Data storage and access system

The present invention generally relates to data storage and access systems. In particular, the present invention relates to a portable data storage medium for storing and paying for data and a computer system for accessing the stored data. The present invention also includes corresponding methods and computer programs. The present invention is particularly useful for managing stored audio and video data, but the present invention also applies to the storage and access of text and software containing games and other types of data.

An increasingly widespread problem with Internet use is the rampant and increasing so-called data piracy. Such piracy obtains data by either unauthorized or legal means and then makes this data fully available worldwide via the Internet without permission. Data is likely to be a very valuable product, but once it is published on the Internet, it may not even be aware that its copyright has been infringed. Access to and its use is difficult to regulate. This is especially problematic for audio recordings, and once bandwidth becomes available, it's clear that it's also possible for video.

Over the last three or four years, the number of compressed audio sources available on web pages has increased. One widely used audio data compression format is MP3 (MPEG3), an internationally established standard that includes definitions of compressed audio information such as speech or music. It relies on the psychoacoustic properties of human hearing to achieve very large data compression factors. Therefore, it is possible to conveniently download long passage music in a practically convenient and short time. Infringing data suppliers are aware of this possibility, and many unauthorized websites have emerged to offer popular music, including new songs from world-renowned bands. This has become a major concern for the record industry, and there is an urgent need to find a solution to the data piracy issue.

The present invention solves this and related problems. According to the present invention, a portable data storage device provided with a storage means for downloaded data and a payment confirmation means is provided, a terminal for Internet access is provided, the portable data storage device is connected to the terminal, and the terminal is provided. A portable data providing method is provided that includes reading payment information from payment confirmation means using, confirming payment information, and downloading data from a data supplier into a portable storage device.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a corresponding mobile data retrieval device that retrieves and outputs stored music-like data or noise from the data storage device.

Payment confirmation means are, for example, means for confirming payments with respect to an external institution such as a bank or housing finance mutual aid association. By combining this payment confirmation instrument with a data storage instrument, access to the downloaded data to be stored by the data storage instrument is conditioned when a checked and confirmed payment is made to that data. It becomes possible. By restricting both data access and payments, the legitimate owner of the data makes the data itself available on the Internet without fear of loss of profit, thereby gradually weakening the momentum of data piracy infringers. be able to.

Another advantage of this system is that it allows users under the age of 18 to shop online. Currently, Internet users pay for goods and / or services by credit card. Since people under the age of 18 cannot legally use credit cards (at least in the UK), a significant proportion of enterprising Internet users are expected to be one of the highest Internet usage rates from e-commerce. Has been excluded. However, in one embodiment of the present invention, the payment confirmation means includes an e-cash that stores transaction price information regarding the cash value of the transaction that can be confirmed by the payment confirmation means by the data storage means. Briefly, the data storage means can be a card that is charged until the desired cache value (preferably limited to the highest value) is reached on a suitable terminal . This may be an internet access terminal, but more simply, it accepts a data storage card, accepts and counts the money deposited by the user who charged for that card, and counts the updated cash value information. It can be a device that writes to a card. More sophisticated methods of updating the cash value on the card, such as direct bank transfer, are also possible. For this type of embodiment, the data storage means do not essentially act as a credit card, but are pre-charged with cash so that they can be used by young people without the risk of carrying large debts. ..

In one embodiment, the data storage means receives power from a search device when connected to it and maintains storage of downloaded data when it is not powered. This can be done with flash RAM, or more generally, any form of programmable read-only memory. Alternatively, the data storage means may include rechargeable cells or capacitors and store information in battery-backed static RAM.

The downloaded data is probably input into the data storage device by an interface such as a magnetically or capacitively coupled connection or optical connection, but the interface is due to a direct electrical connection to the storage means. It is preferable to include the contacts of. Similarly, the payment confirmation means may have one of various interfaces, but it is also preferable to include a set of electrical contacts. However, payment confirmation means can include magnetic or holographic data strips, such as those known for use with credit and telephone cards. The interface for receiving the downloaded data is separated from the interface to the payment confirmation means, which can facilitate separate and simultaneous access to both of these systems. In another embodiment, a single interface may act as both a data storage and payment interface. It is effective that the payment confirmation means includes a memory for storing information for identifying the payer of the downloaded data fee.

For additional security, the downloaded data may be encrypted. In this case, data decryption may be required at some stage in either the data storage means or the retrieval device, or in an information transmission device such as a data access terminal. Instead, the data decryption function can be shared by one or more of these devices. Those skilled in the art will recognize the scope of suitable cryptographic / decryption techniques, including Pretty Good Privacy® and PKI (Public Key Infrastructure). Normally, if the downloaded data is encrypted, its decryption key must be provided. This can occur automatically by the data access terminal or data access service provider, or it can be entered by the user into the data access terminal or mobile data retrieval device.

The data storage means and / or the search means may also include access control means that block unauthorized access to the downloaded data. In addition, or instead, usage control measures may be provided to suspend or limit user access to the downloaded data according to the payment amount. In some embodiments, these access and usage control functions can be combined to control access or control access. Thus, for example, a complete set of data information about a particular topic, a particular musical song, or a particular software package can be downloaded. However, subsequent payments made by the user may control access to parts of the dataset. In this way, the user can make available a special level of the game, or another song from one album, by paying.

In embodiments where the access or use control means respond to the payment confirmation means, the access or use control information may be stored with the downloaded data or stored in another storage area, such as, for example, the payment confirmation means. May be done. The user's access to the downloaded data can effectively respond to the payment confirmation means by, for example, a memory access or a control line connecting the payment confirmation means to the decoding control element.

In one embodiment, the data storage means includes an electronic memory card or a smart card, and the mobile data retrieval device includes a slot for receiving the card. The card is preferably inserted into the search device by indentation, and the card may be held by pressure from the electrical interface connection or by the elasticity of the housing or by using elastic holding means. .. In a preferred embodiment, the search device includes an audio output and a display that plays the downloaded song and displays information about the song and / or attached video.

To download the data into the data storage means, the user can use a data access terminal coupled to the Internet. This terminal can confirm payment directly. For example, in the case of a smart card charged with electronic cash, it can deduct the cash value from the card. Instead, it can communicate with banks or other financial service providers to control payments. However, in a preferred embodiment, the terminal connects to a data access service provider, which provides a portal to another site and transfers data from the data supplier to the user's local access terminal after confirming payment. Forward. Instead, the data access service provider may transfer payment confirmation information and / or information from the payment confirmation agency to the data supplier for control by the supplier of the supplied data. Therefore, the data for accessing and / or downloading the payment confirmation system can be fully controlled by the data supplier.

The data held on the data storage means can effectively include data on the system usage of the user or payer. This information can include, for example, information about user consumption patterns, information about data suppliers used, and information about downloaded data. This information can be accessed by data suppliers and / or data access service providers and can be used for loyalty-based incentive schemes such as targeted markets or air miles.

The data access terminal may be a regular computer, or instead, it may be a mobile phone. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and i-mode® allow mobile phones to efficiently access the Internet, which allows them to effectively download data directly to data storage means using mobile phones. It will be possible. The data storage means can optionally include the functionality of a mobile phone SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card that already includes a user identification means to allow the telephone network operator to charge the user. ..

In a preferred embodiment, the downloaded data is MP3 or another encoded audio data, but the system can also be used for more general applications of different data types. For example, the downloaded data can include software, especially games, stock price information, latest news information, transportation timetable information, weather information and catalog shopping information. The downloaded information may include compressed video data. The storage capacity of the data storage means can be adjusted to suit the type of data intended for download. For example, for CD-quality music, 32 megabytes is sufficient, but for video, the data storage means preferably has a capacity of 128 megabytes or more.

In another feature, the invention comprises an interface for reading and writing data to and from a storage medium, a non-volatile data memory coupled to the interface and storing data in the storage medium, and payment data coupled to the interface. Provide a portable data storage medium including a non-volatile payment data memory that supplies the data to an external device.

These features allow the data storage medium to store both payment data and content data, thereby providing the benefits outlined above. Depending on the payment system used, the payment data memory may also store a code to confirm payment to the external payment system. Payment data is typically linked to the card or cardholder identification data for payment by the cardholder. The non-volatile memory ensures that the stored content and payment data are maintained in the data storage medium when the data storage medium is not powered by an external power source. Thus, the term "nonvolatile" includes, for example, low power memory whose content is held by a battery backup system. In one embodiment, the payment data memory includes EEPROM and the content data memory includes flash memory, but other types of content data memory, such as optical data memory such as holographic, can also be used. .. The data storage medium can also be integrated into another device, such as a mobile communication device.

The portable data storage medium is a program storage device that stores the code that can be executed by the processor, and a processor that is combined with the content data memory, the payment data memory, the interface, and the program storage device to execute the code in the program storage device. The code preferably includes a code for outputting payment data from the payment data memory to the interface and a code for performing external access to the data memory.

Although the content data memory is capable of write and read access to both store and retrieve data, in some embodiments the content data memory may be read-only memory. In such an embodiment, the content may be preloaded on the storage medium and then the permission fee for the preloaded data may be paid.

The data storage medium also preferably stores a record of access made to the content data memory and updates it in response to external access made to the data memory, preferably read access. The storage medium may also store content usage rules for the permitted use of stored data items. These usage rules are linked to payments made from the card, with access to immediate purchase content data, rental access to content data for a period of time or for a specified number of access events, and, for example, rental access expiration dates. Upon termination, rental use can offer payment options such as rental / purchase offered at a discounted price along with the option to purchase content data.

Therefore, if the data storage medium stores music, for example, the immediate purchase option is equivalent to purchasing a compact disc (CD) and preferably has some form of content copy protection, such as a digital watermark. In this example, the rental or subscriber payment option may be a pay-per-play option, and this option allows payment to be made either before or after access to the stored data. , The storage medium can operate in either mode of debit or credit payment.

Due to the portability of the data storage medium, it is used to access content, ie, in this example, to play music without having to be linked to a communication system or online to the Internet. Is potentially possible. By providing the used record memory on the data storage medium, the use of the stored data can be tracked while offline and therefore the payment required the next time the data storage medium is connected to the communication system. Can be done. This allows the data storage medium to operate in credit mode. In debit mode, additional storage of usage rules restricts access to content data stored on the storage medium without the need to further exchange payment / usage data with an external system to confirm usage. Be made easy.

By combining digital rights management and content data storage using a single storage medium, the stored content data can be moved and stored by the data content provider or data copyright holder. It can be accessed from anywhere while maintaining control over. The data storage medium preferably stores access control data such as user IDs and passwords, as the stored data may be valuable. Access control data may be combined with access control to payment data, which is typically a PIN (Personal Identification Number) to facilitate access to valuable content stored on its storage medium. Is done by.

In one embodiment, the stored content data is encrypted and requires a unique password or PIN and / or biometric data to decrypt it. The data storage medium may be configured such that the content is erased after a predetermined number of unauthorized accesses have been attempted. Further, or instead, a permanently stored flag may be set, or a hardware fix (to prevent the data storage medium from functioning to further store / retrieve data). (Like a fuse link) may be done. However, it is preferable that access to the stored value / payment data is maintained in that case as well.

Auxiliary data may also be stored on the storage medium in relation to the stored content data. This ancillary data may include customer reward management data and / or advertising data. Auxiliary data can include pointers to external data sources so that the stored content can be viewed again or the advertisement or other data can be displayed when accessed. Data is downloaded from this external data source to either a data storage medium or a data access device or content player.

Additional data security and / or mechanisms that reward operators at different levels in the data supply chain can be provided using content synthesis capabilities. The content composition function combines partial content information from two or more sources to generate content data items that are stored and / or output. Thus, for example, the first percentage of content data items can be provided by the content retailer and the remaining percentage can be provided by the online data supplier. This encourages users to register with content retailers or distributors as well as online scheme owners, and is likely to encourage the use of existing retailers and fees to such retailers. A mechanism for paying is provided. The two parts of the data combined to provide the content data item can be encrypted data and the key, but from the disjointed parts of the complete data item, for example, the least significant bit and the most significant bit. It is preferably composed of bits, or high and low frequencies (for audio). This configuration also facilitates customer compensation and relevance management.

In one embodiment, the data storage medium further includes a memory for storing data for accessing the network to receive content data, for example, by a mobile communication network. For such embodiments, the data storage medium replaces the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card in the mobile communication device, thereby serving as a single card for network access and valuable content retrieval and storage. can do. In addition, or instead, the card can also store the web address of the data supplier from which the data can be downloaded onto the storage medium.

The data memory for storing the content data may be an optical, magnetic or semiconductor memory, but preferably includes a flash memory. The data memory preferably has a large capacity for storing a large data file such as compressed video data. The data memory is preferably divided for lock access. That is, especially in blocks such as 1K, 4K, 16K or 64K bytes for fast data access where the stored content data is usually continuously accessed, as is usually the case with audio and video data. On the other hand, it is preferable to be divided for reading and / or writing access. The card is preferably configured as an IC card or smart card and has a credit card type format. However, other formats such as the "Memory Stick" format are also available. This provides a small and convenient portable format and facilitates removable interfaces with various devices.

The present invention also provides a method of controlling access to data on a data storage medium, the data storage medium comprising a non-volatile data memory and a non-volatile parameter memory for storing usage status data and usage rules. The method receives a data access request, reads usage data and usage rules from memory, evaluates usage data using usage rules, and determines whether access to the stored data is granted. Includes steps to determine.

According to another feature of the present invention, it comprises a communication interface and a data access data storage device for storing records of data items available from the system, each record to a data item description and a data provider for that data item. A program storage device that contains a pointer to and further stores code that can be executed by the processor, and a processor that is combined with a communication interface, data access data storage device, and program storage device to execute the stored code. The code is for receiving a request for a data item from a requester, a code for receiving payment data from a communication interface that contains data about the payment of the requested data item, and a request and payment received. A computer that supplies data to a data requester, including a code for reading the data for the request data item from the content provider in response to the data and a code for sending the read data to the requester via a communication interface. The system is provided.

This computer system is operated by a data supplier or a data supply "scheme owner" to supply content data to the data storage media described above. The payment data received may be data about payments actually made to the data supplier, or it has been made to the e-payment system with respect to either payments to the data supplier or payments to a third party. It may be a payment record. For data from content providers, it is preferable that no persistent (local) storage of the transferred data is done. This improves data security. The reason is that the content provider maintains control over the content data item and the copy of the data item, and therefore the data supplier cannot supply data for that item without the assistance of the content provider. The computer system can temporarily store the requested data item, for example using a disk cache, but it is preferable that the computer system does not store the complete data item, even temporarily.

The computer system contains payment distribution information so that when a payment is made for a data item, the payment is distributed so that royalties can be repaid and other payments can be made. Typically, a significant percentage of the payment for a data item is transferred to the copyright owner or "content provider" of that item, while smaller payments are made to artists and / or publishers and / or retailers. Or a distributor. Payments may be made directly by the computer system to another related party's computer system, for example using a signature-transport E payment system. Instead, the computer system can issue appropriate instructions to the third party E-payment system to make the transfer. The computer system allows automatic distribution of payments before, during, or after the content data is downloaded, or after the user accesses the content data. Orders to distribute payments are issued at substantially the same time, thereby avoiding long-term delays in payments for a party. For example, it is currently likely that the usual method of paying an artist who generated content will take more than a year.

The computer system also stores content data item access rule data for downloads associated with the content data item. Although this rule data may be stored by the content provider, it is preferably retained by the computer system and, as outlined above in the context of the data storage medium, the content is typically based on the required payment value. Link the identifier with the access rule. Normally, each content data item has an associated access rule, but a single rule may be applied to a large number of data items. Computer systems also preferably store requester reward data for customer reward / loyalty management. This data also contains one or more rules that link payment values and / or content data item types to identified rewards such as air miles or retailer value points. Computer systems also preferably maintain a record of content item downloads and payments on the storage medium of the identified user or data for market research.

In one embodiment, the computer system also stores access control data such as access request identities and passwords that can be used to generate extranets for system users, which are also stored for marketing purposes. It can be linked to the access record data that has been created. When further linked to content item type data, such a configuration may be used to build a club of users for certain types of content data items, such as country and western or rock'n'roll music. it can. As described in relation to portable data storage media, computer systems may also include content synthesis code for additional data security and more secure payment distribution management.

The present invention also receives a request for a data item from the requester, receives payment data for payment for the requested data from the requester, and reads and reads the requested data from the content provider in response to the received payment data. Provide related methods of feeding data to a data requester, including sending the data to the requester.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a data access terminal that retrieves data from a data supplier and supplies the retrieved data to a data storage medium, the data access terminal being the first to communicate with the data supplier. Combined and stored in an interface, a data storage medium interface that interfaces with a data storage medium, a program storage device that stores code that can be executed by a processor, and a first interface, a data storage medium interface, and a program storage device. It is equipped with a processor that executes the code, which is a code for reading the payment data from the data storage medium and transferring the payment data to the payment confirmation system, and a code for receiving the payment confirmation data from the payment confirmation system. And the code to retrieve the data from the data supplier in response to the payment confirmation data and write the retrieved data into the data storage medium.

The terminal can be used to retrieve data from the computer system described above and download the retrieved data to the portable data storage medium described above. For data supply computer systems, it is preferred that no (local) storage of content item data transferred from the data supplier to the data storage medium is performed. Data access terminals are not limited to use by the data suppliers mentioned above, for example, searching for data from local data sources such as CDs (compact discs) or DVDs (digital versatile discs), or from local data sources such as cable television stations. It is possible to download from 3 parties to a data storage medium.

The terminal reads the payment data from the data storage medium and sends it to the payment confirmation system to confirm the data and approve the payment. It may be part of the data supplier's computer system, or it may be another system, such as an e-payment system. In this way, the terminal operates with a data storage medium for storing payment (confirmation) data, and in some embodiments with an additional payment code confirming payment to the payment confirmation system. Again, the terminal is preferably configured to supply the data item usage rules along with the data items to the storage medium. As mentioned above, the data item usage rule usually depends on the payment value information contained in the payment data read from the storage medium. The terminal is also preferably configured to serve as a user input unit for access control data. This access control data may be transferred to a data storage medium for permission verification, or it may be sent to the data supplier's computer system for the same purpose. The terminal may be configured to warn the user of the prohibition of content access or data storage functions after a predetermined number of access requests have been denied. The terminal may also include the content synthesis code described above.

The terminal may include a code for outputting auxiliary data when the data is downloaded to the data storage medium. Identity data on the data storage medium can be used to retrieve auxiliary data or pointers to auxiliary data from the data supplier's computer system, or auxiliary data or pointers to it can be retrieved directly from the data storage medium. Is possible. However, the identification data on the card is used to retrieve characterization data, such as card user preference data, from the data supplier's computer system, after which the characterization data searches for auxiliary data and outputs it to the terminal user. Therefore, it is preferably used by the terminal. If the device is associated with an intermediary distributor or retailer, the auxiliary data is provided by a network associated with that retailer / distributor, such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) or extranet. It may be searched.

The present invention also includes a step of reading payment data from a data storage device, transferring the payment data to a payment confirmation system, retrieving the data from a data supplier, and writing the retrieved data into a data storage medium. Provide a method of supplying data from a supplier to a data storage medium.

The payment confirmation system may be part of the data supplier's computer system, or it may be another e-payment system. In one embodiment, the method further comprises the step of receiving payment confirmation data from a payment confirmation system and sending at least a portion of the payment confirmation data to a data supplier. Instead, the payment confirmation system may include the data supplier or the payment processor at the destination retrieved from the data supplier. The payment processor may also supply payment distribution data that distributes the payments represented by the payment data.

In another feature, the present invention provides a data access device for retrieving stored data from a data storage medium, which can be performed by a user interface, a data storage medium interface, and a processor. It includes a program storage device that stores various codes, a user interface, a data storage medium interface, and a processor that is coupled to the program storage device and executes the stored code, and the code is stored on the storage medium. A code for searching for usage status data indicating the usage status of the stored data and usage rule data indicating the permitted use of the data stored on the storage medium, and usage status using the usage rule data. Includes code to evaluate the data and determine whether access to the stored data is granted, and code to access the stored data if access is granted. There is.

The data access device uses usage data and usage rules to determine which access is allowed to the data stored on the data storage medium. As mentioned above, usage rules typically rely on payments made for the data stored on the data storage medium, but it includes access control using user identification and passwords. You may. Since a single data storage medium may have more than one user, usage conditions and usage rules may be selected according to the user identity. Data access devices will also provide auxiliary data when providing the content data retrieved as described above, from a card, from a remote computer system, or from some other source such as cable television networks or cable broadcasting. It may be configured.

The present invention also provides a related method of controlling access to data from a data storage medium, which retrieves and uses usage status data from the data storage medium indicating past use of the stored data. The rules are searched from the data storage medium, the usage rules are used to evaluate the usage status data to determine whether access to the data stored in the storage medium is permitted, and depending on the result of the evaluation. It includes a step of permitting access to the data stored on the data storage medium.

According to another feature of the present invention, a data supply computer system that transfers data from a data provider to a data access terminal, an electronic payment system that confirms electronic payment, and data from the data supply system that communicates with the data supply system. It is equipped with a data access terminal that writes in the data storage medium and a data storage medium that stores data from the data supply system and payment data, and the payment data supplied from the data storage medium to the electronic payment system is confirmed. When a data access system is provided in which data is transferred from the data provider to the data storage medium.

According to yet another feature of the present invention, an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from a storage medium, a non-volatile data memory coupled to this interface to store data on the storage medium, and stored data. A portable data storage medium is provided that includes a digital rights management processor that controls access to the data.

According to another feature of the present invention, an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from a storage medium, a non-volatile data memory coupled to the interface for storing data on the storage medium, and an access control processor are provided. The data memory is divided as a data block, and a portable data storage medium is provided in which an access control processor controls external access to the data block.

Yet another feature of the invention is to provide a computer system that supplies data to a data requester, which includes a communication interface and a data access data storage device that stores records of data items available from the system. Each record contains a data item description and a resource locator that is the data provider for that data item, and the system also includes a program storage device that stores code that can be executed by the processor, a communication interface, and data access data. It includes a storage device and a processor that is coupled to a program storage device to execute the stored code, which receives a request for a data item from the requester and contains data regarding the payment of the requested data item. The data access data storage device includes a code for receiving payment data from a communication interface and a code for outputting item data to a requester by the communication interface in response to a request and received payment data. In addition, it contains payment distribution information indicating the payees to whom payments are to be made for the data item, and to output payment data for the data item in order to make a payment for that item when the data item is provided to the requester. Contains more code for.

Yet another feature of the invention is to provide a computer system that supplies data to a data requester, which includes a communication interface and a data access data storage device that stores records of data items available from the system. Each record contains location data that identifies a data item description and the electronic address of the provider of that data item, and the system also includes a program storage device that stores code that can be executed by the processor, a communication interface, and data. It has an access data storage device and a processor that executes the stored code that is coupled to the program storage device, which receives the request for the data item from the requester and receives the data regarding the payment of the requested data item. The data access data storage device includes a code for receiving payment data including from a communication interface and a code for outputting item data to a requester by a communication interface in response to a request and received payment data. Further includes data item access rule data that is output to the requester along with the data item, and further includes a code for selecting access rule data that is output with the data item in response to the payment data. There is.

According to yet another feature of the present invention, a request for a data item is received from the requester, payment data regarding payment for the requested data is received from the requester, the requested data is transmitted to the requester, and payment distribution information is stored in a data storage device. Provides a method of supplying data to a data requester, including a step of reading from and outputting the payment data to the payment system to classify the payment for the requested data.

According to yet another feature of the invention, a request for a data item is received from the requester, payment data for payment for the requested data is received from the requester, the requested data is sent to the requester, and the data access rule data is read. A method of supplying data to a data requester is provided that includes a step of sending the data to the data requester together with the data.

<figref num="1">It is a top view (A), a front view (B), and a side view (C) of a data access device.</figref><figref num="2">It is a schematic diagram of a conceptual portable data storage device.</figref><figref num="3">It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary data access terminal.</figref><figref num="4">FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a logical signal path between elements of a conceptual data access system and a physical representation of the conceptual data access system.</figref><figref num="5">It is the schematic of the content supply system.</figref><figref num="6">It is a schematic diagram of a data supply computer system.</figref><figref num="7">It is a schematic diagram of various data access terminals.</figref><figref num="8">It is a schematic diagram of the component of a data access terminal.</figref><figref num="9">It is a schematic diagram of the component of a data storage medium.</figref><figref num="10">It is a schematic diagram of the component of a data access device.</figref><figref num="11a">It is a flow chart of the registration procedure of a data storage device.</figref><figref num="11b">It is a flow chart of the registration procedure of a data storage device.</figref><figref num="12a">It is a flow chart of data access using a data access terminal.</figref><figref num="12b">It is a flow chart of data access using a data access terminal.</figref><figref num="12c">It is a flow chart of data access using a data access terminal.</figref><figref num="12d">It is a flow diagram of data supply using a data supply computer system.</figref><figref num="12e">It is a flow diagram of data supply using a data supply computer system.</figref><figref num="13">It is a flow chart of the data search using a data access device.</figref>

Referring to FIG. 1, this shows a data access device 10 that reproduces MP3 audio by an operator control device 12 and an LCD display 14. The outline of the smart card data storage device is shown by 16. The operator controller allows the user to select and play a track, and track information and still or video images are provided on the display 14. Slot 18 is provided on the front of the device to receive smart card type data storage means. This smart card occupies space 20, interfaces with an elastic contact portion 24, and is held by a data retrieval device facing the contact portion by an elastic housing element 22.

With reference to FIG. 2, this shows a portable data storage medium 30 suitable for use with the device of FIG. The data storage means is based on a standard smart card, which is plastic, with almost standard credit card dimensions and some flexibility. There are two sets of contacts on the card 30, the contact 32 interfaces with the payment confirmation means, and the contact 34 interfaces with the memory that stores the downloaded data (in other embodiments, one set). The contacts of the set may be used for both). The surface of the card can be decorated with the appropriate graphics.

In one embodiment the smart card maintains all its available functionality as specified for standard sail system electronic points (EPOSS), and if desired the memory to store the downloaded data is here. Can be electronically separated from. However, in order to realize the above-mentioned access control / decryption function, it is preferable to perform an interaction between a standard smart card device and a data memory.

Referring to FIG. 3, an example of a data access terminal is shown by 40. It has a screen 42 and a slot 44 for receiving the data storage medium 30. Instead, the data storage medium may interface to the terminal through the data access device 10 and the interface 46 to the terminal 40. In FIG. 3B, the dedicated terminal 50 includes a slot 52 for receiving a data storage medium, a display 54, and a control device 56. The coin is inserted into the terminal at 58 and is represented by 60 to pay the data storage medium in cash.

With reference to A in FIG. 4, this conceptually illustrates the logical connection and data flow between the data processing system involved in payment confirmation and the data downloaded to the storage medium 30. The user connects the data storage medium 30 to the terminal 40 and logs on to the data web page of the data supply service provider 60. The terminal 40 or service provider 60 then communicates with the payment confirmation agency 70 via the data path 62 to check and entitle the user or payer's payments. In the case of electronic cash, the terminal 40 immediately confirms the payment information and updates the service provider and / or the payment confirmation agency 70 at a later stage. The logical connection 64 between the terminal and the service provider is preferably made by the Internet.

The service provider may provide a direct entry to the data provider 80, or may provide a "front end" for gathering information from the data provider 80 and providing data from the supplier to the terminal user. Instead, the data supply service provider 60 provides the terminal and data provider with communication coordination information, for example, to direct the data supplier about the information that the user of the terminal 40 should access, as indicated by link 66. Direct access between the terminal 40 and the data provider 80 may be coordinated by communicating with.

In a preferred embodiment, the service provider 60 is operated by a recording industry company or entity, such as a content provider or copyright owner, content publisher or content creator, at an agreed rate, eg, 10 pence per track or 10 pence per minute. The usage fee is paid to the owned computer system, and the user of the terminal 40 efficiently pays the service provider. Billing can also be adjusted by bandwidth and / or data download time.

Preferably, the service provider 60 monitors the user's access to the system and stores or transfers usage information to the data provider 80 or downloads it to the data storage medium 30. In a preferred embodiment, the service provider transmits information via the terminal 40 to a data storage medium 30 that can be used to determine the incentives provided to the users of the system.

B in Figure 4 shows the conceptual physical structure of the system in A in Figure 4, where multiple terminals 40, multiple service providers 60, and multiple data providers 80 all interact over the Internet. .. Physical embodiments of the system are not critical and one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that terminals, data processing systems, etc. can all take various forms.

With reference to Figure 5, this shows a conceptual diagram of the content delivery system 100. Content creators 104a and b generate or receive content data from artist terminals 102a-d and store the content data in databases 106a and b. The content data stored in databases 106a and b may include audio data such as music, video data such as movies or TV programs, texts such as literature, software such as game software, or other data. Content creators 104a and b are joined to communication network 101 to communicate content data created on the network. The communication network 101 is also associated with content publishers 110a and 110b, which are associated with the associated stored content databases 112a and 112b, respectively. Content Publisher is Communication Network 101 To make the stored content available for controlled access. In some examples, such as where the content data includes a computer game, the functionality of the content creator and content publisher may be provided by one entity. Also conceptually shown as blocks in Figure 5, content creators and content publishers typically configure client-server computer networks, respectively.

The communication network 101 is typically a private communication network such as an extranet, and has security-controlled access to entities connected to the network. Physically, the network may have or consist of Internet Protocol networks, or dedicated point-to-point links. Thus, for example, Content Creator 104 may be directly linked to Content Publisher 110 and / or other entities such as Content Providers or Content Distributors shown in Figure 5.

The content providing system includes a plurality of content providers 108a-e, each of which is connected to the communication network 101. In the system shown, the content provider may own the copyright to the stored content data accessible by the communication network 101 and actually perform the content publishing function. Five content providers own more than 80% of the world's music sales. The content provider is coupled to the stored content databases 106 and 112 over the communication network 101 to supply the stored content data.

The gateway server 114 is also coupled to the communication network 101 to link the communication network to other networks such as the Internet and / or mobile communication networks. Gateway server 114 provides security and access control functions and firewalls. A second gateway, the content distributor WAN gateway 116, is also shown mounted on communication network 101. It provides similar security and firewall functionality and is coupled from communication network 101 to distributor WAN (wide area network) 117. Gateway 116 provides logical access to one or more content authors, content publishers, and content providers to access stored content data. Content Distributor Gateway 116 is owned by a chain of record stores and provides content access terminals 118, which are coupled to WAN 117, to separate retail stores. Content access terminal 118 goes through gateway 116 and communication network 101 Access the stored content accessible above.

With reference to Figure 6, this shows the data supply computer system 120. In this embodiment, the three content access terminals 118a-c, the e-payment system 121a, b, and the content access web server 124 are all coupled to the Internet 142. The data supply system 120 is coupled to the content delivery system 100 shown in Figure 5. If the communication network 101 in Figure 5 is an extranet, this extranet is physically operated by the Internet 142, and if the communication network 101 is partially inoperable via the Internet 142, the connection to the Internet 142 is shown in Figure 5. Set by gateway server 114 as shown in. In this way, the content access terminal 118a-c is given controlled access to the stored content data of the content providing system 100.

The e-payment systems 121a and 121b are combined into banks 122a, b, c and d, respectively. They provide e-systems according to, for example, MONDEX, Proton and / or Visa cash compliant standards. Preferably at least one e-payment system 121a, b Operates a so-called "open perspective" system in which the value is recorded as a publicly certifiable digital signature and issued by an e-payment system. In such signature transfer arrangements, payment data may be verified using a public key, so payment proof does not have to be performed by the e-payment system and instead uses a payment control code, for example data. It may be performed by an access terminal or a data supply system computer. A proven signature that acts virtually like a check is entrusted to the relevant e-payment system after demonstrating amount verification, repayment, and forwarding. Payments may be made anonymously by such a system, so identification of the payer is not mandatory. Data storage media such as data cards may be issued with or without stored values, in which case the values (ie, publicly collable digital signatures) are written to the card during an online transaction. You may.

In an alternative embodiment, a data storage medium such as the smart flash card described below may be used to generate a digital signature with value, as is familiar to those familiar with e-money. ..

The content access web server 124 is also coupled to the internet 142 to provide the content access terminal 118a-c by accessing the content data. The content access web server 124 is typically owned by the content data supply scheme owner, which acts as an intermediary between the content access terminal user and the content provider, and the content access terminal and stored content by the content provider. Transfers given content data (directly or indirectly) to a data storage medium. The web server 124 is coupled to a web server code storage device 126 that stores a Java code for generating a web page that is interpreted by the web browser of the content access terminal 111a-c. The web page provides content download, value addition, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) value check / expense and website linking features as described below.

Web server 124 is coupled to payment processor 128, digital rights management (DRM) processor 130, access control processor 132, and content distribution processor 134. Payment processor 128 includes payment control code storage 128a and is coupled to payment record data storage 136. The access control processor 132 includes an access control code storage device 132a and is coupled to the access control data storage device 138. The DRM processor 130 includes a DRM code storage device 130a, which is coupled to content access and DRM data storage device 140. The content distribution processor 134 includes CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and payment distribution management code storage 134a and is also coupled to content access and DRM data storage 140. As shown in Figure 6, the processors 128-134 are all communicating with each other.

Processors 128, 130, 132, and 134 may include separate application programs or a single computer program, may run on a single physical computer, and may be provided with a web server 124. Alternatively, it may run on separate computers. Similarly, data storage devices 136, 138, 140 may constitute a single physical data storage device, or may be distributed among multiple physical devices, and may be physically separated from processors 128-134. It may be coupled to these processors by the Internet 142.

Web server 124 communicates with processor 128 -134 via CGI (Common Gateway Interface), even if scripts and code associated with processor 128 -134 are written in any popular computer language such as C, C ++ or Perl. Good. However, in other embodiments, one or more processors may be coupled to the web server 124 via the Internet 142 and owned and operated by a separate entity such as a financial institution. In this case, general confidential web-based communication may operate between the web server 124 and the associated processor. In particular, the payment processor 128 may be operated by one of the e-payment system providers 128a, b.

Payment management code storage 128a issues and authenticates payment data, and stores audit records in payment record data storage 136. The access control code storage device 132a stores the identification data (of the user or card) together with the registration data given by the user when registered with the scheme owner. This data includes user passwords for accessing stored content and / or payment data, user characterization data that characterizes user preferences for marketing purposes, and data indicating the e-payment system used. Such embodiments further include regular user-related data such as card-level data for identifying the provision of "gold" level services to selected users. A copy of the password is stored as content data in a portable data storage medium as described below. Instead, one or both of the access data storage device and the portable data storage medium may simply store data for collating the password entered by the user.

The content access and DRM data storage device 140 stores data about content access and content usage, but does not itself store content data items, which are instead provided by the content delivery system 100 described above. The data storage device 140 stores a plurality of records, each of which comprises a data item identifier, a data item description, a data item type or format, and one or more pointers to the position where the data item can be downloaded. Contains data. A data item is associated with a list of values (ie content data item prices) and a table of usage rule data with the corresponding acceptable usage levels. Thus, the £ 1 value allows 10 plays of a music track, while the £ 10 value allows an unlimited number of track plays and copies of the track for personal use.

The data items are also associated with a list of recipients and a table of payment distribution data that includes the corresponding share of the data item values they receive. Typically, the primary recipient is the copyright owner of the data item, and the other recipients are selected from content creators, artists, scheme owners, content publishers, retailers / distributors. The payment distribution ratio may be based on the payment value, in which case a set of payment distribution indexes may be associated with each data item, and each distribution index set corresponds to a range of payment values. Payment data and distribution data are referred to herein as DRM (Digital Rights Management) data.

In addition, the data items are associated with a table of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) data, which is linked to user rule data and for the usage level of one or more data items, for the amount of reward points and for the reward points. Contains CRM rules to identify one or more recipients (recipients may include card users and retailers / distributors).

CRM and payment distribution code storage 134a works with content access and DRM data storage 140, thereby notifying system users of data item descriptions and values, accessing data items from content provider systems and contenting them. Pay processor 128 or E-payment system 121 to download to the access terminal, give the data item to the content usage rule, distribute the payment of the data item to the recipient identified by the data storage 140, and distribute the CRM reward points. Give a command to.

Access control data storage 138 holds a secret protection key, such as a secret "public" key, in the public key cryptosystem, whereby the scheme owner authenticates its identity to the content provider. This data is kept confidential in access control data storage 138 along with other sensitive data. As described in more detail below, when the data supply system 120 receives a request for a content data item from content access terminal 118, it uses content access and DRM data storage 140 to find the location where the data item is valid. , Then determine the identity of the corresponding content provider. This identity may be stored in content access and DRM data storage 140, or may be hard-written to RDM code 130a if there are a relatively small number of content providers present. The DRM code 130 then gives the access control data storage device 138 the identifier of the secret scheme owner to the associated content provider 132. To set up a trusted connection between the content provider and the content access web server 124 to download data items to the content access terminal 118 and the portable data storage medium.

Referring to FIG. 7, it shows various content access terminals for accessing the data supply computer system 120 over the Internet 142. The terminal is provided with an interface to a portable data storage medium or a "smart flash card" (SFC), which will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and will be described in more detail below. In most embodiments of the terminal, the SFC interface allows the smart flash card data storage medium to be inserted into and removed from the terminal, but in some embodiments the data storage medium is integrated with the terminal. May be good.

With reference to the special embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the simple content access terminal may include a home personal computer 144 with SFC interface 144a. In another embodiment, the mobile communication device 152 is provided with a smart flash card interface 152a, which is coupled to the Internet 142 by a wireless tower 150, a mobile communication system 148, and a mobile communication Internet gateway 146.

In another embodiment, the smart flash card interface is provided in the so-called set-top box (STB) 154. A set-top box is actually a receiver for a television program received at video input 154b, which can include satellite TV signals and cable TV signals or off-air TV signals. The video signal is fed from the set-top box to the television 156 or some other home entertainment device such as a personal computer (not shown). In another embodiment, the content access terminals 166, 168, which have SFC interfaces 166a and 168a, respectively, are coupled to the retailer's local area network (LAN) 160, which connects to the Internet 142 through the retailer's LAN server 158. There is. DVD player 164 is also coupled to LAN160. In yet another embodiment, the smart flash card interface 170a is provided for the CD / DVD player 170.

In these latter three embodiments, the content data to be stored on the smart flash card can be retrieved from broadcast video and / or CD or DVD. In this case, the computer data supply system 120 shown in Figure 6 is used to provide usage rule data for the content data stored on the smart flash card and to pay for the data downloaded to the card. Often, content data may be captured before or after the data supply system 120 is accessed to enable the use of stored data, but in a preferred embodiment a supply other than the content data supply computer system. The content data written to the card by the vendor is not accessible to the user until the corresponding usage rule data is downloaded from the computer system 120, which is usually after receiving payment for the downloaded data.

Referring to FIG. 8, this shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the data access terminal 170. The terminal is equipped with a general purpose computer, which includes an audio / visual interface 184, a keyboard 186 and a pointing device 188 to provide the interface to the user. The terminal optionally has an internet interface 176, such as a modem, and a LAN / WAN interface 174 for connecting the terminal to the retailer's or distributor's LAN or WAN. The terminal also has an optional video input 178 for receiving broadcast video data and a media input device 180 such as a CD or DVD drive. In addition, a communication I / O port 182 may be provided. A portable data storage medium or smart flash card interface 190 is provided to interface to a smart flash card. Optionally, a cash entry and verification system 192, as commonly used in automated teller machines (ATMs), may also be included within the content access terminal. The terminal is working memory such as RAM 194 And a program memory 196 that can be configured with any conventional storage device such as RAM, ROM or disk drive. The program code in program memory 196 may also be stored on removable disk 198. Processor 200 loads and executes the program code stored in program memory 196. All components of the terminal are linked by the data and communication bus 172.

In particular, the processor 200 manages the cache input and cache input data from the matching system 192 and loads and executes the cache payment management code 200a to append the value to the smart flash card. The processor 200 constitutes a web browser 200b for accessing the scheme owner's web page and a data exchange interface 200c for exchanging data between the smart flash card interface and the terminal and the data supply system 120.

Processor 200 also runs offline content search code 200d to retrieve data to be stored on the smart flash card from media input device 180 and / or video input 178 and / or LAN / WAN interface 174. The processor runs a content sampler 200e to output a small extract of content data items to the user via audio / visual interface 184. Such a data item sample may be stored in the content access data storage device 140 together with the content description data. The processor also runs a smart flash card interface drive 200f, a user interface code 200g, an additional communication drive 200h to drive LAN / WAN interface 174 and / or communication I / O port 182.

With reference to FIG. 9, it shows a schematic representation of the components of the portable data storage medium 202, which is represented in this embodiment as a so-called smart flash card. In this context, "smart flash card" preferably means an IC card with similar dimensions to a plastic payment card with a large capacity processor and flash data memory. For more details on smart cards, see the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) series of standards, including ISO7810, ISO7811, ISO7812, ISO7813, ISO7816, ISO9992, and ISO10102, which are references of the present invention.

With reference to Figure 9 in more detail, the data and communication bus 204 links the components of the card, and the components of the card read data from the processor 210, the operating memory 212, the timing and control logic unit 208, and the card 202. It has a contact (ISO7816) that makes external access to bus 204 to write data to it, or contains a contactless (ISO10536) external interface. Permanent program memory 216, non-volatile data memory 218, and non-volatile (flash) content data memory 214 are also coupled to the bus. The non-volatile data memory 218 may include an EEPROM and the permanent program memory 216 may include a ROM, such as a mask programmed ROM. All components of FIG. 9 are mounted on a single board, preferably the bearing contacts of the external interface 206.

Processor 200 loads and executes program code from permanent program memory 216. This code contains the data, including the operating system code that gives the card at least the basic operating system for external communication and the payment management code for supplying payment data from the non-volatile data memory 218 to pay for the downloaded content. And DRM (Digital Rights Management) and security code, which contains content data usage rules and code to execute code for password-controlled access to program functions, and CRM code to execute CRM-related rules. Includes a content synthesis code to combine the content data stored in the additional data given via the external interface 206 to synthesize the complete content item data.

The non-volatile data memory 218 contains data including card identity data, access control data including password data for confirming the user's password, access record data for storing access attempts and resulting records, and access record data. It stores the website address of the scheme owner and the content supply data such as the website address of the retailer / distributor.

Data memory 218 also stores card value data, including E-money, such as publicly collable digital signatures, and payment data to store payment audit trails, including data on payment amounts and payees. .. Memory 218 also stores RFM (latest frequent distribution) data and CRM data that stores customer reward points to provide transaction records for market research and customer reward purposes. Data memory 218 also provides an index of content data items stored in flash memory 214 and associated content usage rules, as well as DRM and royalties data to maintain a usage history audit trail for tracking rights management. I remember. Optionally, data memory 218 stores supply chain data that identifies the supply chain route to obtain data from the content provider, even if it is used to reward supply chain mediators based on commissions or reward points. Good.

The content data memory 214 preferably has at least 100 MB of data storage partitioned as data blocks of a size selected to match the stored content type. In order to record video data, it is preferable that the flash memory 214 has a data storage of more than 1 GB, and the data block in which the data memory is divided is even larger.

Referring to FIG. 10, this shows a schematic diagram of a data access device 220 such as a portable audio / video player. The data access device 220 is equipped with a normal dedicated computer system, which includes a processor 238, a permanent program memory 236 such as ROM, an operating memory 234 such as RAM, and a timing and control logic device 226, all of which are included. It is connected by the data and communication bus 222. The audio interface 228, display 230, and user controller 232 to provide the user interface are also connected to the bus. The smart flash card interface 224 is coupled to bus 222 to interface with the smart flash card to retrieve and play back stored content data.

Permanent program memory 236 stores program code for execution by processor 238, which code may be given to a data storage medium such as a ROM chip or disk 240. The processor 238 searches the content data stored from the SFC interface 238a, the user interface 238b, and the smart flash card that interfaces with the device, and from the searched content data (which may include compressed audio and / or video data). It is equipped with a content player 238d that outputs the obtained audio and / or video data to the user of the device.

Processor 238 is also equipped with a usage controller 238c that controls access to and use of the content stored on the smart flash card by the user of the content access device. The security code for usage control routine 238c and / or permanent memory 216 on the smart card is also digital watermark and part 1, version 1.0 of the SDMI portable device specification referenced in this application (see www.sdmi.org). Other secret protection digital music initiative (SDMI) content protection codes, such as those specified in.

Figures 11a and 11b show a flow diagram of the process of registering a data storage medium or smart flash card with a data supplier or scheme owner operating a data delivery system as shown in Figure 6. Smart flashcards are totally blank, i.e. have no pre-stored content or values, have pre-stored values but no pre-stored content, or have pre-stored content but are pre-stored. It may be issued with no value (content is given free of charge) or in the presence of both pre-stored value and pre-stored content. Thus, for example, a user may purchase a card at a retailer's counter that has a value but no content. The process in Figures 11a and 11b shows the registration of a card with no pre-stored content or pre-stored value. As shown, the registration process records the user's registration data in access control data storage 138 in FIG. 6 and writes the value data to a blank card.

In step S10, the smart flash card is inserted into the smart flash card interface of the content access terminal. The scheme owner's web page is then loaded into the content access terminal and displayed to the user (S11). The user registration data is then entered into the control access terminal (S12) and sent to the scheme owner (S13), and the user registration data is the user identity, the preferred e-payment system to use, optionally the content access PIN or password, Service levels (eg bronze, silver, gold) may be included. The optional password is the password required by the e-payment system to confirm the user's payment by the card, or in the case of card theft, for example, on the smart flash card to protect the stored data. It may be a password to prevent unauthorized access to the content. A single password may perform both of these functions. A web browser for content access terminals is configured to protect all perceptible data passing between the terminal and the scheme owner by using a regular cryptosystem, such as PIK (Public Key Infrastructure). Will be sent.

In step S14, the payment request is retrieved from the scheme owner of the content access terminal and displayed to the user. In step S15, the user enters payment data into the content access terminal, and this payment data is sent to the scheme owner to attach the value to the card. This may be, for example, a credit card transaction normally used for purchases on the Internet. The card value data and the card value access code are received by the content access terminal from the scheme owner in step S16. The card value corresponds to the payment made by the user and the value access code is the password entered by the user in step S12 or is generated by the payment processor 128 or the e-payment system 121 as shown in Figure 6. It may include the password for the PIN. In a preferred embodiment, the user pays the scheme owner, who then provides digital signature data representing the value directly to the content access terminal for writing to the smart flash card.

In step S17, the card registration data is received from the scheme owner by the content access terminal and written to the smart flash card. This card registration data includes user identity data, access control data, payment system specific data, scheme owner access data such as scheme owner web page address, and other dial-up information. At this stage, for example, user preference data, retail stores and other data, including CRM data, are entered by the user and written to the card (instead, the user preference data may be captured in step S12). The card value data and the card value access code received in step S16 are written to the card in step S18 and output to the user as a visually and optionally printed record. The card is then made available in step S19.

Figure 11b shows the corresponding registration steps performed by the scheme owner's data supply system 120. In step S20, the smart card registration web page request is received from the content access device and sent to the device in step S21. The user registration data is then received from the content access terminal in step S22 and stored in the content access control data storage device 138. The scheme owner's computer system then sends a payment request to the content access terminal in step S23, receives the payment data as an answer in step S24, and this payment is then in step S25, the payment system 121a shown in FIG. Or confirmed by an E-payment system such as b, and after confirmation, the payment processor 128 of the computer system sends value data and value access code to the content access terminal for writing to the smart flash card in step S26. The payment processor then pays record data storage 136 Is updated with the data related to the transaction (step S27), and in step S28, the card registration data previously written in the access control data storage device is searched, and this registration data is transmitted to the content access terminal. At step S29, the transaction then ends.

With reference to FIGS. 12a-c, these show flowcharts for downloading data to a smart flash card using a data access terminal. In step S30, the smart flash cards are inserted into the content access terminal, and in step S31, the user enters their password to gain access to the features of the smart flash card. In step S32, the content access terminal sends a password to the smart card for verification, and in step S33 it is checked whether access is allowed. If access is not allowed, a warning is displayed by the terminal in step S34 and an access denial count is performed. The threshold count is then read from the card along with the total number of accesses to the denied card (step S35). In step S36, the terminal checks to see if the total number of denied accesses is within the card threshold of 3, and if no, returns to step S31, if yes, proceeds to step S37, where the terminal Also displays a warning that denied access will result in the erasure of the content stored on the card. In step S38, the terminal checks if its count of denied accesses is greater than its threshold, returns to step S31 if no, and steps if the total number of allowed accesses is exceeded. Display an access denied message on S39. The system then waits in step S39 to remove the smart flash card from the content access terminal.

If access is allowed in step S33, the device loads the outline CRM data from the card (step S40) and the retail data such as targeted advertisements from the retailer's LAN / WAN (step S41). In step S42, the device displays option menus, retail data such as advertisements, or CRM-related and outline CRM data such as the number of reward points earned on the content access device. Numerous options include download content (from the scheme owner), add the amount (to the card), check / spend the CRM value stored on the card, follow the website link and exit. In step S43, the user enters a menu option, which is a download option in the flowchart shown. The system therefore proceeds to step S44 to load the scheme owner's content access web page into the content access terminal and display it to the user.

In step S45, the user enters a content search request, which is sent to the scheme owner distributor processor 134. Content search results, including content identifiers, brief descriptions, and content price data for at least one payment option, are returned and received from the content distribution processor, and these results are displayed to the user on the content access terminal. The user then selects one or more content items in step S47, and the selection further retrieves the content price data and purchase option data from the data storage device 134. Will be sent to. In step S48, this content price and purchase data (including user rule data) is received from the scheme owner and displayed to the terminal user. The user then selects the purchase option in step S49, confirms the purchase request, or instead selects "exit" to return to the menu display in step S42. After one or more content items have been selected, the hard values and CRM data, along with the purchase options, are read from the smart flash card in step S50 and the amount and / or CRM (reward) stored in the smart flash card in step S51. Point) A check is made to determine if the value is sufficient to purchase the selected purchase data item. If the card value is insufficient, a warning will be displayed in step S52 and the system will return to the menu display in step S42. If the card value is sufficient, in step S53, the content access terminal sends a payment request to the smart flash card.

Payment of one or more data items requested may be made directly to the scheme owner or to an e-payment system such as the e-payment systems 121a and 121b in Figure 6. Payment confirmation data is transferred by these systems to the scheme owner computer system. Instead, the content access terminal is the copyright owner and may send data to the card to set up transactions directly with the content provider, which normally receives most of the payments.

In step S54, the payment data for making a payment to the scheme owner is received from the smart flash card by the content access terminal and transferred to an e-payment system such as the E-payment system 121 in FIG. The payment record data confirming payment to the scheme owner by the card is then returned and received from the e-payment system by the content access terminal in step S55 and transferred to the card to update the payment data on the card. In another embodiment, the payment data from the card may be given directly to the scheme owner's data supply computer for confirmation and optionally further confirmation in the e-payment system by the scheme owner's computer.

The distribution of payments received by the scheme owner from the card is performed by the scheme owner's computer system as described. Such a payment distribution is given a small percentage of the total payment amount to the "owner" or operator of the control access terminal, such as a retailer, distributor, or, in other embodiments, a mobile communication network operator or a cable TV network operator. ..

In the embodiment currently described, the payment record data received in step S55 is sent to the scheme owner to confirm the payment by the card, thus in the embodiment described before the payment is made to the scheme owner. The content access terminal authenticates the payment.

In step S56, the purchase request and card registration data, along with the payment record data, are sent to the scheme owner to identify one or more content data items to purchase and identify the purchaser. Then, in step S57, the content access terminal sets up a transaction between the scheme owner data supply computer and the smart flash card to download the identified content items requested by the data supplier to the smart flash card. The download is preferably arranged so that the content access terminal does not have permanent storage of the downloaded data (although a disk cache temporary storage device is acceptable), and the content access terminal is temporarily stored with the complete data of the content data items. It is even more preferable that there is no device. This gives the content provider security and reassurance of the data.

Similar to the card registration described with respect to FIG. 11, a secure and trusted link is the usual method as is well known to those skilled in the art between content access terminals and / or smart flash cards and data delivery computers. Set in (eg using public key data encryption). The data transaction may be set up directly between the smart flash card and the data supply computer, in which case the content access terminal does not access unencrypted content data or between the content access terminal and the data supply computer. Set, in this case unencrypted data is written to the smart flash card by the content access terminal. Standard transmission protocols are used to ensure the complete transmission of content data items, for example by retransmitting data blocks that are not received accurately.

In step S57, one or more content access rules are received from the scheme owner data supply computer and written to the smart flash card, so that each content data item allows the smart flash card user to access the content data item. It has relevant usage rules to identify the conditions that are enabled.

In step S58, the content access terminal receives CRM data from the scheme owner's content distribution processor 134, for example, specifying the number of reward points earned by downloading the selected content item. This CRM data is usually written to a smart flash card (step S59), but is additionally or instead stored in the data storage of the content access terminal or content access terminal, thereby reward points are distributed / retailer / Held by the cable TV operator. Finally, also in step S59, between the smart flash card and the content access terminal, between the smart flash card and the scheme owner, between the smart flash card and the e-payment system, between the content access terminal and the e-payment system and / or the data supply computer. A complete record of the transaction details of is stored in the smart flash card and an audit attempt is made. The system then returns to the menu display in step S42.

The additional amount menu option provided by the menu operates in the same manner as described for steps S15 and S16 in FIG. 11a and steps S24-S27 in FIG. 11b. In embodiments of the system where the smart flash card operates in either debit (prepaid) or credit mode, the operating mode data may be loaded from the card along with the outline CRM data in step S40. If the card is operating in credit mode, in step S41 the content access terminal reads the content usage data record from the card and accordingly proceeds to steps S47 and S48 to determine the value of the accessed content. Then, the procedure proceeds according to steps S15 and S16 of FIG. 11a and steps S24 to S27 of FIG. 11b to search the card owner for the payment of the accessed content. Given the enhanced access control features, the access control data read from the smart flash card or entered into the content access terminal in step S31 is used in step S44 to access the scheme owner content access web page. In that embodiment, step S44 is used to set up a confidential connection between the content access terminal and the scheme owner data supply computer.

With reference to Figures 12d and 12e, they show the steps of the process performed on the scheme owner's data supply computer to provide content data to the content access terminal and a data storage medium such as a smart flash card. In step S60, the scheme owner's content access web page is requested by the content access terminal and sent to the requested terminal. The search request for searching the content data item is received from the content access terminal in step S61, and in step S62, the content distribution processor 134 of the content supply system performs the content access and DRM data storage device 140. Is searched, and the search result is sent to the content access terminal. Search results typically include, for example, a content item identifier in the default payment option, a content item description, an optional content item sample, and at least one content item price. The search results may include a set of content items selected by type or artist, or may include some predetermined choices in a manner similar to compiling a CD track.

In step S63, content item selection data that identifies one or more content items is retrieved from the content access terminal, and in step S64, content item purchase data for the selected content item is retrieved from content access and DRM data storage 140. To. This purchase data typically contains one or more prices and purchase options for each selected content item. Purchase option data is simply a set of standard options, such as "1" for explicit purchases, "2" for rentals over a period of time, "3" for rentals of multiple performances, and borrowing with the final purchase option. Has "4". Purchase option data also indicates when content items are available for free.

In step S65, the content purchase data is sent to the content access terminal, and in step S66, payment record data indicating payment made from the smart flash card to the scheme owner, purchase request data, card registration data, and optional Access control data is searched from the content access terminal. The payment record data confirms the payment for the requested data item, the purchase request data identifies the selected payment option as the selected content item, and the card registration data holds the record of the transaction and gives reward points. Access control data may be required for additional data security. In step S67, the payment record data is the E-payment system 121 of FIG. 6 in the indicated embodiment of the system. Confirmed by an e-payment system such as. As shown in the flow chart, the computer of the data supply system checks with the e-payment system whether the payment was actually made to the scheme owner. In another embodiment of the system, payments can be made directly to the scheme owner at the same time as the content access and download procedures, or at a later stage, and the payment data received from the smart flash card is the repayment of the scheme owner. Can be confirmed by the e-payment system.

In step S68, the payment distribution data is read from the content access data storage device 140. This data shows how payments for data by the card are distributed among recipients. In one embodiment, the recipient's payment ratio is in a content access data storage device, for example, in common terms such as copyright owner 0.90, scheme owner 0.01, retailer / distributor 0.02, publisher 0.02, creator 0.05, etc. Be identified. The identification of who is the legitimate copyright owner is stored in the data storage device along with the content item identifier, but may be selected from more than one possible content provider for the data item, who The identification of a valid retailer / distributor may be determined, for example, from the content access identity information received from the content access terminal when the scheme owner's content access web page is accessed in step S60. it can. In step S69, the payment distribution either distributes the value-owning digital signature directly to the appropriate party according to the payment distribution data, or e-payment system 121. It is done by either issuing a payment distribution order to. The data supply system stores individual card payment records and sometimes combines payment distribution data for multiple individual records to distribute payment data from individual payment batches to distribute all payments received by the data supply system. It is preferable to output.

In step S70, the content access rule for the purchased service level is read from the content access data storage device. These rules stipulate, for example, that access to content is only allowed in a predetermined number, for example, 10 playbacks. Instead, the rule may specify that the accessible period is, for example, one month from the date of download. Another rule is that the number of plays is unlimited, but the player doing it, such as a set-top box owned by a particular cable television network (content access device identification supplied from the content access device to the smart flash card). (Determined by the data) etc. can be specified. The content provider's identification for the requested content data is also read from the content access data storage device in step S70 along with the CRM data that issues the reward points.

In step S71, the content access rule for the requested content data item is retrieved from the data storage device 140 and transmitted to the content access terminal. Then, in step S72, the DRM processor 130 of the data supply system sends the transaction request and authentication data to the content provider identified in step S70. This request is secured by either physical security, such as a dedicated connection from the scheme owner's data delivery system to the content provider, or an electronically, secure, secure connection, such as an encrypted connection. Identify the scheme owner data supply system to the content provider in any way. Then, in step S73, the content access web server 124 Receives protected content containing data items requested by the content access terminal from the content provider and sends this protected content to the content access terminal. This content is preferably protected by data encryption, but is otherwise protected by, for example, a digital watermark, or simply a large number of other transactions made at any given time by the Internet. You may. The computer of the data supply system is essentially preferably itself effectively transparent at this point, acting as a transparent data transfer device that transfers data from the content provider to the content access terminal, data exchange interface 200c. Use to send protected content data directly to your smart flash card. As described with respect to Figure 12d, the content download protocol includes error protection and transmission retry protocols to ensure virtually error-free data transmission.

When the content is downloaded to the content access terminal (and therefore the smart card), in step S74, the accessed purchase data and content record are written to the payment record data storage device 136 to provide inspection traces. .. Then, in step S75, the updated CRM data uses the rules stored in content access data storage 140, along with a record of the data items downloaded to calculate the CRM data (ie, reward points). Then it is written to the content access data storage device. The updated CRM data is then also sent to the content access terminal, where it can be transferred to the smart flash card. Then, step S76 ends this process.

Referring to FIG. 13, this shows a flow chart relating to user access to the data stored on the smart flash card by using a data access device such as the MP3 player of FIG. In step S77 the smart flash card is inserted into the player and in step S78 the user enters the password sent to the smart flash card for confirmation into the player (this step is optional). If access to the data stored on the card is granted, the procedure proceeds to step S79, where the index of the content data items stored on the card is loaded from the card and displayed with the menu. .. Menus include access to content, checking prices (stored on the card), checking CRM data (like reward points) stored on the card, and options (no video, repetitive playback,). Random playback, etc.) playback is included. If the user wishes to access content data items stored on the smart flash card, in step S80, for example, using the cursor keys or pointers, user selections for such items are entered into the player and further. , Or instead, the default playback options may be displayed, for example to play recently downloaded data.

In step S81, content usage data for the selected content item is loaded from the smart flash card along with the associated content usage rules. Then, in step S82, the usage rules and current usage status for each of the selected content items are compared, and the result is displayed together with the content playback menu. The content playback menu may include a brief list of selected content items whose items that are not available for access are highlighted in red, for example. Instead, more detailed content permission data such as purchased content usage for content data items, actual use of data items made so far, and remaining available usage may be displayed. Then, in step S83, this layer determines whether content use is permitted. If content use is not allowed, the procedure returns to step S79 to redisplay the menu, and if content use is allowed, the system proceeds to step S84.

In step S84, the selected content data items authorized for use are sequentially retrieved from the card, decoded as needed, and the decoded audio and / or video data is presented to the user, eg, headphones on the player. It can be used by the user by providing audio output in the socket and displaying the video output on the player display. Players may also sell goods or services, especially those related to the content data item accessed, or those identified as intriguing to the user who accessed the data item [Pop Group Merchandise for Rock Music / Video. It is preferable to search for advertising data or auxiliary data such as web-enable players, hot links to websites for sale of Jing or Harley Davidson motorbikes, such auxiliary data. Is stored in association with the content data item.

The player preferably has "pause" and "continue" functions and corresponding user controls. When Pause is selected, the procedure proceeds to step S85 to write a record to the smart flash card containing data that identifies the amount of content data items accessed. For music or video data, this may include start and end time markers, or simply playback duration, the start time of which is predetermined, eg, at the start of a data item. In the case of a game, the partial usage data may include elapsed play time or number of remaining lives. For stocks and data items that provide access to stock prices or services such as weather information or stock trading services, the partial usage information may include a state raid indicating the state of the interrupted transaction. If the Continue function is selected on the player, the procedure returns to step S84.

In step S78, a check is made by reading partial usage data from the card to allow the smart flash card to be removed from the player between the pause event and the continuation event, and the card is no longer It is possible to determine whether a content data item remained in a paused state when it was in an unused state. If it is determined that such a pause state exists for a content data item, the procedure jumps directly to step S85, where the user resumes or continues the content data item and goes directly to step S84. Can be made possible.

When the playback is finished, the procedure proceeds to step S85, in which the updated content usage data is written to the smart flash card. This updated content usage data provides a record of the content usage made in step S84. This record can then be used in steps S81 through S83 to determine if further use of the content data item is allowed at the next opportunity. Finally, in step S86, the customer compensation management compensation rule is loaded from this card along with the CRM data stored on the smart flash card. The CRM data is then updated using the CRM reward rule to reflect the use of the content data item made in step S84, and the updated data is rewritten to the smart flash card.

In one embodiment, the CRM reward rule is determined by the owner of the content access terminal (retailer / distributor / cable or mobile network operator) and is written on the card when it is registered. The updated CRM data can then be accessed by the content access terminal for consumption or other use the next time the smart flash card is inserted into the content access terminal. When the CRM data is updated, the procedure returns to step S79 to display the content index and menu.

Certain embodiments of the invention described above use communication by internet and web-based techniques, but this is not essential and the invention is a wide area network, premises network, wireless network, or conventional. It may be implemented using any electronic communication network such as a terrestrial line network.

Similarly, the invention is applicable to the Internet, intranets, extranets and other Internet Protocol networks.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications to this system are possible and that the invention is not limited to the embodiments in which it is described and that the invention includes modifications made within its technical scope. Let's do it.

Another feature of the present invention is shown in the following sections: 1. Detachable data storage means, data access means for accessing data downloaded on the data storage means, data storage means and data access means. It comprises a storage interface means configured to combine with and a data output means for supplying the downloaded data to the user of the device in a useful form, and the data storage means further includes the downloaded data. A mobile data retrieval device that provides a payment confirmation means for confirming payments to.

2. The data storage means receives power from this device when connected to the search device, and if power is not given, the mobile data search device according to paragraph 1 maintains storage with the downloaded data. ..

3. The data storage means is equipped with an external data interface means to receive the data downloaded on the card from the external source for storage, and the payment confirmation means is equipped with a means to confirm the payment to the external source. Or the mobile data retrieval device described in Section 2.

4. The mobile data retrieval device according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 3, wherein the payment confirmation means includes a memory means for storing transaction value information regarding a transaction cache value that can be confirmed by the data storage means.

5. The mobile data search device according to any one of items 1 to 4, wherein the payment confirmation means includes a memory means for storing information for identifying the payer of the downloaded data fee.

6. The mobile data retrieval device according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 5, wherein one of the data storage means and the search device further comprises a data description means for describing the downloaded data at least partially.

7. The mobile data search according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 6, wherein one of the data storage means and the search device further comprises an access control means for blocking unauthorized access to the downloaded data. apparatus.

8. The access control means is the mobile data search device according to paragraph 7 that responds to the payment confirmation means.

9. The mobile data retrieval device according to any one of paragraphs 3 to 8, wherein the payment confirmation means is provided with a payment confirmation means interface that can operate at the same time as an external data interface means.

10. The mobile data search device according to any one of items 1 to 9, wherein the data storage means is equipped with an electronic memory card or a smart card.

11. The mobile data retrieval device according to paragraph 10, which has a housing with a slot for receiving data storage means.

12. The mobile data retrieval device according to paragraph 11, further comprising a local storage means and a means for copying data from the data storage means to the local storage means.

13. The mobile data search device according to paragraph 11 or 12, wherein the search device is portable and is not substantially larger than the data storage means in both directions.

14. The mobile data retrieval device according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 13, wherein the storage interface means is adapted to the iterative removal and reconnection of the data storage means to the search device.

15. The mobile data retrieval device according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 14, further comprising a display means for displaying the information obtained from the downloaded data to the user.

16. The mobile data retrieval device according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 15 , further comprising an audio output means for supplying the user with audio output corresponding to the downloaded data.

17. The mobile data retrieval device according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 16, further comprising a first contact set for the storage interface means and a second contact set for the payment confirmation means.

18. The mobile data retrieval device described in any one of paragraphs 1 to 17 and the data storage means for downloading data, and the payment confirmation means for confirming the payment of the downloaded data fee. A data supply system with a shared data access terminal.

19. The data access terminal can connect to the Internet and can operate to download data from the data supplier on the Internet to the data storage means in collaboration with the payment confirmation means to confirm the payment by the payment confirmation agency. A data supply system according to paragraph 18.

20. The data access terminal operates through the data access service provider, which is configured to communicate with the payment confirmation agency and control the data access terminal's access to the data from the data supplier. The data supply system described in Section 18.

21. Data storage means used by the device or system according to any one of paragraphs 1-20.

22. Equipped with an external data interface means to receive the data downloaded on the card from an external source for storage and a payment confirmation means having means to confirm the payment to the external source and / or the payment confirmation institution. Data storage means.

23. The data storage means according to paragraph 22, further comprising a data decoding means for decoding the downloaded data at least in part.

24. The data storage means according to paragraph 22 or 23, further comprising an access control means that blocks unauthorized access to the downloaded data.

25. The access control means is the data storage means according to paragraph 24 that responds to the payment confirmation means.

26. The data storage means according to any one of paragraphs 22 to 25, wherein the payment confirmation means is provided with a payment confirmation means interface that can operate at the same time as the external data interface means.

27. The data storage means according to any one of Items 22 to 26, which comprises an electronic memory card or a smart card.