JP4943761B2 - Copyright management method and communication terminal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a copyright management method and a communication terminal device. More specifically, the present invention relates to the number of times of use of a content stored in the communication terminal device and limited in terms of the number of usable times by copyright. The present invention relates to a copyright management method managed by the number of times of either open or closed, and a communication terminal device using the copyright management method.

  Traditionally, the network society has been remarkably developed. In recent years, attention has been focused on copyright protection in the network society and copyright business, and technology for protecting copyright has also been applied to digital content flowing on the network. . One of them is digital copyright management (generally called “DRM (Digital Rights Management)”).

  As a technique for protecting the copyright by the DRM technology, there is a technique of permitting the use of the content within the range while limiting the number of times the content can be used. In such a technique, the number of times content is used is managed by either the number of times of opening and closing of a file containing the content (hereinafter also referred to as “content file”).

Specifically, when an instruction to open a content file is recognized, the file management system is activated, and thereafter, the number of times of use is reduced or an equivalent process is performed until the instruction to close is recognized. Then, when the number of usable times reaches zero, the file management system prohibits the opening of the content file. In this way, copyright protection and copyright business safety are achieved. For example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which a DRM function is implemented at the OS level.
JP-A-2005-346150

  In the conventional technology described above, the number of times content is used is counted based on the number of times the content file is opened or closed. For this reason, it can be said that this is an excellent technique from the viewpoint that the copyright of the content can be protected simply by specifying the number of times of use.

  By the way, in the file management in the communication terminal device, when an active application is opening a file, a pause event for the application such as a voice incoming call on a mobile phone or an application interruption command by the user himself / herself occurred. In such a case, it can be said that the process of closing the file is generally performed in the same manner as when a normal end event occurs. In such a communication terminal device, when a content playback application interruption event occurs when content is played back using the content playback application, and then a resume event occurs, the number of times the content can be used is reduced by “1”. It will be.

  However, the use before the pause and the use after the pause are a series of uses for the content reproduction application, and thus the user, and it is unreasonable to reduce the number of usable times due to the occurrence of the pause event. In particular, for mobile phone device users who are prioritized to perform voice call processing, voice reception occurs regardless of the user's intention. Decreasing the number of times content can be used has been unreasonable for users.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a copyright management method capable of rationally managing the number of times content can be used with a limited number of times of use in a communication terminal device. With the goal.

  It is another object of the present invention to provide a communication terminal device that can rationally manage the number of times content is used with a limited number of times of use.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a general-purpose application that uses content that has a limited number of times of use due to copyright; a basic processing unit that manages internal resources including copyright management; An execution environment unit that provides an execution environment, wherein the basic processing unit manages file access for the file containing the content; copyright management unit that manages the copyright of the file; A copyright management method for managing the number of times the content is used by either one of the opening and closing of the file, wherein the general-purpose application issues an open command for the file, An open command step for sending to the execution environment unit; and the execution environment unit receiving the open command An open request step for sending an open request for the file to the basic processing unit; the basic processing unit receiving the open request opens the file and opens the file to the general-purpose application via the execution environment unit. An open step for reporting that the basic processing unit that has detected the occurrence of the pause event when the pause event that causes the generic application to pause is generated, via the execution environment unit, A pause request step for sending a pause request to an application; and the general-purpose application that has received the pause request performs a pause process and completes the pause process without issuing a close command for the file. A first reporting step to report to the execution environment department; The execution environment unit that has received the request reports the completion of the suspension of the general-purpose application to the basic processing unit without requesting the basic processing unit to close the file even when the file is open. A file determination step of determining whether or not the number of times the content can be used is limited by the file management means confirming the content of the file; When the determination result in the file determination step is affirmative, the file management means inquires whether the file management means can open the file; and the copyright management means that has received the inquiry A file storing information associated with the file storing the content and management information of the number of times the content is used. A right file determination step for determining whether or not a right file that is a file exists in the storage means included in the communication terminal device; and when the result of the determination in the right file determination step is affirmative The copyright management means determines whether or not the content can be used; and the copyright management means notifies that the result of the determination in the rights determination process is affirmative In this case, the file management means includes an access permission step of opening the file and permitting the general-purpose application to access the file.

  Here, “general-purpose application” is used to mean a general-purpose application that can be operated as long as the execution environment is prepared regardless of the model, for example, a JAVA (registered trademark) application.

  This copyright management method uses a mechanism for managing the use of content that is stored in a communication terminal device and has a limited number of times of use depending on how many times a file containing the content is opened or closed. , Manage the copyright of the content. Further, the execution environment unit does not close the file unless an explicit close command is issued from the general-purpose application except when the general-purpose application using the content is terminated.

  That is, in this copyright management method, when starting to use content, in the open command process, the general-purpose application sends an open command for the file to the execution environment unit. In response to the open command, the execution environment unit sends an open request for the file to the basic processing unit in the open request process. In response to the open request, the basic processing unit opens the file in the open process, and reports that the file has been opened to the general-purpose application via the execution environment unit.

  In addition, when a pause event that should stop the generic application occurs during the execution of the generic application, the basic processing unit that detects the occurrence of the pause event in the pause request process passes through the execution environment unit. Send a pause request to the generic application. Here, the “pause event” includes incoming voice calls, selection of pause by the user based on the application function, and the like.

  In the first reporting step, the general-purpose application that has received the pause request performs a pause process for itself and reports the completion of the pause process to the execution environment unit. The execution environment unit that has received the report of the completion of the suspension process does not request the basic processing unit to close the file even if the file is open in the second reporting step, and suspends the general-purpose application. Report the completion to the basic processing department.

For this reason, according to the copyright management method of the present invention, even when a pause event related to a general-purpose application occurs, a basic request is made to close a file containing the content being used in the process associated with the pause event. It will not be sent to the department. Therefore, according to the copyright management method of the present invention, it is possible to rationally manage the number of times the content is used with a limited number of usable times in the communication terminal device.
In the copyright management method of the present invention, when executing the above-described opening process, first, in the file determination process, the file management means confirms the contents of the file requested to be opened, and the number of times the file can be used. Determine whether the file is restricted. If the result of this determination is affirmative, then in the inquiry process, the file management means inquires of the copyright management means whether or not the file requested to be opened can be opened. In response to this inquiry, in the rights file determination step, the copyright management means stores a rights file that is a file storing information relating to the file requested to be opened and management information on the number of times the content is used. It is determined whether it exists in the inside.
If the result of the determination in the right file determination step is affirmative, in the right determination step, the copyright management means determines whether or not the number of usable times registered in the right file remains. If the copyright management means notifies that the result of this determination is affirmative, it means that the content can be used. Therefore, in the access permission process, the file management means opens the file. And allow access to files by general-purpose applications.
Therefore, according to the copyright management method of the present invention, with respect to a file requested to be opened by the basic processing unit via the execution environment unit from the general-purpose application, the copyright management unit is based on the content of the right of the file. In response to the open request from the file management means, permission is notified appropriately. Therefore, when the file is opened from the general-purpose application, the copyright of the content can be protected.

In the copyright management method of the present invention, the open request step includes an authority determination step in which the execution environment unit determines whether the general-purpose application has an authority to access the file; specifically in the case were, the execution environment section the open request and open request transmitting step sends to said basic processing unit; can be made to comprise a.

  In this case, in the authority determination step, the execution environment unit that has received an instruction to open a file containing content from the general-purpose application determines whether the general-purpose application has the authority to access the file. Only when the result of the determination is affirmative, the execution environment unit sends an open request for the file to the basic processing unit in the open request transmission step.

  For this reason, the file is prevented from being opened by an instruction from an application that does not have access authority to the file containing the content because the user has no authority to use the content. As a result, the copyright management of the file can be strengthened.

From a second viewpoint, the present invention executes a general-purpose application that uses content that has a limited number of times of use due to copyright, a basic processing unit that manages internal resources including copyright management, and the general-purpose application. A communication terminal device comprising an execution environment unit for providing an environment and a storage means for storing an information file, wherein the general-purpose application issues an open command for a file containing the content when starting to use the content. Pause when receiving a pause request sent via the execution environment unit from the basic processing unit that has detected the occurrence of a pause event to be sent to the execution environment unit and to pause the general-purpose application Execute the process and execute the completion of the pause process without issuing a close command for the file. The execution environment unit requests the basic processing unit to close the file even when the file is open when the execution environment unit receives the completion report of the suspension process. And a suspension control means for reporting completion of suspension of the general-purpose application to the basic processing section, wherein the basic processing section includes file management means for managing access to the file; and copyright management of the file Copyright management means for performing the above-mentioned, wherein the file management means limits the number of times the content can be used when receiving an open request for the file sent from the execution environment unit that has received the open command. Whether or not the copyright management means is allowed to open the file if the result of the determination is affirmative When the inquiry is received and a report that the file can be opened is received from the copyright management means, the file management means opens the file, and the copyright management means opens the file from the file management means. In the storage means of the right file which is a file storing information relating to the file storing the content and management information on the number of times the content is used. The presence / absence of the file is determined. If the rights file exists, it is determined whether or not the file can be opened by determining whether or not the number of usable times remains. A communication terminal apparatus that notifies the file management means of a result.

  In this communication terminal device, when a general-purpose application is about to start using content, the general-purpose application sends an open command for a file containing the content to the execution environment unit. The execution environment unit that has received this open command sends a request to open the file to the basic processing unit. Upon receiving the open request, the basic processing unit opens the file, and reports that the file has been opened to the general-purpose application via the execution environment unit.

  In addition, if a pause event that should stop the generic application occurs during execution of the generic application, the basic processing unit that detects the occurrence of the pause event requests the generic application to pause via the execution environment unit. Send. Here, the “pause event” includes incoming voice calls, selection of pause by the user based on the application function, and the like.

  The general-purpose application that has received the pause request performs a pause process for itself, and reports the completion of the pause process to the execution environment unit without issuing a close of the file. The execution environment department that has received the report of completion of the suspension processing does not request the basic processing section to close the file, even if the file is open, Report.

When the file is opened, the file management means determines whether or not the number of times the content can be used is limited when a file open request is received from the general-purpose application via the execution environment unit. If the result of the determination is affirmative, it means that the file is copyright-managed, and an inquiry is made to the copyright management means as to whether or not the file is permitted to be opened. When a report indicating that the file can be opened is received from the copyright management means, the file is opened.
Here, when the copyright management means receives an inquiry from the file management means as to whether or not file opening is permitted, the copyright management means associates information with the file containing the content and the number of times the content is used. It is determined whether a rights file, which is a file storing the management information, exists in the storage means of the communication terminal device. As a result of the determination, if a rights file exists, the contents of the rights file are further verified to determine whether or not the number of times the file can be used remains. Subsequently, based on the determination, the file management unit is notified of a response as to whether the opening of the file is permitted.
That is, the communication terminal apparatus of the present invention can perform copyright management of content using the above-described copyright management method of the present invention. Therefore, it is possible to perform rational management of the number of times the content is used with a limited number of times of use.
Here, for the file requested to be opened by the basic processing unit via the execution environment unit from the general-purpose application, the copyright management unit verifies the right content of the file, and in response to the open request from the file management unit, Notify permission or disapproval. Therefore, when the file is opened from the general-purpose application, the copyright of the content can be protected.

In the present invention, the execution environment unit determines whether or not the general-purpose application that has issued the open command has authority to use the content, and when the result of the determination is affirmative , Further comprising an authority determining means for sending the open request to the basic processing unit.

  In this case, in the authority determination unit, when receiving an open command from the general-purpose application, the execution environment unit determines whether the general-purpose application has authority to use the content based on the general-purpose application. If the determination result is affirmative, a file open request is sent to the basic processing unit.

  Therefore, in this case, the copyright management of the file can be strengthened by preventing the general-purpose application without the file open authority from accessing the file.

  In addition, the communication terminal apparatus of the present invention can further include wireless communication means for performing wireless communication with a base station of a mobile communication network.

  Therefore, according to the copyright management method of the present invention, resumption can be performed without reducing the number of times of use depending on a pause event that occurs during the use of content that is limited in the number of times of use.

Further, according to the communication terminal device of the present invention, it is possible to resume without reducing the usable number of times depending on a pause event that occurs during the use of the content with the limited number of usable times.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

[Constitution]
FIG. 1 schematically shows an external configuration of a mobile phone device 10 which is a mobile communication terminal device. Here, FIG. 1A shows a front view of the appearance of the mobile phone device 10, and FIG. 1B shows a rear view of the appearance of the mobile phone device 10.

  As comprehensively shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the mobile phone device 10 includes: (a) a mobile phone main body 11; (b) a numeric keypad for inputting a telephone number; An operation unit 12 having function keys for inputting various commands such as mode switching to a control unit 21 (see FIG. 2) described later, and (c) a liquid crystal display for displaying operation guidance, operation status, received message, and the like. And a display unit 13 as display means having the device. In addition, the cellular phone device 10 includes (d) a call speaker 14 that reproduces an audio signal transmitted from a communication partner during a call, and (e) a sound input during sound collection or a sound input during a call. And (f) a guidance speaker 16 for generating ringtones and guidance sounds, and (g) an antenna 17 for transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from the base station.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone body 11 includes (i) a control unit 21 that controls the overall operation of the mobile phone device 10, and (ii) a base station via an antenna 17. And (iii) a storage unit having a read only memory (ROM) element and a random access memory (RAM) element for storing programs executed by the control unit 21 and various data. 23. In the storage unit 23, there are a work area 24 and a content storage area 25, which are writable and readable areas.

  The control unit 21 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processing unit (DSP), and the like, performs various data processing to realize a general mobile phone function, and other configurations described above. It is designed to control the operation of elements.

As shown in FIG. 3, the content storage area 25 stores a key file 25K _i (i = 1, 2,...) And a content file 25M _i (i = 1, 2,...). Here, the content file 25M _i is a file storing the content and the header. The key file 25K _i is a file for managing the copyright of the content file 25M _i .

More specifically, in this key file 25K _i , information such as 41 _i “linking information with content file” and 42 _i “usable number of times” is registered as shown in FIG.

Further, the content file 25M _i includes components such as a DRM header portion 26H _i (i = 1, 2,...) And a content portion 26C _i (i = 1, 2,...) As shown in FIG. I have. Inside the DRM header portion 26H _i, "corresponding information of the key file" 51 _i is registered. Said item, which corresponds to the "string with information of the content file" 41 _i in the key file 25K _i, drives out these items, correspondence between the key file and the content file is managed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 21 includes a processing control unit 37 and a general-purpose application (hereinafter also referred to as “general-purpose application”) 38. Further, the processing control unit 37 includes a basic processing unit 33 and an execution environment unit 34. Here, the basic processing unit 33 includes a file management unit 31 that is a file management unit, and a copyright management unit 32 that is a copyright management unit, and the execution environment unit 34 and the authorization determination unit 35 An authority determining unit 36 as means. In the general-purpose application 38, signature data 39 is embedded.

Further, in the content storage area 25 shown in FIG. 6, 25K ₁ is shown as the key file and 25M ₁ is shown as the content file. Therefore, the DRM header 26H ₁ and the content 26C ₁ are shown in the content file 25M ₁ .

  Here, the execution environment unit 34 provides software resources for command conversion between the general-purpose application 38 described in, for example, JAVA (registered trademark) and the basic processing unit 33, and execution of the general-purpose application 38. A set of programs.

  The basic processing unit 33 and the execution environment unit 34 are installed in the mobile phone device 10 from the time of shipment of the mobile phone device 10 from the factory. On the other hand, the general-purpose application 38 may be preinstalled, but in many cases, the general-purpose application 38 is installed after being downloaded from the transmission / reception unit 22 or the like by the operation of the operation unit 12 by the user.

[Operation]
Next, a copyright management method in the cellular phone device 10 configured as described above will be described.

<General application startup and file open operations>
The general-purpose application 38 is activated when an activation command is explicitly issued by the user, or when an arbitrary content file is selected and an expansion command is issued by the user's input operation. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, first, the basic processing unit 33 requests the execution environment unit 34 for the memory used by the general purpose application 38, and the execution environment unit 34 uses the work area 24 for the general purpose application 38. Allocate memory area. Subsequently, in parallel with the execution environment unit 34 reporting the fact to the basic processing unit 33, a start command is issued to the general-purpose application 38. This completes the activation of the general purpose application 38.

The activated general-purpose application 38 issues to the execution environment unit 34 an open command for the content file 25M ₁ shown in FIG. 6 selected by the user through the input operation. Then, the authority determining unit 36 in the execution environment unit 34 verifies the signature data 39 embedded in the general-purpose application 38 and determines whether or not the application 38 has the authority to use the content file 25M ₁ . If the result of the judgment is intended negative, the execution environment section 34 conveys an open rejection of the content file 25M ₁ to generic application 38, generic application 38, the file on the display unit 13 of the cellular phone 10 Is notified to the user, such as by displaying that it cannot be opened, and the process ends.

If the result of the determination is affirmative, the execution environment unit 34 requests the basic processing unit 33 to open the content file 25M ₁ . In response to the request, the basic processing unit 33 performs a file open process S10.

  In the file open process S10, as shown in FIG. 8, in step S11, the file management unit 31 detects an open command. Then, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, the file management unit 31 in the basic processing unit 33 determines whether or not the designated content file 25M ₁ is a DRM file. Specifically, whether or not the extension of the content file 25M ₁ indicates that the file is copyright-managed, or that the content file 25M ₁ has copyright management information. This is performed by verifying whether or not the DRM header 26H ₁ indicated exists. If the result of the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S16 without performing a process for protecting the copyright.

  If the result of determination in step S12 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the file management unit 31 inquires of the copyright management unit 32 whether or not the opening of the DRM file is permitted. Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S <b> 14, the copyright management unit 32 determines whether or not the key file 25 </ b> K ₁ that is a file for managing the number of uses corresponding to the content file 25 </ b> M ₁ exists in the content storage area 25. First, with reference to the DRM header portion 26H ₁ content file 25M _1, "corresponding information of the key file" 51 ₁ reads (see FIG. 5), the corresponding values indicating that corresponding to the key file "content The key file 25K ₁ (see FIG. 4) held as the “link information with file” 41 ₁ is searched for in the content storage area 25.

  In this process, even if the configuration of this embodiment has the content file in the storage unit 23 of the mobile phone device, the content file cannot be opened unless the corresponding key file is owned. Because it is, it is necessary. This prevents copyright infringement by users without proper title.

As a result of the search, it is determined whether or not the key file 25K ₁ exists. If the result of the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S17.

If the result of the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S15. In this case, (see FIG. 4) "use count" 42 ₁ watches an item in the key file and determines whether the use count remains. If the result of the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S17.

In step S <b> 17, the copyright management unit 32 notifies the file management unit 31 of a response that the file opening is not permitted. In this case, the file management unit 31 does not open the content file 25M ₁ and notifies the user by displaying on the display unit 13 of the mobile phone device 10 that the file cannot be opened. Ends.

If the result of determination in step S15 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S16. In step S <b> 16, the copyright management unit 32 notifies the file management unit 31 of a response that permits the opening of the file. In response to this, the file management means 31 opens the content file 25M ₁ . Thus, the file open process is completed. Thereafter, the basic processing unit 33 can use the content file according to a request from the general-purpose application 38.

  Thus, after the content file is opened, the opened state continues unless the general-purpose application 38 explicitly issues a close request. When the file is opened, the file management unit 31 is locked, and the file management unit 31 rejects a request to open the file or a data acquisition request for the file by another application.

  When the file open process is terminated by opening the file, the process returns to FIG. Thereafter, the general-purpose application 38 is appropriately executed.

<Operation when general-purpose application is paused to resumed>
Next, an operation when the general-purpose application 38 is resumed from a temporary stop will be described. The operation here is performed after the general-purpose application 38 has been started and the file open process S10 is completed.

  When a pause event such as an interruption operation on the general-purpose application 38 or an incoming voice call to the mobile phone device 10 occurs during the execution of the general-purpose application 38, as shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. A temporary stop request is made to the general-purpose application 38 from the basic processing unit 33 via the execution environment unit 34.

The general-purpose application 38 that has received the pause request performs a pause process for the general-purpose application 38 itself, and reports a pause to the execution environment unit 34. Upon receiving this report, the suspension control unit 35 in the execution environment unit 34 reports the suspension to the basic processing unit 33. At this time, the file close command is not performed. As a result, the content file continues to be opened. Therefore, even when the content file 25M ₁ is a DRM file, the available number of times is not subtracted depending on the occurrence of the pause event itself.

  Thereafter, a resume event occurs due to an explicit resume command by the user or the termination of an incoming voice call that has caused a pause event. In this case, as shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 9, a restart request is made to the general-purpose application 38 from the basic processing unit 33 via the execution environment unit 34.

The general-purpose application 38 that has received the resumption request performs resumption processing of the general-purpose application 38 itself, and reports resumption to the temporary suspension control unit 35 in the execution environment unit 34. In response to this report, the execution environment unit 34 reports the restart to the basic processing unit 33. At this time, since the content file is kept open, a file open command is not necessary. Therefore, even when the content file 25M ₁ is a DRM file, the usable count is not updated depending on the occurrence of the resume event.

<Operation when general-purpose application ends>
Next, the operation at the normal end of the general-purpose application will be described. The operation here is based on the assumption that the general-purpose application 38 is being executed and the content file is opened.

  When an end event occurs due to a user operation on the general-purpose application 38 during execution of the general-purpose application 38, the general-purpose application 38 terminates the execution environment unit 34 as shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. When a request is made, the general purpose application 38 performs its own termination processing.

  The execution environment unit 34 that has received the termination request issues a file close command to the basic processing unit 31. Subsequently, the basic processing unit 31 performs a file close process S20.

  The file closing process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S21, when the basic processing unit 33 receives a close command, the file management unit 31 detects the command. Then, the process proceeds to step S22.

In step S22, the file management unit 31 in the basic processing section 33, whether the specified content file 25M ₁ is either a DRM file, similarly to the case of the file open process determines. If the result of the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S24 because the process for protecting the copyright is unnecessary.

If the result of the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S23. In step S23, the file management unit 31 reports to the copyright management unit 32 that the file is to be closed. Then, the copyright management unit 32 reads the value of “usable number” 42 ₁ , which is an item of the key file 25K ₁ that is a file for managing the usable number of times corresponding to the content file 25M ₁ , and reads it as “1”. The item is updated with a value decremented by "." Thus, the number of available by use of the content has been consumed one time is, will have been reflected in the key file 25K _1.

In step S24, the file management unit 31 performs a process of closing the content file 25M _1. As a result, the file closing process is completed, the file is unlocked, and it returns to a state where it can accept an open request from another application or the like.

  Then, the basic processing unit 33 reports the file close completion to the execution environment unit 34, as shown in FIG. Then, the execution environment unit 34 releases a memory area dedicated to the general-purpose application 38 and requests the basic processing unit 33 to end the execution environment unit 34. In response to this, when the basic processing unit 33 requests the execution environment unit 34 to terminate the execution environment unit 34, the execution environment unit 34 terminates itself. Thereby, the normal termination of the general-purpose application 38 is completed.

  Further, there is an end operation other than that shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. For example, this is a case where the execution environment unit 34 detects an abnormality in the general-purpose application 38 or the basic processing unit 33. In this case, the execution environment unit 34 issues a file close command to the basic processing unit 33 as shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 10, and the basic processing unit 33 executes the file closing processing S20 of FIG. Since the same processing is performed, the number of times the file can be used is similarly reduced by “1”. When it is reported that the file has been closed, the execution environment unit 34 issues a termination command to the general-purpose application 38 and terminates itself after receiving the termination completion report. Therefore, the number of times the file can be used is reduced as usual even at the end of such a process.

  As described above, in the communication terminal device of the present invention, the general-purpose application 38 sends an open command to the execution environment unit 34 when starting to use the content file. Further, when a pause event occurs and the general-purpose application 38 receives a pause request, it performs its own pause process and reports the completion of the pause process to the execution environment unit 34. When the suspension control unit 35 of the execution environment unit 34 receives a report on the completion of the general application suspension process, the basic processing unit 33 is not requested to close the content file, and the suspension of the general application is basically completed. Report to the processing unit 33.

  Therefore, according to the communication terminal device of the present invention, a content file that is opened by the basic processing unit 33 from the general-purpose application through the execution environment unit 34 has a limited number of usable times, even when a pause event occurs, Not closed Therefore, the number of times the content file can be used is not reduced between the pause event and the subsequent resume event. Therefore, the user can enjoy the reproduction of the content file without any inconvenience even when the reproduction of the content is interrupted due to the occurrence of the pause event.

  In this embodiment, when the execution environment unit 34 receives a content file open command from the general-purpose application 38, the authority determination unit 36 has the authority to use the file by the general-purpose application 38. Is determined by the signature data 39 embedded in the general-purpose application 38. If the result of the determination is affirmative, a file open request is sent to the basic processing unit 33.

  Therefore, the copyright management of the file can be strengthened by preventing the general-purpose application without the authority to open the content file from accessing the content file.

  In the present embodiment, the basic processing unit 33 controls the file management unit 31 that manages the file in the storage unit 23 of the communication terminal device 10 and whether or not the file can be accessed to protect the copyright of the file. The copyright management unit 32 is provided. The file management unit 31 confirms the contents of the file and inquires of the copyright management unit 32 whether or not the opening of the file is permitted. When a report indicating that the file can be opened is received from the copyright management unit 32, processing for opening the file is performed.

  The copyright management unit 32 determines whether or not a key file corresponding to the file exists in the storage unit 23 of the communication terminal device. If the key file exists, the contents are verified, and it is determined whether or not the number of times that the content file can be used remains. Subsequently, based on the determination, the file management unit 31 is notified of a response as to whether or not the opening of the file is permitted.

  Therefore, in this case, for the content file requested to be opened by the basic processing unit 33 from the general-purpose application 38 via the execution environment unit 34, the copyright management means manages and determines the content of the right of the file, Appropriate permission is notified to the open request from the file management unit 31. Therefore, when the content file is opened by the general-purpose application 38, the copyright of the file is protected.

[Modification of Embodiment]
In the above embodiment, “usable number” 42 ₁ is set as an item of the key file 25K ₁ that is a file for managing the number of times of use corresponding to the content file 25M ₁ , and any one from file open to close is selected. At the time of, the available number of times is decremented by “1”. On the other hand, the management method used here can be replaced with an equivalent method. For example, the number of times of use is incremented by “1”, and when the predetermined number of times is reached, the file is prohibited from being expanded. Etc.

  In addition, although not limited in the above-described embodiment, the content is not particularly limited, and may be a still image, music, a combination thereof, a moving image, or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a mobile phone device. However, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to communication terminal devices other than the mobile phone device.

  As described above, the copyright management method of the present invention can be applied to the handling of content files protected by the technology for managing the use frequency limit by the general-purpose application in the communication terminal device. Further, the communication terminal device of the present invention can be applied to a communication terminal device including a general-purpose application and a file storing content used by the general-purpose application, which is protected by a technique for managing the use frequency limit.

It is a figure which shows roughly the external appearance structure of the mobile communication terminal device of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the internal structure of the apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the file structure in the storage area inside the apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the key file which exists in the storage area inside the apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the content file which exists in the storage area inside the apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the function of the application in the control part of FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation | movement at the time of the general purpose application start in the apparatus of FIG. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the file open process in FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation | movement from the suspension of the general purpose application in the apparatus of FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the completion | finish operation | movement of the general purpose application in the apparatus of FIG. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the file close process in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Mobile phone apparatus (communication terminal device) 11 ... Mobile phone main body, 12 ... Operation part, 13 ... Display part, 14 ... Speaker for call, 15 ... Microphone, 16 ... Speaker for guidance, 17 ... Antenna, 21 ... Control , 22 ... transmission / reception part, 23 ... storage part, 24 ... work area, 25 ... content storage area, 31 ... file management part, 32 ... copyright management part, 33 ... basic processing part, 34 ... execution environment part, 35 ... Pause control unit 36... Authority determination unit 37. Process control unit 38. General purpose application 39.

Claims (5)

A general-purpose application that uses content that is restricted in the number of times it can be used due to copyright; a basic processing unit that manages internal resources including copyright management; and an execution environment unit that provides an execution environment for the general-purpose application; The basic processing unit is used in a communication terminal device comprising: file management means for managing access to a file containing the content; and copyright management means for managing copyright of the file; A copyright management method for managing the number of times of use of the file according to the number of times of either opening or closing of the file,
An open command process in which the general-purpose application sends an open command for the file to the execution environment unit;
An open request step in which the execution environment unit receiving the open command sends an open request for the file to the basic processing unit;
An open step of reporting that the basic processing unit that has received the open request has opened the file and has opened the file to the general-purpose application via the execution environment unit;
When a pause event that causes the generic application to pause is generated, the basic processing unit that has detected the occurrence of the pause event sends a pause request to the generic application via the execution environment unit. Required process;
A first reporting step in which the general-purpose application that has received the suspension request performs a suspension process and reports the completion of the suspension process to the execution environment unit without issuing a close command for the file;
The execution environment unit that has received the completion notification of the suspension process completes the suspension of the general-purpose application without requesting the basic processing unit to close the file even when the file is open. A second reporting step of reporting to the basic processing unit,
The opening process includes
A file determination step in which the file management means confirms the contents of the file and determines whether or not the number of times the content can be used is limited;
An inquiry step in which the file management means inquires of the copyright management means whether the file can be opened or not when the result of the determination in the file determination step is affirmative;
The copyright management means that has received the inquiry has a right file that is a file containing information relating to the file containing the content and management information of the number of times the content is used, provided in the communication terminal device. A rights file determination step for determining whether or not the file exists in the file;
A right determination step in which the copyright management means determines whether or not the content can be used when a result of the determination in the right file determination step is affirmative;
When the copyright management means notifies that the result of the determination in the right determination step is affirmative, the file management means opens the file and allows the general-purpose application to access the file. An access permission step to permit; and
A copyright management method characterized by the above. The open request process includes:
An authority determining step in which the execution environment unit determines whether the general-purpose application has an authority to access the file;
The copyright management according to claim 1, further comprising: an open request transmission step in which the execution environment unit sends the open request to the basic processing unit when the result of the determination is affirmative. Method. General-purpose application that uses content with a limited number of times of use due to copyright, a basic processing unit that manages internal resources including copyright management, an execution environment unit that provides an execution environment for the general-purpose application, and an information file A communication terminal device comprising storage means for storing
The general purpose application is:
When starting to use the content, send an open command of the file containing the content to the execution environment unit,
When a pause request sent via the execution environment unit is received from the basic processing unit that has detected the occurrence of a pause event that should cause the general-purpose application to be paused, a pause process is performed, and the file Report the completion of the suspension process to the execution environment unit without issuing a close command,
The execution environment unit includes:
Even when the file is opened when receiving the completion report of the suspension process, the completion of the suspension of the general-purpose application is requested without requesting the basic processing unit to close the file. Equipped with a temporary stop control means to report to the basic processing section,
The basic processing unit includes:
File management means for managing access to the file;
Copyright management means for performing copyright management of the file;
The file management means includes
When receiving an open request for the file sent from the execution environment unit that has received the open command, it is determined whether there is a limit on the number of times the content can be used,
If the result of the determination is affirmative, an inquiry is made as to whether or not the copyright management means is allowed to open the file,
When the copyright management means receives a report that the file can be opened, the file is opened,
The copyright management means includes:
When receiving an inquiry from the file management means as to whether or not the opening of the file is permitted, a file storing information relating to the file storing the content and management information on the number of times the content is used Whether or not the right file is present in the storage means,
If the right file exists, it is determined whether or not the file can be opened by determining whether or not the number of usable times remains, and the determination result is sent to the file management unit. Notice,
A communication terminal device. The execution environment unit, when the general-purpose application that issued the open command, it is determined whether or not authorized to use the content, the determination result is affirmative, the base the open request The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising authority determining means for sending to the processing unit.   The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with a base station of a mobile communication network.

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