JP2005250638A - Method for protecting content and mobile communication terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for protecting contents that protects contents according to rules by means of a removable storage medium when restoring the contents, without requiring the contents to be communicated via a communication line, and a mobile communication terminal device. <P>SOLUTION: A content protection part 32 reads from the rules 31b of content use of an external storage medium 31 the identification information of the mobile communication terminal device that stores the contents 31a stored in the external storage medium 31. Restoration is carried out if, based on customer data stored in a customer data management device connected via a radio communication network 3, it is confirmed that the mobile communication terminal device identified by the identification information cannot receive communication services and that the mobile communication terminal device 1 to be restored can receive the services. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a content protection method and a mobile communication terminal device, and more particularly to restoration processing to a different device.

  When the mobile communication terminal device receives the encoded digital movie information, a process is performed to protect the information in case the device is accidentally lost. That is, a process is known in which the information is backed up and stored in a storage device different from the device, and the stored information is restored to a mobile communication terminal device different from the device. For example, in order to protect the copyright of the person who created the information, a rule may be given that the information is stored only in a predetermined number, for example, one storage device.

  The process of protecting the information with the above rules is not limited to the protection of movie information, but information that is played interactively, such as music information, audio information, still image information, electronic game information, Furthermore, it is also performed for programs and data. Therefore, hereinafter, these pieces of information are collectively referred to as contents.

  The content is not limited to encoded digital information, and may be digital information that is not encoded. Furthermore, part or all of the content may be analog information. It does not matter whether the content is received via a wireless line, a wired line, or a removable storage medium.

A process is known in which a content management server stores content and the rules for content protection, and content is restored according to the rules in response to a request from a mobile communication terminal device (for example, a patent). Reference 1).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-58660 (page 2-4, FIG. 23)

  However, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, when content is restored, the content is communicated via a communication line, so that a communication fee for the communication is generated, and the communication time for the communication is also generated. There was a problem that required.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. When restoring content, the content is not communicated via a communication line, and the content conforms to the rules using a removable storage medium. It is an object of the present invention to provide a content protection method and a mobile communication terminal device that can protect the mobile phone.

  In order to achieve the above object, the content protection method of the present invention includes identification information of a content playback device that plays back the content based on the content and the usage rules of the content, and whether the content playback device is valid or invalid. Is stored in the content playback device list, and the content, the usage rule of the content, and the identification information of the first content playback device are attached to the removable storage medium according to the usage rule of the content from the first content playback device. Whether the first content reproduction device is valid or invalid using the identification information of the first content reproduction device stored in the backup and stored in the removable storage medium as a search key, and the second The identification information of the content reproduction device is used as a search key, and the second content reproduction device is valid or invalid. From the list of content playback devices, and when the first content playback device is invalid and the second content playback device is valid, the content stored in the removable storage medium and its The content usage rule is restored and stored in the second content reproduction apparatus.

  According to the present invention, at the time of content restoration, a content protection method capable of protecting content according to a rule using a removable storage medium without the content being communicated via a communication line and A mobile communication terminal device can be provided.

  Embodiments of a content protection control method and a mobile communication terminal device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content protection system to which a content protection method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied and which includes a mobile communication terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  This content protection system manages the mobile communication terminal device 1 and the data related to the customer who subscribes to the mobile communication system with which the mobile communication terminal device 1 communicates and the data related to the mobile communication terminal device 1 related to the contract of the customer. It comprises a customer data management device 2 and a wireless communication network 3 connecting the mobile communication terminal device 1 and the customer data management device 2.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the mobile communication terminal device 1. The mobile communication terminal device 1 includes a control unit 11 that controls the entire device, an antenna 12a that transmits and receives radio waves to and from a base station (not shown), a communication unit 12b, a transmission and reception unit 13, and a speaker 14a. And a microphone 14b, a call unit 14c, an output device 15, an input device 16, a content storage unit 21, a content reproduction unit 22, a removable external storage medium 31, and a content protection unit 32.

  The content storage unit 21 stores content 21a and content usage rules 21b. FIG. 3 shows the format of the content usage rule 21 b stored in the content storage unit 21. The content usage rule 21b includes the backup 21c, but is not limited to this, and may include other usage rules.

  FIG. 3A shows an example of the content usage rule 21b when the content 21a is allowed to be backed up once in the external storage medium 31, and the backup 21c stores information “permitted once”. Has been. FIG. 3B shows an example of the content usage rule 21b when the content 21a is not permitted to be backed up to the external storage medium 31, and information “impossible” is stored in the backup 21c. Yes.

  The content 21a and the content usage rule 21b stored in the content storage unit 21 may be encrypted.

  The external storage medium 31 is, for example, an SD card, and the external storage medium 31 stores content 31a and content usage rules 31b. 4 shows the format of the content usage rule 31b stored in the external storage medium 31, FIG. 4 (a) shows a first example, and FIG. 4 (b) shows a second example. The content usage rule 31b includes a backup source terminal device identifier 31c, a backup source terminal device telephone number 31d, and a backup 31e, but is not limited to this, and may include other usage rules.

  The backup source terminal device identifier 31c is information for uniquely identifying the mobile communication terminal device 1 to which the external storage medium 31 is attached when the content 31a is stored in the external storage medium 31, for example, the mobile communication terminal device The backup source terminal device telephone number 31 d is the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal device 1.

  Here, since either the backup source terminal device identifier 31c or the backup source terminal device telephone number 31d can uniquely identify the mobile communication terminal device 1, any one of these is included in the content usage rule 31b. You don't have to.

  The backup 31e stores information “possible once” or “impossible”. The meaning of the information stored in the backup 31e is as described in the description of the information stored in the content usage rule 21b stored in the content storage unit 21.

  The content 31a and the content usage rule 31b stored in the external storage medium 31 are encrypted and stored.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the customer data management device 2. The customer data management device 2 includes a control unit 41 that controls the entire device, a communication unit 42, a customer data storage unit 43, and a customer data search unit 44.

  The customer data storage unit 43 stores customer data 43a. FIG. 6 shows the format of the customer data 43a. The customer data 43a is composed of a set of information of the customer identifier 43b, the terminal device identifier 43c, the terminal device telephone number 43d, and the service 43e, but is not limited thereto, and may include other information. .

  The customer identifier 43b is information for identifying a customer who has subscribed to a communication carrier that operates a mobile communication system with which the mobile communication terminal device 1 communicates. The terminal device identifier 43c is information for uniquely identifying the mobile communication terminal device 1 related to the contract. The terminal device identifier 43c is the same information as the backup source terminal device identifier 31c described above, for example, assigned by the operator who manufactured the mobile communication terminal device 1. Serial number. The terminal device telephone number 43d is a telephone number assigned to the mobile communication terminal device 1 related to the contract, and is the same information as the backup source terminal device telephone number 31d described above.

  Further, the service 43e is a service in which the mobile communication terminal device 1 related to the contract identified by the customer identifier 43b, the terminal device identifier 43c, and the terminal device telephone number 43d is effective, and the service 43e If the communication service is performed, the information is “permitted”. On the other hand, if the communication service is invalid and the service is not performed, the information is “impossible”.

  The case where the communication service is invalid includes the case where the customer identified by the customer identifier 43b reports that the mobile communication terminal device 1 is damaged or lost and cannot receive the communication service. . Further, it includes a case where the device is collected by a communication carrier because the contract is canceled or the lost device is picked up and delivered.

  FIG. 6 shows a set of information in which the customer identifier 43b is “DDD”, the terminal device identifier 43c is “AAA”, the terminal device telephone number 43d is “BBB”, and the service 43e is “impossible”, and the customer identifier 43b is “DDD”. ”, An example of customer data 43a in which a set of information in which the terminal device identifier 43c is“ EEE ”, the terminal device telephone number 43d is“ FFF ”, and the service 43e is“ possible ”is shown.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, for example, the customer identified by the customer identifier 43b “DDD” used the mobile communication terminal device identified by the terminal device identifier 43c “AAA”, but the device was damaged. Therefore, this is customer data 43a when the mobile communication terminal device having the terminal device identifier 43c identified by “EEE” is purchased and a new contract is made with the communication carrier.

  The operation of each part of the mobile communication terminal device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the communication unit 12b outputs the high-frequency signal received by the antenna 12a to the transmission / reception unit 13, and transmits the high-frequency signal output from the transmission / reception unit 13 from the antenna 12a.

  The transceiver 13 amplifies, converts and demodulates the high frequency signal from the communication unit 12b, and controls the control signal including the standard time from the communication unit 12b and the digital voice signal obtained thereby to the call unit 14c. Send to part 11. Furthermore, the digital audio signal output from the communication unit 14c and the control signal output from the control unit 11 are modulated, frequency-converted and amplified to obtain a high-frequency signal, which is sent to the communication unit 12b.

  Next, the call unit 14c converts the digital audio signal output from the transmission / reception unit 13 or the content reproduction unit 22 into an analog audio signal, amplifies it, and sends it to the speaker 14a. The analog audio signal output from the microphone 14 b is amplified, converted into a digital audio signal, and transmitted to the transmission / reception unit 13.

  The output device 15 is, for example, an LCD display device, and is controlled by the control unit 11 to display characters / numbers and image data including image data output from the content reproduction unit 22 and displayed. In response to an input operation from the input device 16 or an incoming call signal, the data is switched by receiving an instruction from the control unit 11.

  The input device 16 includes a plurality of keys including a numeric key for designating the telephone number of the other party. When the key of the input device 16 is operated, an identifier corresponding to the key is notified to the control unit 11, It is displayed on the output device 15 as characters or numbers, and image display switching is performed.

  Next, the operation of the content reproduction unit 22 will be described. The content playback unit 22 is a device that performs playback of the content 21a according to the content usage rule 21b. When the user operates the predetermined key of the input device 16 to specify the content 21a, the control unit 11 causes the content 21a to be played back. And the content usage rule 21b as an argument to start the operation.

  Then, the content reproduction unit 22 reads the content 21a and the content usage rule 21b from the content storage unit 21, reproduces the content 21a within the range permitted by the content usage rule 21b, and displays the reproduced image information and character information. The information is sent to the output device 15 for display, and the reproduced music information and voice information are sent to the call section 14c to generate sound from the speaker 14a.

  Next, the operation of the content protection unit 32 will be described from the backup operation. FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the backup operation of the content protection unit 32. The backup operation of the content protection unit 32 is performed by the user operating the predetermined key of the input device 16 to specify the content 21a, so that the control unit 11 is activated with the content 21a and the content usage rule 21b as arguments, The operation is started (step 32a).

  Subsequently, the content protection unit 32 determines whether backup is permitted (step 32b). That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, if information “impossible” is stored in the backup 21c of the content usage rule 21b, it is determined that the backup is not permitted (“impossible” in step 32b). The process ends immediately (step 32c).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3A, if information “one-time allowed” is stored in the backup 21c of the content usage rule 21b, the content protection unit 32 determines that backup is permitted ( In step 32b, “OK”), the content 21a and the content usage rule 21b are backed up and stored in the external storage medium 31 (step 32d). That is, the content 21a is encrypted with media binding, and the content encrypted with media binding is stored in the content 31a.

  Then, the identifier of the mobile communication terminal device 1 notified from the control unit 11 is the backup source terminal device identifier 31c, the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal device 1 notified from the control unit 11 is the backup source terminal device telephone number 31d, A set of information in which “impossible” information is set in the backup 31e is created, the created set of information is encrypted, and the encrypted information is stored in the content usage rule 31b.

  FIG. 4A shows an example of a content usage rule 31b in which “AAA” is set in the backup source terminal device identifier 31c, “BBB” is set in the backup source terminal phone number 31d, and “impossible” is set in the backup 31e. . This is the content usage rule 31b backed up by the mobile communication terminal device 1 whose identifier is “AAA” and whose telephone number is “BBB”.

  Next, the content protection unit 32 stores information “impossible” in the backup 21c of the content usage rule 21b, updates the content usage rule 21b (step 32e), and ends (step 32b). Here, the information “impossible” is set in the backup 31e in the step 32d, and the backup 21c is updated with the information “impossible” in the step 32e because the backup allowed only once by this backup operation is performed. Therefore, it is for memorizing that backup is not allowed thereafter.

  Next, the restore operation of the content protection unit 32 will be described. FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the restore operation of the content protection unit 32. In the restore operation of the content protection unit 32, the user operates a predetermined key of the input device 16 to specify the content 31a, and the control unit 11 starts up with the content 31a and the content usage rule 31b as arguments. The operation is started (step 32g).

  Subsequently, the content protection unit 32 determines whether or not restoration is permitted (step 32h). That is, it is confirmed that the content 31a is not restored to a plurality of mobile communication terminal devices 1.

  This determination is made in the following two stages. First, in the first stage, the backup source terminal device identifier 31c is equal to the identifier of the mobile communication terminal device 1 notified from the control unit 11, and the backup source terminal device telephone number 31d is notified from the control unit 11 If it is equal to the telephone number of the communication terminal device 1, the content protection unit 32 determines that restoration is permitted.

  If it is not determined that restoration is permitted in the first stage, the content protection unit 32 proceeds to the second stage. In the second stage, the content protection unit 32 requests the customer data management apparatus 2 for the following two searches. This request is made by, for example, instructing an e-mail transmission / reception unit (not shown) and transmitting the e-mail.

(1) The mobile communication terminal device identified by the identifier of the mobile communication terminal device 1 notified from the control unit 11 and the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal device 1 notified from the control unit 11 is communication based on a contract. Is it remembered that the service is possible?
(2) The mobile communication terminal device identified by the backup source terminal device identifier 31c and the backup source terminal device telephone number 31d stores that the communication service based on the contract is not possible or is unknown Is it there?

  Here, it is confirmed that the mobile communication terminal device 1 that is trying to restore the content 31a by the search of (1) can communicate with the mobile communication system, and the external storage medium 31 is searched by the search of (2). It can be known that the mobile communication terminal that backed up the content 31a cannot communicate with the mobile communication system.

  If a “NO” answer is obtained for one or both of the above searches (1) and (2), restoration may be performed on a plurality of mobile communication terminal devices. Therefore, the content protection unit 32 determines that restoration is not permitted (“impossible” in step 32h), and ends the operation (step 32i). Here, the answer is obtained by e-mail received by the e-mail transmission / reception unit, for example.

  In the above description, e-mail is used for communication between the mobile communication terminal device 1 and the customer data management device 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an original protocol or short-range radio is used. You can authenticate.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the restoration is permitted in the first stage described above, and if the answer “YES” is obtained for both of the above searches (1) and (2), the external storage The mobile communication terminal device that backs up the content 31a on the medium 31 is not in a usable state, and restoration is being performed on one mobile communication terminal device, so the content protection unit 32 is allowed to restore. (“Yes” in step 32h), the information stored in the external storage medium 31 is restored to the content storage unit 21 (step 32j).

  For example, the content usage rule 31b shown in FIG. 4A in which information “AAA” is set in the backup source terminal device identifier 31c, “BBB” is set in the backup source terminal phone number 31d, and “impossible” is set in the backup 31e. When restoring from the stored external storage medium 31 to the mobile communication terminal device 1 having the identifier “EEE” and the telephone number “FFF”, the customer data management device 2 stores the customer data 43a shown in FIG. If yes, an answer of “YES” is obtained for both of the above searches (1) and (2), and restoration is executed.

  That is, the content protection unit 32 decrypts the content 31a and stores the decrypted content in the content 21a. Then, the encryption of the content usage rule 31b is decrypted, and the decrypted backup 31e is stored in the backup 21c of the content usage rule 21b.

  Next, the content protection unit 32 updates the content usage rule 31b (step 32k) and ends the operation (step 32i).

  Here, the update is performed by using the identifier of the mobile communication terminal device 1 notified from the control unit 11 (in the above example, “EEE”) as the backup source terminal device identifier 31 c and the mobile communication notified from the control unit 11. The telephone number of the terminal device 1 (in the above example, “FFF”) is stored in the backup source terminal device telephone number 31d.

  By this update, restoration to a mobile communication terminal device other than the mobile communication terminal device 1 that has been restored can be prevented thereafter. FIG. 4B shows the content usage rule 31b after the above update is performed in the above example.

  The content protection unit 32 requests the customer data management device 2 to perform the searches (1) and (2) in the second stage of step 32h. Instead, the following (1), ( You may request 3 searches of 2 ′) and (3). Then, it is determined that restoration is permitted when an answer “YES” is obtained for all of these three searches, and restoration is not permitted when an answer “NO” is obtained for at least one case. good.

(1) The mobile communication terminal device identified by the identifier of the mobile communication terminal device 1 notified from the control unit 11 and the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal device 1 notified from the control unit 11 is communication based on a contract. Is it remembered that the service is possible?
(2 ′) Is it stored that the mobile communication terminal device identified by the backup source terminal device identifier 31c and the backup source terminal device telephone number 31d is incapable of communication service based on the contract.
(3) Are the users who made the contracts in (1) and (2 ') above the same?

  As a result, it is possible to prevent the user of the mobile communication terminal apparatus that performed backup from being different from the user of the mobile communication terminal apparatus that performed restoration.

  Next, the operation of the customer data management apparatus 2 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the communication unit 42 transmits a signal from the wireless communication network 3 to the control unit 41 and transmits a signal from the control unit 41 to the wireless communication network 3.

  Next, the operation of the customer data search unit 44 will be described. For example, when an e-mail transmission / reception unit (not shown) receives an e-mail requesting a search for customer data 43a, the customer data search unit 44 is activated and starts operating.

  When receiving a search request using “mobile communication terminal device identifier” and “mobile communication terminal device telephone number” as keys, the customer data search unit 44 determines that the terminal device identifier 43c is the above “mobile communication terminal”. A set of information equal to the “device identifier” and the terminal device telephone number 43d equal to the “mobile communication terminal device telephone number” is searched from the customer data 43a. And the customer identifier 43b of the information of the set and the service 43e are obtained.

  If the obtained service 43e is “OK” information, the customer data search unit 44 stores that the mobile communication terminal device identified by the search key “can perform a communication service based on a contract. It is judged. If the obtained service 43e is “impossible” information, the mobile communication terminal device identified by the search key determines that “the communication service based on the contract is not stored” is stored. To do. If the information set cannot be obtained with the search key, it is determined that “it is unknown whether the communication service based on the contract is possible or not”.

  If the customer identifiers 43b searched by the two searches are the same information, the customer data search unit 44 has two mobile communication terminal devices that are identified by the identification information used as a key in the two searches. Are determined to be the same. Then, based on the above determination, an answer of “YES” or “NO” is created for the requested search of the customer data 43 a and transmitted to the mobile communication terminal device 1. The transmission is performed, for example, by instructing an electronic mail transmission / reception unit to transmit an electronic mail composed of the answer.

  The above description has been made by taking an example in which the present invention is applied to a mobile communication terminal device. However, the present invention is not limited to any content reproduction device capable of communicating with a communication system based on a contract, for example, only members can communicate. Of course, it is also possible to apply to a personal computer that obtains content from a provider who can use the Internet. The present invention is not limited to the above configuration, and various modifications are possible.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the content protection system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile communication terminal device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the format of the content usage rule memorize | stored in the content memory | storage part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the format of the content usage rule memorize | stored in the external storage medium which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the customer data management apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the format of the customer data which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the content backup operation | movement of the content protection part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing the content restoration operation of the content protection unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile communication terminal device 2 Customer data management device 21 Content storage unit 21a, 31a Content 21b, 31b Content usage rule 21c, 31e Backup 22 Content playback unit 31 External storage medium 31c Backup source terminal device identifier 31d Backup source terminal device telephone number 32 Content protection unit 43 Customer data storage unit 43a Customer data 43b Customer identifier 43c Terminal device identifier 43d Terminal device phone number 43e Service 44 Customer data search unit

Claims (7)

Storing in the content playback device list the identification information of the content playback device that plays back the content from the content and the usage rules of the content, and whether the content playback device is valid or invalid,
Backing up and storing the content, the usage rule of the content, and the identification information of the first content playback device in a removable storage medium according to the usage rule of the content from the first content playback device,
Using the identification information of the first content reproduction device stored in the removable storage medium as a search key, whether the first content reproduction device is valid or invalid, and the second content reproduction device Using the identification information as a search key, search the content playback device list to determine whether the second content playback device is valid or invalid,
When the first content reproduction device is invalid and the second content reproduction device is valid, the content stored in the removable storage medium and the usage rule of the content are set as the second content reproduction device. A content protection method comprising: restoring and storing in a content reproduction apparatus. As a result of the search, when the first content reproduction device is valid or the second content reproduction device is invalid, the content stored in the removable storage medium and the usage rule of the content are determined. The content protection method according to claim 1, wherein the second content playback apparatus does not restore and store the content. The identification information of the content reproduction device that reproduces the content from the content and the usage rule of the content, the owner of the content reproduction device, and whether the content reproduction device is valid or invalid are stored in the content reproduction device list And
Backing up and storing the content, the usage rule of the content, and the identification information of the first content playback device in a removable storage medium according to the usage rule of the content from the first content playback device,
Using the identification information of the first content reproduction device stored in the removable storage medium as a search key, whether the first content reproduction device is valid or invalid, and possession of the first content reproduction device And the identification information of the second content reproduction device as a search key, whether the second content reproduction device is valid or invalid, and whether the owner of the second content reproduction device is the content reproduction device. Search from the list,
The first content reproduction device is invalid, the second content reproduction device is valid, and the owner of the first content reproduction device and the owner of the second content reproduction device Is stored in the removable storage medium, and the content usage rules are restored and stored in the second content reproduction apparatus. As a result of the search, if the owner of the first content playback device and the owner of the second content playback device do not match, the first content playback device is valid, or the second content playback device is valid. 4. The content reproduction device according to claim 3, wherein when the content reproduction device is invalid, the content stored in the removable storage medium and the usage rule of the content are not restored and stored in the second content reproduction device. Content protection methods. The identification information of the first content reproduction device stored in the removable storage medium is updated and stored in the restoration storage as the identification information of the second content reproduction device. The content protection method according to claim 3. 4. The content reproduction device according to claim 1, wherein when the identification information of the content reproduction device is not stored in the content reproduction device list, the content reproduction device is regarded as being invalid. 5. Content protection method. A mobile communication terminal device for making a search request for customer data; and a customer database for storing customer data comprising identification information of the mobile communication terminal device and whether or not the mobile communication terminal device can receive a communication service. And receiving a customer data search request from the mobile communication terminal device, searching the customer database in response to the search request, and responding with either of two values indicating affirmative or negative according to the search result Is a mobile communication terminal device of a content protection system connected via a wireless communication network to a customer data management device that transmits
A content storage unit for storing content and usage rules of the content;
Content reproduction means for reproducing the content stored in the content storage unit according to the usage rule of the content;
Content backup means for storing the content stored in the content storage unit, the content usage rule, and the identification information of the mobile communication terminal device in a removable storage means according to the content usage rule;
The mobile communication terminal device identified by the mobile communication terminal device identification information stored in the removable storage means is stored in the customer database as being incapable of receiving a communication service, or the identification information is stored. And a search request as to whether the mobile communication terminal device identified by the identification information of the mobile communication terminal device is stored in the customer database as being capable of receiving communication service is transmitted to the customer data management device And, when a positive response is received in response to the search request, the content storage unit stores the content stored in the removable storage unit and the usage rule of the content in the content storage unit. A mobile communication terminal device.

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