Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support – Data processing protection using cryptography – By stored data protection
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-16
2002-06-18
Peeso, Thomas R. (Department: 2132)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support
Data processing protection using cryptography
By stored data protection
C713S168000, C713S171000, C713S189000, C713S152000, C380S277000, C380S282000, C380S286000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06408390
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for displaying, storing, copying, editing or transferring digital data, and protecting digital data copyrights.
2. Background Art
In the information-oriented society of today, database systems are becoming wide spread in which it is possible to use various types of data which were stored independently in each computer in the past, by connecting computers via communication lines.
In such a database system, the information handled up to this point has been conventionally coded information that can be processed by a computer, and that contains a relatively small amount of information and monochrome binary data, such as facsimile information at most. It has not been possible to handle data containing a relatively large amount of information, such as data for natural pictures or animation.
With the rapid progress of digital processing technique for various electric signals, a technique is under development for digital processing of picture signals other than binary data, which had been handled only as analog signals in the past.
By digitizing the picture signal, it is possible to handle a picture signal, e.g., a television signal, by a computer. The technology of a “multimedia system” is an emerging technology of the future capable of simultaneously handling the data handled by computers and digitized picture data.
Because picture data contains an overwhelmingly large amount of information compared with character data and audio data, it is difficult to store or transfer or process the picture data by computer. For this reason, techniques for compressing or expanding picture data have been developed. Further, several standards for compression/expansion of picture data have been established. For example, the following standards have been established as common standards: JPEG (Joint Photographic image coding Experts Group) standards for still pictures, H.261 standards for video conferences, MPEG1 (Moving Picture image coding Experts Group 1) standards for picture accumulation, and MPEG2 standards for current television broadcasting and high definition television broadcasting. By using these new techniques, it is now possible to transmit digital picture data in real time.
For analog data, which has been widely used in the past, the control of copyrights during processing has not been an important issue because the quality of the analog data deteriorates each time the data is stored, copied, edited, or transferred. The editing of a copyrighted work produced according to the above operation has not been a large problem. However, the quality of digital data does not deteriorate when the data is repeatedly stored, copied, edited, or transferred. Therefore, the management and control of copyrights during processing of digital data is an important issue.
Up to now, there has been no adequate method for management and control of copyrights for digital data. They have been managed and controlled merely by copyright law or by contracts. In copyright law, only compensation for digital sound or picture recording devices has been prescribed.
It is possible not only to refer to the content of a database, but also to effectively utilize the data obtained from the database by storing, copying, or editing the data, and also transferring the edited data to the database with the edited data registered as new data. Further, it is possible to transfer edited data to other persons via a communication link or by a proper recording medium.
In a conventional database system, only character data is handled. However, in multimedia systems, sound data and picture data originally generated as analog data, are digitized and used as part of the database in addition to the other data in the database such as character data.
Under such circumstances, it is an important question to determine how to handle copyrights of the data in the database. However, there are no means in the prior art for copyright management and control of such actions as copying, editing, transferring, etc. of data.
Although data from “software with advertisement” or “free software” is generally available free of charge, it is copyrighted and its use may be restricted by the copyright depending on the way it is used.
The inventors of the present invention proposed a system for copyright management, wherein a permit key is obtained from a key control center via a public telephone line in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 46419/1994 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 141004/1994. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 32916/1994 by the same inventors also discusses an apparatus for copyright management. Furthermore, the same inventors proposed a system for managing a copyright of digital data in Japanese Patent Application No. 64889/1994 (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/416,037) and Japanese Patent Application No. 237673/1994 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,952).
In these systems and apparatus, one who wants to view and listen to encrypted programs requests viewing from a control center via a communications line by using a communication device. The, control center sends a permit key to the requester, performs charging and collects a fee.
After receiving the permit key, the requester sends the permit key to a receiver by using an on-line or off-line means. The receiver then decrypts the encrypted programs using the permit key.
The system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 64889/1994 (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/416,037) uses a program and copyright information for managing the copyright, in addition to the permit key, so that the copyright for display (including sound processes), storage, copying, editing, or transferring of the digital data in the database system, including real-time transmission of a digital picture, can be managed. The program for managing the copyright watches and manages to prevent a user from using the digital data outside the conditions of the user's request or permission.
Japanese Patent Application No. 64889/1994 (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/416,037) further discloses that data is supplied in encrypted form from a database, decrypted by a copyright management program when displayed or edited, and encrypted again when it is stored, copied or transferred. Also, the copyright management program, being encrypted, is decrypted by a permit key. The copyright management program thus decrypted performs encryption and decryption of copyright data, and when data is utilized other than for storage and display, copyright information including information about the user, being stored as a history in addition to the original copyright information, is disclosed.
A general description of cryptography is provided below. Cryptography includes a secret-key cryptosystem and a public-key cryptosystem.
The secret-key cryptosystem is a cryptosystem using the same crypt key for encryption and decryption. While this cryptosystem requires only a short time for encryption or decryption, if the secret-key is found, the cryptogram may be cryptanalyzed.
The public-key cryptosystem is a cryptosystem in which a key for encryption is open to the public as a public-key, and a key for decryption is not open to the public. The key for encryption is referred to as a public-key and the key for decryption is referred to as a private-key. To use this cryptosystem, it is necessary that the party transmitting information encrypts the information with the public-key of the party receiving the information. The party receiving the information decrypts the information with a private-key not open to the public. While this cryptosystem requires a relatively long time for encryption or decryption, the private-key cannot easily be found, and it is very difficult to cryptanalyze the cryptogram.
In cryptography, a case of encrypting a plaintext M with a crypt key K to obtain a cryptogram C is expressed as
C=E(K, M)
and a case of decrypting the cryptogram C with the crypt key K to obtain the plaintext M is expressed as
M=D(K, C).
The cryptosystem used f
Armstrong Westerman & Hattori, LLP
Mitsubishi Corporation
Peeso Thomas R.
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