Granted Patent B2

US 8,393,007 · App. 13/585,408 · Granted Mar 5, 2013

Inventors: Mark J. Stefik (Portola Valley, CA); Peter L. T. Pirolli (San Francisco, CA)

Assignee: ContentGuard Holdings, Inc.

Abstract

Claims (56)

1. A computer-implemented method of distributing digital content to at least one recipient computing device to be rendered by the at least one recipient computing device in accordance with usage rights information, the method comprising:

determining, by at least one sending computing device, if the at least one recipient computing device is trusted to receive the digital content from the at least one sending computing device;

sending the digital content, by the at least one sending computing device, to the at least one recipient computing device only if the at least one recipient computing device has been determined to be trusted to receive the digital content from the at least one sending computing device; and

sending usage rights information indicating how the digital content may be rendered by the at least one recipient computing device, the usage rights information being enforceable by the at least on recipient computing device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the usage rights information further includes a condition under which the content can be rendered.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of trust comprises:

receiving a request from at least one recipient computing device for an authorization object required to render the digital content; and

transmitting the authorization object to the at least one recipient computing device when it is determined that the request should be granted.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of trust comprises:

receiving a registration message from the at least one recipient device, the registration message including an identification certificate of the recipient computing device and a random registration identifier, the identification certificate being certified by a master device;

validating the authenticity of the at least one recipient device;

exchanging messages including at least one session key with the at least one recipient device, the session key to be used in communications; and

conducting a secure transaction using the session key, wherein the secure transaction includes sending the digital content to the at least one recipient device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the validating comprises:

verifying the identification certificate of the at least one recipient device;

generating a message to test the authenticity of the at least one recipient device, the generated message including a nonce;

sending the generated message to the at least one recipient device; and

verifying if the at least one recipient device correctly processed the generated message.

6. A sending apparatus for distributing digital content to at least one recipient computing device to be rendered by the at least one recipient computing device in accordance with usage rights information, the sending apparatus comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memories operatively coupled to at least one of the one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause at least one of the one or more processors to:

determine if the at least one recipient computing device is trusted to receive the digital content from the sending apparatus;

send the digital content, by the sending apparatus, to the at least one recipient computing device only if the at least one recipient computing device has been determined to be trusted to receive the digital content from the sending apparatus; and

send usage rights information indicating how the digital content may be rendered by the at least one recipient computing device, the usage rights information being enforceable by the at least on recipient computing device.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the usage rights information further includes a condition under which the content can be rendered.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the determination of trust comprises:

receiving a request from at least one recipient computing device for an authorization object required to render the digital content; and

transmitting the authorization object to the at least one recipient computing device when it is determined that the request should be granted.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the determination of trust comprises:

receiving a registration message from the at least one recipient device, the registration message including an identification certificate of the recipient computing device and a random registration identifier, the identification certificate being certified by a master device;

validating the authenticity of the at least one recipient device;

exchanging messages including at least one session key with the at least one recipient device, the session key to be used in communications; and

conducting a secure transaction using the session key, wherein the secure transaction includes sending the digital content to the at least one recipient device.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the validating comprises:

verifying the identification certificate of the at least one recipient device;

generating a message to test the authenticity of the at least one recipient device, the generated message including a nonce;

sending the generated message to the at least one recipient device; and

verifying if the at least one recipient device correctly processed the generated message.

11. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by at least one sending computing device, cause the at least one sending computing device to:

determine if the at least one recipient computing device is trusted to receive the digital content from the at least one sending computing device;

send the digital content, by the at least one sending computing device, to the at least one recipient computing device only if the at least one recipient computing device has been determined to be trusted to receive the digital content from the at least one sending computing device; and

send usage rights information indicating how the digital content may be rendered by the at least one recipient computing device, the usage rights information being enforceable by the at least on recipient computing device.

12. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the usage rights information further includes a condition under which the content can be rendered.

13. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the determination of trust comprises:

receiving a request from at least one recipient computing device for an authorization object required to render the digital content; and

transmitting the authorization object to the at least one recipient computing device when it is determined that the request should be granted.

14. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the determination of trust comprises:

receiving a registration message from the at least one recipient device, the registration message including an identification certificate of the recipient computing device and a random registration identifier, the identification certificate being certified by a master device;

validating the authenticity of the at least one recipient device;

exchanging messages including at least one session key with the at least one recipient device, the session key to be used in communications; and

conducting a secure transaction using the session key, wherein the secure transaction includes sending the digital content to the at least one recipient device.

15. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the validating comprises:

verifying the identification certificate of the at least one recipient device;

generating a message to test the authenticity of the at least one recipient device, the generated message including a nonce;

sending the generated message to the at least one recipient device; and

verifying if the at least one recipient device correctly processed the generated message.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (8)