Procedure for monitoring the usage of a broadcasted content

1. A method for monitoring usage of a service by a communication device coupled to a smart card, said service being transmitted from a resource able to communicate with said communication device by way of a network, said service comprising a plurality of encrypted data flow, the use of said service comprising successive decryption steps of data flow using a first key, said first key being encrypted in the data flow and decrypted in the smart card by way of a second key stored in said smart card, the method comprising:

a counting step, in which a memory location stores a count of occurrences of decryption steps of said first key attached to the service,

wherein the counting step comprises:

receiving the first key encrypted by way of the second key;

determining whether the first key corresponds to a previously stored encrypted key;

when the first key corresponds to the previously stored encrypted key:

sending, to the communication device, a previously stored decrypted version of the previously stored encrypted key without performing the decryption of the received encrypted first key;

when the first key does not correspond to the previously stored key:

incrementing the counter;

decrypting the received encrypted first key to obtain a new decrypted first key to be used for decrypting data flow; and

storing the received encrypted first key and the new decrypted first key; and

a using step, in which said counter is used to determine a service fee for use of said service.

2. Method according to claim 1 , characterized in that the smart card stores a predetermined fixed number, and in that it comprises a comparison step in which the incrementing counter is compared to the predetermined fixed number for checking if the counter has reached or not the value of the fixed number; if yes, adequate action can be performed.

3. Method according to claim 1 , characterized in that a command is sent to the smart card for renewing the second key.

4. Method according to claim 1 , characterized in that a command is sent to the smart card for Updating the counter.

5. Method according to claim 3 , characterized in that said command is encrypted by a third key known by the smart card.

6. Method according to claim 2 , characterized in that the action is the completion of decryption steps.

7. Method according to claim 1 , characterized in that, each first key is sent periodically, and in that the amount of data is converted into time of use limiting the use of a service in time.

8. Method according to claim 4 , characterized in that said commands are transmitted to the smart card by way of the communication device, said communication device including a program for authorizing the transmission of such commands without reading its content.

9. Method according to claim 4 , characterized in that said command is encrypted by a third key known by the smart card.

10. Method according to claim 5 , characterized in that said commands are transmitted to the smart card by way of the communication device, said communication device including a program for authorizing the transmission of such commands without reading its content.

11. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises upon reception of a management container:

performing a retrieval of the counter; and

sending management data to the resource through a protocol based in a point-to-point mechanism.

12. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:

associating at least two counters to a particular service; and

resetting one of the at least two counters, wherein the other counter is not reset at the same time.

13. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the resource communicates with said communication device over a network.

14. A smartcard, able to receive services from a network, said services comprising a plurality of encrypted data flow, the use of said service comprising successive decryption steps of data flow by a respective first key, said first key being encrypted in the data flow and decrypted in said smart card by way of a second key stored in said smart card or derived inside said smart card, characterized in that smart card comprises a microcontroller able to perform the following steps:

a counting step, in which a memory location stores a count of occurrences of decryption steps of said first key attached to the service,

wherein the counting step comprises:

receiving the first key encrypted by way of the second key;

determining whether the first key corresponds to a previously stored encrypted key;

when the first key corresponds to the previously stored encrypted key:

sending, to the communication device, a previously stored decrypted version of the previously stored encrypted key without performing the decryption of the received encrypted first key;

when the first key does not correspond to the previously stored key:

incrementing the counter;

decrypting the received encrypted first key to obtain a new decrypted first key to be used for decrypting data flow; and

storing the received encrypted first key and the new decrypted first key; and

a using step, in which said counter is used to determine a service fee for use of said service.

15. A method for monitoring use of a service by a communication device, comprising:

receiving, by a smart card coupled with the communication device, encrypted data flow as part of a service transmitted to the communication device by a resource over a network, and wherein the encrypted data flow comprises an encrypted first key and encrypted data;

determining whether the encrypted first key corresponds to a previously stored encrypted key;

when the encrypted first key corresponds to the previously stored encrypted key:

sending, to the communication device, a previously stored decrypted version of the previously stored encrypted first key without decrypting the received encrypted first key;

when the encrypted first key does not correspond to the previously stored encrypted key:

incrementing a counter, wherein the counter stores a count of occurrences of decryptions performed for encrypted keys associated with the service;

decrypting the encrypted first key using a second key stored on the smart card to obtain a decrypted first key to be used for decrypting the encrypted data; and

storing the encrypted first key and the decrypted first key,

wherein the counter is used to determine a service fee for use of the service.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the communication device does not use the decrypted first key to decrypt the service received by the communication device when the counter exceeds a predetermined fixed number stored on the smart card.

17. The method according to claim 15 , wherein a command is sent to the smart card for renewing the second key.

18. The method according to claim 15 , wherein a command is sent to the smart card for updating the counter.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the command is transmitted to the smart card by way of the communication device and the communication device uses a program for authorizing the transmission of the command without reading its content.