Interactive video distribution systems – Access control or blocking
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-31
2004-10-05
Boccio, Vincent (Department: 2615)
Interactive video distribution systems
Access control or blocking
C725S027000, C725S031000, C386S349000, C386S349000, C386S349000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06802074
ABSTRACT:
This application is based on application No. H11-151658 filed in Japan, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for receiving a broadcast program and recording the broadcast program onto a recording medium, a transmitting apparatus for transmitting a broadcast program, and a computer-readable recording medium.
2. Background Art
In recent years, digitized broadcast programs are being broadcast on more and more services. Due to the high cost of producing digitized broadcast programs, producers wish to restrict the recording of the digitized broadcast programs. On the contrary, consumers want to record the digitized broadcast programs onto recording media for later use. To strike a balance between these mutually contradictory needs, men of learning and researchers have proposed a technique for embedding information concerning copyright protection (copy control information) into broadcast programs as electronic watermarks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus for performing, if copy control information is embedded into a broadcast program as electronic watermarks, the recording of the broadcast program according to the electronic watermarks.
The following description concerns an example broadcasting system including the recording apparatus of the present invention. The construction of the present broadcasting system is shown in FIG.
1
. This system includes a transmitting apparatus
500
and a recording apparatus
600
. The transmitting apparatus
500
includes a watermark embedding unit
501
and a transmitting unit
502
. The watermark embedding unit
501
embeds a set of electronic watermarks into each video section composing a broadcast program. The electronic watermark set shows whether the recording of the broadcast program is permitted or prohibited and each video section of the broadcast program corresponds to, for instance, a reproduction time period of ten seconds. The transmitting unit
502
transmits the broadcast program where the watermark embedding unit
501
has embedded the electronic watermark set into each video section.
The recording apparatus
600
includes a receiving unit
601
, a recording unit
602
, a watermark reading unit
603
, and a control unit
604
.
The receiving unit
601
receives a broadcast program and the recording unit
602
records the received broadcast program onto a recording medium. The watermark reading unit
603
reads electronic watermarks from the received broadcast program and the control unit
604
instructs the recording unit
602
to record or not to record the received broadcast program according to the read electronic watermarks.
The operation of the recording apparatus
600
is described in detail below. After the receiving unit
601
starts to receive a broadcast program, the watermark reading unit
603
reads the electronic watermark set embedded into the first received video section, out of video sections composing the broadcast program. If the electronic watermark set shows that the recording of the broadcast program is permitted, the control unit
604
instructs the recording unit
602
to record video sections following the first received video section. On the other hand, if the electronic watermark set shows that the recording is prohibited, the control unit
604
instructs the recording unit
602
not to record the following video sections.
By operating in this manner, the recording apparatus
600
controls the recording of broadcast programs onto recording media as intended by producers of the broadcast programs.
The following description concerns the case where the recording apparatus is currently receiving a broadcast program B whose recording is prohibited and so does not perform the recording operation, and a broadcast program A into which electronic watermarks showing that recording is permitted are embedded is newly selected. Even if the embedded electronic watermarks show that recording is permitted, the recording apparatus
600
cannot start to record the broadcast program A until the recording apparatus
600
reads an electronic watermark set from the first received video section of the broadcast program A and finds that the recording of the broadcast program A is permitted by referring to the embedded electronic watermarks and must not perform the recording operation until it becomes clear that the embedded electronic watermarks show that recording is permitted. Because the recording apparatus
600
cannot immediately start to record the broadcast program A due to the reason given above, the first video section of the broadcast program A is not recorded onto a recording medium, that is, the program A recorded onto the recording medium lacks the first video section.
While an operator will take it for granted that the broadcast program A is entirely recorded onto the recording medium because the recording is permitted, the recorded broadcast program will lack the first video section. This may have the operator inappropriately suspect that the recording apparatus is out of order.
This problem will also arise in the case where the broadcast program B, whose recording is prohibited, is aired immediately before the broadcast program A, whose recording is permitted, the recording apparatus
600
is programmed to record the broadcast program A, and the internal clock of the recording apparatus
600
is wrong. In such a case, the recording apparatus starts the recording operation earlier than the broadcast start time of the broadcast program A. Therefore, the watermark reading unit
603
reads electronic watermarks from the broadcast program B and the control unit
604
instructs the recording unit
602
not to record the following video sections according to the read electronic watermarks. As a result, the first video section of the broadcast program A cannot be recorded, like the case above.
This problem will also arise if the recording apparatus
600
switches from the non-recordable broadcast program B to the recordable broadcast program A while viewing and recording broadcast programs.
To achieve the stated object of the present invention, the recording apparatus is required to record an entire broadcast program, including copy control information showing permission to record, onto a recording medium even when an immediately preceding broadcast program includes copy control information showing that recording is prohibited.
The stated requirement is satisfied by a recording apparatus for selecting one of a plurality of broadcast programs and recording the selected broadcast program onto a recording medium, each broadcast program being composed of a plurality of video sections into each of which is embedded an electronic watermark showing whether recording of the broadcast program is permitted or prohibited, the recording apparatus including: a receiving unit for receiving video sections composing the selected broadcast program one at a time; a recording unit for performing a recording operation according to instructions; a reading unit for reading an electronic watermark from each video section received by the receiving unit; and an instructing unit for issuing (a) a first instruction to have the recording unit record a video section next to the video section from which the electronic watermark has been read if the read electronic watermark shows that recording of the selected broadcast program is permitted and (b) a second instruction to have the recording unit not record the next video section if the read electronic watermark shows that the recording is prohibited, where the instructing unit includes an instruction changing unit for canceling, when another broadcast program is selected after the second instruction has been issued, the second instruction and issuing a third instruction to have the recording unit record a video section, out of video sections of the other broadcast program, to be received first.
When a next broa
Ishihara Hideshi
Mitsui Yoshitaka
Nagai Takahiro
Boccio Vincent
Fletcher James A
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
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