MXPA00008404A - Data copying system and method, data reading apparatus, data writing apparatus and data recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a copying system for copying information recorded on a first recording medium onto a second recording medium. The first recording medium is recorded with copying control information for representing conditions for permitting copying of the information recorded on the first recording medium, the copying control information being multiplexed within the information recorded on the first recording medium. Copying control information appears as a combination of two watermarks, WM1 and WM2, embedded as sequence of"0"or"1"at frequency f1(resp. f2) with corresponding level treshold TH1(resp. TH2). A modification section modifies copying control information when copying a disc.

Description

SYSTEM. AND METHOD TO COPY DATA, APPARATUS FOR. READ DATA, APPARATUS FOR WRITING DATA AND MEANS TO REGISTER DATA TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a system for copying data and a method for copying data to provide an author protection function, as well as a reading apparatus, a writing apparatus, and a recording medium for use in such a system. to copy data.

BACKGROUND TECHNIQUE Methods for encrypting recorded information on a recording medium to provide a copyright protection function are known in the art. For example, the unauthorized description of encrypted information can be made substantially difficult by adopting a hierarchical structure for encryption keys that are used for the encryption of information. It is intended that such techniques prevent the unauthorized copying of information that is recorded in the recording medium. The proposed standards for DVD-Audio, an eventual audio medium of the next generation, requires that a better copyright protection function be provided. The requirement includes the prohibition of a "digital copy by a third generation" of a ROM disk (read-only memory). As Agui is used, the prohibition of a "digital copy by a third generation" means that, although a ROM disk (ie a "copy of a first generation") can be allowed to be duplicated or copied once on a disk of RAM (random access memory disk) (that is, "a copy of a second generation"), any additional copy of the RAM disk to another RAM disk (which would result in "a copy of a third generation") is forbidden DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a copying system for copying registered information on a first registration means on a second registration means, wherein the first registration means is registered with copying control information to represent conditions for allowing copying of registered information on the first recording medium, the copying control information being multiplexed within recorded information on the first recording medium, where the copying system includes: a reading section for reading the information of the first medium register; a detection section for detecting the copy control information within the read information of the first record means; a modification section for, if the copy control information represents a condition in which "only a copy of the second generation" is allowed to be copied, modify the copy control information so as to prohibit any additional copy; and a writing section for writing information, including modified copy control information, on the second recording medium. In one embodiment of the invention, the copy control information is represented by a combination of two types of watermarks. In another embodiment of the invention, the information recorded on the first registration means includes a plurality of frames, the copy control information is multiplexed within a predetermined number of frames among the plurality of frames. In another aspect of the invention, a copying method for copying recorded information on a first registration means on a second registration means is provided, wherein the first registration means is registered with the copy control information to represent conditions for enabling copying the recorded information on the first recording medium, the copying control information is multiplexed within the registered information on the first recording medium, where the copying method includes the steps of: reading the information of the first recording medium; detect the copy control information within the information read from the first recording medium; if the copy control information represents a condition in which "only a copy of the second generation" is allowed to be copied, modify the copy control information so as to prohibit any additional copy; and writing information, including modified copy control information, on the second recording medium. In another aspect of the invention, a reading apparatus is provided for reading recorded information about a first registration means, wherein the first registration means is registered with copying control information that represents conditions for allowing copying of the information recorded on the first copy. registration means, the copy control information is multiplexed within the recorded information about the first recording medium, and where the reading device is connected to a collective conductor to a writing device for writing information about the second recording medium. registration, the reading apparatus includes: a reading section for reading the information of the first recording medium; a detection section for detecting the copy control information within the read information of the first record means; and a control section for, if the copying control information represents a condition in which "copying is totally prohibited," prohibiting the information from being sent to the collective driver. In another aspect of the invention, a writing apparatus is provided, connected via a collective conductor to a reading device for reading registered information on a first recording medium, the writing apparatus includes: a detection section for receiving the information sent from the reading apparatus via the collective conductor and detecting the copying control information within the received received information; a modification section for, if the detected copy control information represents a condition in which "only a copy of a second generation is allowed to be copied", modify the copy control information so as to prohibit any additional copy; and a writing section for writing information that includes the modified copy control information, on a second recording medium. In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a registration means registered with the information representing a content to be registered, and copying control information that represents a condition to allow copying the registered information about the registration medium, where the information The copy control is multiplexed within the registered information about the recording medium. In one embodiment of the invention, the copy control information is represented by a combination of two types of watermarks. In another embodiment of the invention, the information recorded on the first registration means includes a plurality of frames, the copy control information is multiplexed within a predetermined number of frames among the plurality of frames.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the copy control information selectively represents one of at least three conditions "copying over an unlimited number of generations is allowed"; "Only one copy of the second generation is allowed to be copied"; or "copying is totally forbidden". In this way, the invention described here makes possible the advantages of (1) providing a data copying system and a data copying method which allows copying from a copy of the first generation (eg, a ROM disk) to a copy of a second generation (for example, a RAM disk) in compliance with DVD-Audio standards; and (2) providing a reading apparatus, a writing apparatus, and a recording medium for use in such a system for copying data. Those and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The Figure is a diagram showing a data structure which can be registered on a ROM disk 102 used in a copying system 1 according to the present invention. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the music data data structure of 16b. Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the exemplary audio frame data frequency components 24c. Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a copying system 1 according to an example of the present invention. Figure 5 is a flow chart showing the flow of processes for detecting the presence / absence of a first watermark. Figure 6 is a flow chart showing a flow of the processes for modifying the copy control information.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described by way of examples, with reference to the accompanying figures. Figure 1 shows a data structure registered on a ROM disk 102 for use in a copying system 1 according to the present invention.

The copying system 1 will be described later with reference to Figure 4. As shown in Figure 1, the ROM disk 102 includes an input area 10a, a volume area 10b, and an output area 10c. For example, the entrance area 10a may be arranged so as to be adjacent to the volume area 10b on an internal peripheral side, and the area 10c may be arranged so that it is close to the volume area 10b on a peripheral side. external, with the volume area 10b being disposed between the entrance area 10a and the exit area 10c. The volume area 10b is further divided into a volume management area 12a and a file area 12b. In the file area 12b, specific information of disk 14a, and N group information units 14b (shown as group # 1 to group #N in Figure 1), where N can be a whole number which is the same is recorded ao less than 9, for example. Each of the N group information units 14b includes group management information 16a and M music data units 16b (shown as music data # 1 to music data #M in Figure 1), where M can be an integer which is equal to or less than 99, for example. Figure 2 shows the data structure of each music data unit 16b. The music data 16b includes a plurality of audio packets (audio packets 20) shown as A_PCK in Figure 2). Each audio package 2 includes a packet header 22a, audio attributes 22b and audio data 22c. The packet header 22a includes information indicating the time lapse from the start of the music to that particular audio pack 20, address information for audio frame (described below) and the like. The audio attributes 22b include the attributes of the audio data 22c, (e.g., the compression format, the sampling frequency and the sampling bit rate). For example, the compression format can be uncompressed (linear PCM); the sampling frequency can be 44.1 kHz; and the sampling bit rate may be 16. The audio data 22c is divided into a plurality of audio frames which contain data from the audio frame 24c. In this way, the audio data 22c includes a plurality of audio frame data units 24c. each data unit of the audio frame 22c (which defines the minimum unit of the audio data to be processed as data), includes a plurality of sampled data. The copy control information 30 is previously recorded on the ROM disk 102. The copy control information 30 is multiplexed into the information that is recorded on the ROM disk 102 (eg, the audio data 22c). The copy control information 30 is the information representing the conditions for allowing or not allowing to copy the recorded information on the ROM disk 102 (eg, audio data 22c), as described in detail below. The copy control information 30 is formed in such a way as to selectively indicate one of at least three conditions: "copying is allowed for an unlimited number of generations"; "only one copy of a second generation is allowed to copy"; or "copying is totally forbidden". The copy control information 30 can be represented on the basis of a combination of two types of watermarks. The two types of watermarks can belong to two different watermark formats, or belong to the same watermark format, but have two different parameters within the limits of that format. The watermarks can be multiplexed to the audio data 22c without substantially influencing the audio data 22c. Table 1 shows an example of the copy control information 30 which is represented based on a combination of a first watermark (hereinafter "first MA") and a second mark (hereinafter "second MA").

Table 1 As shown in Table 1, the copy control information 30 represented by the absence of both the first MA and the second MA indicate the condition in which "copying is allowed for an unlimited number of generations". The copy control information 30 represented by the first MA and the absence of the second MA together indicate the condition that "only one copy of a second generation is allowed to be copied". The copy control information 30 represented by the presence of both of the first MA and the second MA indicates the condition that "copiaa" is totally prohibited and is represented by the copy control information 30. It is assumed that the absence of the first MA and the presence of the second MA can not occur concurrently (ie, the second MA is included only if the first MA is present.) The first MA can be formed by including information representing a predetermined sequence of "0" and / or "1" (for example, an alternating sequence of "0" and "1") in the respective units of the audio frame data 24c contained in the music data 16b, using the conditions: frequency = fi and threshold = TH ?. For example, the information representing "0" can be expressed as an amplitude value of the audio frame data 24c that does not exceed the threshold TH? at the frequency fi On the other hand, for example, the information representing "1" can be expressed as an amplitude value of the data of the audio frame 24c that exceed the threshold TH? at the frequency fi The inclusion of the information representing "0" or "1" associated with the first MA can be done using a special apparatus at the time of manufacture of the ROM disk 102. The second MA can be formed by including information representing a predetermined sequence of "0". "and / or" 1"(for example, an alternating sequence of" 0"and" 1") in each of the units of the audio frame data 24c contained in the music data 16b, using the conditions: frequency = f2 and threshold = TH2. The information which represents "0" or "1" in a given data unit of the audio frame 24c can be expressed in the same manner as described for the first MA. The inclusion of the information representing "0" or "1" associated with the second MA is effected by means of a modification section of the copy control information 208 (described below with reference to Figure 4) at the time of the information on the ROM disc 102 is copied. The reason for using the first and second MA to represent the copy control information 30 is to facilitate the modification of the condition "only a copy of a second generation is allowed to be copied" in the condition of "copying is totally forbidden". Especially, where it is detected that the first MA is already present, the copy control information 30 is modified by additionally registering the second MA. For comparison, if the copy control information 30 could be expressed solely on the basis of the first MA, the content of the first MA itself would have to be rewritten; however, it would be extremely difficult to describe any information that has already been included as the first MA and the 24c audio frame data. Figure 3 illustrates the frequency components of the exemplary audio box data 24c. In the example shown in Figure 3, the information indicating "0" is included in respective points in the frequency spectrum in the data of the audio frame 24c corresponding to a frequency fx and a frequency f2. For example, the frequency f = approximately 100 Hz; the threshold TH? = about -20dB; the frequency f2 = approximately 200 Hz; and the threshold TH2 = of approximately -lOdB. Each of the frequencies fi and f2 are preferably within a frequency range which does not substantially affect the reproduction of the audio frame data 24c (eg, a frequency range that lies outside the frequency range audible by the human), preferably the frequencies fi and f2 are set distant from each other to avoid mis-detection. Threshold values TH? and TH2 can be the same.

The values of the frequencies fi and f2 are not described to the public to be extremely difficult for a third party to know and obtain the first MA and the second MA in an unauthorized manner. Since the first MA and the second MA are included in the waveform of the audio frame data 24c itself, the first MA and the second MA can not be removed by any type of process without greatly deteriorating the 24c audio frame data quality. The first MA and the second MA do not need to be fully formed from the data of the. 24c audio box included in the music data 16b. Rather, the first MA and the second MA need only be formed at a predetermined number of data units of the audio frame 24c included in the music data 16b. For example, the first MA and the second MA can be formed in the data of the audio frame 24c included in the first up to the 1000th? Or audio frames in the music data 16b. As a result, the processing load required to detect the first MA and the second MA and additionally record the second MA can be minimized, whereby the time required for such processing can be reduced. In addition, the aforementioned method for forming the first MA and the second MA is only illustrative and not restrictive of the scope of the invention. The present invention encompasses the use of copying control information that is represented by a combination of any two types of watermarks, regardless of the form in which it is formed. It was also contemplated that the copy control information may be represented by a combination of three or more types of watermarks. Although the above copy control information 30 was illustrated as being multiplexed to the audio data 22c, the copy control information 30 may alternatively be multiplexed to any type of data other than the audio data 22c. Figure 4 shows the structure of a copying system 1 according to an example of the present invention. The copying system 1 has the function of copying the recorded information on a ROM disk 102 onto a RAM disk 212. As used herein, a "ROM disk" is defined as a disk which only allows recording, whereas A "RAM disk" is defined as a disk that allows you to read and write. Although the following description will be directed to copying a ROM disk or a RAM disk, it will be appreciated that the principles of the present invention apply similarly to copying the RAM disk to a RAM disk. The copying system 1 includes a ROM reading apparatus 100 for reading the information that is recorded on the ROM disk 102, and a RAM writing apparatus 200 for writing information on the RAM disk 212. The reading apparatus of ROM 100 and the RAM writer 200 is interconnected via a collective conductor 400. A personal computer 300 is also connected to the collective conductor 400. A copy command to give the instruction to copy the information recorded on the ROM disk 102 to the RAM disk 212 is input via a keyboard 330 and / or a mouse 340 which are connected to the personal computer 300. The copy order that has been entered can be presented on the screen of a monitor 320. The monitor screen 320 it is connected to a collective conductor 310 via a video card 302. The internal elements ~ of the personal computer 300 are controlled by a section of the system control 304. The entered copy order is sent to the collective conductor 400 via an interface section (I / F) 306, an internal collective conductor 310, and a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) controller 308. Subsequently, the copy order is transferred to a system control section 112 of the ROM reader 100 via a SCSI controller 116 to the ROM reader 100, and also transferred to a system control section 204 of the RAM writer 200 via a SCSI controller 202 of the RAM writer 200.

Upon receiving the order to copy, the system control section 112 of the ROM reader 100 controls the respective items of the ROM reader 100 to read the information that is recorded on the ROM disk 102. The ROM disk 102, which contains recorded information about it, also contains the copy control information 30 to represent various conditions to allow or prohibit copying the recorded information on the ROM disk 102. The copy control information 30 is registered in a format multiplexed within the recorded information on the ROM disk 102. The method for recording the copy control information 30 has been described above with reference to Figures 1 to 3. A drive control section 108 of the ROM reader 100 controls the rotation of the ROM disk 102 using a motor 104. A read section 110 reads the information that is recorded. gives on the ROM disk 102 using a sensor 106. A copy control information detection section 114 of the ROM reader 100 detects the copy control information 30 within the information that has been read by the read 110. The copy control information detection section 114 produces signals to indicate the result of a detection (i.e., a signal which indicates the presence / absence of the first MA and a signal indicating the presence / absence of the second MA) to the control section of the system 112 of the ROM reading device 100. If the first MA is "absent" and the second MA is "absent", then the control section of the system 112 of the reading apparatus of ROM 100 determines that the condition that "copying is allowed for an unlimited number of generations" is being represented by copying control information 30. In this case, the control section of the system 112 sends the information that has been read by the reading section 110 to the collective conductor 400 via the SCSI controller 116. If the first MA is "present" and the second MA is "absent", the control section of the system 112 of the ROM reader 100 determines that the condition that "only a copy of a second generation is allowed to be copied" is being represented by the copy control information 30. In this case, the control section of the system 112 sends the information that has been read by the reading section 110 to the collective driver 400 via the SCSI controller 116. If the first MA is "present" and the second MA is "present", the control section the system 112 of the reading device of ROM 100 determines that the condition that "copying is totally forbidden" is being represented by the copy control information 30. In this case, the control section of the system 112 prohibits the information that has been recorded. read by the reading section 110 to be sent to the collective driver 400 via the SCSI controller 116. In this way, in the case where the copy of the ROM disk 102 is prohibited, the information that has been read from the ROM disk 102 it is never sent to the collective driver 400. As a result, the copyright on the information recorded on the ROM disk 102 can be effectively protected. The information that has been sent to the collective driver 400 from the ROM reading apparatus 100 is input to a copying control information detection section 206 of the RAM writer 200 via a SCSI controller 202 of the RAM writer 200. The copy control information detection section 206 of the RAM writer 200 detects the copy control information 30 within the information that has been received from the ROM reader 100 via the collective driver 400. The copying control information detection section 206 produces signals to indicate the result of a detection (i.e.QQ. , a signal which indicates the presence / absence of the first MA and a signal which indicates the presence / absence of the second MA) to the control section of the system 204 of the RAM writer 200. If the first MA is "absent" and the second MA is "absent", the control section of the system 204 of the RAM writer 200 determines that the condition that "it is allowed to copy for an unlimited number of generations" is being represented by the information of copy control 30. In this case, the system control section 204 supplies the information that has been received via the collective conductor 400 to a writing section 210 without modifying the copy control information 30. This can be achieved, for example , allowing the information that has been received via the collective conductor 400 to pass through the copying control information modification section 208 and enter the writing section 210. If the first MA is "present" and the second MA is "absent", the control section of the system 204 of the RAM writer 200 determines that the condition that "only a copy of a second generation is allowed to copy" is being represented by the copy control information 30. In this case, the system control section 204 sends an instruction to the copying control information modification section 208 to prohibit any additional copy. Accordingly, the copy control information modification section 208 modifies the copy control information 30 to prohibit further copying, and the information containing the modified copy control information 30 is supplied to the writing section 210. If the first MA is "present" and the second MA is "present", the control section of the system 204 of the RAM writer 200 determines that the condition that "copying is totally forbidden" is being represented by the control information of copying 30. In this case, the system control section 204 prohibits the information that has been received via the collective conductor 400 from being supplied to the writing section 210. Note that this state never occurs when the RAM writer 200 is used in conjunction with an authorized or intended ROM reading device, i.e., that the ROM 100 reading apparatus has the structure ura described above, because, as described above, when the first MA is "present" and the second MA is "present", the control section of the system 112 of the ROM reading apparatus 100 prohibits the information that is being sent to the collective driver 400. Therefore, if this state occurs, a predetermined error handling process or warning process may be executed that has been received information from an unauthorized source (i.e., a different device than the reading device). ROM 100). As described above, if it is determined that the copy control information 30 represents the condition that "only a copy of a second generation is allowed to be copied", the copy control information 30 is modified to prohibit further copying. Accordingly, it is allowed to copy from ROM disk 102 to RAM disk 212 only once, and it is forbidden to copy from RAM disk 212 to any other RAM disk. As a result, the content of the ROM disk 102 is prevented from being copied an unlimited number of times. The writing section 210 of the RAM writing apparatus 200 writes the information that has been supplied to it on the RAM disk 212 via a sensor 214. A drive control section 218 of the RAM writer 200 controls the rotation of the RAM disk 212 in conjunction with a motor 216. Figure 5 is a flow chart showing a flow of the processes for detecting the presence / absence of the first MA, which are performed by the copy control information detection section. In step S510, a unit of the audio frame data 24c included in the music data 16b is subjected to a digital-to-analog conversion (concentration D / A).

Step S520 is determined whether or not the analog signal obtained from the D / A conversion has a value that exceeds the threshold value TH_ of the frequency fi. A bandpass filter can be used to detect the amplitude value of an analog signal at a given frequency. Alternatively, a combination of a low-pass filter and a high-pass filter can be used to protect the amplitude value of an analog signal at a given frequency. If the result of the determination by step S520 is "Yes", it is verified that the information representing "1" has been detected. If the result of the determination by step S520 is "No", it means that the information representing "0" has been detected. In step S530, it is determined whether or not the detected "0" or "1" coincides with each of a series of values expected by the first MA. For example, the values expected for the first MA may be a sequence of "0" and "1" alternating for each of the data in the audio frame 24c. if the detected "0" or "1" coincides with each expected value, the process proceeds to step S540 for determining the conclusion of the process, and if the conclusion of the process is not determined, then the processes of steps S510 and S530 they are repeated until the last data of the 24c audio frame is reached. if the detected "0" or "1" does not coincide with an expected value, the process proceeds to step S560. In this way, if each "0" and "1" detected in the first to the last one of the audio frame data 24c of the music data 16b coincide with an expected value, then it is determined that MA1 = 1 (step S550) ); otherwise, it is determined that MA2 = (step S560). Note that a random sequence of "0" and "1" will be detected if the first MA is not included in the music data 16b and such a random sequence does not match the predetermined sequence of expected values (eg, an alternate sequence of " 0"and" 1"). In the case where the first MA was formed, if not all, in only the first 1000? Ma data units of the audio box 24c of the music data 16b, step S540 can make the determination "Is this the 1000? ? ma data unit of a 24c audio box? " instead of the determination of conclusion of the process. The process for detecting the presence / absence of the second MA may be the same as for the first MA except that it is determined whether or not the analog signal obtained from the D / A conversion has an amplitude value that exceeds the threshold value TH2 a the frequency f2 in step S520. The detection of the presence / absence of the second MA is also effected by the copy control information detection section 114. If each "0" and "1" detected from the first to the last of the audio frame 24c of the The music data 16b coincides with an expected value, then it is determined that MA2 = 1. Otherwise it is determined that MA2 = 0. The signal of MA1 is the signal indicating the presence / absence of the first MA. If MA1 = 1, the first MA is "present"; if MA1 = 0, the first MA is "absent". Similarly, signal MA2 is a signal which indicates the presence / absence of the second MA. If MA2 = 1, the first MA is "present"; if MA2 = 0, the follow MA is "absent". The signals MAl and MA2 are sent to the system control center 112 of the ROM apparatus 100. The copy control information detection section 206 also performs a process to detect the presence / absence of the first MA and the second MA . The resulting signals of MAl and MA2, which indicates the presence / absence of the first MA and the second MA, respectively, are sent to the system control section 204 of the RAM writing apparatus 200. Figure 6 is a flow chart showing the flow of the processes for modifying the copy control information 30, which are effected by the copying control information modification section 208.

In step S610, a data unit of the audio frame 24c included in the music data 16b is subjected to digital-to-analog conversion. In step S620, the synthesis of the waveform is performed, so that the information representing "0" or "1" is written at the frequency f2 of the analog signal obtained from the D / A conversion. For example, the values of the information obtained from the synthesis of the waveform may be a sequence of "0" and "1" alternated by each of the data in the audio frame 24c. In step S630, the analog signal unit between the audio frame data 24c obtained from the synthesis of the waveform is subjected to analog-to-digital conversion (D / A conversion). The steps S610 to S630 are represented by the first or even the last data of the audio frame 24c of the music data 16b. In the case where the second MA was formed, if not all, in only the first up to the 1000th? Ma data units of the audio box 24c of the music data 16b, step S640 can make the determination of " Is it the 1000th unit of 24c audio box data? " instead of determining the conclusion of the process. In this way, the second MA is written or included in the music data 16b, which represents the new condition that "totally forbidden copy" as opposed to the precondition that "only one copy of a second generation is allowed to be copied. " The processes shown in Figures 5 and 6 can be carried out by means of a program, which is executable by a CPU for example. Alternatively, the processes can be carried out in an implementation of physical components that employ Wired Logics that have functions similar to those of an executable program in a CPU. The information recorded on the ROM disk 102 illustrated in the aforementioned example can be encrypted information. The information recorded on the ROM disk 102 can be encrypted by any desired encryption method. In this case, a decryption section may be provided to decrypt the encrypted information between the read selection 110 and the section and detection of the copy control section 114 in the ROM reading apparatus (Figure 4). A description key for decrypting encrypted data can be registered, for example, on the ROM disk 102. The decryption key can be read by a reading section of the decryption key to be supplied to the decoding section.

The information recorded on the RAM disk 212 illustrated in the aforementioned example can be encrypted information. The information recorded on RAM disk 212 can be encrypted by any desired encryption method. In this case, the encryption section for encrypting information can be provided between the modification section and the copy control information 208 and the writing section 210 in the RAM writing apparatus 200 (Figure 4). The information identifying an encryption method (for example, the information of the ID that is specific for RAM disk 212) can be registered, for example, on the RAM disk 212. The information identifying the encryption method can be read by a reading section by encryption method to be supplied to the encryption section.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, a copying system is provided for copying the information that is registered on a first recording medium to a second recording medium. The copy control information is also recorded on the information of the first registration means to be multiplexed within the information registered therein. If the copy control information is directed to represent a condition that "only one copy of a second generation is allowed to copy", then the copy control information is modified to prohibit additional copies. In this way, it is allowed to copy only the first recording medium to the second recording medium once, and subsequently it is forbidden to copy from the second recording medium to any other recording medium. As a result, it is avoided that the information to be recorded on the first recording medium be copied an unlimited number of times, thus providing greater protection against copying to the information registered on the first recording medium. The copy control information can be represented by a combination of two types of watermarks. This facilitates the modification of the copy control information because this is achieved simply by additional writing of one of the two watermarks. The copy control information is preferably multiplexed to a predetermined number of frames among a plurality of frames. As a result, the processing load of detecting or modifying the copy control information may be reduced, thereby shortening the total processing time. Various other modifications will be apparent to and can easily be produced by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the claims appended thereto, but rather to the widely constructed claims. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims (8)

1. CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property. A copying system for copying registered information on a first recording medium to a second recording medium, wherein the first recording medium is registered with copying control information to represent conditions for allowing copying of the recorded information on the first medium of registration, the copying control information is multiplexed within the registered information on the first recording medium, the copying control information is represented by a combination of two types of watermarks, characterized in that the copying system comprises: a reading section for reading the information of the first recording medium; a detection section for detecting copy control information within the information read from the first record means; a modification section for, if the copy control information represents a condition that "only one copy of a second generation is allowed to be copied", modify the copy control information to prohibit any additional copy, and a writing section to describe the information that includes the modified copy control information, on the second record means. The copying system according to claim 1, characterized in that the information recorded on the first registration means comprises a plurality of frames, the copying control information is multiplexed within a predetermined number of frames among the plurality of frames . 3. A method of copying to copy registered information about a record first to a second record means, wherein the first record means is registered with copy control information to represent conditions for allowing copying of the recorded information about the first medium of record. registration, with the copying control information being multiplexed within the registered information on the first recording medium, the copying control information is represented by a combination of two types of watermarks, characterized in that the copying method comprises the steps of: reading the information of the first means of registration; detecting the copy control information within the information read from the first record means; if the copy control information represents a condition in which "only a copy of a second generation is allowed to be copied", modify the copy control information so as to prohibit any additional copy; and writing information, including modified copy control information, on the second recording medium. 4. A reading device for reading recorded information on a first recording medium, wherein the first recording medium is registered with copying control information to represent conditions for allowing the recorded information to be copied on the first recording medium, the information being of * multiplexed copy control within the recorded information on the first record means, the copy control information is represented by a combination of two types of watermarks, and where the reading device is connected via a collective conductor to a writing apparatus for writing the information on a second recording medium, the reading device is characterized in that it comprises: a reading section, for reading the information of the first recording medium; a detection section for detecting the copy control information within the read information of the first record means; and a control section for, if the detected copy control information represents a condition in which "copying is totally forbidden", prohibiting the information from being sent to the collective driver. 5. A writing device connected via a collective conductor to a reading device for reading recorded information on a first recording medium, the writing apparatus is characterized in that it comprises: a detection section for receiving the information sent from the reading apparatus via the collective conductor and detecting the copying control information within the received information, the copying control information represents conditions to allow copying the information received, the copying control information is represented by a combination of two types of watermarks; a modification section for, if the detected copy control information represents a condition that "only a copy of a second generation is allowed to be copied", modify the copy control information so as to prohibit any additional copy; and a writing section for writing information that includes the modified copy control information, on a second recording medium. 6. a recording medium registered with the information that represents the content to be registered, and copying control information that represents a condition to allow copying the registered information on the recording medium, characterized in that the copying control information is multiplexed within the recorded information about the recording medium, and the copying control information is represented by a combination of two types of watermarks. The recording medium according to claim 7, characterized in that the information recorded on the recording medium comprises a plurality of frames, the copying control information is multiplexed within a predetermined number of frames between the plurality of frames. 8. The recording medium according to claim 7, characterized in that the control information selectively represents one of at least three conditions: "it is allowed to copy over an unlimited number of generations"; "it is allowed to copy only a copy of a second generation"; or "copying is totally forbidden".