JP2006236187A - System and method for managing content sharing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system and method for managing content sharing, enabling reproduction of a copyright-protected content in only a permitted number of content reproduction devices while enabling copying of the copyright-protected content by a plurality of content reproduction devices. <P>SOLUTION: The copyright-protected content is copied and stored in the plurality of content reproduction devices. When the copyright-protected content is reproduced in each content reproduction device, a reproduction request is transmitted to a content management device having a content management table, and the content management device transmits, when the content is reproducible in reference to the content management table, a reproduction permission report to enable the reproduction of the content in the content reproduction device concerned. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a content sharing management system and method capable of playing back a plurality of content playback devices while satisfying the copyright protection function when content such as copyright-protected music and movies is shared and played back. .

As this type of content sharing management system, for example, a content handling device that is an information receiving side that receives content is classified according to a plurality of different copyright protection levels and / or confidentiality capabilities, and the data is obtained for reliable content handling. When the content is transmitted from the information transmitting device only to the device and authenticated, the information transmitting side authenticates using copyrighted authentication content data, and whether the content can be transmitted according to the authentication result There is known a content transmission system that determines the content and controls the transmission of the content (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-308849 A (first page, FIG. 1)

  However, in the conventional example described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is determined whether or not content can be transmitted according to the device, and the content is likely to easily leak to the outside. The content can be prevented from being transmitted to a specific device and the like, and the transmitted content can be prevented from being used illegally. When copyright protected content that can only be copied is used at home, once this content is copied to a content playback device, it can be moved to other content playback devices, but cannot be copied. Copyright protected content can only be played on content playback devices that have content, and the scope of use of copyright protected content There is an unsolved problem that is limited.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned unsolved problems of the conventional example, and allows the copying of copyright-protected content to a plurality of content reproduction devices, but at the same time the permitted number It is an object of the present invention to provide a content sharing management system and method capable of reproducing copyright-protected content only on a content reproduction device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a content sharing management system according to a first technical means includes a plurality of content playback devices that play back copyright-protected content and each content playback device that is communicably connected. A content management device for managing copyright-protected content stored in a playback device, wherein the plurality of content playback devices copy and store the copyright-protected content, and the stored copyright-protected content A copyright protection content playback unit that makes a playback request to the content management device when the content management device is played back, and allows playback of the copyright-protected content when a playback permission is notified from the content management device. The content management device manages the copyright protected content playback status of a plurality of content playback devices To the corresponding content playback device when the number of content playback devices that can play back the copyright-protected content with reference to the management table is less than the usable number defined in the copyright-protected content. A content reproduction management unit that notifies the reproduction permission is provided.

  In this first technical means, even if the copyright protected content has a limited number of times of copying, it can be copied to a plurality of content playback devices, but the copyright protected content is played back by the copied content playback device. When the content management device makes a playback request to the content management device, and the content management device refers to the content management table and the content playback device being played back has not reached the number of times of copying, the content for which playback is permitted By notifying the playback device, it is possible to play back copyright-protected content on the content playback device. When the number of content playback devices being played back reaches the number of times of copying, the playback permission is not notified and the content playback device side Playback with is impossible. For this reason, it is possible to reproduce the copyright-protected content by the number of content reproduction devices corresponding to the permitted number of times of copying, to expand the usage range of the copyright-protected content, and to improve the usability of the user.

The content sharing management system according to the second technical means is characterized in that, in the first technical means, the content management apparatus is built in one of a plurality of content reproduction devices.
In the second technical means, content reproduction management can be performed without providing an independent content management device by incorporating the content management device in a content reproduction device such as a personal computer.

Furthermore, in the content sharing management system according to the third technical means, in the first or second technical means, the copyright-protected content reproduction unit has authentication means for performing user authentication, and the user authentication is performed by the authentication means. The content management apparatus is configured to be able to make a reproduction request when the content management apparatus is set.
In the third technical means, user authentication is performed by an authentication means built in the copyright-protected content playback unit of the content playback device, and a playback request can be made to the content management apparatus when the user is an authorized user. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent a user other than a legitimate user from illegally reproducing the copyright-protected content.

Furthermore, in the content sharing management system according to the fourth technical means, in the third technical means, the authentication means includes an input means for inputting a password, a password inputted from the input means, and a password registered in advance. And password verification means for verifying.
In the fourth technical means, the password input means and the password verification means are applied as the authentication means, so that user authentication can be performed with a simple configuration.

Still further, in the content sharing management system according to the fifth technical means, in the third technical means, the authentication means includes an input means for inputting human body feature items such as a user's fingerprint and iris, and the input means. It is characterized in that it is configured to perform user authentication by comparing the inputted human characteristic item and a pre-registered reference item.
In the fifth technical means, human feature items such as fingerprints and irises are targeted for authentication, so that user authentication can be performed more accurately.

  The content sharing management system according to the sixth technical means is the content sharing management system according to any one of the first to fifth technical means, wherein the content playback device deletes the copyright-protected content stored therein. A content erasure unit that makes an erasure request to the content management device and erases copyright-protected content when an erasure completion notification is input from the content management device; It is characterized by having a table management unit that, when receiving an erasure request, erases the corresponding content reproduction device from the management table and then sends an erasure completion notification to the corresponding content reproduction device.

  In the sixth technical means, when erasing the copyright-protected content stored in the content reproduction device, the content management device issues an erasure request, and the content management device selects the corresponding content reproduction device from the management table. Since the erasure completion notification is sent to the corresponding content reproduction device after erasure, the management table managed by the content management device can be made to correspond accurately to the number of content reproduction devices storing the copyright protected content.

  Furthermore, the content sharing management system according to the seventh technical means is the content sharing management system according to any one of the first to sixth technical means, wherein the content reproduction device uses a password as a key when storing the copyright-protected content. It is characterized in that it is stored after being encrypted, and is set so that copyright protected content can be reproduced by decryption using a password as a key at the time of reproduction.

  In the seventh technical means, when the copyright protected content is copied and stored in the content reproduction device, the encryption is performed using the password as a key, and the content is decrypted using the password as a key during reproduction. Because copyright protected content can be played back, if the copyright protected content stored in the content playback device is illegally copied to another content playback device, the copyright protected content cannot be played back. Unauthorized use of protected content can be reliably prevented.

  Furthermore, in the content sharing management system according to the eighth technical means, in any one of the first to seventh technical means, the content management device stores copyright protected content, and the stored copyright protected content. Is copied to each content reproduction device, the identification information of the corresponding content reproduction device is registered in the content management table.

  In the eighth technical means, when the content management apparatus stores the copyright-protected content and copies the stored copyright-protected content to each content playback device, the identification information of the corresponding content playback device is stored in the content management table. Since registration is performed, the management table and the content playback device storing the copyright-protected content do not become inconsistent, and the management table can be managed accurately.

  Still further, in the content sharing management system according to the ninth technical means, in any one of the first to eighth technical means, the content management device stores copyright protected content, and the stored copyright protected content Is copied to each content playback device, the copyright protected content is copied to a portable storage medium, and the content playback device attaches the portable storage medium storing the copyright protected content to thereby copy the copyrighted content. It is characterized in that it can be reproduced.

In the ninth technical means, the content management apparatus copies the copyright-protected content to a portable storage medium and attaches the portable storage medium to the content reproduction device, whereby the copyright-protected content in the content reproduction device is obtained. Therefore, by attaching this portable storage medium to any content playback device having a copyright protected content playback unit, it is possible to immediately play back the copyright protected content.
The content sharing management system according to the tenth technical means is characterized in that, in the ninth technical means, the portable storage medium is composed of a memory card.
In the tenth technical means, since the portable storage medium is composed of a memory card, the copyright-protected content can be easily stored in a mobile phone or a small portable device.

Further, the content sharing management method according to the eleventh technical means is connected to a plurality of content playback devices that play back copyright-protected content and each content playback device, and is stored in each content playback device. A content management device that manages the copyright-protected content, the step of copying and storing the copyright-protected content in the plurality of content playback devices, and when reproducing the stored copyright-protected content, A step of making a reproduction request to the content management apparatus, and determining whether or not to notify the reproduction permission from the number of reproducible copyright-protected contents and the reproduction status of other content reproduction apparatuses in the content management apparatus that has received the reproduction request Based on the determination result, a notification that notifies the content playback device of either one of playback permission and playback disabled is issued. And-up, it is characterized in that in response to the notification contents by the content reproduction apparatus which has received the notification and a step of determining whether to reproduce the copyrighted content.
In the eleventh technical means, the same operational effects as those of the first technical means described above can be obtained.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a personal computer serving as a stationary content playback device and a content management device installed at home, and 2 is a content playback device. The personal computer 1 is connected to the Internet 3, and the mobile phone 2 is connected to the Internet 3 via the base station 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the personal computer 1 includes a ROM 7 that stores a processing program to be executed by the central processing unit 5 via the system bus 6 in a central processing unit 5 that performs various processes including a content sharing management process, a central processing unit Can be mounted on a RAM 8 for storing data necessary for processing executed by the device 5, a hard disk device 9 for storing an OS and application programs, a keyboard 10, a mouse 11, for example, a DVD device 12 for reproducing contents, and a mobile phone 2. A memory card reader / writer 14 that reads / writes the memory card 13 by attaching a new memory card 13 and a communication control device 15 connected to the Internet 3 are connected, and a display such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display is displayed via the display control device 16. A device 17 is connected.

  The central processing unit 5 receives content from a recording medium such as a DVD or CD on which content such as music or a movie attached to the DVD device 12 is recorded by at least processing of the OS via the hard disk device 9 or the memory card reader / writer 14. The content copying process for copying to the memory card 13 is executed, and the content sharing management process shown in FIG. 3 and the content reproduction process shown in FIG. 5 are executed.

In the content copying process, the DVD device 12 is loaded with a recording medium such as a DVD or CD in which copyright-protected content is recorded, and the memory card reader / writer 14 is loaded with the memory card 13, and the copyright-protected content is loaded on the hard disk. Copy to device 9 and memory card 13.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the content sharing management process is executed as a timer interrupt process executed every predetermined time (several msec) with respect to the main program. First, in step S1, the content sharing management process is reproduced from the content reproduction device. It is determined whether or not a reproduction request command including content identification information (ID) for request and reproduction request and device identification information has been received. If no reproduction request command has been received, the timer interruption process is terminated and When the main program is returned to and the reproduction request command is received, the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, whether the device identification information is written in the corresponding content by referring to the content management table 20 stored in the hard disk device 9, for example, based on the content identification information and the device identification information included in the reproduction request command. Determine whether or not.
Here, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the content management table 20 does not permit simultaneous playback on a plurality of devices, and playback is permitted to be performed on only one device at the same time. ID) content ID storage column 21, distribution destination device column 22 into which the identification information of the distribution destination device that copied the copyright-protected content is written, and the use status of the copyright-protected content, that is, whether it is being played back or waiting A status storage column 23 indicating whether or not a status is being played back by any device with respect to one content in the status storage column 23. This means that the content is being played and that other content playback devices cannot play back the corresponding content. When Ceiling status waiting the playback device is written indicates that it is possible to reproduce the corresponding content in any of the content reproduction apparatus.

If the determination result in step S2 is that the corresponding device does not exist in the corresponding content, the process proceeds to step S3, and the identification information of the corresponding device is added to the corresponding content column of the content management table 20, and then the process proceeds to step S4. Then, when the corresponding device exists in the corresponding content, the process directly proceeds to step S4.
In this step S4, referring to the content management table 20 based on the content identification information, the statuses of all the devices in the corresponding content are waiting and can be played back, or being played back on any device and played back It is determined whether or not reproduction is possible, and if reproduction is possible, the process proceeds to step S5, a reproduction permission command is transmitted to the content reproduction apparatus that transmitted the reproduction request command, and then the process proceeds to step S6, where the content management table After updating the status of the corresponding 20 content identification information during reproduction, the timer interruption process is terminated and the process returns to a predetermined main program.

If the result of determination in step S4 is that reproduction is not possible, the process proceeds to step S7, the reproduction interruption command is transmitted to the content reproduction apparatus that has transmitted the reproduction request command, and the timer interruption process is terminated. Return to the predetermined main program.
On the other hand, if the determination result in step S1 is that the reproduction request command has not been received, the process proceeds to step S8, and the reproduction end including the content information transmitted when the content reproduction apparatus finishes reproducing the content. It is determined whether or not a command has been received, and when a playback end command is received, the process proceeds to step S9, and the status of the corresponding content information in the content management table 20 is updated to standby based on the content identification information. The timer interrupt process is terminated and the program returns to a predetermined main program.

  Furthermore, when the determination result of step S8 is that the reproduction end command has not been received, the process proceeds to step S10, where it is determined whether or not the deletion request command has been received, and when the deletion request command has not been received. When the timer interrupt process is finished and an erasure request command is input, the process proceeds to step S11 to erase the identification information of the corresponding device written in the corresponding content in the content management table 20, and then to step S12. Then, after the table erase completion notification is transmitted to the corresponding content playback device, the timer interrupt process is terminated.

  Further, the copyright-protected content reproduction process executed by the central processing unit 5 is performed by, for example, clicking an icon displayed on the display device 17 in order to reproduce the stored copyright-protected content, as shown in FIG. First, it is determined whether or not a password previously selected in step S21 has been input. If no password has been input, the process proceeds to step S22, and an end button or the like ends the processing. It is determined whether or not a process has been selected. When the end process has been selected, the reproduction process is terminated, and when the end process has not been selected, the process returns to step S21.

  If the determination result in step S21 is that a password has been input, the process proceeds to step S23 to determine whether or not the input password matches a preset password. Sometimes the process proceeds to step S24, and since the password is different, the guidance information for prompting the input of the password is displayed again on the display device 17 and then the process returns to step S21. If the passwords match, the process proceeds to step S25. Transition.

  In this step S25, a list of reproducible copyright-protected contents is displayed on the display device 17, and then the process proceeds to step S26 to determine whether or not copyright-protected contents are selected from the displayed list. When the copyright-protected content is not selected, the process proceeds to step S27 to determine whether or not the end process is selected as in step S22. When the end process is selected, the reproduction process is ended as it is, and the process ends. When the process is not selected, the process returns to step S25.

  If the determination result in step S26 is that the copyright-protected content is selected from the list, the process proceeds to step S28, and whether or not the corresponding device identification information exists in the corresponding content in the content management table 20. If the device identification information does not exist, the process proceeds to step S29, and after adding the device identification information and the standby status to the corresponding content in the content management table 20, the process proceeds to step S30. If the identification information exists, the process proceeds directly to step S30.

  In step S30, the content management table 20 is referred to based on the content identification information to determine whether or not the status of all the devices of the corresponding content identification information is in a standby state and is in a playable state. If the status is being played back and playback is not possible, the process proceeds to step S31, where guidance information indicating that the content is being played back on another device is displayed on the display device 17 and the playback process is terminated to enable playback of the content. If so, the process proceeds to step S32.

In this step S32, the status of the corresponding device in the corresponding content in the content management table 20 is updated during playback, and then the process proceeds to step S33 to execute the copyright protected content playback process, and then the process proceeds to step S34. Then, it is determined whether or not the reproduction processing of the copyright-protected content is finished. If the reproduction processing is not finished, the process waits until the reproduction processing is finished. If the reproduction processing is finished, the process proceeds to step S35.
In step S35, the status of the corresponding device in the corresponding content in the content management table 20 is updated during standby, and the content reproduction process is terminated.

  Further, the central processing unit 5 executes a content erasing process shown in FIG. 6 for deleting the stored copyright-protected content. This content erasure process is started when, for example, an icon or menu for erasing copyright-protected content is selected, and as shown in FIG. 6, a list of copyright-protected content stored in step S41 is displayed. Then, the process proceeds to step S42 to determine whether or not one or more copyright-protected contents are selected from the displayed copyright-protected content list. If no copyright-protected content is selected, step S43 is performed. In step S22 and S27, it is determined whether or not the end process has been selected. When the end process is not selected, the process returns to step S42, and when the end process is selected, the content is displayed. The erasing process is terminated.

  If the copyright-protected content to be deleted is selected as a result of the determination in step S42, the process proceeds to step S44, and the device identification information of the corresponding content in the content management table 20 is deleted before step S45. Then, after deleting the corresponding copyright-protected content stored in the hard disk device 9, the erasure process is terminated.

Here, the processing in FIG. 3 corresponds to the content management apparatus, and the processing in FIGS. 5 and 6 corresponds to the content reproduction device.
On the other hand, as described above, the cellular phone 2 has a memory card reader / writer 31 for mounting the memory card 13 on which the copyright-protected content is copied by the content copying process, an operation key 32, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and the like. A desired password is set when installing a content reproduction program that includes at least the display unit 33 and reproduces copyright-protected content. Then, by installing the content reproduction program, for example, by clicking and selecting the copyright content reproduction icon displayed on the display unit 33, the copyright protected content reproduction process shown in FIG. 7 is executed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, this copyright-protected content playback process is performed between step S26 and step S30 in the copyright-protected content playback process of FIG. 5 executed by the central processing unit 5 in the personal computer 1 described above. Step S51 for transmitting a reproduction request command including identification information of copyright-protected content and device identification information, and Step S52 for determining whether or not a command has been received from the content management process are provided. When the command is received as a result, the process proceeds to step S30. When the command is not received, the process proceeds to step S53, and it is determined whether or not the termination process is selected as in steps S22 and S27. When is selected, the playback process ends and the end process is selected. If not, the process is changed so as to return to step S52, and it is determined whether the command transmitted from the content sharing management processing side is a playback permission command or a playback disabled command. The process proceeds to step S31, and when the command is a reproduction permission command, step S32 is omitted and the process directly proceeds to step S33, and the process of step S35 is changed to step S54 in which a reproduction end command is transmitted to the personal computer 1. Except for, the same processing as in FIG. 5 is executed, and the corresponding step with FIG. 5 is assigned the same step number, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

Further, when it is desired to delete the copyright-protected content on the mobile phone 2, either by clicking the icon for deleting the copyright-protected content displayed on the display unit or selecting the deletion of the copyright-protected content from the menu, FIG. The content erasing process shown in FIG.
In this erasure process, in the content erasure process of FIG. 6 executed by the central processing unit 5 of the personal computer 1 described above, the processes of steps S44 and S45 are omitted, and the identification information of the copyright-protected content selected instead. And a deletion request command including the deletion request to the content sharing management processing side, step S62 for determining whether or not the deletion completion command has been received from the content sharing management processing side, and the determination result of step S62 Step S63 is provided for erasing the corresponding copyright-protected content stored in the memory card 13 when the erase completion command is received, and the determination result of step S62 is that the erase completion command has not been received. Except sometimes waiting until it is received, the same processing as in FIG. It was carried out, given the same step numbers to the corresponding processing in the FIG. 6, and detailed description thereof will be omitted this.
The processing of FIGS. 7 and 8 corresponds to the content reproduction device.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
Now, when a user purchases a recording medium such as a DVD or a CD that stores copyright-protected contents that cannot be reproduced at the same time but can be reproduced at different times, or borrowed from a rental shop, the personal computer 1 and the portable computer 1 When it is desired to play back at different times on both the telephones 2, it is mounted on the DVD device 12 of the personal computer 1 and copied, for example, to the memory card 13 mounted on its own hard disk device 9 and memory card reader / writer 14. Then, the memory card 13 storing the copyright protected content is attached to the memory card reader / writer 31 of the mobile phone 2.

In this state, for example, when it is desired to reproduce the copyright-protected content on the personal computer 1, the copyright-protected content reproduction icon displayed on the display device 17 is clicked or the copyright-protected content reproduction menu is selected from the menu. As a result, the execution of the content reproduction process of FIG. 5 is started.
Therefore, in the process of FIG. 5, by inputting a password that matches the set password, the process proceeds to step S25 through steps S21 and S23, and a list of copyright-protected contents currently stored in the hard disk device 9 is obtained. By selecting a desired copyright-protected content from the list displayed and displayed on the display device 17, the process proceeds to step S28 via step S26. At this time, since the identification information CT0 of new copyright-protected content is not registered in the content management table 20, when the content management table 20 is referred to based on the identification information CT0, the identification information is included in the corresponding content. If it is determined that it does not exist, the process proceeds to step S29, and for example, device A is registered in the content management table 20 as content identification information CT0 and a distribution destination device. At this time, the status is set to standby.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S30, and when referring to all the statuses of the corresponding content, only its own status is set, and since this is waiting, it is determined that the content can be reproduced, and the process proceeds to step S32. After the status of the content management table 20 is changed during reproduction, the process proceeds to step S33 to reproduce the copyright-protected content stored in the hard disk device 9.

Thereafter, when the reproduction of the copyright-protected content is completed, the self status of the content management table 20 is updated during standby.
On the other hand, when it is desired to reproduce the copyright-protected content stored in the memory card 13 with the mobile phone 2, the copyright-protected content reproduction icon displayed on the display unit 33 is selected as described above, or the copyright is displayed from the menu screen. By selecting protected content playback, the content playback processing of FIG. 7 is started.

  Therefore, by inputting a password that matches the set password, a list of copyright-protected contents is displayed on the display unit 33. When a desired copyright-protected content is selected from the list, the selected copyright-protected content is displayed. The reproduction request command including the identification information CT0 and the device B as the distribution destination device information and the reproduction request is transmitted to the personal computer 1 via the base station 4 and the Internet 3. For this reason, when the personal computer 1 receives the reproduction request command from the mobile phone 2, the content sharing management process of FIG. 3 moves from step S 1 to step S 3, and the corresponding device B is assigned to the corresponding content in the content management table 20. In this state, since the identification information of the device B is not stored in the content management table 20, the process proceeds to step S3 and the distribution destination device is added to the corresponding content CT0 in the content management table 20. Device B is set and the status is set to standby.

  At this time, when the corresponding content CT0 is not being played back by the personal computer 1 serving as the device A, the status is waiting, and all the statuses of the content CT0 are waiting. It is determined that the copyright-protected content CT0 can be reproduced, and the process proceeds to step S5. After the reproduction permission command is transmitted to the mobile phone 2, the status for the device B in the content management table 20 is updated during reproduction. .

  When the cellular phone 2 receives a reproduction permission command from the personal computer 1, the process proceeds from step S30 to step S33 to start reproduction of the selected copyright-protected content CT0, and when reproduction of the content CT0 ends, step S54. Then, the reproduction end command is transmitted to the personal computer 1 to finish the content reproduction process.

When the personal computer 1 receives the playback end command from the mobile phone 2, the content sharing management process of FIG. 3 shifts from step S 8 to step S 9 to wait for the status of the device B in the corresponding content in the content management table 20. Update to
However, when the mobile phone 2 transmits a reproduction request command to the personal computer 1 and a family member is reproducing the corresponding copyright-protected content CT0 on the personal computer 1, the content CT0 in the content management table 20 is reproduced. Since the status of the device A is being played back, the content sharing management process of FIG. 3 moves from step S4 to step S7, and a playback disabled command is transmitted to the mobile phone 2.

For this reason, when the mobile phone 2 receives a playback disabled command, the process proceeds from step S30 to step S31, and guidance information indicating that the content CT0 is played back by another content playback device is displayed on the display unit 33 and the content is displayed. The reproduction process is terminated.
Similarly, guidance information indicating that the content is being used by another content playback device even when the mobile phone 2 is playing the content when attempting to play the copyright protected content on the personal computer 1. Is displayed on the display device 17 and the content reproduction process is terminated.

  Further, when it is desired to erase the content CT0 stored in the hard disk device 9 by the personal computer 1, the content erasure process shown in FIG. 6 is executed by clicking the content erasure icon or selecting the content erasure menu. When a list of rights-protected content is displayed on the display device 17 and one or a plurality of contents to be deleted are selected from the list, the device A and its status are deleted as a distribution destination device for the corresponding content in the content management table 20. After that, the copyright-protected content CT0 stored in the hard disk device 9 is deleted.

  Similarly, when it is desired to delete the copyright-protected content stored in the memory card 13 with the mobile phone 2, the content deletion processing of FIG. 8 is performed by clicking the content deletion icon on the display unit or selecting the content deletion menu. Is started, and by selecting one or more desired contents from the copyright-protected content list displayed on the display unit 33, an erasure request command including identification information of the selected contents and device identification information is issued. It is transmitted to the personal computer 1.

Therefore, in the process of FIG. 3, in the processing of FIG. 3, the personal computer 1 shifts from step S10 to step S11 to move to the identification information device B of the distribution destination device of the corresponding content in the content management table 20 and the status. Are deleted, and then an erasure completion notification is transmitted to the mobile phone 2.
For this reason, when the mobile phone 2 receives the erasure completion notification, the process proceeds from step S62 to step S63, the copyright-protected content selected from the memory card 13 is erased, and the content erasure process ends.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, copyright protected content that cannot be played back simultaneously is copied to a plurality of content playback devices. When the copyright protected content is played back, To determine whether or not the content is being reproduced on any device by determining the status of the device capable of reproducing the content written in the content management table at the time of the reproduction request. When content is being played back, playback is disabled and content playback is allowed only when the status of all devices is in standby, so copyright protected content can be played back simultaneously on multiple content playback devices. Can be reliably prevented.

In addition, since the copyright-protected content is stored in a plurality of content playback devices unless they are simultaneously played back, the user can easily play back the content without complicated processing. Can be improved.
In addition, a plurality of copyright-protected contents are configured such that the copyright-protected content can be copied to only one device, and when the copied content is copied to another content playback device, the stored copyright-protected content is deleted. When simultaneous use is prevented, copy information gradually deteriorates when the display information is thinned out and displayed as in a mobile phone, etc., and when it is played back again on a personal computer etc. In the above embodiment, the copyright protected content is copied to all of the content playback devices, so the information stored in each content playback device does not change and is always optimal. The copyright-protected content can be played in the state.

In the above embodiment, the case where the content reproduction process is started by password authentication has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and human features such as fingerprints and irises are used instead of passwords. If user authentication is performed based on this, unauthorized use of copyright-protected content by a third party can be prevented more reliably.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the copyright-protected content is simply copied to a plurality of content playback devices has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. When copying to other content playback devices, perform encryption processing such as encryption using a password as a key, copy to each content playback device, and encrypt when reproducing copyright-protected content on each content playback device You may be able to decrypt the copyrighted content that has been decrypted using the password as a key and then play it back, or adopt an encryption method that uses a public key and a private key, and apply any encryption method be able to.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the content management table is created based on the identification information of the content playback device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and user identification information (ID) is set. Thus, sharing management of copyright-protected content may be performed based on this user identification information, and sharing management of copyright-protected content may be performed using both user identification information and content playback device identification information. May be.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the user authentication is performed when starting the content reproduction process has been described. However, the content reproduction process is started without performing the user authentication, and the content sharing management processing side Authentication may be performed.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the content management function is provided in the content playback device has been described. A content management apparatus may be provided independently.

  Furthermore, although the case where there are two content reproduction devices has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and an arbitrary number of content reproduction devices can be applied. In this case, an arbitrary network such as the Internet or a wired or wireless local area network can be applied to the connection between the content reproduction device and the content management apparatus.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which when a content playback device wants to play copyright-protected content, the content playback device is in a playback disabled state when the content playback is in progress. The content playback device is prioritized, and when a playback request is made from a content playback device with a high priority, the content playback processing is forcibly terminated on the content playback device with a low priority, The content reproduction processing may be performed with priority by a content reproduction device having a high priority.

In the above embodiment, the case where the memory card 13 is applied when copying copyright-protected content to the mobile phone 2 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a wireless LAN or a mobile phone network is used. The copyright-protected content may be copied via
Further, the case where the personal computer 1 and the mobile phone 2 are applied as the content playback device has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any of a notebook personal computer, a DVD playback device, a portable player, a PDA, etc. The content playback device can be applied.

It is a system configuration figure showing the system configuration of the present invention. It is a book figure which shows the specific structure of a personal computer. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the content sharing management processing procedure performed with a personal computer. It is explanatory drawing which shows a content management table. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the content reproduction | regeneration processing procedure performed with a personal computer. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the content erasure | elimination processing procedure performed with a personal computer. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the content reproduction | regeneration processing procedure performed with a mobile telephone. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the content erasing process procedure performed with a mobile telephone. It is a block diagram with which it uses for description of the encryption process at the time of copying content.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Personal computer, 2 ... Mobile telephone, 3 ... Internet, 4 ... Base station, 5 ... Central processing unit, 9 ... Hard disk drive, 12 ... DVD apparatus, 13 ... Memory card, 14 ... Memory card reader / writer, 17 ... Display Device 31 ... Memory card reader / writer 32 ... Operation key 33 ... Display unit

Claims (11)

  A plurality of content playback devices that play copyright-protected content, and a content management device that is communicably connected to each content playback device and manages copyright-protected content stored in each content playback device The plurality of content reproduction devices make a reproduction request to the content management apparatus when reproducing the stored copyright protection content, and a content storage unit for copying and storing the copyright protection content. A copyright-protected content playback unit that enables playback of copyright-protected content when a playback permission is notified from the management device, and the content management device displays a copyright-protected content playback status of a plurality of content playback devices. A management table is provided for managing copyright-protected content by referring to the management table. A content playback management unit that notifies the corresponding content playback device of permission to play when the number of active content playback devices is less than the usable number stipulated in the copyright-protected content. Shared management system.   The content sharing management system according to claim 1, wherein the content management apparatus is built in one of a plurality of content playback devices.   The copyright-protected content playback unit has authentication means for performing user authentication, and is configured to be able to make a playback request to the content management apparatus when user authentication is performed by the authentication means. The content sharing management system according to claim 1 or 2.   4. The content sharing according to claim 3, wherein the authentication unit includes an input unit for inputting a password, and a password verification unit for verifying a password input from the input unit and a password registered in advance. Management system.   The authentication means performs user authentication by comparing an input means for inputting a human feature item such as a user's fingerprint or iris, and a human feature item input by the input means and a pre-registered reference item. The content sharing management system according to claim 3, wherein the content sharing management system is configured as described above.   When erasing stored copyright protected content, the content playback device makes an erasure request to the content management device, and when a erasure completion notification is input from the content management device, the copyright protected content A content erasure unit for erasing the content erasure unit, and the content management device erases the corresponding content reproduction device from the management table when receiving an erasure request from the content erasure unit, and then issues an erasure completion notification to the corresponding content reproduction device. The content sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a table management unit for sending to the content management unit.   When storing the copyright-protected content, the content playback device is encrypted and stored using a password as a key, and can be played back by decryption using the password as a key during playback. 7. The content sharing management system according to claim 1, wherein the content sharing management system is set to   The content management apparatus is configured to store copyright-protected content and register identification information of the content playback device in the content management table when copying the stored copyright-protected content to each content playback device. The content sharing management system according to claim 1, wherein:   The content management device stores copyright protected content, and copies the copyright protected content to a portable storage medium when copying the stored copyright protected content to each content playback device. 9. The copyrighted content can be reproduced by mounting the portable storage medium storing the copyright-protected content, according to any one of claims 1 to 8. Content sharing management system.   The content sharing management system according to claim 9, wherein the portable storage medium includes a memory card.   A plurality of content playback devices that play copyright-protected content, and a content management device that is communicably connected to each content playback device and manages copyright-protected content stored in each content playback device A step of copying and storing copyright-protected content in the plurality of content playback devices, a step of making a playback request to the content management device when playing back the stored copyright-protected content, and a playback request The content management apparatus that receives the request determines whether or not to notify playback permission based on the number of reproducible copyright-protected content and the playback status of other content playback devices, and based on the determination result, either playback permission or playback disabled To notify the content playback device of the notification and the content playback device that received the notification according to the notification content Content sharing management method characterized by comprising the steps of: determining whether to play copyrighted content.

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