Separation of copy protection rules for digital rights management

Abstract

Management of rights to content is provided within an authorized domain. In a single authorized domain, where a plurality of domain interfaces are protected using a common rights management system, a copy of particular content may be allowed to be provided on all devices or only on specific devices coupled to the domain via the interfaces. Copy protection information, for outputs to external devices not protected by the common rights management system, is also specified. Rules can be provided for specifying whether particular content may be copied or moved to another protected domain. A number of rendering devices permitted to render the content simultaneously may be specified. Content rules are provided for use in managing rights to content within an authorized domain. Such rules can be associated with content that is persistently stored by a consumer device, as well as with content that is only rendered by a consumer device.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to digital rights management (DRM), and more particularly to methods and systems for providing copy protection of digital content within an authorized domain. Such a domain can comprise, for example, a home network that is licensed to play content such as movies, games, music and the like on various different entertainment appliances coupled to the network. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Providers of digital content, such as music on compact discs (CD) and movies on digital versatile discs (DVD) often desire protection from unauthorized copying of the content. Such content can also be streamed to users via networks such as cable and satellite television plants, as well as over the Internet. Existing copy protection rules, such as those defined by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), generally do not take into account the existence of authorized domains, where devices (televisions, DVD players, game c...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention provides a method for managing rights to content within an authorized domain. This involves specifying whether a copy of particular content is allowed to be provided on all devices or only on specific devices within the domain. The method also includes rules for rendering devices and copy protection rules for outputting content to external devices. The invention also provides a ruleset for managing rights to content within an authorized domain, which includes rules for devices associated with the domain and persistent entitlements. The invention also describes a system for distributing licensed content to end users, which involves delivering content to a home network and providing copy protection information for outputs to external devices.

Problems solved by technology

However, these standards can make it very difficult for an authorized (e.g., licensed) user to use the content on different devices on that user's authorized domain (e.g. home network).

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