JP2006074561A - Communication terminal, content transmission/reception system and content browsing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content communication terminal, a content transmission/receiving method and a content browsing method excellent in security which can be constituted so that a person except a specific user is not allowed to browse contents and use duplicates. <P>SOLUTION: The contents (36) are encrypted, key information (38) for decryption is embedded in the encrypted contents (37) and decryption by terminals (41 to 43) having no information coincident with the key information is prohibited. Only a specific terminal (1) is allowed to use the contents and the security is secured. In addition, even when the duplicates of the contents are produced, since they are the duplicates encrypted, there is no risk of unauthorized use and also in this point, the security is secured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal, a content transmission / reception system, and a content browsing method. Specifically, it relates to the protection of various copyrighted works (referred to as “contents” in this specification), and in particular, allows only specific users to use the contents and solves problems such as copyright infringement. The present invention relates to a communication terminal, a content transmission / reception system, and a content browsing method.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of telecommunication lines represented by the Internet, it has become possible to distribute various contents immediately and in large quantities without degrading quality. That itself has great benefits for our lives, but on the other hand, the so-called “illegal copy” problem that leads to copyright infringement has been attracting social attention.

  For example, the following is known as a conventional technique aimed at protecting content uploaded on a network such as the Internet (see Patent Document 1).

In this prior art, when content is uploaded from a terminal to a storage server on the Internet (hereinafter simply referred to as a server), the mail address of a user who is permitted to use the content is registered in the server. The server encrypts and saves the uploaded content, and stores the encrypted file in association with the mail address registered from the terminal. Thereafter, when a request for using (downloading) the above content is sent from any terminal on the Internet to the server, the server requests a mail address from the user of the terminal, and the user of the terminal Enter and send to the server. The server determines whether the email address transmitted from the terminal and the email address stored in association with the requested content match, and if they match, determines that the user has a valid usage right. The server decrypts the content and permits the use of the decrypted content.
JP 2003-337751 ([0017]-[0037], FIG. 1)

However, the above prior art has the following problems.
The prior art determines whether the email address transmitted from the terminal at the time of the download request matches the email address stored in association with the requested content. It is a mechanism that permits decryption and use of the decrypted content. In other words, authentication by email address is performed on the server side, but this is just server authentication similar to password authentication, and installation of the server is indispensable (thus increasing costs), Since the content after being downloaded from the server is decrypted, that is, “live” content that is not secure, anyone can use the copy, and the copyright cannot be protected at all.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication terminal, a content transmission / reception system, and a content browsing method that can prohibit the browsing of the content and the use of a duplicate by other than a specific user.

The communication terminal according to claim 1, an acquisition unit that acquires content, and a file that is embedded into the content acquired by the content acquisition unit by embedding unique information for connection to the information public network And storage control means for storing the content filed by the filing means in a storage means connected to the information disclosure network, and a browsing instruction means for instructing browsing of the content stored in the storage means When browsing of the content is instructed by the browsing instructing unit, the reading unit reads out unique information for the terminal to connect to the information public network from the filed content, and is read out by the reading unit. And whether the information matches the information unique to the information public network stored in the terminal A coincidence determining means, when it is determined that a match by said match determination means, characterized by comprising a reproduction output means for reproducing and outputting said filed content.
The communication terminal according to claim 2 is the communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the content is an image, and the filing unit automatically stores the image in a storage area provided arbitrarily. It is characterized in that the terminal embeds unique information for connecting to the information public network and forms a file.
The communication terminal according to claim 3 is the communication terminal according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an imaging unit, wherein the content is data photographed by the imaging unit.
5. The content transmission / reception system according to claim 4, wherein a first communication terminal that transmits filed content via an information public network and a second communication that receives the content transmitted from the first communication terminal. In a content transmission / reception system comprising a terminal, the first communication terminal includes an acquisition unit that acquires content, and a file that embeds information permitting browsing into the content acquired by the content acquisition unit and forms a file The second communication terminal, when the browsing of the content is instructed, a reading unit that reads information permitting browsing from the content that has been filed, and the read by the reading unit Based on the unique information for the second communication terminal to connect to the information public network, the information permitted to be browsed A permission determination means for determining whether it is allowed, if it is allowed to browse the 該許 allowed determination means, characterized by comprising a reproduction output means for reproducing and outputting said filed content.
The content transmission / reception system according to claim 5 is the content transmission / reception system according to claim 4, wherein storage means is connected to the information public network and stores the filed content transmitted from the first communication terminal. In addition, the second communication terminal receives the filed content from the storage means.
The content transmission / reception system according to claim 6 is the content transmission / reception system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the browsing permission information is unique to the second communication terminal for connecting to the information public network. It is information, and the permission determining means includes means for determining whether or not the unique information matches.
The content transmission / reception system according to claim 7 is the content transmission / reception system according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the content is an image, and the file forming unit is arbitrarily configured to convert the image into a file. Information that permits browsing is embedded in a storage area provided to form a file.
The content transmission / reception system according to claim 8 is the content transmission / reception system according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the first communication terminal further includes an imaging unit, and the content is data captured by the imaging unit. It is characterized by being.
The content browsing method according to claim 9 is an acquisition step for acquiring content, and the communication terminal set to a communication terminal that permits browsing for the content acquired in the content acquisition step. A file forming step for embedding unique information for connection to a file, a storage step for storing the content filed in the file formation step in a storage device connected to the information disclosure network, and A browsing instruction step for instructing browsing of the content stored in the storage device, and a reading step for reading the unique information from the filed content when the browsing of the content is instructed in the browsing instruction step; The unique information read in the reading step is connected to the information public network stored in the terminal itself. A match determination step for checking whether or not they match by matching with unique information for playback, and a playback output step for playing back and outputting the filed content when it is determined in the match determination step It is characterized by comprising.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when browsing of the content is instructed, specific information for the terminal to connect to the information public network is read from the filed content, and the read information and The unique information for connecting to the information public network stored in the terminal is collated, and when it is determined that the information matches, the filed content is reproduced and output. Can be permitted, and security can be ensured. Even if a copy of the content is made, it is a copy that has been filed, so there is no risk of unauthorized use, and security can be ensured in this respect as well.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the content is an image, and the filing unit connects the terminal itself to the information disclosure network in a storage area arbitrarily provided when the image is filed. Therefore, it is possible to improve the security of image data and limit the reuse of duplicates.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the image capturing unit is further provided and the content is data photographed by the image capturing unit, it is possible to improve the security of the photograph and restrict the reuse of the duplicate.
According to the invention described in claim 4, the use of the content can be permitted only to a specific terminal, and security can be ensured. Even if a copy of the content is made, it is a copy that has been filed, so there is no risk of unauthorized use, and security can be ensured in this respect as well.
According to the invention described in claim 5, since the second communication terminal receives the content as the file from the storage means, it is possible to limit unauthorized use of the duplicate.
According to the invention described in claim 6, since the second communication terminal permits the browsing of the content with the unique information for connecting to the information public network, the unauthorized use of the content other than the second communication terminal is prevented. Can be prohibited.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the content is an image, and the filing unit connects the own terminal to the information disclosure network in a storage area arbitrarily provided when the image is filed. Therefore, it is possible to improve the security of image data and limit the reuse of duplicates.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the image pickup unit is further provided and the content is data photographed by the image pickup unit, it is possible to improve the security of the photograph and restrict the reuse of the duplicate.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, when content browsing is instructed, specific information for the terminal to connect to the information public network is read from the filed content, and the read information and The unique information for connecting to the information public network stored in the terminal is collated, and when it is determined that the information matches, the filed content is reproduced and output. Can be permitted, and security can be ensured. Even if a copy of the content is made, it is a copy that has been filed, so there is no risk of unauthorized use, and security can be ensured in this respect as well.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the specific details or examples in the following description and the illustrations of numerical values, character strings, and other symbols are only for reference in order to clarify the idea of the present invention, and the present invention may be used in whole or in part. Obviously, the idea of the invention is not limited. In addition, a well-known technique, a well-known procedure, a well-known architecture, a well-known circuit configuration, and the like (hereinafter, “well-known matter”) are not described in detail, but this is also to simplify the description. Not all or part of the matter is intentionally excluded. Such well-known matters are known to those skilled in the art at the time of filing of the present invention, and are naturally included in the following description.

  1A and 1B are external views of a camera-equipped mobile phone 1 to which the technical idea of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1A is a front view thereof, and FIG. 1B is a rear view thereof. The illustrated mobile phone 1 is of a foldable type (flip type), but this is only an example. In the illustrated example, the mobile phone 1 includes a lid portion 2 and a main body portion 3. The lid portion 2 can be folded to the main body portion 3 side, and the antenna 4 provided on the back surface of the lid portion 2 is extendable (or may be built-in).

  A speaker 5 for outputting sounds, various warning sounds, and the like is provided at the upper front of the lid 2, and a main display unit such as a color liquid crystal device or a color organic device is provided at the center of the front of the lid 2. 6 is provided.

  The side surface of the main body 3 is provided with a shutter key 7 when the mobile phone 1 is used as a camera. On the front surface of the main body 3, key inputs including numeric keys, various function keys, and cursor keys are provided. A portion 8 is provided, and a microphone 9 for voice input is provided at the lower front portion of the main body portion 3.

  On the back surface of the lid portion 2, a sub display unit 10 having a display area smaller than that of the main display unit 6, a back key 11, and a photographing lens 12 are provided, and the vertical direction of the display surface of the sub display unit 10 is The optical axis direction of the photographing lens 12 is almost the same direction. The back key 11 is a light-emitting switch (for example, a switch with a built-in LED) made of a transparent or translucent member, and emits light while the entire back key 11 blinks when receiving an incoming call.

  A detachable battery pack 13, a lock portion 14 for fixing the battery pack 13, and a notification speaker 15 that emits a ringtone or the like are provided on the back surface of the main body 3.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the mobile phone 1. The wireless transmission / reception unit 16 transmits and receives wireless radio waves via the antenna 4, and the wireless signal processing unit 17 demodulates the voice and data received by the wireless transmission / reception unit 16 or the voice and data transmitted from the wireless transmission / reception unit 16. A process necessary for wireless communication is executed by modulation or the like. The control unit 18 is a component that performs overall control of the entire operation of the mobile phone 1, and is configured by, for example, a program control type microcomputer.

  The detector 19 detects that the shutter key 7 has been operated. The open / close detection unit 20 includes an optical sensor, a mechanical switch, and the like, and detects whether the cellular phone 1 is in a closed state (folded state) or an open state (non-folded state).

  The main driver 21 is a driver for driving the main display unit 6, and the sub driver 22 is a driver for driving the sub display unit 10. The subscriber information storage unit 23 stores profile data such as a subscriber number (also referred to as a terminal number or simply a telephone number) assigned to the mobile phone 1, an e-mail address, or a subscriber ID. Each of these profile data is information unique to the mobile phone 1, that is, unique information having only one in the world.

  The ROM 24 is a non-volatile storage device that stores various control programs (basic programs and various application programs) executed by the control unit 18, and the PROM 25 stores various data necessary as a wireless communication terminal. In addition to storing data necessary for control in the control unit 18, captured image data and other user data (for example, one of application programs executed in the control unit 18 is used to create, view, and transmit / receive e-mails). In the case of a mailer for this purpose, an address book or the like in which a mail transmission partner is registered corresponds to a rewritable nonvolatile storage device. Although not shown, a detachable flash memory device having the same role as the PROM 25 may be further provided.

  The audio signal processing unit 26 encodes the audio signal input from the microphone 9, decodes the signal output from the wireless signal processing unit 17, and outputs the decoded signal from the speaker 5. The driver 27 is a driver for driving the notification speaker 15, the incoming call vibrator 28, and the LED 29 built in the rear key 11.

  The mobile phone 1 is “with a camera” as described above. The camera portion, that is, the imaging device 30 includes a DSP 31, a photographing module 32, a photographing lens 12, a lens driving motor 33, and a motor driver 34. However, since the imaging device 30 operates under the control of the control unit 18, the strict components of the imaging device 30 are the above-described elements (the DSP 31, the imaging module 32, the imaging lens 12, the lens driving motor 33, and the like). In addition to the motor driver 34), the control unit 18 and a control program (stored in the ROM 24) of the imaging device 30 executed by the control unit 18 are included. In addition to these components, an element for acquiring current position information of the mobile phone 1, for example, a GPS receiver 35 may be provided.

  The DSP 31 encodes image data captured by the imaging module 33 via the photographing lens 12, and the imaging module 33 is configured by a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices), a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), or the like. Color imaging device. The imaging lens 12 is actually a lens barrel composed of a plurality of lens groups, and this lens barrel has an autofocus mechanism, a zoom mechanism, or an automatically openable lens cover ( Or a combination of these). The lens drive motor 33 is used to move each of these mechanism units (a mechanism unit provided for auto focus or zoom or photographing lens protection), and a stepping motor is used as the lens drive motor 33. ing.

  The mobile phone 1 having such a configuration can be used as a normal telephone terminal as a matter of course. For example, when used as a telephone terminal on the calling side, the user operates the numeric keypad of the key input unit 8 to input the telephone number of the calling party, or opens the address book and selects a desired calling party, The on-hook button of the input unit 8 may be pushed. The cellular phone 1 accesses the telephone line network via a wireless cellular phone base station (not shown) via the wireless transmission / reception unit 16 and the antenna 4 and calls the other party's phone. Then, after the call is established, it is possible to make a call while exchanging voice between the mobile phone 1 and the other party's phone.

  When used as a telephone terminal on the called side, the user may press the on-hook button of the key input unit 8 in response to the ringing sound of the speaker 15 or the vibration of the vibrator 28. The mobile phone 1 establishes a call with the other party's phone via the wireless transmitter / receiver 16 and the antenna 4 via the nearest mobile phone base station (not shown). It is possible to make a call while exchanging voice between the mobile phone 1 and the other party's phone.

  Now, many of the current mobile phones also have functions as so-called network terminals such as browsing homepages on the Internet and sending and receiving e-mails. The mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment is not limited to the above-mentioned voice call. It also has a function as a network terminal. That is, the mobile phone 1 supports the Internet protocol (TCP / IP), which is a de facto de facto standard of packet communication standards in the network, and various application software (for example, a homepage on the Internet) for using the protocol. Equipped with browser software for browsing, mailer for creating e-mail, browsing and sending / receiving).

  When browsing a home page on the Internet, the user operates the key input unit 8 to input a desired home page address, or a desired home page address from a pre-registered home page address list (so-called bookmark). select. The mobile phone 1 launches browser software and connects to the Internet from the telephone network via the wireless transmitter / receiver 16 and the antenna 4 via the nearest mobile phone base station (not shown), and a desired homepage on the Internet is displayed. Download and display on the screen of the browser software (screen of the main display unit 6). Thereby, the user can freely browse the home page displayed on the browser software.

  When creating and sending an e-mail, the user operates the key input unit 8 to start up a mailer and inputs the e-mail address of the other party or registers it in the address book in advance. The desired e-mail address is selected from the e-mail address list that has been entered, and after inputting the title of the mail and the text of the mail, the send button of the key input unit 8 may be pressed. The mobile phone 1 is connected to the Internet from the telephone network via the wireless transmitter / receiver 16 and the antenna 4 via the nearest mobile phone base station (not shown), and a predetermined transmission server (SMTP server of the mobile phone company) on the Internet. ) Send the created email to: The sending server identifies the receiving server (POP server) with reference to the domain (character string after “@”) of the destination address of the e-mail (the e-mail address of the sending partner), and the received e-mail addressed to the receiving server Forward e-mail.

  On the other hand, the operation when receiving and browsing an electronic mail is as follows. In general, the incoming notification of an e-mail of a mobile phone is automatically performed from the receiving server of the mobile phone company. Therefore, in a normal setting, the user does not need to confirm the new mail, and from the speaker 15 of the mobile phone 1 Just wait for the mail ringtone. The user may operate the key input unit 8 to start the mailer when listening to the mail ring tone, select an unopened e-mail from the received mail list, display it on the mailer, and browse it.

  As described above, the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment can access the Internet and create, view, and transmit / receive an e-mail in addition to a normal voice call. Furthermore, since it is “with camera”, it can be used in the same way as a digital camera. That is, when the mobile phone 1 is not used as a telephone or a network terminal (when in the standby state), the imaging device 30 is set in an operating state by performing a predetermined operation, for example, pressing and holding the shutter key 7. Can do. In this state, when the photographing lens 12 is pointed at a desired subject, a through image that follows the movement of the subject can be displayed on the sub display device 10 or the main display device 6.

  The user can take a still image (which may be a moving image) of the subject by determining the composition while viewing the through image and pressing the shutter key 7. In this case, the mobile phone 1 determines focus and exposure in response to “half-pressing” of the shutter key 7, drives the lens driving motor 33 via the motor driver 34, and focuses the photographing lens 12, and Then, the exposure in the photographing module 32 is optimally set, and in response to “full press” of the shutter key 7, the output image of the photographing module 32 at that time is compressed by the DSP 31, and a predetermined image format (for example, JPEG format or The file is saved in the PROM 25 in the EXIF format which is a compatible format.

  In the case of a moving image, the generation of a moving image file is started in response to “first press” of the first shutter key 7 (recording start), and the moving image file is responded to “full press” of the second shutter key 7. Is completed (recording is completed), and a moving image file captured during that time is compressed by the DSP 31 and stored in the PROM 25 in a predetermined image format (for example, MPEG format).

  Now, the camera image (including moving images, for the sake of simplicity, a still image, that is, an image file of “photograph” in the following description) is taken as, for example, a standby screen of the mobile phone 1. In addition to being used as (image to be displayed on the main display unit 6 and the sub display unit 10 in the standby state), it may be transmitted to other users as an attached file of an e-mail.

  If an image storage server is provided, the user can upload a photo to the image storage server and send an e-mail describing the upload destination address to the other party. This allows the other party to download and view the corresponding photo on his mobile phone by simply clicking on the address in the body of the email.

  As described above, the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment is a very convenient device in that it can take a picture and can send the picture to an arbitrary party. Because it is sent as it is, for example, a photo sent to a specific partner is unintentionally used by a third party and used unintentionally by the owner of the photo (generally the photographer) There was a fear.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the photograph is encrypted and transmitted, and key information for decryption is embedded in the encrypted photograph data, and decryption by a terminal that does not have information matching the key information is prohibited. By doing so, the above inconvenience, that is, how the photograph owner unintentionally uses it, is surely avoided.

This will be specifically described below.
<First embodiment>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation flowchart (upload operation in the mobile phone 1) of the first embodiment. This operation flow is executed by the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 1. In this embodiment, a photograph taken with his / her mobile phone 1 is uploaded to a predetermined server on the Internet (see the content server 40 in FIG. 4), and is downloaded and played back with his / her mobile phone 1 at any time. Assume a use case. In this embodiment, even if the photos stored and stored in the server are downloaded by a network terminal (personal computer or mobile phone connected to the Internet) other than the mobile phone 1, the network terminal So you can't decrypt your photos and make sure that you don't use them unintentionally.

  The illustrated flowchart will be described. In this flowchart, first, content (here, a photograph is not limited to this) is created, or content that has already been created is read from the PROM 25 (step S11). Next, “predetermined system information” of the own terminal (the mobile phone 1 that is executing the flowchart) is extracted (step S12).

  Here, the “predetermined system information” is information unique to the mobile phone 1, that is, unique information that is unique in the world. For example, the subscription assigned to the mobile phone 1 A profile number such as a subscriber number (also referred to as a terminal number or simply a telephone number), an e-mail address, or a subscriber ID. Hereinafter, for simplification of explanation, the predetermined system information is referred to as “telephone number”.

  Various predetermined system information can be considered besides these. For example, a combination of the model name of the mobile phone 1 and a manufacturing serial number (serial number) is also available because it is unique information that is unique in the world. However, it is necessary to be stored as electronic information in the ROM 24, the PROM 25, or other storage elements in a form that can be read from the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 1.

  When the predetermined system information of the own terminal is extracted, the system information is stored in the content as key information for decryption (step S13), and the content is encrypted using the key information (step S14). ) Upload the encrypted content to a predetermined server on the Internet (step S15).

  Here, “encryption” refers to transforming data so that it cannot be reproduced by application software for using the content. Furthermore, even when the contents are opened with a text editor, binary editor, or the like, it is more desirable to transform the data so that the data is not readable. There are various encryption methods. An appropriate one may be selected in consideration of required security strength, encryption / decryption overhead, and the like. For example, encryption may be performed by scrambling with random numbers. Specifically, a telephone number (key information) is applied to the initial value of the random number to obtain one random number, an exclusive OR (XOR) of the random number and the beginning of the content data is calculated, and the calculation is performed. The beginning of the content data may be replaced with the result, and this operation may be repeated until the end of the data is reached.

  FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of the first embodiment. In this figure, the mobile phone 1 executes the above flowchart to make the content 36 an encrypted file 37 using predetermined key information (here, the telephone number of the mobile phone 1) 38, and the key information. 38 is embedded in the encrypted file 37 and uploaded to a predetermined server (hereinafter referred to as “content server”) 40 on the Internet 39. Note that a plurality (for convenience, three) of mobile phones 41 to 43 indicated by broken lines in the drawing representatively represent various types of network terminals connected to the Internet 39. In the present embodiment, the use of the photograph (encrypted file 37) uploaded to the content server 40 is permitted only to the mobile phone 1 and not to other network terminals (mobile phones 41 to 43).

  FIG. 5A is a conceptual structural diagram of the encrypted file 37. In this figure, the encrypted file 37 has at least a key information storage unit 37a and a content storage unit 37b for storing encrypted content. For example, in the case of an EXIF format image file, a “user comment tag” is recognized as an information field that can be freely used at the user level (see JEIDA: Exif2.1 specification of Japan Electronics Industry Promotion Association). The user comment tag may be used for the key information storage unit 37a.

  FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an operation flowchart (download operation in the mobile phone 1) of the first embodiment. In this flowchart, first, the content server 40 is accessed from the mobile phone 1 (step S21), and the previously uploaded content (encrypted file 37) is downloaded (step S22).

  Next, key information is extracted from the key information storage unit 37a of the downloaded encrypted file 37 (step S23), and “predetermined system information” (phone number here) of the cellular phone 1 is extracted (step S24). A match is determined (step S25). If there is a mismatch, it is determined that the terminal is not permitted to use the content (encrypted file 37), the downloaded content is deleted (step S26), and the flowchart ends. If it is determined that the terminal is permitted to use the content (encrypted file 37), the downloaded content is decrypted (step S27), and the corresponding application program (image viewing in the case of a photo) is decrypted. Software, etc.) and the decrypted content is used (step S28), and then the flowchart ends.

  FIG. 6 is an effect explanatory diagram of the first embodiment. In the figure, the mobile phone 1 uploads the encrypted file 37 to the content server 40 and then downloads the encrypted file 37. Here, it is assumed that other network terminals (cell phones 41 to 43) connected to the Internet 39 know the existence of the encrypted file 37 on the content server 40 and download the encrypted file 37 by some means. To do.

  Now, for convenience, the telephone number of the mobile phone 1 is “090-1234-5678”, and the telephone numbers of the other network terminals (mobile phones 41 to 43) are respectively “090-aaa-bbbb”, “ 090-cccc-dddd "and" 090-eeee-ffff ".

  As described above, the key information storage unit 37a of the encrypted file 37 stores “predetermined system information” (phone number in this case) of the content generation source, and the generation source of the encrypted file 37 shown in FIG. Since this is the mobile phone 1, the telephone number “090-1234-5678” of the mobile phone 1 is stored in the key information storage unit 37 a of the encrypted file 37.

  That is, the encrypted file 37 on the content server 40 is decrypted only by a specific terminal (mobile phone 1) having the same key information (“090-1234-5678”) according to the operation flowchart of FIG. Is not allowed. For this reason, even if another network terminal (mobile phone 41 to 43) connected to the Internet 39 knows the existence of the encrypted file 37 on the content server 40 by some means, and downloads the encrypted file 37. However, since decryption is not performed in those terminals (cell phones 41 to 43), it is eventually recognized as content that is still encrypted (thus, content in which data is actually broken) As a result, the use other than the mobile phone 1 can be prohibited, the security can be enhanced, and the use contrary to the intention of the content creator can be surely avoided.

<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment described above, the terminal that uploads the content and the terminal that downloads and uses the content are the same (mobile phone 1). However, the idea of the present invention is not limited to this. . It is only necessary to allow the use of the content only to a specific terminal, and the following may be used.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an operation flowchart (upload operation in the mobile phone 1) of the second embodiment. This operation flow is also executed by the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 1. In this embodiment, a photograph taken with his / her mobile phone 1 is uploaded to a predetermined server on the Internet (see the content server 40 in FIG. 4), and is uploaded to a specified specific terminal other than his / her mobile phone 1. Assume a case of downloading only for use. In this embodiment as well, content can be downloaded from a terminal other than the specified specific terminal, but the encrypted file 37 cannot be decrypted by a terminal other than the specified specific terminal. As in the first embodiment, security is ensured.

  The illustrated flowchart will be described. In this flowchart, first, content (here, a photograph, but not limited to this) is created, or content that has already been created is read from the PROM 25 (step S31). Next, the address book stored in the PROM 25 is opened (step S32), and the e-mail address of the user permitted to use the content is selected (step S33).

  Here, “e-mail address” is used as the information of the user who is permitted to use the content, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any unique information that can identify the terminal of the user who is permitted to use the content may be used. For example, if the user's terminal is a mobile phone, the phone number of the mobile phone may be used. Alternatively, if the user terminal is a personal computer connected to the Internet, unique information such as the IP address of the personal computer or the MAC address of the Ethernet (registered trademark) board may be used.

  Next, if there are a plurality of users who are permitted to use the content, the above-described e-mail address selection operation is repeatedly executed and it is determined that the e-mail address selection operation is completed (step S34). All e-mail addresses are stored in the content as key information for decryption (step S35), and the content is encrypted using the key information (step S36). Is uploaded to the server (step S37).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation flowchart (download operation in a mobile phone permitted to use content) according to the second embodiment. In this flowchart, first, the content server 40 is accessed from the mobile phone (see the mobile phones 44 to 46 in FIG. 9) (step S41), and the content (encryption) previously uploaded from the mobile phone 1 to the content server 40 is accessed. File 37) is downloaded (step S42).

  Next, key information (here, an e-mail address list) is extracted from the key information storage unit 37a of the downloaded encrypted file 37 (step S43), and “predetermined” of the own terminal (see the mobile phones 44 to 46 in FIG. 9). The e-mail address (the e-mail address of the terminal user) that is one of the “system information” is extracted from the PROM 25 (step S44), and the e-mail address is stored in the key information (here, the key information storage unit 37a). It is determined whether it is included in the e-mail address list) (step S45).

  If it is not included, it is determined that the terminal is not permitted to use the content (encrypted file 37), and after the downloaded content is deleted (step S46), the flowchart ends. If it is included, it is determined that the terminal is permitted to use the content (encrypted file 37), the downloaded content is decrypted (step S47), and the corresponding application program (in the case of a photograph) is determined. After starting up the image browsing software and using the decrypted content (step S48), the flowchart is ended.

  FIG. 9 is an effect explanatory diagram of the second embodiment. In the figure, the mobile phone 1 is a content (encrypted file 37) upload terminal, and the mobile phones 44 to 46 are terminals that permit the use of the content. Note that some terminals (mobile phones 47 and 48) indicated by broken lines are network terminals such as personal computers and mobile phones connected to the Internet 39, and other terminals that do not permit the use of content.

  The mobile phone 1 executes the flowchart of FIG. 7 to generate an encrypted file 37 in which the e-mail addresses of users (one or more) who are permitted to use the content (photos) are stored in the key information storage unit 37a. Then, the encrypted file 37 is uploaded to the content server 40. Thereafter, the encrypted file 37 can be downloaded from the content server 40 to the mobile phones 44 to 45 by executing the flowchart of FIG. 8 on any of the mobile phones 44 to 45.

  Here, all the users of the mobile phones 44 to 45 are users who are permitted to use the contents (encrypted file 37), and their email addresses are stored in the key information storage unit 37a of the encrypted file 37. Included. Therefore, in any of the mobile phones 44 to 45, the determination result in step S45 in the flowchart of FIG. 8 is “YES”, so that the encrypted file 37 can be decrypted and the content can be used without any problem.

  On the other hand, some terminals (mobile phones 47 and 48) indicated by broken lines are users who are not permitted to use the content (encrypted file 37), and their e-mail addresses are the key information of the encrypted file 37. It is not included in the storage unit 37a. Therefore, even if the mobile phone 47, 48 can execute the flowchart of FIG. 8, the determination result in step S45 of the flowchart of FIG. 8 is “NO”, so the encrypted file 37 can be decrypted. As a result, the use of the content is prohibited and security can be ensured.

<Third embodiment>
In the above description, a telephone number or an e-mail address is used as key information for permitting use of content, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when distributing a sample version of content, there are some types of content that are desired to be disabled after a predetermined date and time. The present embodiment is designed to meet such a demand. In the following description, only the usage restrictions using the date and time as key information will be described. However, the key information (telephone number or e-mail address) of the first embodiment or the second embodiment may be used in combination. Absent.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operation flowchart (upload operation in the mobile phone 1) of the third embodiment. This operation flow is also executed by the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 1. This flowchart shows at least the content usage period (from “O” to “To” or “O” is abbreviated to “To”, for example, to → “December 31, 2004, 24:00”). A process of specifying (step S51) is included. The usage period designated in this step is stored in the key information storage unit 37a as predetermined key information (step S35). Then, an encrypted file 37 is generated using the key information (step S36), and the encrypted file 37 is uploaded to the content server 40 on the Internet 39 (step S37).

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an operation flowchart (download operation in a mobile phone permitted to use content) according to the second embodiment. In this flowchart, first, the mobile phone (see the mobile phones 44 to 46 in FIG. 9) acquires the system date and time of its own terminal (step S61). The system date and time is date and time information inside the mobile phone and is information created by the date and time generation function of the control unit 18.

  Next, the content server 40 is accessed to download the content (encrypted file 37) previously uploaded from the mobile phone 1 to the content server 40, and the key is stored from the key information storage unit 37a of the downloaded encrypted file 37. Information (here, date / time information indicating the usage period) is extracted, and it is determined whether or not the system date / time is included in the usage period (step S63).

  If the above system date / time is not included in the usage period, it is determined that the usage period of the content (encrypted file 37) has expired, and the downloaded content is deleted (step S46). However, if the above system date / time is included in the usage period, it is determined that the usage period of the content (encrypted file 37) has not yet exceeded, and the downloaded content is decrypted (step S47) After starting the corresponding application program (image browsing software or the like in the case of a photograph) and using the decrypted content (step S48), the flowchart is ended.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to set a content use period and permit use of limited content within the use period, and for example, it can be used for distribution of a sample version. In addition, if the key information (telephone number or e-mail address) of the first embodiment or the second embodiment is used in combination, only a specific terminal is allowed to use limited content within the usage period. The sample version can be distributed to a specific user or a user group such as a member for a limited time.

<Fourth embodiment>
In addition, according to said 2nd embodiment or 3rd embodiment, the content uploaded to the content server 40 can be freely transmitted from the network terminal (mobile telephones 44-46 of FIG. 9) connected to the internet 39. Although there is a security advantage that only authorized network terminals can be permitted to use the content by determining the key information, it is possible to download the content to the content server 40, for example. There was no way to inform the user of the network terminal (cell phones 44 to 46 in FIG. 9). For this reason, it is necessary to notify the upload of the contents by telephone or e-mail, which is troublesome and troublesome.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the content server 40 simply stores the email addresses of all users who need to be notified in the key information storage unit 37a of the content (encrypted file 37). A “notification mail” for notifying the user of content upload can be automatically transmitted to the user, and the above drawbacks are overcome to improve usability.

  FIG. 12 is a conceptual configuration diagram of the content server 40. In this figure, the content server 40 is roughly divided into a transmission / reception unit 50 connected to the Internet 39, a content reception unit 51 for receiving upload content (encrypted file 37) received from the Internet 39 through the transmission / reception unit 50, and an upload. The content storage unit 52 that stores and stores the content (encrypted file 37) and the content stored and stored in the content storage unit 52 in response to an event from the content reception unit 51 (an event that occurs when upload content is received) A key information extraction unit 53 that extracts key information (e-mail addresses of all users who need to be notified) from the key information storage unit 37a, and a “notification mail (notification of content upload) addressed to those e-mails Notification mail generation unit 54 for generating the notification mail), a mail transmission unit 55 for transmitting the notification mail to all users who need to be notified, and content use (viewing) from the user who has read the notification mail And a content browsing request receiving unit 56 that receives the request, reads the corresponding content from the content storage unit 52, and transmits the content to the terminal of the user.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an operation flowchart when content is received by the content server 40. In this flowchart, when the content server 40 determines that the content has been uploaded (“YES” in step S71), the content server 40 exits the standby loop and stores and stores the content in the content storage unit 52 (step S72). An upload acceptance event is generated and notified to the key information extraction unit 53.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an operation flowchart when the content server 40 transmits the notification mail. In this flowchart, when the content server 40 determines that there is a content upload acceptance event (“YES” in step S81), the content server 40 exits the standby loop and stores the key information storage unit for the corresponding content stored and stored in the content storage unit 52. Key information (e-mail addresses of all users who need notification) is extracted from 37a (step S82), and then a "notification mail" for notifying that content has been uploaded is generated (step S83). Then, the notification mail is transmitted to all e-mail addresses included in the key information extracted from the key information storage unit 37a of the corresponding content (step S84), and the transmission to the last e-mail is completed (step S84). In step S85), the state again returns to the event notification waiting state.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an operation flowchart when the content server 40 accepts a content browsing request. In this flowchart, when the content server 40 determines that there is a content browsing request from the user who has read the notification mail (“YES” in step S91), the content server 40 exits the standby loop and is stored and stored in the content storage unit 52. The corresponding content is extracted and transmitted to the terminal of the requested user.

  According to the above three operational flowcharts (FIGS. 13 to 15), the e-mail addresses of all users who need to be notified are stored in the key information storage unit 37a of the content (encrypted file 37) uploaded to the content server 40. By simply storing them, it is possible to automatically transmit “notification mail” for notifying content upload from the content server 40 to all those users. Therefore, the content uploader need only specify the e-mail address of the person to whom the notification mail is to be sent and upload it to the content server 40 as it is, and there is no need to notify by telephone or e-mail. And improve usability.

1 is an external view of a camera-equipped mobile phone 1 to which the technical idea of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile phone 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flowchart (Upload operation | movement in the mobile telephone 1) of 1st embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram of 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the conceptual structure figure of the encryption file 37, and the operation | movement flowchart (downloading operation in the mobile telephone 1) of 1st embodiment. It is effect explanatory drawing of 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flowchart (Upload operation | movement in the mobile telephone 1) of 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flowchart (Download operation in the mobile telephone in which utilization of the content was permitted) of 2nd embodiment. It is effect explanatory drawing of 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flowchart (Upload operation | movement in the mobile telephone 1) of 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flowchart (Download operation in the mobile telephone in which utilization of the content was permitted) of 2nd embodiment. 3 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a content server 40. FIG. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flowchart at the time of the content reception of the content server. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flowchart at the time of the notification mail transmission of the content server. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flowchart at the time of the content browsing request reception of the content server.

Explanation of symbols

1 Mobile phone (communication terminal, first communication terminal, second communication terminal)
6 Main display (reproduction output means)
8 Key input part (browsing instruction means)
16 wireless transmission / reception unit 17 wireless signal processing unit 18 control unit (file forming means, storage control means, reading means, coincidence determination means, permission determination means, permission determination means)
30 Imaging device (imaging means, acquisition means)
36 Content 37 Encrypted file 39 Internet (information disclosure network)
40 Content server (storage means)

Claims (9)

Acquisition means for acquiring content;
A filing unit for embedding specific information for the terminal to connect to the information public network to the file acquired by the content acquisition unit, and filing the content filed by the filing unit Storage control means for storing in a storage means connected to the network;
Browsing instruction means for instructing browsing of content stored in the storage means;
When the browsing instruction means instructs the browsing of the content, the reading means reads out unique information for the terminal to connect to the information public network from the filed content;
A match determination means for checking whether or not the information read by the read means matches with the unique information for connecting to the information public network stored in the terminal,
A communication terminal comprising: a reproduction output unit that reproduces and outputs the filed content when it is determined by the coincidence determination unit. The content is an image, and the filing unit embeds unique information for the own terminal to connect to the information disclosure network in a storage area arbitrarily provided when filing the image into a file. The communication terminal according to claim 1. The communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising an imaging unit, wherein the content is data captured by the imaging unit. In a content transmission / reception system including a first communication terminal that transmits filed content via an information disclosure network and a second communication terminal that receives the content transmitted from the first communication terminal,
The first communication terminal is
Acquisition means for acquiring content;
Filed means for embedding information permitting browsing into the content obtained by the content obtaining means, and filed, and the second communication terminal comprises:
When reading of the content is instructed, reading means for reading information permitting browsing from the content that has been filed;
Permission judging means for judging whether or not browsing information read by the reading means is permitted based on unique information for connecting the second communication terminal to the information public network. When,
A content transmission / reception system comprising: reproduction output means for reproducing and outputting the filed content when browsing is permitted by the permission determination means. A storage unit connected to the information public network and storing the filed content transmitted from the first communication terminal;
5. The content transmission / reception system according to claim 4, wherein the second communication terminal receives the filed content from the storage unit. The information that permits browsing is unique information for the second communication terminal to connect to the information public network,
6. The content transmission / reception system according to claim 4, wherein the permission determination means includes means for determining whether or not the unique information matches. The content is an image, and the file forming unit embeds the information permitting browsing in a storage area arbitrarily provided when the image is filed, and forms the file. 7. The content transmission / reception system according to any one of 1 to 6. 7. The content transmission / reception system according to claim 4, wherein the first communication terminal further includes an imaging unit, and the content is data photographed by the imaging unit. An acquisition step of acquiring content;
A filing step of embedding specific information for connecting the communication terminal to the information public network, which is set in the communication terminal permitted to view the content acquired in the content acquisition step, and filing A storage control step of storing the content filed in the file conversion step in a storage device connected to the information disclosure network;
A browsing instruction step for instructing browsing of content stored in the storage device;
When reading of the content is instructed in the browsing instruction step, a reading step of reading out the specific information from the filed content;
A matching determination step for checking whether or not the unique information read in the reading step and the unique information for connecting to the information public network stored in the terminal match and match;
A content browsing method comprising: a reproduction output step of reproducing and outputting the filed content when it is determined in the coincidence determination step.

Images