Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support – Data processing protection using cryptography – By stored data protection
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-30
2004-09-14
Barrón, Gilberto (Department: 2132)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support
Data processing protection using cryptography
By stored data protection
C713S181000, C380S201000, C380S202000, C380S203000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06792538
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information generating apparatus, an information reproducing apparatus and an information record medium, which can protect that legally generated information is illegally copied and further illegally reproduced to be generally distributed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Video information such as a movie or the like and audio information such as a music or the like are protected by the copyrights in many cases. In these cases, it is basically prohibited to copy such information without a permission.
Moreover, an owner of the copyright needs to have a plan of effectively protecting the copy.
A method for applying to the video information or the like a modulation referred to as a “scramble” is typically employed as a method for protecting the illegal copy. This scramble modulation is a modulating method, the modulated information by which cannot be demodulated without special key data. Usually, the key data is recorded on a data record area in an optical disc or the like as record information (data to be recorded) together with the scramble-modulated video information, and then the optical disc or the like is sold.
By a user who buys the optical disc, only if the key data recorded in a reproducing device for the optical disc owned by the user coincides with the key data recorded together with the video information on the optical disc, the scramble-modulated video information can be demodulated in accordance with the key data to thereby reproduce the video information. At this time, as long as the user manages the key data to be unknown to other persons, even if only the scramble-modulated video information is illegally copied, this cannot be demodulated or reproduced.
However, in the above explained method for protecting the illegal copy, the key data is recorded on the data record area of the optical disc as the record information together with the scramble-modulated video information and the like. Thus, there may be a case in which the key data is illegally copied together with the video information and the like. This results in a problem that a person, who makes an illegal copy, may use the obtained key data to demodulate the scramble-modulated video information and the like so that he or she can view and hear it.
Moreover, in the above explained method for protecting the illegal copy, there is no technique to judge whether or not the video information or the like is legally distributed (i.e., whether or not the video information or the like is a so-called “original”). Hence, this results in a problem that even in a case of the illegally copied video information or the like, it is impossible to judge whether or not it is illegally copied.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is proposed in view of the above mentioned problems. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an information generating method and an information generating apparatus, an information reproducing method and an information reproducing apparatus, and an information record medium, which can protect legally generated video information, audio information or the like from being illegally copied and further illegally reproduced.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by an information generating method of generating output information to be outputted. The information generating method is provided with: adding an error correction code, which is used for an error correction of the output information when the output information is outputted, to the output information to thereby generate the output information having the error correction code; and replacing a part of the output information having the error correction code, which is generated by the adding process, with identification information indicating that the output information to be outputted is not illegally copied to thereby generate the partially replaced output information.
According to the information generating method of the present invention, in the adding process, the error correction code is added to the output information, so that the output information having the error correction code is generated. Then, in the replacing process, the part of the output information having the error correction code is replaced with the identification information, so that the partially replaced output information is generated.
Thus, for example, when the generated partially replaced output information is recorded onto the information record medium such as a DVD or the like and then the output information is reproduced from the information record medium, by allowing the reproducing operation only when the identification information is detected, it is possible to protect the output information having no identification information (i.e., the illegally copied output information) from being illegally reproduced.
Moreover, since the part of the output information having the error correction code is replaced with the identification information after the error correction code is added, even if the identification information is detected and the output information is reproduced when the output information is reproduced for example, the identification information is erased by the error correction at the time of the reproduction. Hence, the identification information is not recorded any longer when the reproduced output information is recorded by the information recording apparatus. Therefore, the information reproducing apparatus which can reproduce the output information only when the identification information is detected can protect the reproduction of the output information recorded by the information recording apparatus. Namely, it is possible to protect the output information from being illegally reproduced.
Furthermore, for example, assuming that the partially replaced output information is transmitted to another information reproducing apparatus and is reproduced thereby, if the reproducing operation is allowed only when the identification information is detected, even if the output information having no identification information is transmitted, its illegal reproduction can be protected.
Moreover, even if the identification information is detected and the output information is reproduced after the transmission, the identification information is erased by the error correction at the time of the reproduction. Hence, the identification information is not recorded any longer when the reproduced output information is recorded by the information recording apparatus. Therefore, the information reproducing apparatus, which can reproduce the output information only when the identification information is detected, can protect the reproduction of the output information recorded by the information recording apparatus. Namely, it is possible to protect the output information from being illegally reproduced.
In one aspect of the information generating method of the present invention, the information generating method is further provided with the process of adding sub-identification information, which indicates that the output information is not illegally copied, to the output information. In the error correction code adding process, the error correction code is added to the output information to which the sub-identification information is added to thereby generate the output information having the error correction code and the sub-identification information. Assuming that M represents the sub-identification information and N represents the identification information, a relationship between the sub-identification information M and the identification information N is expressed on the basis of a predetermined function f by a following expression (1).
M=f
(
N
) (1)
According to this aspect, in the sub-identification adding process, the sub-identification information is added to the output information. Then, in the error correction code adding:process, the error correction code is added to the output information to which the sub-id
Kuroda Kazuo
Yoshida Kazuyuki
Barrón Gilberto
McArdle Joseph M
Pioneer Electronic Corporation
Pitney Hardin LLP
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