JP2009294778A - Information processing system, approval processing apparatus, information processing method, approval processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To disclose only suitable contents in which the copyright of primary contents are taken into consideration when subsidiary contents generated by editing wherein primary contents are secondarily used are disclosed. <P>SOLUTION: A primary content right holder registers approval conditions associated with secondary use of primary contents in an approval server. When the subsidiary contents are uploaded to a disclosure server, the disclosure server transmits metadata of the subsidiary contents and requests the approval server to approve the secondary use. The approval server determines whether a use result of the primary contents recognized from the metadata meets the approval conditions of the primary contents and reports a determination result to the disclosure server. The disclosure server determines whether the subsidiary contents are disclosed according to the report. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In the present invention, for example, in a network system that publishes subsidiary content created by editing the content by secondary use, the subsidiary content is approved for the purpose of preventing inappropriate disclosure of the subsidiary content. The present invention relates to an approved processing apparatus and method. In addition, the present invention relates to an information processing system and method including an approval processing device and a content publishing device such as a server for publishing subsidiary content. Further, the present invention relates to a program executed by the approval processing device.

  As one aspect of network utilization, distribution and sharing of contents such as so-called audio / video has been widely performed. For example, in the case of a content distribution system, a server stores and manages a large number of data files as content to be distributed. A user who owns an information processing terminal device such as a personal computer downloads a data file as desired content from the server by an operation on application software (client software) having a client function corresponding to content distribution. Is done. The data file as the content downloaded in this manner is usually stored and managed in a storage device in the information processing terminal device by the client software. Thereafter, the user can view and enjoy sound and video by performing an operation of reproducing the data file as the content stored in the information processing terminal device with the client software.

  In a content sharing system, for example, a user of an information processing terminal device uploads a data file as content such as audio / video to a server. In such a sharing system, there is a site (Web page) for publishing uploaded content. A user of a general information processing terminal device accesses this site and searches for content of interest, for example, by performing a search or the like. Then, the content found by the search is accessed or downloaded for playback and viewing. In this way, content is shared.

On the other hand, there is also known application software (editing software) that can take audio data, video data, etc. as materials, process and edit them, and create new contents. From the things to the complicated things, it is in a situation that is widely spread to general users.
As described above, such editing software can execute processing by giving changes for editing to actual data (audio / video data) as content. For this reason, for example, in the case of audio, it is possible to easily process and edit a part of an existing musical piece as a material, such as sampling and mashup. In fact, for example, a lot of music created by such a method has been announced among professional musicians.

JP 2000-113066 A JP 2007-299171 A

  Against the backdrop of the above, general users can not only simply play and enjoy content data that can be obtained through content distribution or content sharing, but also perform secondary editing with editing software to create new data. There are probably a few people who want to create a work, publicly announce it (public), and have other users watch it.

  Accordingly, the present invention firstly edits content data that is secondarily used on the user terminal side as a content sharing system constructed on the network in order to meet the above-mentioned demands of general users. To create a subsidiary content (subsidiary content) and make it publicly available on a server or the like.

However, when the content sharing system is constructed in this way, for example, it is subsidiary content that infringes the copyright on the content to be edited (edited material content), or the copyright holder of the edited material content It is necessary to prevent inappropriate and illegal subsidiary contents from being disclosed, such as subsidiary contents edited to undesired contents.
Currently, websites that publish content created by general users are widespread, but here, for example, illegal content that has been secondarily used as content without permission of the copyright holder is published without any particular restrictions. It has been. However, the current situation is that such illegal contents cannot be accurately found and eliminated.
In view of this, an object of the present invention is to prevent an inappropriate or illegal subsidiary content from being properly disclosed in a network system that discloses subsidiary content.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as an information processing system as follows.
In other words, the content content is created by the editing process of secondary use of the primary content, and is formed in association with metadata composed of predetermined information items that can indicate the usage result related to the secondary usage of the primary content. A content publishing device that publishes the next content on the network and an approval processing device. In the content publishing device, the metadata of the target subsidiary content that should be determined as to whether or not to be published can be transferred to the approval processing device via the communication network. Information corresponding to each primary content in the metadata transmission means for sending to the metadata processing means for receiving and obtaining the metadata transmitted by the sending means in the approval processing device, and the approval processing device. , Condition information that indicates the conditions for secondary use in creating subsidiary content In the condition information storage means to remember and the approval processing device, the usage result of the primary content recognized based on the metadata acquired by the metadata acquisition means satisfies the secondary usage condition indicated by the corresponding condition information The approval result output means for obtaining the approval result about whether or not the target subsidiary content can be released based on whether or not the content is approved, and the approval processing apparatus obtains the approval result information obtained by the approval result output means via the communication network. In the content publishing device, processing related to the publication of the target subsidiary content is executed based on the approval result information transmitted from the approval result transmitting unit in the content publishing device. Content publication related processing means.

  In addition, as an approval processing device, it is subsidiary content in which content content is created by editing processing that uses secondary primary content, and is associated with target subsidiary content that should be determined as to whether or not to be published on the network. Metadata acquisition means for acquiring metadata composed of predetermined information items that can indicate a usage result related to secondary-used primary content, and information corresponding to each primary content, which is used when creating secondary content Condition information storage means for storing condition information indicating conditions for the next use, and a use result for the primary content recognized based on the metadata acquired by the metadata acquisition means, the secondary information indicated by the corresponding condition information Based on whether or not the conditions for use are met, Approval result of Te was decided and a approval result output means for obtaining.

  According to each of the above configurations, the approval processing device determines whether or not the usage result of the primary content in the target subsidiary content conforms to the usage condition indicated by the corresponding condition information, and the target subsidiary content is determined according to the determination result. It is determined whether or not the next content can be released on the network.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the subsidiary content created by using the primary content that does not conform to the usage conditions for the primary content indicated by the condition information is not disclosed. In other words, inappropriate / illegal subsidiary content is excluded from being accurately disclosed based on the condition information. Thereby, the sound operation about the system which shares subsidiary content is realizable.

FIG. 1 shows a content creation / sharing system having an information processing apparatus corresponding to the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment).
With reference to this figure, an outline of a content usage mode in the content creation / sharing system of this embodiment will be described.

  In the present embodiment, as described below, a primary content file and a subsidiary content file are handled as content files. Hereinafter, for example, when there is no need to distinguish between a primary content file and a subsidiary content file, it is also referred to as a content file. Further, for example, in the case of explaining according to the abstract concept as content, the primary content file is also referred to as primary content, and the secondary content file is also referred to as secondary content. Further, when there is no need to separately describe the primary content and the subsidiary content, they are also simply referred to as contents.

As the content creation / sharing system of the present embodiment, the primary content 1 shown in FIG. 1, one or more content publishing servers 2 (content publishing devices) constituting the content publishing server group 20, and a content approval server 3 (approval processing device). , And a large number of user terminal devices 4. Here, in the content public server group 20, three content public servers 2A, 2B, and 2C are shown. Note that the content publishing servers 2A, 2B, and 2C are referred to as content publishing servers 2 when it is not necessary to distinguish between them. The user terminal device 4 refers to a device in which the content creation / sharing application 100 corresponding to the content creation / sharing system of the present embodiment is installed as a device having a network terminal function such as a personal computer.
Here, a normal network terminal device 6 is shown. The network terminal device 6 is a device generally configured to have a function as a browser for browsing a Web site on a network such as a personal computer, a portable terminal device, and the like, and there are an unspecified number on the network.
The primary content server 1, content publishing server 2, content approval server 3, user terminal device 4, and network terminal device 6 are connected via a network (communication network) such as the Internet, which is not shown here. ing.

In the present embodiment, a content creation / sharing system is realized by such an apparatus configuration. That is, so-called content distribution (primary content distribution) and sharing (publication) of content (secondary content) created by the user (creator) on the network is realized.
Note that the content type here is mainly video (video) as a moving image for the sake of simplicity of explanation. However, in the present embodiment, it is also possible to deal with contents based on sound (audio) corresponding to music, music, and the like. In addition, the content type as video can be handled as a still image corresponding to a photograph or the like. Furthermore, it is also possible to handle document data or a program executed by the information processing apparatus as content.

The primary content server 1 holds primary content (original content). The primary content is not content that is created by secondary use of other content like secondary content, but is content that can be viewed by the content creator as having been created from scratch.
In order to hold such primary content, the primary content server 1 stores a large amount of content data in a predetermined format, for example, as a primary content file in a database. The primary content server 1 can deliver the primary content file it has. That is, the primary content server 1 is configured to be capable of transmitting and outputting to the user terminal device 4 that is the data request source as the designated primary content in response to a download request from the user terminal device 4 via the network. Yes.
Here, the primary content is assumed to have contents such as video, music, etc. produced by an artist or the like provided by, for example, an affiliated label company.

  Each of the content publishing servers 2 in the content publishing server group 20 stores and registers (registers) the data of the subsidiary content file uploaded as described later, and provides the registered subsidiary content, for example, by itself. It has a function to publish on the content publishing website.

  When the subsidiary content is uploaded to the content publishing server 2, the content approval server 3 executes an approval process for the subsidiary content requested to be uploaded. That is, it is determined whether or not the subsidiary content requested to be uploaded can be disclosed. Upon receiving the subsidiary content upload request, the content publishing server 2 is configured to publish or not publish the subsidiary content requested to be uploaded according to the determination result (approval result).

The user terminal device 4 is a network device used by a general user, and is actually a personal computer provided with a network communication function such as a LAN.
As described above, the user terminal device 4 is installed with an application program as the content creation / sharing application 100. By operating the content creation / sharing application 100, the user can create new subsidiary content by editing work using it as an editing material such as a primary content file. In addition, the content creation / sharing application 100 can efficiently download the primary content from the primary content server 1 or upload the created subsidiary content file to the content publishing server 2.

  The network terminal device 6 is, for example, the same hardware as the user terminal device 4, but is distinguished from the user terminal device 4 in that the installation of the content creation / sharing application 100 is not essential. That is, the user terminal device 4 here has, for example, a network connection function, a Web browser function, and the like, and further has a subsidiary content creation function.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 1 as well, basic matters such as procedures related to the distribution of content in the content creation / sharing system of the present embodiment and operations of each device will be described. In this description, the procedure and operation numbers indicated by alphanumeric characters in [] in the figure are performed.

Step 1
In this figure, the primary content right holder is shown. The primary content right holder is a person who has the right and title to set an approval condition to be described later for a specific primary content. For example, the copyright holder of the primary content corresponds to this.
The primary content right holder can perform a procedure for registering the primary content to which the primary content right holder has the right in the primary content server 1 at any time. As a result of this registration, the primary content server 1 newly stores and manages the data of the primary content file to which the primary content right holder has the right.

Procedure 1-1
Further, the primary content right holder performs a procedure for registering the approval condition corresponding to the primary content registered by the procedure 1 with respect to the content approval server 3. This approval condition defines conditions such as permission / non-permission of a corresponding primary content for each predetermined usage mode and a permitted range when creating subsidiary content. Such condition contents can be arbitrarily set in consideration of the intention or convenience of the primary content right holder.
By performing the approval condition registration, the content approval server 3 stores and manages information on the approval conditions for each primary content registered in the primary content.
Moreover, even if the approval conditions are registered once, it is often considered that the primary content right holder later wants to review the contents of the approval conditions. Therefore, in this embodiment, in principle, the primary content right holder can change the procedure for the registered approval condition at any time.

Step 2
The user of the user terminal device 4 shown in FIG. 1 is in a position to create subsidiary content. Here, the user of the user terminal device 4 as the subsidiary content creator is referred to as “creator”.
In this embodiment, when the subsidiary content is created using the content creation / sharing application 100, the primary content file used as the editing material is in a state that can be managed by the content creation / sharing application 100. It must be present. That is, for example, it is assumed that the primary content to be used needs to exist in a storage area that can be viewed locally by the content creation / sharing application 100.
In addition, when the creator of the user terminal device 4 shown in FIG. 1 tries to create subsidiary content, it is assumed that all the primary content used as editing material does not exist locally. Therefore, the creator performs a procedure of downloading a necessary primary content file from the primary content server 1 according to procedure 2.

  When downloading according to this procedure 2, the creator causes the user terminal device 4 (content creation / sharing application 100) to access the content download site of the primary content server 1. Then, the creator searches the content download site for the primary content that the creator wants to download, and performs an operation for downloading the searched primary content. In response to this operation, the user terminal device 4 transmits a download request to the primary content server 1.

  In the content creation / sharing system according to the present embodiment, downloading of primary content is basically a fee. When a download request is transmitted to the primary content server 1 as described above, a creator is used. Appropriate purchase procedures should be carried out. For this purchase procedure, for example, it may be a payment procedure for a fee set individually for each content unit, album unit, etc., or it is a subscription type called a subscription that has been frequently used recently. It may be considered as a simple procedure. It is also possible to provide primary content free of charge. In this case, the creator does not need to perform a purchase procedure.

  When the primary content server 1 receives the download request as described above, for example, the primary content server 1 first authenticates the requesting user and determines whether or not the request is a valid download request. If it is determined that the request is a valid download request, the primary content (primary content file) specified together with the download request is searched from the primary content stored by itself, and the searched primary content file is searched. Is transmitted to the requesting user terminal device 4.

Here, the primary content file is assumed to have a structure in which header information is added to main body information as actual content data.
In this case, the actual content data refers to moving image data, audio data, and still image data in a predetermined format as the content content (data for reproducing the substantial content content as the primary content). That is, the content content of the primary content data in this embodiment is reproduced by performing audio signal processing or video signal processing for reproduction.
The header information includes, for example, a content ID (content identifier) unique to each file as content, and various metadata (title, artist, title of the album to which the album belongs, genre, data format, data size, etc.). including.

The data of the primary content file transmitted from the primary content server 1 as described above is received by the user terminal device 4. The user terminal device 4 (content creation / sharing application 100) stores and stores the received primary content data in a storage medium such as an internal HDD. The content creation / sharing application 100 has a function of managing the primary content data stored and saved in this way in a predetermined manner based on, for example, the contents of header information, and executing playback control in accordance with a user operation. Have.
In this way, the primary content data stored in the primary content server 1 can be downloaded to the user terminal device 4 in principle in the form of purchase by the user. That is, procedure 1 corresponds to so-called content distribution.

It should be noted that the primary content can be downloaded only by a user who is a creator. The user of the general user terminal device 4 or the user of the network terminal device 6 can download arbitrary primary content from the primary content server 1 for the purpose of mere viewing.
Further, the primary content data stored and saved in the user terminal device 4 is reproduced by the content creation / sharing application 100, and for example as an image / sound by an AV (Audio / Visual) device connected to the user terminal device 4A. It can also be output.

Step 3
By the way, in content distribution via a network, use of content after downloading is generally limited to use such as reproduction with a certain data copy restriction. In other words, the user who has acquired the content by downloading is only permitted to use within a certain range. For example, the user can edit the content based on the acquired content and create a new content as a secondary creation. The right to create and to place content created in this way in a shareable environment is usually not given.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the primary content is used as a material for secondary creation within the range set in advance based on the approval condition in principle (secondary use, secondary editing). ) Is a licensed content.
Then, the content creation / sharing application 100 according to the present embodiment creates new content by executing secondary editing using user-managed primary content as editing material and executing editing processing according to user operations. It is possible to do.
In the present embodiment, the content that is created in a secondary manner is called subsidiary content, and is distinguished from primary content. As the procedure 3, the creator performs an operation on the content creation / sharing application 100 activated on the user terminal device 4 to create one subsidiary content.

Here, the concept of creation of subsidiary content by the content creation / sharing application 100 is shown in FIG.
As schematically illustrated in this figure, the user uses the editing material contents A, B, and C, which are the primary contents to be subjected to secondary usage, to the content creation / sharing application 100, Perform editing operations that reflect the editing intent. The content creation / sharing application 100 performs an editing process according to the editing operation, and as a result, creates and outputs a subsidiary content file.

  As in secondary editing in this embodiment, editing existing content as material and creating a secondary work as new content is, for example, in the field of music, sampling, mashup, etc. It is said that professional musicians also often go there. Against this background, it is natural that there is a desire and a desire among ordinary people to create content as secondary works in the same way. However, the current situation is that it is very difficult for ordinary people to create and create content as a secondary work after properly clearing the copyright issue.

Therefore, in the content creation / sharing system of the present embodiment, first, a general user can legally perform secondary editing using the distributed content so that the entertainment for the user can be further improved. Aimed to be.
For this reason, the primary content of the present embodiment is positioned as content that is permitted for secondary use by the user who performed the download (purchase) within the scope of the authority approved by the copyright holder. It is. That is, the content distribution service by the primary content server 1 of the present embodiment distributes content that is positively authorized for secondary use.

Step 4
The subsidiary content file data created by the creator as described in step 3 as described above is stored only in the user terminal device 4A of the creator, for example, the content creation / sharing application 100 or its subsidiary The image / sound of the content content as the subsidiary content can be reproduced by an application program corresponding to the format of the actual content data corresponding to the next content file.
Further, the creator can publish public contents on the website of the content publishing server 2 by uploading the subsidiary content created by the creator to the content publishing server 2. By publishing the subsidiary content to the public in this way, an unspecified number of general users can appreciate the subsidiary content created by the creator.
Therefore, when the creator of the user terminal device 4 wants to publish the subsidiary content created by the user terminal device 4 on the content publishing server 2 in the content publishing server group 20, The website is accessed and an operation for uploading subsidiary content is performed. The procedure 4 is a process for transmitting an upload request from the user terminal device 4 to the content publishing server 2 in accordance with, for example, an operation for uploading.

  When the subsidiary content upload request is made, unit information including data of the subsidiary content file to be uploaded together with a command as a subsidiary content upload request from the user terminal device 4 to the content publishing server 2. (Sub-content upload information) is also transmitted.

Step 5
In the case of the present embodiment, the content publishing server 2 that has received the upload request registers the subsidiary content (target subsidiary content) for which the upload request has been made immediately and unconditionally on the publishing website. We do not make it public. As an operation in response to the upload request, the content publishing server 2 first makes an approval request (approval processing request) for the current target subsidiary content to the content approval server 2 by this procedure 5.
At this time, the content publishing server 2 that made the approval request transmits the metafile and the creator profile in the structure of the target subsidiary content together with the request command as the approval request. The metafile and creator profile will be described later.

Step 6
The content approval server 3 that has received the approval request in the procedure 5 executes an approval process.
That is, in the approval condition information database 32a stored and managed by the use primary content indicated in the metadata file received together with the approval request, the approval condition information corresponding to the use primary content is stored. Is determined whether or not it is appropriate to publish the target subsidiary content on the content publishing server 2, that is, whether or not it can be published.

Step 7
The content approval server 3 notifies the result of the approval process according to the procedure 6 to the content publishing server 2 that has made the approval request according to the procedure 5.

Step 8
The content publishing server 2 executes processing related to publishing the target subsidiary content according to the content of the approval result notified by the procedure 7.
In the basic operation, first, when the notified approval result is a result indicating that the publication is appropriate (OK), the target subsidiary content file is the content publication web. A registration process is executed for storage and management so as to be disclosed on the site.
On the other hand, when the notified approval result is a result indicating that the publication is not appropriate (NG), the registration process for the target subsidiary content file is not performed. This corresponds to rejecting the disclosure of the target subsidiary content in response to an upload request from the user terminal device 4.

Step 9
Further, the content publishing server 2 further notifies the user terminal device 4 of the approval result by the procedure 9 together with the procedure 8 as a process corresponding to the approval result notification by the procedure 7. That is, the contents of the approval result received as the notification in step 7 are further notified to the user terminal device 4 that is the source of the request for uploading the current subsidiary content.
For example, the contents of the notification of the approval result by the procedure 9 are reflected on the website for content uploading that the user terminal device 4 has accessed from the upload request transmission stage of the procedure 4. Accordingly, the creator who is the user of the user terminal device 4 has approved whether or not the content publishing content on the content publishing server 2 has been approved for the target subsidiary content that has been requested for upload by his / her own operation. It can be confirmed by viewing the website for uploading content.

Step 10
By performing the procedure so far, each content publishing server 2 is in a state of publishing approved subsidiary content on the content publishing website provided by itself.
Under such an environment, for example, an unspecified number of network terminal devices 6 access the content publishing website at any time as step 10 and reproduce the data of the subsidiary content published there. Can watch. At this time, as a method of transmitting subsidiary content data from the content publishing server 2 to the network terminal device 6 for reproduction of subsidiary content, for example, a download method or a streaming method is known. Any of these methods may be adopted.

  FIG. 3 shows an internal configuration example of the primary content server 1. As shown in this figure, the primary content server 1 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, an authentication processing unit 13, a search processing unit 14, a database management unit 15, a settlement processing unit 16, an encryption processing unit 17, a network interface. 18 is provided.

  The control unit 11 is a part that performs various control processes in the primary content server 1 in an integrated manner, and corresponds to a central part of a computer system formed by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (main storage device), and the like. Has a hardware configuration.

  The storage unit 12 includes an HDD or the like, for example, and stores a primary content database 12a. The primary content database 12a is an information unit in which files as primary content to be distributed are databased.

  For example, when a download request is made, the authentication processing unit 13 uses the user ID and password included in the request to execute a required authentication process regarding whether or not the user is a legitimate user. Only when the authentication processing result is OK, the primary content in response to the request is transmitted.

  The search processing unit 14 cooperates with the database management unit 15 to access the primary content database 12a and execute a process of searching for a desired primary content.

  The database management unit 15 manages the primary content database 12a. For example, when new primary content is supplied, the new primary content is updated and registered in the primary content database 12a accordingly. Similarly, when the primary content is to be deleted, the primary content data is deleted and the database is updated accordingly.

  The payment processing unit 16 executes processing such as payment for payment on the user side for paid primary content.

  When the primary content data to be transmitted from the primary content server 1 to the user terminal device 4 needs to be encrypted, the encryption processing unit 17 performs processing for performing encryption according to a predetermined method. It is supposed to be a part to do.

  The network interface 18 is a part for performing communication via the network 5. For example, the network interface 18 receives a download request and transmits primary content data according to the download request according to the control of the control unit 11. This is realized by executing communication processing.

  FIG. 4 shows an internal configuration example of the content publishing server 2. Here, it is assumed that a basic configuration example that can be commonly used as the content publishing server 2 in the content publishing server group 20 is shown. In practice, different configurations may be added or omitted depending on the difference in service for each content publishing server 2.

  The content publishing server 2 in this figure includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, an authentication processing unit 23, a search processing unit 24, a content database management unit 26, and a network interface 29.

  The control unit 21 is a part that performs various control processes in the content publishing server 2 in an integrated manner. This also includes a part corresponding to the central part of a computer system formed of, for example, a CPU, a RAM (main storage device) and the like as a hardware configuration.

The storage unit 22 includes, for example, an HDD, and stores various types of necessary data and information in addition to programs executed by the content publishing server. Here, the subsidiary content database 22a is extracted from the data stored in the storage unit 22 and shown.
The subsidiary content database 22a is an information unit constructed by creating a database of subsidiary content files registered as to be disclosed by the procedure 8 in FIG.
For example, when the content database management unit 26 performs a process (registration process) for newly registering the data of the target subsidiary content file in the subsidiary content database 22a, the target subsidiary content is subsequently referred to. Will be published on the content publishing website.

  Whether the authentication processing unit 23 is a legitimate user by using a user ID, a password, or the like included in the upload request in the case where uploading of subsidiary content is limited to registered members, for example. Execute the required authentication process for etc.

  The search processing unit 24 cooperates with the content database management unit 26 to access the subsidiary content database 22a and execute processing for searching for the desired subsidiary content.

  The content database management unit 26 manages the subsidiary content database 22 a in the storage unit 22. For example, when a subsidiary content (subsidiary content file) is newly registered, the uploaded subsidiary content is updated in the subsidiary content database 22a. Similarly, when subsidiary content (subsidiary content file) is to be deleted, a deletion process for this purpose and a database update according to the deletion result are performed.

  The network interface 29 is a part for performing communication via the network 5. For example, reception of various data including an upload request, transmission of subsidiary content file data, and the like are realized by the network interface 29 executing communication processing in accordance with control of the control unit 21. .

  FIG. 5 shows an internal configuration example of the content approval server 3. As shown in this figure, the content approval server 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, an approval condition management unit 33, a metafile management processing unit 34, an approval processing unit 35, and a network interface. Yes.

  The control unit 31 is a part that performs various control processes in the content approval server 3 in an integrated manner, and has a hardware part corresponding to the central part of a computer system formed of, for example, a CPU, a RAM (main storage device), and the like. It consists of

The storage unit 32 includes, for example, an HDD and stores necessary information and data including a program to be executed by the content approval server 3.
Here, as the information to be stored in the storage unit 32, an approval condition information database 32a and a registered content information database 32b are extracted and shown.
The approval condition information database 32a is unit information in which the approval condition information for each primary content registered by the procedure 1-1 of FIG.
The registered content information database 32b is a subsidiary content (published subsidiary content) that has been obtained as a result of determination of approval OK as subsidiary content registered as a content to be published in the content publishing server 2 constituting the content publishing server group 20. Unit information consisting of a set of metafiles for (content). Note that when newly registering a metafile in the registered content information database 32b, register the metafile data of the target subsidiary content transmitted from the content publishing server 2 at the time of the approval request in step 5 of FIG. You can use it. The registered content information database 32b is also formed by creating a metafile for each public subsidiary content.

  The approval processing unit 35 executes an approval process as the procedure 6 in FIG. A specific example of this approval process will be described later with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 illustrates an internal configuration example of the user terminal device 4. In this case, it is assumed that the hardware as the user terminal device 4 is a personal computer.
First, the user terminal device 4 includes a network interface 44 in order to perform communication via the network 5. By providing the network interface 44, it is possible to communicate with the primary content server 1, the content publishing server 2, the content approval server 3, other user terminal devices 4, the network terminal device 6, and the like via the network 5. It becomes possible.

A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 41 can execute various processes according to, for example, an OS (Operating System) installed in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 48, various application programs, and programs stored in the ROM 42. The In the present embodiment, an application program as the content creation / sharing application 100 is installed.
The RAM 43 is a work area for the CPU 41, and appropriately stores data, programs, and the like necessary for the CPU 41 to execute various processes.

In this case, an input device 46 such as a keyboard or a mouse is connected to the input / output interface 45, and an operation signal output from the input device 46 is converted into a signal adapted to the CPU 41. Are output to the CPU 41.
A media drive 47 is connected to the input / output interface 45. The media drive 47 is a drive device configured to be able to record and reproduce data corresponding to a removable medium having a predetermined format.

An HDD 48 having a hard disk as a storage medium is connected to the input / output interface 45. The CPU 41 is configured to be able to record or read data, programs, and the like with respect to the hard disk of the hard disk drive 48 via the input / output interface 45.
The input / output interface 45 is also connected to a display monitor 49 for displaying images.

FIG. 7 shows an example of data contents stored in the HDD 48 in association with the use of the content creation / sharing system of this embodiment.
As shown in this figure, in relation to the content creating / sharing system of the embodiment, first, the content creating / sharing application 100 is stored as application program data. Note that storage of the content creation / sharing application 100 in the HDD 48 is performed by an installation process. In addition, the content creation / sharing application 100 includes, as application files, one or more primary content files (primary content file group 103) existing in the HDD 48 (local) and one or more subsidiary content files (subsidiary content file group 104). )

The content creation / sharing application 100 in this case can be broadly divided into a program part as the content management / creation tool 101 and a program part as the communication tool 102 in terms of its functions. The content management / creation tool 101 targets processing related to downloading of primary content files and subsidiary content files, primary content files forming the primary content file group 103, and subsidiary content files forming the subsidiary content file group 104. The file operation can be executed.
Also, an editing process corresponding to the editing operation, a subsidiary content file creation process corresponding to the editing result, and the like are also executed.

  Although not shown in FIG. 1 or the like, for example, the communication tool 102 can execute a process for accessing a blog server or an SNS server to operate the blog or SNS.

  FIG. 8 schematically shows the program configuration of the content management / creation tool 101 in units of functional blocks. As illustrated, the communication control unit 111, the primary content acquisition processing unit 112, and the primary content management are illustrated. The processing unit 113, the content transfer processing unit 116, the content creation processing unit 117, the subsidiary content file generation processing unit 118, the encryption / decryption processing unit 119, and the player unit 120 can be considered.

  The communication control unit 111 is a part mainly composed of programs necessary for executing communication with the primary content server 1 and the content publishing server 3 via the network in relation to content management / editing.

  The primary content acquisition processing unit 112 is a part composed of a program necessary for downloading and acquiring primary content. The primary content acquisition processing unit 112 provides a user interface for downloading the primary content. Also, a control for issuing a command as a download request and transmitting the command by the communication control unit 111, or a process for receiving a packet of data of the primary content received by the communication control unit 111 and restoring the data format as the primary content Are also executed by the primary content acquisition processing unit 112.

  The primary content management processing unit 113 is a part that executes processing for storing the primary content file acquired by the primary content acquisition processing unit 112 in the HDD 48 and processing for managing the stored primary content file. For example, the primary content management processing unit 113 also realizes content management such as sorting according to artist name, album unit, genre, and the like.

  The content transfer processing unit 116 controls to properly execute data transfer of the content file via the communication control unit 111, for example, when uploading a subsidiary content file to the content publishing server 2. Execute the process.

The content creation processing unit 117 is a part that executes processing relating to creation of content details as subsidiary content in accordance with editing using the editing material content shown in FIG. 2, that is, editing operations performed by the user. Therefore, for example, a user interface for editing operation is also realized by the content creation processing unit 117.
The subsidiary content file generation processing unit 118 first executes processing for generating subsidiary content file data reflecting the content content created by the content creation processing unit 117. When the subsidiary content is played back, an interpretation process for the editing content information in the subsidiary content file shown in FIG. 4 is executed to determine the playback processing sequence.

In the present embodiment, the primary content file may be encrypted and transmitted from the primary content server 1. Further, depending on the content publishing server 2, there may be a case where the publicly available subsidiary content file is encrypted and transmitted.
The encryption / decryption processing unit 119 executes a process of decrypting the encrypted primary content file and subsidiary content file when it is necessary to operate the playback and editing.

  The player unit 120 performs necessary signal processing that should be performed in the digital stage, for example, in the signal processing process for reproducing the actual content data of the primary content file and the subsidiary content file and outputting the actual content data as images and sounds. It is a part for execution.

Next, an example of the structure of the subsidiary content file according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the subsidiary content file is formed by a metafile in a predetermined format and an actual content file in a predetermined format. That is, the subsidiary content file according to the present embodiment can be regarded as a single file obtained by combining two types of files that can be managed by the file system as independent files. Alternatively, when the subsidiary content file is viewed as the main content file, the subsidiary content file can be regarded as being formed by associating metadata with the subsidiary content file having the actual content file.

The metafile is formed having necessary information items as metadata related to the current subsidiary content, and further includes header information and editing related information.
In addition, the actual content file is data in a file format formed with real content data in a predetermined format corresponding to the content content of the current subsidiary content as shown in the figure. For confirmation, actual content data is moving image data, audio data, and still image data in a predetermined format as content contents, and is used to reproduce the actual content contents as current subsidiary contents. Data. For example, in comparison with the present embodiment, generally distributed video data files, audio data files, and the like correspond to the actual content files.

  The header information in the metafile is formed mainly by storing basic information items as metadata related to the current subsidiary content. FIG. 9B shows an example of metadata information items included in the header information in the metafile. As shown in this figure, for example, a metafile is formed by information items such as content ID, title, creator, content type, playback time, creation date and time, jacket data, genre, format information, and so on.

The content ID here is an identifier uniquely given to the current subsidiary content file. In the present embodiment, these content IDs are set and added by the content creation / sharing application 100 when the content is created by the user terminal device 4 (content creation / sharing application 100), for example.
In this case, it is necessary that the content ID set in this way does not overlap with the subsidiary content already published in the content publication server 2. There are several possible mechanisms for this. As an example, at the time of setting a content ID, the user terminal device 4 (content creation / sharing application 100) inquires of the content publishing server 2 to receive a content ID that is different from the content ID already published. It is possible to do.

The title is information indicating the title name given to the current subsidiary content file.
In this embodiment, “creator” refers to a user from the standpoint of subsidiary content creator. The creator information indicates the creator of the current subsidiary content file (also called creator, producer, artist, etc.). Here, it is assumed that the name corresponding to the creator and the user ID of the user who is the creator are stored.
The content type is information indicating the type, range, etc. of the content contents of the current subsidiary content file including, for example, moving images, music, photos (still images), and the like.
The reproduction time is information indicating the total reproduction time of the content as the current subsidiary content file.
The creation date and time is information indicating the date and time when the current subsidiary content file was created.
Further, there are cases where image data corresponding to an album jacket is attached to the content. The jacket data is such image data.
The genre is information indicating what genre is given to the content contents of the current subsidiary content file.
In the format information, necessary information indicating the format of the actual content data of the current subsidiary content is stored.
For confirmation, information items included in the content-related basic information can be considered other than those listed here.

  Also, the editing related information in the same metafile is information reflecting the editing result for creating the current subsidiary content, and as shown in FIG. 9C, the used primary content information and the editing content information. It consists of As will be understood from the following description, this editing-related information has an information item that can indicate a use result of the used primary content (secondary used primary content). These information items are used for the individual approval process in the approval process as described later.

The usage primary content information is information indicating what is the primary content file (this is the usage primary content) whose actual content data should be used as a result in order to create the current subsidiary content.
For example, FIG. 2 shows editing material contents A, B, and C. If these are regarded as primary contents, the primary contents as editing material contents A, B, and C are respectively used primary contents and usage contents. Become.

FIG. 10 shows each structure example of the usage primary content information.
As shown in this figure, the primary usage content information is largely composed of unit content information. Each unit content information corresponds to one used primary content.

In the unit content information, for example, information items of content ID, creator, title, and format information are provided.
In the content ID here, the content ID assigned to the content file as the corresponding primary usage content is stored.
The creator (artist) stores, for example, the name and the user ID of the user who is the creator, indicating the creator of the corresponding usage primary content.
The title indicates the title of the corresponding primary usage content, for example, by its name.

  The format information here indicates the quality of the used primary content itself when the corresponding used primary content is used as an editing material when the subsidiary content is created. For this reason, in the format information, in addition to basic information such as the encoding format, for example, in the case of an image, it is a distinction between HD (High Definition) format, SD (Standard Definition) format, resolution, bit, etc. Information related to quality such as image quality and sound quality is stored as a format such as a rate.

Next, the editing content information in the meta file editing related information will be described.
The edited content information is the content of the actual content data when the content content as the current subsidiary content is reproduced using the actual content data of the used primary content (which is the primary content) in a predetermined language. This is unit information that describes a processing sequence.
As elements of the description content that forms the edit content information, for example, first, a description that identifies primary content (used primary content) as actual content data used for reproduction, actual content data as primary content that is the used primary content The description shows the data portion actually used for reproducing the subsidiary content, and the description showing the time for reproducing the data portion in the playback time of the subsidiary content. In addition, descriptions can be given to reflect so-called effects and special effects such as fade-in, fade-out, overlap, equalizing (sound quality adjustment), playback speed magnification, reverb, delay, etc. .

FIG. 11 shows an example of the most basic content about the editing content information. In this figure, a description part enclosed by [] indicates a certain reproduction control content for one used primary content (original editing material content).
An example of the reproduction control content in units of primary content used shown in FIG. 11 will be described.
First, as the playback control content of the usage primary content unit shown at the top in the figure,
[
content_id = AAAAAA;
time = 00: 00-00: 10;
position = vv-zz
]
It is described. This is because the usage primary content is specified by content ID = AAAAAA (here, the descriptor of content_id indicates the content ID), and the playback time of the current subsidiary content that uses this usage primary content Is from 00:00 (starting time) to 00:10 (reproduction time 10 seconds), and the data section of the primary content used during this reproduction time (actual content data section) corresponds to address vv to address zz The range is specified.
Subsequent playback control content in units of primary content used is
[
content_id = AAAAAA;
time = 00: 10-00: 15;
position = ss-tt
]
It is described. This is because the usage primary content is specified by content ID = AAAAAA, and the playback time of the current subsidiary content that uses this usage primary content is 00:10 to 00:15, and is used in this playback time. The data section of the primary usage content is designated as a range corresponding to the address ss to the address tt.
The following playback control details for each primary content are:
[
content_id = BBBBBB;
time = 00: 15-00: 20;
position = ss-tt
]
It is described. This is because the primary content used is specified by the content ID = BBBBBB, and the playback time of the current subsidiary content that uses this primary usage content is 00:15 to 00:20, and is used during this playback time. The data section of the used primary content is designated to be a range corresponding to the address pp to the address uu.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of the content of the subsidiary content upload information transmitted from the user terminal device 4 to the content publishing server 2 together with the upload request command at the time of the subsidiary content upload request in step 4 of FIG. Is shown. For example, the subsidiary content upload information can be stored in an operand in an upload request command and transmitted.

As shown in the figure, the subsidiary content upload information includes subsidiary content files and creator profile information.
The subsidiary content file here is the target subsidiary content that is the target of the current upload request. For confirmation, the structure and content are as shown in FIGS.

  The creator profile is unit information including predetermined information items for a creator who created the target subsidiary content, that is, the user of the content creation / sharing application 100 of the user terminal device 4 in the case of FIG. For example, a creator profile can consider information such as user ID, name, age, address, etc. for the corresponding creator.

  When the approval request is made according to the procedure 5 in FIG. 1, the content publishing server 2 transmits a metafile of the target subsidiary content and a creator profile for the creator of the same target subsidiary content together with an approval processing request command. These metafiles and creator profiles can be obtained by extracting from the subsidiary content upload information shown in FIG.

Moreover, the example of the content of the approval condition information which the content approval server 3 manages as the approval condition information database 32a is shown in FIG.
The approval condition information shown in this figure corresponds to each content. The approval condition information database 32a is obtained by collecting the approval condition information for each content for each primary content registered in the primary content server 1 and creating a database.
As shown in FIG. 13A, the content individual approval condition information includes, for example, a primary content ID, usage condition information, primary content related information, and reproduction time information.

  The primary content ID stores a content ID for specifying the primary content (corresponding primary content) corresponding to the current approval condition information.

  The usage condition information stores contents indicating conditions for secondary use of the corresponding primary content for creating subsidiary content. The contents of the approval condition registered by the primary content right holder in step 1-1 of FIG. 1 are reflected in this use condition information. An example of information items forming this use condition information is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 13B, the use condition information is composed of information items such as use permission range information, unusable section, release period, permission format, and user restriction information.
The usage permission range information includes various predetermined permission items for secondary use of the corresponding primary content. For example, as a permission item, the following contents can be considered.
・ Details regarding the availability of secondary usage of the corresponding primary content ・ Details regarding the use of other content as editing material by the artist (creator) different from the corresponding primary content,
・ Contents related to the use of content that belongs to an album different from the album to which the corresponding primary content belongs for other content to be edited material ・ Contents related to the permitted range of use of specific effects and special effects ・ Supported primary content Contents regarding the availability of extracting a section from the whole and using it as editing material,
・ Contents related to the number and type of content that can be used in combination with primary content

  In addition, in the case where the unusable section is permitted to extract a part of the data section from the actual content data corresponding to all the content contents (total playback time) of the corresponding primary content and to secondary use as editing material, This is information indicating a data section that cannot be secondarily used.

  Further, the publication time limit indicates a time limit for publishing subsidiary content created by secondary use of the corresponding primary content on the content publishing server 2 by, for example, date and time.

The permitted format indicates a format (form) in which secondary use is permitted or a format prohibited in secondary use of the corresponding primary content.
For example, taking image content as an example, the primary content right holder may not like secondary use of actual content data in a format that provides a higher quality image than a certain level, such as HD format. It is believed that there is. Or conversely, rather than having secondary usage, we want to use the highest quality format possible, and it is not preferable to secondary use actual content data in a format that can only be played back with a quality below a certain level. It is thought that there may be. The permission format can reflect the intention of the primary content right holder.

  The user restriction information is information indicating restrictions on a creator (user) who secondary uses the corresponding primary content. For example, contents such as prohibiting secondary use by creators under the age of 18 can be described.

Further, the primary content related information in FIG. 13A is made up of information items necessary or usable for the approval process, for example, in the metadata of the corresponding primary content.
The reproduction time information is information indicating the total reproduction time of the corresponding primary content.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of registered content information stored and managed by the content approval server 3. The registered content information shown in this figure is individual for each corresponding subsidiary content (public subsidiary content). The registered content information database 32b shown in FIG. 5 is formed by collecting the registered content information for each content shown in FIG.

The registered content information shown in this figure is composed of information items of a meta file, a registration date and time, and a disclosure destination server ID.
The metafile is a metafile of the corresponding public subsidiary content. This metafile can be acquired when the content approval server 3 receives the metafile of the target subsidiary content transmitted from the content publishing server 2 together with the approval request in the procedure 5 of FIG.

The registration date / time indicates the date / time when the corresponding public subsidiary content was registered.
The disclosure destination server ID indicates the server ID of the content publishing server 2 in which the corresponding public subsidiary content is registered and published. The content publishing servers 2 constituting the content publishing server group 20 each have a server ID that is unique to each server.

As will be described later, the approval process executed by the content approval server 3 of the present embodiment basically satisfies the condition indicated by the use condition information in the approval condition information for the primary content as the use primary content. An approval result is obtained by making a determination on the above.
However, in the content creation / sharing system of the present embodiment, when a plurality of subsidiary contents are played back continuously, all the contents of one primary content are played back, and each of the plurality of subsidiary contents is described. Stipulate that no approval is given.

FIG. 15 shows a specific example of the above.
This figure shows a case where the entire content of one primary content is divided into four playback sections A, B, C, and D as the playback time progresses. For example, it is assumed that the reproduction sections A, B, C, and D are extracted from the actual content data corresponding to all the contents of the primary content, and four subsidiary contents are created. In the content creation / sharing system of this embodiment, these four subsidiary contents are not given approval, and are therefore not made public.
The reason for this is that although each of these subsidiary contents uses a part of the primary contents for each secondary use, all the contents of the primary contents are copied as they are. Because it is only. Originally, the subsidiary content is new content that should be created by secondary use of the primary content. Therefore, it can be said that such subsidiary content does not have significance as subsidiary content.

  The flowcharts of FIGS. 16 and 17 show a procedure example for the approval process as the procedure 6 of FIG. 1 that is executed by the content approval server 3. The processes shown in these drawings can be regarded as executed by the approval processing unit 35 in FIG. In addition, the processing executed by the approval processing unit 35 can be considered to be realized, for example, by actually executing a program by a computer system that is a hardware resource of the content approval server 3.

First, when the approval processing unit 35 recognizes that the approval request transmitted from the content publishing server 2 in step 5 of FIG. 1 has been received as step S101 in FIG. 16, the approval processing unit 35 executes the steps after step S102. Become.
Here, at the time of the approval request, the content publishing server 2 transmits the metafile of the target subsidiary content and the creator profile information about the creator of the same target subsidiary content together with the command of the approval processing request. Therefore, depending on the reception of the approval request in step S101, the metafile of the target subsidiary content and the creator profile are also received.

Here, for example, in the command structure of the approval request (approval processing request) received in step S101, it is assumed that a metafile and a creator profile for the target subsidiary content are stored at a predetermined position of the operand.
In step S102, a metafile and a creator profile for the target subsidiary content are extracted and acquired from the approval processing request command.

  Here, the use primary content information shown in FIG. 10 is included in the metafile acquired in the previous step S102. In step S103, 1 is substituted as an initialization process for the variable n, which is a number assigned for convenience to the usage primary content indicated in the usage primary content information in the metafile acquired in step S102.

  In step S104, the approval processing unit 35 searches the approval condition information database 32a for content individual approval condition information corresponding to the primary usage content n, and performs processing for reading and acquiring the information. When searching for approval condition information, the content ID of the primary usage content n indicated in the primary usage content information is used as a search condition, and the matching content ID (primary content ID) is stored from the approval condition information database 32a. What is necessary is just to search approval condition information.

In step S105, the following processing is executed as approval processing (item-specific approval processing) corresponding to individual approval conditions.
That is, the usage agreement range information in the approval condition information corresponding to the usage primary content n acquired in step S104 is interpreted, and the content is recognized. Also, the description content of the edit content information in the metafile acquired in step S102 is interpreted, and recognition of the edit content for the part of the primary usage content n is obtained.
Then, the edited content of the part of the usage primary content n is collated with the content indicated by the usage permission range information, and the usage of the usage primary content n in the target subsidiary content exceeds the limit range indicated by the usage permission range information. A determination is made as to whether or not it is a thing.

In step S105, when it is determined that the use of the usage primary content n in the target subsidiary content does not exceed the limit range indicated by the usage permission range information, OK is output as the determination result data. If it is determined that the limit range is exceeded, NG is output.
In step S106, the approval processing unit 35 holds OK or NG determination result data obtained as described above.

In the next step S107, the approval processing unit 35 refers to the unusable section data in the use condition information of the approval condition information acquired in step S104 as the item-by-item approval process, and the use set for the use primary content n. Recognize impossible sections. In addition, as the collation processing, the section where the usage primary content n is actually used in the target subsidiary content recognized from the edited content of the part of the usage primary content n and the recognized unavailable section match or It is determined whether or not there is a partially overlapping part. If it is determined that there is a matching or overlapping part, NG is output as the determination result data. If it is determined that there is no matching or partly overlapping part, OK is output as the determination result data. Is output.
In the next step S108, the approval processing unit 35 holds OK or NG determination result data output in step S107.

In step S109, a confirmation process for the expiration date is executed as the item-by-item approval process.
That is, the approval processing unit 35 refers to the publication deadline in the authorization condition information (usage condition information) of the usage primary content n, and recognizes the date and time corresponding to the deadline permitted for publication set for the usage primary content n. To do. Next, for example, it is determined whether or not the current date and time is within the recognized expiration date. If the current date and time is within the publication deadline, an OK judgment result is output, and if it is not within the publication deadline, an NG judgment result is outputted.
In step S110, the OK / NG determination result output in step S109 is held.

In step S111, the approval processing unit 35 stores the approval format in the approval condition information (use condition information) of the use primary content n and the use primary content information of the metafile acquired in step S102 as the item-by-item approval process. And the format indicated by the format information of the used primary content n is collated. If the format of the primary usage content n corresponds to the permission format, an OK determination result is output, and if not, an NG determination result is output.
In step S112, the OK / NG determination result output in step S111 is held.

In step S113, the approval processing unit 35 compares the creator profile acquired in step S102 with the user restriction information in the approval condition information (use condition information) of the primary usage content n as the item-by-item approval process. It is determined whether or not items such as the age of the subsidiary content creator are within the limit range indicated by the user limit information. If all of the above items are within the restriction range indicated by the user restriction information, an OK determination result is output, and if not, an NG determination result is output.
In step S114, the OK / NG determination result output in step S113 is held.

Subsequently, the approval processing unit 35 executes the processes of steps S115 and S116 in FIG. 17 as the item-by-item approval process.
First, in step S115, the registered content information database 32b is searched for registered content information (content individual information) of subsidiary content using the used primary content n. For this purpose, the registered content information for each content in the registered content information database 32b may be searched for the content ID of the used primary content n in the used primary content information in the metadata file. Note that the processing in step S115 searches for subsidiary content created by using the used primary content n as editing material from among the subsidiary content that is supposed to be published in the content publishing server group 20. It can be seen as what you are doing.

Next, in step S116, the approval processing unit 35 refers to the edited content information in the metafile for each piece of registered content information searched for in step S115, and already discloses the target subsidiary content. A search process is executed to find a combination that results in the reproduction of all the contents of the used primary content n with the subsidiary contents that have been played. As described above with reference to FIG. 15, the subsidiary contents that form such a combination are all defined to be rejected.
If the combination of the subsidiary contents is found as a result of the search process in step S116, a positive determination result is obtained in step S117. On the other hand, if the combination of the subsidiary contents is not found, a negative determination result is obtained in step S117.

  If a positive determination result is obtained in step S117, the process proceeds to step S118, and NG is held as information on the determination result for the item-by-item approval process corresponding to steps S115 and S116. On the other hand, if a negative determination result is obtained in step S117, OK determination result information is held in step S119.

Several algorithms for the search in step S116 can be considered. One example will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, the target subsidiary content includes the primary content shown in FIG. 15 as the usage primary content n, and the usage primary content n extracts the playback section C from the playback sections A to D. And use it. The playback section C is data (data section) of a section having the data position p4 in the primary content in FIG. 15 as the start position and the data position p5 as the end position.
In this case, for example, the authentication processing unit 35 can recognize that the data section for the primary content n is up to the data positions p4 to p5 by referring to the editing content information in the metafile of the target subsidiary content. .
In addition, the authentication processing unit 35 uses the data section immediately before the data section p4 to p5 of the used primary content n, for example, by referring to the edited content information of the registered content information of each content searched in step S115. Search for subsidiary content that has been edited.
For this purpose, the end position of the data section extracted and used from the primary usage content n is referred to immediately before the data position p4 by referring to the edited content information of the individual registered content information searched in step S115. What is necessary is just to search the subsidiary content (registered content information for each content) at the data position p3. As the subsidiary content searched in this way, it is assumed that the edited content information indicates that data sections p2 to p3 corresponding to the playback section B in FIG. 15 are used.
Therefore, the authentication processing unit 35 further searches the subsidiary content using the data section immediately before the playback section B with reference to the edited content information of the registered content information for each content searched in step S115. That is, the secondary content (content-specific registered content information) in which the end position of the data section extracted and used from the used primary content n is the data position p1 immediately before the data position p2 is searched. In the subsidiary content searched in this way, it is assumed that the editing content information indicates that the data section from the data position p0 to the data position p1 corresponding to the playback section A is used. Here, since the data position p0 is the start position in the content of the usage primary content n, the search in the forward direction from the playback section C in the usage primary content n ends here.
Therefore, next, a search is performed backward from the playback section C. For this purpose, the authentication processing unit 35 searches for subsidiary content using the data section immediately after the playback section C with reference to the edited content information of the registered content information of each content searched in step S115. . That is, the secondary content (content-specific registered content information) in which the start position of the data section extracted from the primary usage content n and used is the data position p6 immediately after the data position p5 is searched. Thus, in correspondence with FIG. 15, subsidiary content using the playback section D as a data section is searched. Since the end position p7 of the playback section D is also the end position of the content as the primary usage content n, the backward search ends at this stage.
Then, as a result of such a search process, it is determined that there is a combination that includes the target subsidiary content and that results in the reproduction of all the contents of the used primary content n corresponding to FIG. It is what is done. In this case, a positive determination result is obtained in step S117, and determination result information indicating OK is held in step S118.

  Here, it is assumed that the required approval process for each item for the primary usage content n is completed after step S118 or S119. Therefore, in step S120, it is determined whether or not the variable n has reached the maximum value. The maximum value of the variable n is the number of used primary contents shown in the used primary content information as being used by the target subsidiary content. That is, in step S119, it is determined whether or not the primary usage content that has not been subjected to the item-by-item approval process still remains.

If a negative determination result is obtained in step S120, the used primary content that has not yet been subjected to the item-by-item approval process remains. Therefore, in this case, after incrementing the variable n in step S121, the process returns to step S104. Thereby, the item-by-item approval process for the next usage primary content is executed.
If the item-by-item approval process for all the used primary contents is completed, a positive determination result is obtained in step S120, and the process proceeds to step S122.

In step S122, approval result information is created using the determination results for the item-by-item approval process for each of the primary usage contents 1 to n so far.
As the approval result information here, first, it is assumed that the target subsidiary content has contents indicating whether or not the content publishing server 2 publishes it on the content publishing server 2 (OK / NG).
In the present embodiment, as long as there is at least one NG regarding the determination result information for each item-by-item approval process performed for each of the used primary contents 1 to n, the disclosure of the target subsidiary content is not approved. Shall. In other words, the disclosure of the target subsidiary content is approved only when the information of the determination results for each item-by-item approval process performed for each of the used primary contents 1 to n is OK. In step S120, the approval processing unit 35 creates approval result information having contents indicating approval OK if all the determination results of the item-by-item approval processing are OK according to this rule, and the determination result of the item-by-item approval processing is 1. If there is any NG, approval result information having contents indicating approval NG is created.
Further, the approval result information may be simply information indicating the approval result of OK / NG for the disclosure of the target subsidiary content, but OK / NG for each item-specific approval process for each primary content used. It may be created with contents that show the determination result. In this embodiment, as in the latter case, approval result information having contents reflecting OK / NG determination results for each item-specific approval process is created. In addition, regarding the item-by-item approval process corresponding to the usage agreement range information, an OK / NG determination result for each item further subdivided in the usage agreement range information is also shown.

And the approval process part 35 notifies the approval result about this object subsidiary content by step S123. That is, the approval result information created in step S123 is transmitted to the content publishing server 2 that is the request for the approval process. Further, the processing in step S123 corresponds to the procedure 7 in FIG.
For confirmation, as described in step 8 of FIG. 1, the content publishing server 2 that has received the notification of the approval result determines the target subsidiary content according to the contents of OK / NG indicated by the approval result. Execute the process corresponding to publishing or refusing to publish.

Next, in step S124, the approval processing unit 35 changes the registered content information database 32b as necessary.
For example, when an approval result of OK is finally obtained for the target subsidiary content by the previous approval process, the target subsidiary content is newly released on the content publishing server 2. Therefore, the approval processing unit 35 newly registers the registered content information about the target subsidiary content in the registered content information database 32b.
Further, for example, when a positive determination result is obtained in step S117, the secondary content searched in step S116 should be stopped from being published as described above. In the process, the content approval server 3 requests the content publishing server 2 to stop publishing. In response to this request, the content publishing server 2 executes necessary processing relating to the publishing stop of the subsidiary content specified by the stop request. In order to coordinate with the change in the state of publishing such subsidiary content, the content approval server 3 stores the registered content information of the subsidiary content whose publication is stopped in step S124. A process of deleting from the information database 32b is executed.
In addition, in the event that an NG approval result is finally obtained for the target subsidiary content, it is only necessary to reject the disclosure of the target subsidiary content, and registration of the published subsidiary content as in the above example It may be considered that there is no need to delete the content information. In this case, the registered content information of the target subsidiary content may be prevented from being registered in the registered content information database 32a. Therefore, in step S124 in this case, it is not necessary to make a substantial change to the registered content information database 32a.

  By the way, according to the above description, the approval result information transmitted from the content approval server 3 includes contents indicating a determination result for each item-specific approval process. Accordingly, in the notification of the approval result in step 9 of FIG. 1, approval result information including the contents indicating the determination result for each item-specific approval process is transmitted from the content publishing server 2 to the user terminal device 4. It shall be. And in the user terminal device 4, it becomes possible to display the determination result about the approval process classified by item for every utilization primary content in approval result information in the aspect which a user (creator) can confirm. For this reason, for example, the creator can know which item is NG when an NG approval result is returned for the target subsidiary content. For example, if it is a good intention creator, an item that has become NG can be re-created into an appropriate subsidiary content so that it is OK next, and this can be uploaded again.

In this way, in the present embodiment, whether or not to publish the subsidiary content is determined by comparing the edited content of the subsidiary content with the approval conditions set by the primary content right holder. . Thereby, in this embodiment, it can prevent more appropriately than before that the subsidiary content that it is not appropriate to publish is disclosed.
Further, for example, it is assumed that the primary content right holder finds that the secondary content that has not been assumed at first but has been used unintentionally for the primary content is published. In this case, the primary content owner can request the content publishing server 2 to delete and stop the publication. Further, as a primary content right holder, in order to prevent such secondary content from being disclosed again, the predetermined content in the approval condition information for the primary content is changed by procedure 1-1 in FIG. be able to. Then, an approval process based on the changed approval condition information is executed for the target subsidiary content that uses the primary content. That is, re-uploading of subsidiary content having inappropriate editing content equivalent to that previously deleted is prevented.

Further, in the present embodiment, the content publishing server 2 periodically issues an approval request to the content approval server 3 according to the procedure 5 of FIG. To do. Also in this case, the content approval server 3 executes an approval process according to FIGS. 16 and 17 and returns the approval result. Then, the content publishing server 2 deletes the registration and stops the publishing for those for which the received approval result is NG. As a result, for example, it was appropriate before the change of the approval condition information, but any subsidiary content that became inappropriate due to the change will be deleted and will remain open to the public. Can be prevented.
In addition, when an approval request according to the procedure 5 in FIG. 1 is periodically executed, for example, even if the use condition for the primary content is not registered in advance, The release of subsidiary content that does not conform to the usage conditions will eventually be stopped.
Furthermore, for example, even if a content publishing server that has not participated in the content creation / sharing system of the present embodiment has newly joined, if the above-described periodic approval process is applied, Even in the newly participating content publishing server 2, only appropriate subsidiary content that does not infringe the copyright of the primary content can be made public.

In the description of the embodiments so far, the subsidiary content file is assumed to have a structure including a metafile and actual content data, as shown in FIG.
However, for example, it is conceivable to distribute and publish a subsidiary content file having only a metafile excluding actual content data on the content creation / sharing system. In order to reproduce such subsidiary content, for example, for the player unit 120 of the content creation / sharing application 100, the editing content information in the metafile is interpreted, and in accordance with this interpretation, for example, the used primary content stored locally is stored. What is necessary is just to comprise so that the required area in real content data can be reproduced | regenerated at an appropriate timing.
For example, even in the case of such a subsidiary content format, it is possible to apply an approval process for content publication executed by the content approval server 3 of the present embodiment.

  The configurations of the primary content server 1, the content publishing server 2, the content approval server 3, and the user terminal device 4 are examples, and may be changed as appropriate in practice. Further, at least one of the above servers may be distributed to a plurality of servers. Or conversely, at least two of these servers, for example, the primary content server 1 and the content approval server 3 may be integrated.

  In the description so far, specific examples such as a GUI screen as the content creation / sharing application 100 are not shown, but various GUI configurations of the content creation / sharing application 100 are conceivable.

Also, the functional configuration of the content creation / sharing application 100 is not limited to the content described above with reference to FIG.
Further, the structure of the subsidiary content file shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 is merely an example and is conceptual, and may be appropriately changed and expanded based on this.

  In addition, programs executed by the primary content server 1, the content publishing server 2, the content approval server 3, the user terminal device 4, and the like are written in a storage area such as an internal HDD or a storage unit as described above. In addition to storage, it is conceivable to store the data in a removable storage medium and store it in the storage area by installing (including updating) from the storage medium. It is also conceivable that the program can be installed via a predetermined data interface under the control of another host device. Furthermore, it is also conceivable that the information is stored in a storage device on the network and can be downloaded from the storage device and acquired by the network function of each server and user terminal device 4.

It is a figure which shows the procedure regarding the content publication, apparatus operation | movement, etc. with the construction example of the content creation / sharing system which embodiment of this invention corresponds. It is a figure which shows typically the flow of creation of the subsidiary content in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the internal structural example of a primary content server. It is a figure which shows the internal structural example of a content publication server. It is a figure which shows the internal structural example of a content approval server. It is a figure which shows the internal structural example of a user terminal device. It is a figure which shows the example of the data content which should be memorize | stored in HDD of a user terminal device. It is a figure which shows the example of a program structure as a content management and creation tool of a content creation / sharing application with a functional block. It is a figure which shows typically the example of a structure of a subsidiary content file. It is a figure which shows the structural example of utilization primary content information in a subsidiary content file. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the edit content information in a subsidiary content file. It is a figure which shows the structural example of subsidiary content upload information. It is a figure which shows the structural example of approval condition information (primary content individual). It is a figure which shows the structural example of registration content information (primary content individual). It is a figure which shows the example by which all the content content of one primary content is reproduced | regenerated by the combination of subsidiary content. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure of the approval process which a content approval server (approval process part) performs. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure of the approval process which a content approval server (approval process part) performs.

Explanation of symbols

  1 primary content server, 2 content disclosure server, 3 content approval server, 4 user terminal device, 5 network, 6 network terminal device, 11, 21, 31 control unit, 12, 22, 32 storage unit, 13, 23 authentication processing unit 14, 24 Search processing unit, 15 Database management unit, 16 Settlement processing unit, 17 Encryption processing unit, 18/29/36/44 Network interface, 26 Content database management unit, 12a Primary content database, 22a Secondary content database 32a Approval condition database, 32b Registered content information database, 41 CPU, 42 ROM, 43 RAM, 45 Input / output interface, 46 Input device, 47 Media drive, 48 HDD, 49 Display Monitor, 100 Content creation / sharing application, 101 Content management / creation tool, 102 Communication tool, 103 Primary content file group, 104 Secondary content file group, 111 Communication control unit, 112 Primary content acquisition processing unit, 113 Primary content management process 116, content transfer processing unit, 117 content creation processing unit, 118 subsidiary content file generation processing unit, 119 encryption / decryption processing unit, 120 player unit

Claims (5)

Secondary content is created by associating with metadata composed of predetermined information items that can indicate a usage result related to secondary-used primary content. Consists of a content publishing device that publishes on the network and an approval processing device,
In the content publishing device, metadata transmission means for transmitting metadata of the target subsidiary content to be determined whether or not to be published to the approval processing device via a communication network;
In the approval processing device, metadata acquisition means for receiving and acquiring the metadata transmitted by the transmission means;
In the approval processing device, condition information storage means for storing condition information indicating information for each primary content and indicating conditions for secondary use in creating subsidiary content;
In the approval processing apparatus, based on whether or not the use result of the primary content recognized based on the metadata acquired by the metadata acquisition means satisfies the condition for secondary use indicated by the corresponding condition information. An approval result output means for obtaining an approval result as to whether or not to release the target subsidiary content,
In the approval processing device, an approval result transmitting unit that transmits information on the approval result obtained by the approval result output unit to the content publishing device via a communication network;
In the content publishing apparatus, based on the approval result information transmitted from the approval result transmitting means, content publishing related processing means for executing processing related to the disclosure of the target subsidiary content;
An information processing system comprising: Secondary content that is secondary content that is created by editing processing that secondary uses the primary content and that is associated with the target secondary content that should be determined whether or not it can be published on the network. Metadata acquisition means for acquiring metadata consisting of predetermined information items that can indicate a result of use,
Condition information storage means for storing condition information indicating conditions for secondary use in creating subsidiary contents, which is information corresponding to each primary content,
Based on whether the usage result of the primary content recognized based on the metadata acquired by the metadata acquisition means satisfies the condition for secondary usage indicated by the corresponding condition information, the target subsidiary An approval result output means for obtaining an approval result as to whether or not the content can be published;
An approval processing apparatus comprising: Content content is created by editing processing that secondary uses the primary content, and is formed in association with metadata consisting of predetermined information items that can indicate the usage results related to the secondary used primary content. An information processing method in an information processing system comprising a content publishing device that publishes subsidiary content on a network and an approval processing device,
In the content publishing apparatus, a metadata transmission procedure for transmitting the metadata of the target subsidiary content that should be determined as to whether or not to be published to the approval processing apparatus via a communication network;
In the approval processing device, a metadata acquisition procedure for receiving and acquiring the metadata transmitted by the transmission procedure;
In the approval processing device, a condition information storage management procedure for storing and managing condition information indicating information corresponding to each primary content and indicating conditions for secondary use in creating subsidiary content;
In the approval processing device, based on whether or not the usage result of the primary content recognized based on the metadata acquired by the metadata acquisition procedure satisfies the condition for secondary usage indicated by the corresponding condition information. An approval result output procedure for obtaining an approval result on whether or not to release the target subsidiary content,
In the approval processing device, an approval result transmission procedure for transmitting the approval result information obtained by the approval result output procedure to the content publishing device via a communication network;
In the content publishing apparatus, based on the approval result information transmitted by the approval result transmission procedure, a content publishing related processing procedure for executing processing related to the disclosure of the target subsidiary content;
Information processing method to execute. Secondary content that is secondary content that is created by editing processing that secondary uses the primary content and that is associated with the target secondary content that should be determined whether or not it can be published on the network. A metadata acquisition procedure for acquiring metadata consisting of predetermined information items that can indicate the use result of
A condition information storage procedure for storing and managing condition information indicating information for each primary content and indicating conditions for secondary use in creating subsidiary content;
Based on whether the usage result of the primary content recognized based on the metadata acquired by the metadata acquisition procedure satisfies the condition for secondary usage indicated by the corresponding condition information, the target subsidiary An approval result output procedure for obtaining an approval result about whether or not content can be published,
Approval processing method to execute. Secondary content that is secondary content that is created by editing processing that secondary uses the primary content and that is associated with the target secondary content that should be determined whether or not it can be published on the network. A metadata acquisition procedure for acquiring metadata consisting of predetermined information items that can indicate the use result of
A condition information storage procedure for storing and managing condition information indicating information for each primary content and indicating conditions for secondary use in creating subsidiary content;
Based on whether the usage result of the primary content recognized based on the metadata acquired by the metadata acquisition procedure satisfies the condition for secondary usage indicated by the corresponding condition information, the target subsidiary An approval result output procedure for obtaining an approval result about whether or not content can be published,
That causes the approval processing device to execute

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