferred to the license server 3.
From the personal computer 1 owned by the user, the user can decrypt and reproduce the content data received from the content server 4 or another personal computer.

Then, the content is sent and received to and from the personal computer 1 with the user information attached. The user information is encrypted with the public key of the license server 3, so that only the license server 3 can read it. That is, user ID
Even when the user information including, for example, the content is transmitted and received peer-to-peer with the content and intercepted by a malicious third party, it can be prevented from being abused.

User information is included in the license acquisition request information and is transmitted from the personal computer 1 to the license server 3. The personal computer 1 uses the user information included in the license to overwrite the user information attached to the content. Since the license server 3 updates the tracing information table described with reference to FIG. 17 and the license issuance table described with reference to FIG. 19 based on the user information included in the license acquisition request information, FIG. The processing of the tracing information analysis unit 45 described above makes it possible to trace the flow of content data.

The tracing information analysis unit 45, for example,
Based on the tracing information table described with reference to FIG. 17, for example, points are issued to a user who has delivered the content peer-to-peer to other users (source user), and a present is given at a certain point. It is possible to provide services such as giving gifts or discounting the point fee when purchasing a regular license.

Depending on whether the user at the delivery destination requests the normal license or the preview license, the points to be issued can be changed, or the user can request the preview license and then the normal license. It is also possible to exclude points from issuing points when the user himself / herself is a distribution source user.

In addition to this, the tracing information analysis unit 4
5 is based on the tracing information table described with reference to FIG. 17 and the license issuance table described with reference to FIG. 19, whether the user's taste, content distribution capability, or preview method is appropriate. Or
It is possible to analyze in detail.

For example, contents for which the number of requests for normal licenses is smaller than the number of requests for preview licenses are contents that are not attractive to the user, or the preview method is not good (eg
There is a possibility that the playback part is not accurate, the degradation is strong, and it is difficult to convey the good content.

On the other hand, when the distribution source user ID of the normal license is his / her own user ID, that user has requested the normal license after requesting the preview license. In such a case, the preview method can be considered to be appropriate. Furthermore, if the distribution source user ID of the normal license is not his or her own user ID, the user is requesting the normal license without requesting the preview license, so that the corresponding content is very important to the user. It's an attractive title, or artist, who would like to buy without a preview.

A user who sends many license requests for content whose distribution source user ID is the content server 4 frequently checks websites and the like published by the content server 4 and downloads a large amount of content. You can say that you are a user.

Further, when the distribution source user ID and the distribution destination user ID are repeatedly the same user ID in response to the normal license request, the content is repeatedly reproduced by the same user more than the specified number of one license. Therefore, it can be said that the content is very satisfied.

[0174] Further, since a user who delivers a certain content to many other users likes the corresponding content, it can be considered that the content is widely recommended to friends and the like. It is also possible to guess the taste.

Further, in the tracing information table, many users registered as distribution source users are
Although it can be said that they are active in distributing content, for example,
Many user IDs of users who have not requested a normal license for a certain content are attached to license acquisition request information from other users of the same content, that is, many are registered as distribution source users in the tracing information table. In such a case, the corresponding user, as a result of previewing, distributes the content to many users who may like the content even if he / she does not like it, that is, the content is very positive. You can see that they are trying to spread.

[0176] In the tracing information table, a user who is often registered as a distribution source user for a normal license, or if the distribution source user ID and the distribution destination user ID are the same for the normal license, the content It can be seen that many users who are registered as distribution source users when requesting preview licenses accurately distribute content to other users and contribute to the sales of content, that is, the improvement in the number of requests for normal licenses. .

The tracing information analysis unit 45 can analyze various kinds of information based on the data registered in the tracing information table and the license issuing table, in addition to the contents described above.

As described above, the user information that is the basis of the tracing information is transmitted to the license server 3 every time the user makes a license request, so that the content distribution service business operator can issue points. ,
It is possible to quickly provide a service to a user who has delivered content to another user in a peer-to-peer manner. As a result, the motivation of the user to further distribute the content is increased, so that the distribution of the content can be promoted.

Here, in the personal computer 1 of the user, the process of including the user information attached to the content in the license acquisition request information, and the user information of the user himself / herself attached to the received license are set to the content. The process of overwriting the user information attached to is the same process regardless of whether the requested license is a preview license or a normal license. That is, it can be said that the processing of the personal computer 1 is very simple, even though there are two types of licenses.

Then, in the license server 3, the license status indicating whether the user ID is attached is the preview license acquisition request information or the normal license acquisition request information is registered, and the content ID
At the same time, the user ID of the content distribution source included in the attached user information and the user ID of the transmission source of the license acquisition request information, that is, the user ID of the content distribution destination are registered in the tracing information table. . When the license is issued, the user I who is the transmission source of the license acquisition request information is added to the license issuance table.
The D, the content ID, and the license status are registered.

Then, managing the license issuing server 3, for example, the content distribution service provider can use the information registered in the tracing information table and the license issuing table to determine the distribution channel of the content, the satisfaction level of the content, and the preview. It is possible to obtain very detailed information on effects, user preferences, or individual content distribution capabilities of each user, so use this information to promote content sales and improve customer satisfaction. You can

In other words, when the user's personal computer 1 transmits the license acquisition request information to the license server 3, the user information attached to the content data obtained through a route different from the license is transmitted, and , A content distribution service for managing the license server 3 by executing a very simple process of overwriting the user ID attached to the content data with the user ID of the user attached to the received license. The business operator can obtain very detailed information about the distribution channel of the content, the satisfaction level of the content, the effect of the preview, the user's taste, or the content distribution ability of each user.

According to the present invention, since the user ID of the user who has distributed the content is registered not only when the normal license is requested but also when the preview license is requested, the content is not purchased ( Content tracing is possible even in cases where a normal license is not required).

According to the processing described above, in the personal computer 1 used by the user, the license acquisition request information is transmitted to the license server 3 and, when the license is received, the field attached to the corresponding content. It is described that the user information described in (1) is overwritten with the user information included in the license.
Instead of attaching user information to the license, each personal computer 1 encrypts its own user ID with the public key of the license server 3 to create user information, and overwrites the field attached to the content. May be.

In that case, the control unit 41 of the license server 3
As described above, the license encrypts the license including the license status, the license key, and the restriction information with the user's public key, signs the license with the private key for signature of the user, and transmits the license to the personal computer 1.

Control unit 61 of personal computer 1
Generates user information including at least the user's own user ID encrypted with the public key of the license server 3 stored in the memory 63. Then, when the license acquisition request information is transmitted or the license is received, the encrypted user information is overwritten in the field attached to the corresponding content. Then, the content data to which the user information is attached is distributed peer-to-peer to a personal computer owned by another user.

[0187] Then, the license acquisition request information transmitted from the personal computer 1 receiving this content data to the license server 3 includes the license server 3
Since the user information encrypted with the public key is attached, the control unit 41 of the license server 3 controls the encryption / decryption processing unit 44 to keep the attached user information secret from the license server 3. The key can be used to decrypt and get the tracing information.

It should be noted that here, a public-private key pair used for encryption and decryption of data exchanged between the user's personal computer 1 and the license server 3, and a public-private key pair used for electronic signature. However, the same key pair may be used for the data encryption and decryption keys and the electronic signature key pair.

It is to be noted that the personal computer 1 is used here to record the content downloaded by the user, decrypt the content using the license key, and reproduce it. However, for example, a portable telephone, a PD, etc.
Various information processing terminals such as A (Personal Digital Assistant), CD (Compact Disk), DVD (Digital Vers.
A storage device such as an atile disk) or MD (Mini-Disk) (trademark), or a recording / reproducing device capable of reproducing content data recorded in a recording medium such as a hard disk provided therein The present invention can be adapted.

The series of processes described above can also be executed by software. The software is, for example, a general-purpose personal computer, in which a program that constitutes the software is installed in dedicated hardware, or various functions can be executed by installing various programs. Installed from the recording medium.

As shown in FIG. 3, this recording medium is a magnetic disk 31 (including a flexible disk) on which a program is recorded, which is distributed in order to provide a program to a user, separately from a computer, and an optical disk 3.
2 (CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), DV
D (including a Digital Versatile Disk), a magneto-optical disk 33 (including an MD (Mini-Disk) (trademark)), a package medium including a semiconductor memory 34, or the like.

Further, in the present specification, the steps for describing the program recorded on the recording medium are not limited to the processing performed in time series according to the order described, but are not necessarily performed in time series. It also includes processing executed in parallel or individually.

In the present specification, the system means
It represents the entire apparatus composed of a plurality of devices.

[0194]

According to the first information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the program of the present invention, the second information for acquiring the content and identifying the first information attached to the content and the second information Generating information, and fourth information including third information capable of identifying oneself, transmitting the generated fourth information, and receiving fifth information necessary for reproducing the content Then, the sixth information attached to the fifth information is extracted, and the extracted sixth information is attached to the content instead of the first information attached to the content. It is possible to receive the so-called license for reproducing the content and to transmit the information for tracing the information regarding the distribution of the content to the license supplier.

According to the second information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the program of the present invention, the first information attached to the content to acquire the content, the second information for specifying the content, And generating fourth information including third information capable of identifying oneself, transmitting the generated fourth information, receiving the fifth information necessary for playing the content, The sixth information that can identify itself is encrypted with the public key of the destination of the fourth information, and the encrypted sixth information replaces the first information attached to the content. Since it is attached to the content, the so-called license for playing the content is supplied and the information for tracing the information about the distribution of the content is also provided. It can be sent to the person.

According to the third information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the program of the present invention, the first information unique to the content, which is used for reproducing the content, is recorded, and other information that owns the content is recorded. The information processing apparatus outputs the fifth information including the second information attached to the content, the third information for identifying the content, and the fourth information for identifying the other information processing apparatus. Sixth information that includes at least information that identifies the other information processing device by extracting the first information corresponding to the content identified by the third information from the received and recorded first information And generating seventh information including at least the generated sixth information and the extracted first information,
Since the generated seventh information is transmitted to the other information processing device specified by the fourth information, the content distribution service provider supplying a so-called license for reproducing the content to the user is It is possible to obtain tray sync information for analyzing content distribution channels, content satisfaction, preview effects, user preferences, individual content distribution capabilities, and the like.

According to the information processing system of the present invention, the first
A fourth information processing apparatus including the first information attached to the content, the second information for identifying the content, and the third information capable of identifying the content. Generated information, the fourth generated
Is transmitted to the second information processing apparatus, the fifth information necessary for reproducing the content transmitted from the second information processing apparatus is received, and the sixth information attached to the fifth information is received.
Information is extracted, the extracted sixth information is attached to the content instead of the first information attached to the content, and the second information processing device reproduces the content. The seventh information unique to the content to be used is recorded, and the fourth information including the first information, the second information, and the third information is received from the first information processing device and recorded. The seventh information corresponding to the content specified by the second information is extracted from the stored seventh information, and the sixth information including at least the information specifying the first information processing device is generated. , The sixth information generated,
The fifth information including at least the extracted seventh information is generated, and the generated fifth information is transmitted to the first information processing device specified by the third information. Can receive the so-called license for playing the content, and can send the information for tracing the information about the distribution of the content to the license supplier. It is possible to obtain tray sync information for analyzing content distribution channels, content satisfaction, preview effects, user preferences, individual content distribution capabilities, and the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram used to provide a content distribution service to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a content management table registered in a content database.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a personal computer.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram for explaining a function of a license server.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a user registration process.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a user registration management table.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram for explaining functions of a personal computer held by a registered user.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining processing of the personal computer.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining processing of the personal computer.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a license and content, a signature and encryption, and a flow of user information.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a content management table.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a license and content, a signature and encryption, and a flow of user information.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a license and content, a signature and encryption, and a flow of user information.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a license and content, a signature and encryption, and a flow of user information.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a license server.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a license server.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a tracing information table.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining a license table.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a license issuance table.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 personal computer, 2 internet,
3 license server, 4 content server, 5
Payment server, 11 user registration database, 1
2 license information database, 13 content database, 21 CPU, 24 input section, 27
Output unit, 26 RAM, 30 network interface, 41 control unit, 42 input / output interface, 43 memory, 44 encryption and decryption processing unit, 45 tracing data analysis unit, 51
Secret key recording unit, 61 control unit, 62 input / output interface, 63 memory, 64 encryption and decryption processing unit, 65 reproduction processing unit, 71 secret key recording unit, 72 display unit, 73 speaker

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Claims (26)

[Claims] 1. An acquisition unit that acquires content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and third information that can identify itself. Generating means for generating fourth information including: a first transmitting means for transmitting the fourth information generated by the generating means; and receiving fifth information necessary for reproducing the content. Receiving means for extracting the sixth information attached to the fifth information received by the receiving means, and the sixth information extracted by the extracting means for the content. An information processing apparatus, comprising: information attaching means for attaching to the content instead of the attached first information. 2. The second transmission means for transmitting the content, to which the sixth information is attached by the information attachment means, to another information processing apparatus, further comprising: Information processing equipment. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first information and the sixth information are encrypted with a public key of a transmission destination of the fourth information. . 4. The fifth information is either first license information for conditionally reproducing the content or second license information for completely reproducing the content. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 5. The fourth unit generated by the generating unit
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an encryption unit that encrypts the information of 1. 6. The encryption means stores the fourth information,
6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the fourth information is encrypted with the public key of the transmission destination and is digitally signed with its own private key. 7. The fifth unit received by the receiving unit.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a decoding unit that decodes the information of (1). 8. An acquisition control step of controlling acquisition of content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and a first step of specifying itself. Generating step of generating fourth information including the information of No. 3, a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generating step, and a transmission step of reproducing the content. A reception control step of controlling reception of the information of No. 5, an extraction step of extracting sixth information attached to the fifth information whose reception is controlled by the processing of the reception control step, and an extraction step of the extraction step. An information attachment strip that causes the sixth information extracted by the processing to be attached to the content instead of the first information attached to the content. Information processing method, characterized in that it comprises and-up. 9. An acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and a first information for identifying itself. Generating step of generating fourth information including the information of No. 3, a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generating step, and a transmission step of reproducing the content. A reception control step of controlling reception of the information of No. 5, an extraction step of extracting sixth information attached to the fifth information whose reception is controlled by the processing of the reception control step, and an extraction step of the extraction step. An information attachment strip that causes the sixth information extracted by the processing to be attached to the content instead of the first information attached to the content. -Up a recording medium from which a computer readable program is recorded, which comprises a. 10. An acquisition control step of controlling acquisition of content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and a first information capable of specifying itself. Generating step of generating fourth information including the information of No. 3, a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generating step, and a transmission step of reproducing the content. A reception control step of controlling reception of the information of No. 5, an extraction step of extracting sixth information attached to the fifth information whose reception is controlled by the processing of the reception control step, and an extraction step of the extraction step. Information attachment that causes the sixth information extracted by the processing to be attached to the content instead of the first information attached to the content A program characterized by executing the processing including a step in the computer. 11. An acquisition unit for acquiring content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and third information capable of specifying itself. Generating means for generating fourth information including the above, a transmitting means for transmitting the fourth information generated by the generating means, and a receiving means for receiving fifth information necessary for reproducing the content. And encryption means for encrypting the sixth information that can identify itself with the public key of the destination of the fourth information, and the sixth information encrypted by the encryption means. To
An information processing apparatus, comprising: information attaching means for attaching to the content instead of the first information attached to the content. 12. An acquisition control step of controlling acquisition of content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and a first step capable of specifying itself. Generating step of generating fourth information including the information of No. 3, a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generating step, and a transmission step of reproducing the content. 5, a reception control step of controlling reception of information, an encryption step of encrypting sixth information that can identify itself with the public key of the destination of the fourth information, and the encryption step. The sixth encrypted by the process of step
And a step of attaching information to the content instead of the first information attached to the content. 13. An acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of contents, first information attached to the contents, second information for specifying the contents, and a first information that can identify itself. Generating step of generating fourth information including the information of No. 3, a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generating step, and a transmission step of reproducing the content. 5, a reception control step of controlling reception of information, an encryption step of encrypting sixth information that can identify itself with the public key of the destination of the fourth information, and the encryption step. The sixth encrypted by the process of step
And a step of attaching information to the content instead of the first information attached to the content, the recording medium having a computer-readable program recorded thereon. 14. An acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of content, first information attached to the content, second information for specifying the content, and a first information capable of specifying itself. Generating step of generating fourth information including the information of No. 3, a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the fourth information generated by the processing of the generating step, and a transmission step of reproducing the content. 5, a reception control step of controlling reception of information, an encryption step of encrypting sixth information that can identify itself with the public key of the destination of the fourth information, and the encryption step. The sixth encrypted by the process of step
A program for causing a computer to execute a process including an information attaching step of attaching the information in place of the first information attached to the content to the content. 15. A first recording unit for recording first information unique to the content, which is used to reproduce the content, and another information processing apparatus holding the content attached to the content. Receiving means for receiving fifth information including second information for identifying the content, third information for identifying the content, and fourth information for identifying the other information processing apparatus; Extraction means for extracting the first information corresponding to the content specified by the third information from the first information recorded in the first recording means, and the other information processing apparatus. First generating means for generating sixth information including at least information for identifying, and the sixth information generated by the first generating means,
And second generating means for generating seventh information including at least the first information extracted by the extracting means, and the fourth information for generating the seventh information generated by the second generating means. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the information to the other information processing apparatus specified by information. 16. The apparatus further comprises encryption means for encrypting the sixth information generated by the first generation means with its own public key, and the second generation means includes the encryption means. 16. The information processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein seventh information including at least the sixth information encrypted by and the first information extracted by the extracting unit is generated. 17. A decrypting device for decrypting the second information included in the fifth information received by the receiving device, using a private key of the own device, the second information comprising: The information processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the information is encrypted by the public key. 18. The first information is either first license information for conditionally reproducing the content or second license information for completely reproducing the content. 16. The information processing device according to claim 15, wherein the information processing device is a device. 19. The information processing apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising an encryption unit that encrypts the seventh information generated by the second generation unit. 20. The encryption means encrypts the seventh information with a public key of the other information processing device specified by the fourth information, and applies an electronic signature with its own private key. The information processing device according to claim 19, wherein 21. The information processing apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a decoding unit that decodes the fifth information received by the receiving unit. 22. Second recording means for recording the second information, the third information, and the fourth information included in the fifth information received by the receiving means. , The second information recorded by the second recording means,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising an analysis unit that analyzes information regarding the content based on the third information and the fourth information. 23. A recording control step for controlling recording of first information unique to the content, which is used for reproducing the content, and a recording control step of attaching to the content from another information processing apparatus holding the content. Control for controlling reception of the second information, the third information for specifying the content, and the fifth information including the fourth information for specifying the other information processing apparatus. A step of extracting the first information corresponding to the content identified by the third information from the first information whose recording is controlled by the processing of the recording control step; A first generation step of generating sixth information including at least information specifying the other information processing device; and a first generation step, generated by the processing of the first generation step. And a second generation step of generating seventh information including at least the sixth information and the first information extracted by the processing of the extraction step, and generated by the processing of the second generation step. And a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the seventh information to the other information processing device specified by the fourth information. 24. A recording control step for controlling recording of first information unique to the content, which is used for reproducing the content, and an attachment to the content from another information processing apparatus which owns the content. Control for controlling reception of the second information, the third information for specifying the content, and the fifth information including the fourth information for specifying the other information processing apparatus. A step of extracting the first information corresponding to the content identified by the third information from the first information whose recording is controlled by the processing of the recording control step; A first generation step of generating sixth information including at least information specifying the other information processing device; and a first generation step, generated by the processing of the first generation step. And a second generation step of generating seventh information including at least the sixth information and the first information extracted by the processing of the extraction step, and generated by the processing of the second generation step. And a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the seventh information to the other information processing device specified by the fourth information, and a computer-readable program is recorded. Recording medium. 25. A recording control step of controlling recording of first information unique to the content, which is used for reproducing the content, and a process of attaching to the content from another information processing apparatus holding the content. Control for controlling reception of the second information, the third information for specifying the content, and the fifth information including the fourth information for specifying the other information processing apparatus. A step of extracting the first information corresponding to the content identified by the third information from the first information whose recording is controlled by the processing of the recording control step; A first generation step of generating sixth information including at least information specifying the other information processing device; and a first generation step, generated by the processing of the first generation step. And a second generation step of generating seventh information including at least the sixth information and the first information extracted by the processing of the extraction step, and generated by the processing of the second generation step. And a transmission control step of controlling transmission of the seventh information to the other information processing device specified by the fourth information, the program being executed by a computer. 26. At least one first information processing apparatus for acquiring and reproducing content, and a second information processing apparatus for transmitting information for reproducing the content to the first information processing apparatus. In the information processing system configured by, the first information processing device includes an acquisition unit that acquires the content, first information attached to the content, and second information for specifying the content. , And first generation means for generating fourth information including third information capable of identifying itself, and the fourth information generated by the first generation means for the second information. First transmitting means for transmitting to the information processing apparatus, first receiving means for receiving fifth information necessary for reproducing the content transmitted from the second information processing apparatus, The first extraction means for extracting the sixth information attached to the fifth information received by the reception means, and the sixth information extracted by the first extraction means for the contents. And an information attaching unit that attaches to the content instead of the first information attached to the second information processing apparatus, the second information processing apparatus being used to reproduce the content, Recording means for recording seventh information; and a fourth means for receiving the fourth information including the first information, the second information, and the third information from the first information processing device. 2 receiving means and the 7th information recorded in the recording means,
Second extracting means for extracting the seventh information corresponding to the content specified by the second information, and generating the sixth information including at least information specifying the first information processing apparatus Second generation means for performing, and the sixth information generated by the second generation means,
And third generating means for generating the fifth information including at least the seventh information extracted by the second extracting means, and the fifth information generated by the third generating means. An information processing system, comprising: a second transmitting unit that transmits to the first information processing apparatus specified by the third information.