Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Business processing using cryptography – Usage protection of distributed data files
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-02
2004-10-26
Backer, Firmin (Department: 3621)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Business processing using cryptography
Usage protection of distributed data files
C380S044000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06810388
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital contents copying inhibition apparatus which can prevent digital contents recorded in a music CD, a CD-ROM or the like from being copied into various types of recording media for inhibition of illegal distribution of the digital contents, a reproducible recording medium in which the digital data processed by the apparatus is recorded, a digital contents copying inhibition method, and a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for making a computer execute the method is recorded, and further to a reproducible recording medium in which the digital data processed by the method is recorded.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, because of the development in the fields of semiconductor integrated circuits and digital signal processing technology, size and cost of devices have been remarkably reduced, and especially in the field of entertainment, it has been becoming increasingly easier to enjoy contents of music or video images.
For example, in the case of musical contents, with consolidation of communication infrastructure, utilization of music provision services via wireless communications such as broadcasting or via a cable network has been becoming easier, but this type of services presume the real time utilization, so that the services do not sufficiently satisfy desires and needs of each audience, and are also restricted in terms of time and place. In order to make it possible for each user to enjoy a desired music at a desired time, it is necessary to store musical contents in recording media and distribute the recording media to each user. Such a system is beneficial not only for users, but also for providers of musical contents.
Records in which voice and sound recorded therein as analog signals which are expressed by irregularities in a spiral continuous groove and a magnetic disk with the analog signals for voices and sounds as changes in magnitude of magnetism were used for a long time. However, now days a music CD in which voice and sound are recorded in the form of digital bit arrays are widely used because it is excellent in portability and music reproducibility. With advent of the music CD, remarkable progresses has been made in the technology of recording and reproducing music as digital contents. Now a days, musical contents is provided with various types of recording media including the music CD such as DAT (Digital Audio Tape) or MD (Mini Disk).
Magnetic recording system is employed in DAT or MD. Therefore, a recording devices for such media can be provided at a relatively low price. The users can digitally record audio signals in these media. This means that musical contents provided with such media as the music CD can be copied into such media as a DAT and an MD because of its high reproducibility of digital data.
On the other hand, in the case of video contents, in association with popularization of scanners and digital cameras, there is now the general tendency for storing picture images or video images recorded on the conventional type of light-sensing films as a file (for still images and moving images) so that the image data can be searched for, managed, or edited later. Further, with appearance of low price and high quality printers, it has become possible to crease various types of designs such as drawings or drafts on a computer and print out the designs or to prepare and reproduce a computer animation film. Further, the digital image file can be recorded in a CD-ROM based on the same specifications as those for the music CD, and can be distributed in a wide area.
Also in recent years, in association with progress in computerization, number of end users has been rapidly increasing, and personal computers and peripheral devices for the computers have been provided with low prices. In this situation, it is possibly not only to reproduce a music CD with a computer, but also to easily obtain various recording media such as a hard disk or a CD-R each enabling storage of a relatively large volume of data.
An application program which is originally prepared for operating on a computer is also a type of digital contents. Such an application program is stored in a CD-ROM. Thus, the application program is not different from musical data stored in a music CD or digital image file in the point that the application program is digital data.
Popularization of computers and supply of digital contents together make it possible to copy musical data recorded in a music CD or a digital image file and an application program recorded in such recording media as a CD-ROM can into a hard disk, a CD-ROM or the like via a computer.
With rapid popularization of Internet and progress in the technology for compression of musical data or an image file, it has become easy to distribute the digital contents through a network, and the digital contents can be maintained and controlled only with a computer without purchasing a dedicated recording medium such as a music CD or a CD-ROM. In other words, at present, digital contents can easily be obtained and copied with a computer.
Further, it is possible to copy contents stored in some specific recording media such as a CD-ROM for game which is originally not intended to be reproduced on a personal computer via a personal computer into a CD-R. Such illegally copy of the digital contents has created a social problem.
In order to prevent digital contents from being illegally copied, various types of copying inhibition technologies have been developed and put into practical use. As a first example thereof, a recording device enabling storage making it possible to record digital data for a DAT or an MD has a copying inhibition function called as SCMS (System Copy Management System) from a view point of copy right protection. This copying inhibition function is realized by recording code (a copying inhibition bit) for inhibition of copying in a recording area for control on DAT or MD. For instance, at first, when recording (copying) is executed for MD, a copying inhibit bit indicating that copying is allowed only once is written therein. When recording is tried by a user using the MD with digital contents and the above-described copying inhibition bit written and copied therein as a copied medium, the user's recording device detects the copying inhibition bit, and inhibits recording. Namely, with this function, generation of additional copies is prevented.
As a second example of the copying inhibition function, there is known the ID code authorization method in which input of ID code is required when an application program stored in a CD-ROM is installed in a computer. When this method is employed, unless a user who has obtained a CD-ROM through a legal route acquires the ID code from the provider of the CD-ROM and input the ID code, installation of the CD-ROM is never completed. With this feature, a user who obtained only a CD-ROM illegally copied can not execute the application program, which in turn prevent distribution of illegal copies.
Especially when executing shareware distributed through a network, in most cases, a password which corresponds to the ID code described above is required to cancel inhibition of trial use, and this password can be acquired by paying a fee or the like to a provider of the shareware. In the case of shareware, however, as it is allowed to freely download shareware from a server on the network, which means in a broad sense that it is allowed to freely copy the shareware, so that the authorization of a user with a password is not for preventing digital data from being copied.
Further, there is a case where the ID code is recorded in a CD-ROM and input of ID code by the user is not required. For instance, in a case of a game machine, the ID code is recorded in a pregap section in the utmost inner groove of a CD-ROM for game machine, and the game machine determines by reading the ID code recorded in the pregap section whether the CD-ROM is a legal one or not. Any data can not be read out from, nor written in this pregap sect
Backer Firmin
Trinity Security Systems, Inc.
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