Multimedia-type contents reproduction device and reproduction method, and recording medium having stored thereon data used for the same

1. A contents reproduction method executed by a contents reproduction apparatus that reproduces content data, the contents reproduction method comprising:

a step of obtaining the content data, the content data including a plurality of resources, the plurality of resources including at least one main resource and including at least one sub resource, such that:

the main resource has a license associated therewith that is required for reproducing the main resource and that needs to be locked when reproducing the main resource;

the main resource is data that includes a main part of contents;

the sub resource is a different entity from the main resource;

the sub resource has a license associated therewith that is required for reproducing the sub resource and that does not need to be locked when reproducing the sub resource;

the sub resource is data that is associated with the main resource and that includes related information associated with the main part of the contents;

the license associated with the main resource and the license associated with the sub resource (i) are stored in a recording medium, (ii) contain license information to which a use situation for each resource of the plurality of resources is set, and (iii) contain a condition for using the license associated with the main resource and the license associated with the sub resource;

a step of obtaining the license information for the content data, the license information being required for reproducing each of the main resource and the sub resource;

a step of reproducing at least one of the main resource and the sub resource;

a step of locking the license associated with the main resource when reproducing the main resource; and

a step of (i) during said reproduction of the main resource, determining that a start of reproducing a resource (a) that is different from the main resource being reproduced and (b) that requires the license information for reproduction thereof is not permitted, and (ii) during said reproduction of the sub resource, determining that a start of reproducing a resource (a) that is different from the sub resource being reproduced and (b) that requires the license information for reproduction thereof is permitted.

2. The contents reproduction method according to claim 1 , wherein:

the license information includes use state information indicating a use state of the main resource; and

the contents reproduction method further comprises:

a step of updating the license information to reflect said reproduction of the main resource in the use state information included therein, the license information being updated when said reproduction of the main resource is finished; and

a step of permitting, after said updating, the start of reproducing the resource that has been prohibited by said prohibiting.

3. A contents reproduction device for reproducing content data, the contents reproduction device comprising:

a contents storing memory that stores the content data that includes a plurality of resources, the plurality of resources including at least one main resource and including at least one sub resource, such that:

the main resource has a license associated therewith that needs to be locked when reproducing the main resource;

the main resource is data that includes a main part of contents;

the sub resource is a different entity from the main resource;

the sub resource has a license associated therewith that does not need to be locked when reproducing the sub resource; and

the sub resource is data that is associated with the main resource and that includes related information associated with the main part of the contents;

a license storing memory that stores the license associated with the main resource and the license associated the sub resource, the license associated with the main resource and the license associated with the sub resource containing license information to which a use situation for each resource of the plurality of resources is set, for the content data, the license associated with the main resource and the license associated with the sub resource containing a condition for using the license associated with the main resource and the license associated with the sub resource, and the license information being required for reproducing each of the main resource and the sub resource;

a reproducing unit that reproduces at least one of the main resource and the sub resource; and

a processor programmed to (i) lock the license associated with the main resource when the main resource is reproduced, (ii) during the reproduction of the main resource by the reproducing unit, determine that a start of reproducing a resource (a) that is different from the main resource being reproduced and (b) that requires the license information for reproduction thereof is not permitted, and (iii) during the reproduction of the sub resource by the reproducing unit, determine that a start of reproducing a resource (a) that is different from the sub resource being reproduced and (b) that requires the license information for reproduction thereof is permitted.

4. The contents reproduction device according to claim 3 , wherein:

the license information includes use state information indicating a use state of the content data; and

the processor is further programmed to (i) update the license information to reflect the reproduction of the main resource in the use state information when the reproduction of the main resource is finished, and (ii) permit, after the updating of the license information, the start of reproducing the resource that has been determined as not permitted.

5. The contents reproduction device according to claim 3 , wherein:

the main resource includes a motion picture; and

the sub resource includes a still picture and does not include a motion picture.

6. The contents reproduction device according to claim 5 , wherein:

the sub resource includes a plurality of still pictures that are associated with the main resource and that have been encrypted;

the contents reproduction device further comprises:

a decryption unit that decrypts the plurality of still pictures collectively to generate a plurality of decrypted still pictures; and

a cache unit that stores the plurality of decrypted still pictures; and

the reproducing unit, when reproducing the sub resource, reads one or more still pictures from the plurality of decrypted still pictures stored in the cache unit and reproduces the read one or more still pictures.

7. The contents reproduction device according to claim 6 , wherein the decryption unit is tamper resistant.

8. The contents reproduction device according to claim 6 , wherein:

the plurality of still pictures are collectively compressed, and the plurality of collectively compressed still pictures are encrypted; and

the decryption unit decrypts the plurality of encrypted still pictures collectively to obtain the plurality of collectively compressed still pictures, and extracts the plurality of decrypted still pictures from the plurality of compressed still pictures.

9. The contents reproduction apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein:

the license information includes use state information indicating a use state of the content data;

the processor is further programmed to update the use state information based on a reproduction of each of the plurality of resources; and

the processor is further programmed to update the use state information only when terminating a reproduction of the main resource.