Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Condition indicating – monitoring – or testing – Including radiation storage or retrieval
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-03
2004-06-22
Tran, Thang V. (Department: 2653)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Condition indicating, monitoring, or testing
Including radiation storage or retrieval
C369S060010, C369S047360
Reexamination Certificate
active
06754155
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disk-shaped information recording medium and information processing device which can record and reproduce data such as a magnetic disk or optical disk. In particular, it relates to a digital data recording and reproducing device which can record and reproduce data digitally, wherein, when information such as music or images are received via a network, broadcast or other recording medium, and this information is recorded by a magnetic disk device or the like connected to a personal computer, unauthorized copying is prevented and the authors copyright is protected.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, network data distribution systems are becoming popular. In these systems, information such as music or images are distributed via a network or broadcast, the distributed information is received via the Internet, and received information is displayed on the monitor of an individual's personal computer, or recorded by a magnetic disk or magneto-optic disk device connected to the personal computer.
It is understood that, from the viewpoint of a copyright owner providing information, it is generally acceptable for a user who has a personal computer connected to the Internet, for example, to display received digital information on the computer's monitor. However, special authorization from the copyright owner may be required to record this information on a magnetic disk, magneto-optic disk or other recording medium. One way of restricting the recording of distributed information on an individual's magnetic disk, magneto-optic disk or other recording medium, for example, might be to store a key showing whether recording of information on the disk device was authorized or not. This key would be used to verify whether or not the disk device was an authorized device, i.e., whether or not it was a device licensed by the information provider. When the device was confirmed to be an unauthorized device, information recording on this disk device would be permitted.
When information is transmitted between an information provider and an information receiving device which receives the transmitted information and attempts to record it, one method of verifying whether or not the receiver's device is an authorized device, i.e., whether or not a receiver's device is a licensed device, is to embed unique information (ID information) to identify the information storage device or recording medium in the system on the information receiving side.
The information provider distributes information, and a check is performed based on this unique information (ID information) as to whether the device is a properly licensed device as regards information transmitted between the information provider and information receiving device. If it is verified that this is a properly licensed device, recording is performed normally, and if it is not a properly licensed device, recording is not performed.
Alternatively, there is another method wherein recording of information is permitted on any device, but if the information is found to be an unauthorized copy when a license check is performed, reproducing does not take place. Unique information to identify the medium or device is recorded at a predetermined position of the data recording part of the medium when it is shipped to prevent duplication.
An example of illegal copy prevention in the case of data transmission via the Internet is shown in FIG.
8
.
In the layout shown in
FIG. 8
, an information provider
800
is connected to plural information receiving users aid
801
,
802
,
803
via the Internet, transfer of information between the users being possible.
Information is received from the information provider
800
, and a user attempting to store the received data on a storage device such as a hard disk attached to the user's personal computer, sends a data distribution request to the information provider
800
via the Internet, and sends his own ID to the information provider
800
.
When the information provider
800
receives the ID from the user, it is compared with IDs registered in an ID database
820
. If a matching ID is registered in the ID database
820
, the data distribution request is considered to be from a properly licensed user, so data (P) is extracted from a distribution database
810
and provided to the user. The data may for example be encoded and transmitted as f(P).
If there is no matching ID as a result of comparing the ID from the user with the IDs registered in the ID database
820
, it is determined that the data request is not from a properly licensed user, and data transmission is not performed.
In this system, the information receiving users
801
,
802
,
803
are generally individual personal computers comprising a data transmission means, and provided with a device such as a magnetic disk for recording data. The user's ID is either created by the user himself, or it is unique system information (ID information) which is pre-recorded at a predetermined position of a data recording part of the medium when it is shipped.
The information provider
800
first concludes a license agreement with the user, and registers personal information (ID information) relating to the licensed information receiving users
801
,
802
,
803
in the ID database
820
on that occasion. The information provider
800
compares the ID information transmitted from the information receiving users
801
,
802
,
803
with the registered IDs, and determines whether or not the two match. If they do match, it is confirmed that the user is an authorized user. The data is then for example encoded by a predetermined key k, and transmitted to the information receiving users
801
,
802
,
803
.
This key k may for example be a value k (=f (ID) generated by applying a predetermined function f to the device ID transmitted by the information receiving users
801
,
8
02
,
803
. Likewise, in an information receiving device
702
, the function f is applied to the ID to generate the key k (=f (ID). The key k may then be used to decode encoded audio or image data transmitted from the information provider.
However, in this related art construction, the individual ID (ID information) of the user's information receiving device is set by the user, or is recorded at a predetermined position of a data recording part of the medium when it is shipped. This arbitrarily set ID or ID recorded in a data recording region of the data recording medium can easily be rewritten. An ID recorded in the data part of a recording medium such as a hard disk can be rewritten from the host computer by a user operation, and is therefore prone to falsification.
To prevent illegal ID falsification, it is also possible to prevent rewriting of a part in which the ID is recorded, for example by a program which controls disk drives, however, there still remains the possibility that somebody wishing to make an illegal copy will rewrite the control program so that the data in this area can be rewritten.
As a result, another possibility is that unauthorized recording of received data may take place by an unauthorized user rewriting the ID in one electronic device to modify it to an ID of a properly licensed user. Yet another possibility is that an authorized ID will be copied to plural devices, thereby permitting illegal recording of received data in plural devices.
There was therefore a problem in that the method of recording ID information in the data part of a medium in a related art system could not entirely prevent illegal copying.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of this invention to resolve the above problems inherent in the related art, and provide an information recording medium wherein ID information cannot be rewritten, or an information processing device comprising such an information recording medium.
A first aspect of this invention, which was conceived to overcome the above problems, is:
a disk-shaped information recording medium p
Fukuyama Munekatsu
Hayashi Nobuhiro
Yada Hiroaki
Frommer William S.
Frommer & Lawrence & Haug LLP
Mahr Hans R.
Tran Thang V.
LandOfFree
Information recording medium and information processing device does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Information recording medium and information processing device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Information recording medium and information processing device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3362739