ContentGuard Holdings, Inc. v. Google, Inc.

Filing 1

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT against Google, Inc. ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0540-4510268.), filed by ContentGuard Holdings, Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F, # 7 Exhibit G, # 8 Exhibit H, # 9 Exhibit I, # 10 Exhibit J, # 11 Exhibit K, # 12 Civil Cover Sheet)(Baxter, Samuel)

Exhibit E

111111

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
US007774280B2

(54)

United States Patent

(10)

Nguyen et al.

c12)

(45)

Patent No.:
Date of Patent:

(56)

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING
TRANSFER OF RIGHTS USING SHARED
STATE VARIABLES

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

Inventors: Mai Nguyen, Buena Park, CA (US); Xin
Wang, Torrance, CA (US); Thanh Ta,
Huntington Beach, CA (US); Guillermo
Lao, Torrance, CA (US); Eddie J. Chen,
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (US)

(73)

Notice:

FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS

BR

(22)

Filed:

OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Workshop on Digital Rights Management for the Web, World Wide
Web Consortium, Minutes from the Architecture/Infrastructure Session, Jan. 2001. *

Oct. 4, 2004

(Continued)

Prior Publication Data

US 2005/0060571 Al

Primary Examiner-Andrew J. Fischer
Assistant Examiner-Thomas West
(7 4 )Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Nixon Peabody, LLP; Marc S.
Kaufman; Stephen M. Hertzler

Mar. 17, 2005

Related U.S. Application Data

(63)

Continuation-in-part of application No. 10/162,701,
filed on Jun. 6, 2002.

(60)

Provisional application No. 60/331,624, filed on Nov.
20, 2001, provisional application No. 60/331,623,
filed on Nov. 20, 2001, provisional application No.
60/331,621, filed on Nov. 20, 2001, provisional application No. 60/296,113, filed on Jun. 7, 2001, provisional application No. 60/296,117, filed on Jun. 7,
2001, provisional application No. 60/296,118, filed on
Jun. 7, 2001.

(51)

(52)
(58)

10/2001

(Continued)

Appl. No.: 10/956,121

(65)

9810967 A

Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
U.S.C. 154(b) by 1529 days.

(21)

7/1966 Bargen eta!.

(Continued)

Assignee: ContentGuard Holdings, Inc.,
Wilmington, DE (US)

( *)

Aug. 10, 2010

References Cited

3,263,158 A

(75)

US 7,774,280 B2

(57)

ABSTRACT

A method, system and device for transferring rights adapted
to be associated with items from a rights supplier to a rights
consumer, including obtaining a set of rights associated with
an item, the set of rights including meta-rights specifying
derivable rights that can be derived from the meta-; determining whether the rights consumer is entitled to the derivable
rights specified by the meta-rights; and deriving at least one
right from the derivable rights, if the rights consumer is
entitled to the derivable rights specified by the meta-rights,
wherein the derived right includes at least one state variable
based on the set of rights and used for determining a state of
the derived right.

Int. Cl.
G06F 7104
(2006.01)
G06F 7130
(2006.01)
H04N 7116
(2006.01)
U.S. Cl. ........................................... 705/59; 726/27
Field of Classification Search .............. 705/50-79
See application file for complete search history.

36 Claims, 14 Drawing Sheets
10

70

I

40

-

!0

Activation

60

Clearinghouse

2Q

US 7,774,280 B2
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U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
3,609,697
3,790,700
3,798,605
4,159,468
4,200,700
4,220,991
4,278,837
4,323,921
4,361,851
4,423,287
4,429,385
4,442,486
4,529,870
4,558,176
4,593,376
4,614,861
4,621,321
4,644,493
4,658,093
4,713,753
4,736,422
4,740,890
4,796,220
4,816,655
4,817,140
4,827,508
4,868,376
4,888,638
4,891,838
4,924,378
4,932,054
4,937,863
4,949,187
4,953,209
4,961,142
4,975,647
4,977,594
4,999,806
5,010,571
5,014,234
5,023,907
5,047,928
5,050,213
5,052,040
5,058,164
5,103,476
5,113,519
5,129,083
5,136,643
5,138,712
5,146,499
5,148,481
5,159,182
5,174,641
5,183,404
5,191,193
5,204,897
5,222,134
5,235,642
5,247,575
5,255,106
5,260,999
5,263,157
5,263,158
5,276,444
5,276,735
5,287,408
5,291,596
5,293,422
5,301,231
5,311,591

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Blevins et al.
Callais eta!.
Feistel
Barnes eta!.
Mader
Hamano et a!.
Best
Guillou
Asip et al.
Zeidler
Cichelli eta!.
Mayer
Chaurn
Arnold eta!.
Yolk
Pavlov eta!.
Boebert et a!.
Chandra et a!.
Hellman
Boebert et a!.
Mason
William
Wolfe
Musycket a!.
Chandra et a!.
Shear
Lessin et al.
Bohn
Faber
Hershey et a!.
Chou eta!.
Robert eta!.
Cohen
Ryder, Sr. eta!.
Elliott et a!.
Downer eta!.
Shear
Chernow et a!.
Katznelson
Edwards, Jr.
Johnson et a!.
Wiedemer
Shear
Preston et al.
Elmer eta!.
Waite et al.
Johnson et a!.
Cutler eta!.
Fischer
Corbin
Geffrotin
Abraham et al.
Eisele
Lim
Aldous eta!.
LeRoux
Wyman
Waite et al.
Wobber eta!.
Sprague et a!.
Castro
Wyman
Janis
Janis
McNair
Boebert et a!.
Samson
Mita
Loiacono
Abraham et al.
Fischer

5,319,705
5,335,275
5,337,357
5,339,091
5,341,429
5,347,579
5,381,526
5,386,369
5,390,297
5,394,469
5,410,598
5,412,717
5,414,852
5,428,606
5,432,849
5,438,508
5,444,779
5,453,601
5,455,953
5,457,746
5,473,687
5,473,692
5,485,577
5,499,298
5,502,766
5,504,814
5,504,816
5,504,818
5,504,837
5,509,070
5,530,235
5,532,920
5,534,975
5,535,276
5,539,735
5,553,143
5,557,678
5,563,946
5,564,038
5,568,552
5,619,570
5,621,797
5,625,690
5,629,980
5,633,932
5,634,012
5,636,346
5,638,443
5,638,513
5,649,013
5,655,077
5,708,709
5,708,717
5,715,403
5,734,823
5,734,891
5,737,413
5,737,416
5,745,569
5,745,879
5,748,783
5,757,907
5,761,686
5,764,807
5,765,152
5,768,426
5,787,172
5,790,677
5,812,664
5,825,876
5,825,879
5,825,892
5,838,792

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6/1994
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1111998

Halter et al.
Millar eta!.
Chou et al.
Yamazaki et a!.
Stringer et a!.
Blandford
Elison
Christiano
Barber eta!.
Nagel eta!.
Shear
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Moskowitz
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Wyman
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Schull
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Hartrick et a!.
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5,848,154
5,848,378
5,850,443
5,892,900
5,910,987
5,915,019
5,917,912
5,920,861
5,933,498
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6,112,181
6,112,239
6,115,471
6,135,646
6,138,119
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6,157,719
6,157,721
6,169,976
6,185,683
6,189,037
6,189,146
6,209,092
6,216,112
6,219,652
6,226,618
6,233,684
6,236,971
6,237,786
6,240,185
6,253,193
6,266,618
6,292,569
6,301,660
6,307,939
6,327,652
6,330,670
6,345,256
6,353,888
6,363,488
6,389,402
6,397,333
6,397,355
6,401,211
6,405,369
6,424,717
6,424,947
6,487,659
6,516,052
6,516,413
6,523,745
6,796,555
200110009026
200110011276
200110014206
200110037467
200110039659
2002/0001387
2002/0035618
2002/0044658
2002/0056118

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Simmons eta!.
Dillon
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2002/0069282
2002/0099948
2002/0127423
2003/0097 567
2004/0052370
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Reisman
Kocher eta!.
Kayanakis
Terao eta!.
Katznelson
Boyles et al.

FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
EP
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0 067 556
0084441
0 180 460
0 257 585
0 262 025
0 332 304
0 332 707
0 393 806
0 450 841
0 529 261
0 613 073
0 651 554
0 668 695
0 678 836
0 679 977
0 715 243
0 715 244
0 715 245
0 725 376
0731404
0 763 936
0 818 748
0 840 194
0 892 521
0 934 765
0 946 022
0 964 572
1 103 922
1483282
2022969
2 136 175
2 236 604
2236604
2309364
2316503
2354102
62-241061
64-068835
3-063717
04-369068
5-100939
5168039
05-268415
6-131371
06-175794
06-215010
7-36768
07-084852
07-200317
07-244639
0 715 241
11031130
11032037
11205306
11215121
2000215165
2005218143
2005253109
2006180562
WO 83/04461
wo 92/20022
WO 92/20022
wo 93/01550
WO 93/01550

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12/1982
7/1983
5/1986
3/1988
3/1988
9/1989
9/1989
10/1990
10/1991
3/1993
8/1994
5/1995
8/1995
10/1995
1111995
6/1996
6/1996
6/1996
8/1996
9/1996
3/1997
111998
5/1998
111999
8/1999
9/1999
12/1999
5/2001
8/1977
12/1979
9/1984
4/1991
4/1991
7/1997
2/1998
3/2001
10/1987
3/1989
3/1991
12/1992
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WO 93/11480
wo 94/01821
WO 94/03003
WO 96/13814
wo 96/24092
WO 96/24092
WO 96/27155
WO 97/25800
WO 97/37492
WO 97/41661
WO 97/43761
wo 97/48203
WO 98/09209
WO 98/10561
wo 98/11690
WO 98/11690
WO 98/19431
wo 98/42098
WO 98/43426
WO 98/45768
WO 99/24928
WO 99/34553
WO 99/35782
WO 99/48296
wo 99/49615
WO 99/60461
WO 99/60750
WO 00/04727
WO 00/05898
wo 00/20950
WO 00/46994
WO 00/59152
WO 00/62260
W000/72118
WO 00/73922
WO 01103044
WO 01137209
wo 01163528
WO 2004/34223
wo 2004/103843

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Australia, Jul. 7-9, 1997, 1997 Berlin, Germany, Springer-Verlag,
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1:54-63 (Jan. 1997)) XP00742245 ISSN: 0916-8508.
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Blaze, "Matt Blaze's Technical Papers," pp. 1-6 (last updated Aug. 6,
2006)].
Online Search Results for "inverted file", "inverted index" from
www.techweb.com,
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Application No. PCT/US04/32588).
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Computing: Mid-80's Perspective: MID-80's Perspective Association for Computing Machinery pp. 392-402 (1985).
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1996).
Perritt, "Technologies Strategies for Protecting Intellectual Property
in theNetworked Multimedia Environment," Knowbots, Permissions
Headers and Contract Law (Apr. 2-3, 1993).

* cited by examiner

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1

2

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING
TRANSFER OF RIGHTS USING SHARED
STATE VARIABLES

be the dominant systems used to access digital works. In this
sense, existing computing envirouments such as PC's and
workstations equipped with popular operating systems (e.g.,
Windows™, Linux™, and UNIX) and rendering applications, such as browsers, are not trusted systems and cannot be
made trusted without significantly altering their architectures. Of course, alteration of the architecture defeats a primary purpose of the Web, i.e. flexibility and compatibility.
As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,012, the disclosure of
which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a system
for controlling the distribution of digital documents. Each
rendering device has a repository associated therewith. A
predetermined set of usage transaction steps define a protocol
used by the repositories for enforcing usage rights. Usage
rights define one or more manners of use of the associated
document content and persist with the document content. The
usage rights can permit various manners of use such as, viewing only, use once, distribution, and the like. Usage rights can
be contingent on payment or other conditions. Further, a party
may grant usage rights to others that are a subset of usage
rights possessed by the party.
DRM systems have facilitated distribution of digital content by permitting the content owner to control use of the
content. However, known business models for creating, distributing, and using digital content and other items involve a
plurality of parties. For example, a content creator may sell
content to a publisher who then authorizes a distributor to
distribute content to an on-line storefront who then sells content to end-users. Further, the end users may desire to share or
further distribute the content. In such a business model, usage
rights can be given to each party in accordance with their role
in the distribution chain. However, the parties do not have
control over downstream parties unless they are privy to any
transaction with the downstream parties in some way. For
example, once the publisher noted above provides content to
the distributor, the publisher cannot readily control rights
granted to downstream parties, such as the first or subsequent
users unless the publisher remains a party to the downstream
transaction. This loss of control combined with the ever
increasing complexity of distribution chains results in a situation, which hinders the distribution of digital content and
other items. Further, the publisher may want to prohibit the
distributor and/or the storefront from viewing or printing
content while allowing an end user receiving a license from
the storefront to view and print. Accordingly, the concept of
simply granting rights to others that are a subset of possessed
rights is not adequate for multi-party, i.e. multi-tier, distribution models.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA
This application is a continuation-in-part application of
co-pending application Ser. No. 10/162,701 filed on Jun. 6,
2002, which claims benefit from U.S. provisional applications Ser. Nos. 60/331,624, 60/331,623, and 60/331,621 filed
on Nov. 20, 2001, and U.S. provisional applications Ser. Nos.
60/296,113, 60/296,117, and 60/296,118 filed on Jun. 7,
2001, the entire disclosures of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

10

15

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to rights transfer
and more particularly to a method, system and device for
managing transfer of rights using shared state variables.

20

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One of the most important issues impeding the widespread
distribution of digital works (i.e. documents or other content
in forms readable by computers), via electronic means, and
the Internet in particular, is the current lack of ability to
enforce the intellectual property rights of content owners
during the distribution and use of digital works. Efforts to
resolve this problem have been termed "Intellectual Property
Rights Management" ("IPRM"), "Digital Property Rights
Management" ("DPRM"), "Intellectual Property Management" ("IPM"), "Rights Management" ("RM"), and "Electronic Copyright Management" ("ECM"), collectively
referred to as "Digital Rights Management (DRM)" herein.
There are a number of issues to be considered in effecting a
DRM System. For example, authentication, authorization,
accounting, payment and financial clearing, rights specification, rights verification, rights enforcement, and document
protection issues should be addressed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,
235, 5,634,012, 5,715,403, 5,638,443, and 5,629,980, the
disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference,
disclose DRM systems addressing these issues.
Two basic DRM schemes have been employed, secure
containers and trusted systems. A "secure container" (or simply an encrypted document) offers a way to keep document
contents encrypted until a set of authorization conditions are
met and some copyright terms are honored (e.g., payment for
use). After the various conditions and terms are verified with
the document provider, the document is released to the user in
clear form. Commercial products such as CRYPTOLOPES™
and DIGIBOXES™ fall into this category. Clearly, the secure
container approach provides a solution to protecting the
document during delivery over insecure channels, but does
not provide any mechanism to prevent legitimate users from
obtaining the clear document and then using and redistributing it in violation of content owners' intellectual property.
In the "trusted system" approach, the entire system is
responsible for preventing unauthorized use and distribution
of the document. Building a trusted system usually entails
introducing new hardware such as a secure processor, secure
storage and secure rendering devices. This also requires that
all software applications that rnn on trusted systems be certified to be trusted. While building tamper-proof trusted systems is a real challenge to existing technologies, current market trends suggest that open and untrusted systems, such as
PC's and workstations using browsers to access the Web, will

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The exemplary embodiments of the present invention are
directed to a method, system and device for transferring rights
adapted to be associated with items from a rights supplier to
a rights consumer, including obtaining a set of rights associated with an item, the set of rights including meta-rights
specifYing derivable rights that can be derived from the meta-;
determining whether the rights consumer is entitled to the
derivable rights specified by the meta-rights; and deriving at
least one right from the derivable rights, if the rights consumer is entitled to the derivable rights specified by the metarights, wherein the derived right includes at least one state
variable based on the set of rights and used for determining a
state of the derived right.
Still other aspects, features, and advantages of the present
invention are readily apparent from the following detailed
description, simply by illustrating a number of exemplary

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embodiments and implementations, including the best mode
contemplated for carrying out the present invention. The
present invention is also capable of other and different
embodiments, and its several details can be modified in various respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of
the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as
restrictive.

server 20 as well as other components, such as any component
necessary for rendering content 42.
Rights label 40 is associated with content 42 and specifies
usage rights and possibly corresponding conditions that can
be selected by a content recipient. License Server 50 manages
the encryption keys and issues licenses for protected content.
These licenses embody the actual granting of usage rights to
an end user. For example, rights label 40 may include usage
rights permitting a recipient to view content for a fee of five
dollars and view and print content for a fee of ten dollars.
License 52 can be issued for the view right when the five
dollar fee has been paid, for example. Client component 60
interprets and enforces the rights that have been specified in
license 52.
FIG. 6 illustrates rights label 40 in accordance with the
preferred embodiment. Rights label 40 includes plural rights
offers 44 each including usage rights 44a, conditions 44b, and
content specification 44c. Content specification 44c can
include any mechanism for calling, referencing, locating,
linking or otherwise specifYing content 42 associated with
offer 44. Clear (unprotected) content can be prepared with
document preparation application 72 installed on computer
70 associated with a content publisher, a content distributor, a
content service provider, or any other party. Preparation of
content consists of specifYing the rights and conditions under
which content 42 can be used, associating rights label40 with
content 42 and protecting content 42 with some crypto algorithm. A rights language such as XrML can be used to specifY
the rights and conditions. However, the rights can be specified
in any marmer. Also, the rights can be in the form of a predefined specification or template that is merely associated
with the content. Accordingly, the process of specifying
rights refers to any process for associating rights with content.
Rights label40 associated with content 42 and the encryption
key used to encrypt the content can be transmitted to license
server 50. As discussed in detail below, rights 44a can include
usage rights, which specify a marmer of use, and meta-rights,
which permit other rights to be derived.
In some case, license 52 includes conditions that must be
satisfied in order to exercise a specified right. For, example a
condition may be the payment of a fee, submission of personal data, or any other requirement desired before permitting
exercise of a manner of use. Conditions can also be "access
conditions" for example, access conditions can apply to a
particular group of users, say students in a university, or
members of a book club. In other words, the condition is that
the user is a particular person or member of a particular group.
Rights and conditions can exist as separate entities or can be
combined.
Labels, offers, usage rights, and conditions can be stored
together with content 42 or otherwise associated with content
42 through content specification 44c or any other mechanism.
A rights language such as XrML can be used to specifY the
rights and conditions. However, the rights can be specified in
any manner. Also, the rights can be in the form of a predefined specification or template that is merely associated
with content 42.
A typical workflow for DRM system 10 is described below.
A recipient operating within client environment 30 is activated for receiving content 42 by activation server 20. This
results in a public-private key pair (and possibly some user/
machine specific information) being downloaded to client
environment 30 in the form of client software component 60
in a known marmer. This activation process can be accomplished at any time prior to the issuing of a license.
When a recipient wishes to obtain specific content 42, the
recipient makes a request for content 42. For example, a user,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Exemplary embodiments of this invention will be
described in detail, with reference to the attached drawings in
which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a rights management
system in accordance with the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example distribution chain
showing the derivation of rights from meta-rights;
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a license in accordance
with the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 4 is an example of a license expressed with an XML
based rights language in accordance with the preferred
embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the license serverofthe system
ofFIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a rights label in accordance
with the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the procedure for transferring and
deriving rights in accordance with the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary system including a stateof-rights server;
FIG. 9 illustrates employing of a state variable in deriving
exclusive usage rights;
FIG. 10 illustrates employing of a state variable in deriving
inherited usage rights;
FIG. 11 illustrates employing of a state variable in deriving
rights that are shared among a known set of rights recipients;
FIG. 12 illustrates employing of a state variable in deriving
rights that are shared among a dynamic set of rights recipients;
FIG. 13 illustrates employing of a state variable in maintaining a state shared by multiple rights;
FIG. 14 illustrates employing of multiple state variables to
represent one state of rights;
FIG. 15 illustrates a case where not all rights are associated
with states;
FIG. 16 illustrates a case where not all rights which are
associated with states are shared or inherited; and
FIG. 17 illustrates a case of rights sharing based on an offer
which does not explicitly include meta-rights.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
AD RM system can be utilized to specifY and enforce usage
rights for specific content, services, or other items. FIG. 1
illustrates DRM System 10 that can be used in connection
with the preferred embodiment. DRM System 10 includes a
user activation component, in the form of activation server 20,
that issues public and private key pairs to content users in a
protected fashion, as is well known. During an activation
process, some information is exchanged between activation
server 20 and client environment 30, a computer or other
device associated with a content recipient, and client component 60 is downloaded and installed in client environment 30.
Client component 60 preferably is tamper resistant and contains the set of public and private keys issued by activation

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as a recipient, might browse a Web site running on Web server
80, using a browser installed in client environment 30, and
request content 42. During this process, the user may go
through a series of steps possibly including a fee transaction
(as in the sale of content) or other transactions (such as collection of information). When the appropriate conditions and
other prerequisites, such as the collection of a fee and verification that the user has been activated, are satisfied, Web
server 80 contacts license server 50 through a secure communications channel, such as a channel using a Secure Sockets
Layer (SSL). License server 50 then generates license 52 for
content 42 and Web server 80 causes both the content and
license 52 to be downloaded. License 52 includes the appropriate rights, such as usage rights and/or meta-rights, and can
be downloaded from license server 50 or an associated
device. Content 42 can be downloaded from computer 70
associated with a vendor, distributor, or other party.
Client component 60 in client environment 30 will then
proceed to interpret license 52 and allow use of content 42
based on the usage rights and conditions specified in license
52. The interpretation and enforcement of usage rights are
well known generally and described in the patents referenced
above, for example. The steps described above may take place
sequentially or approximately simultaneously or in various
orders.
DRM system 10 addresses security aspects of content 42.
In particular, DRM system 10 may authenticate license 52
that has been issued by license server 50. One way to accomplish such authentication is for application 60 to determine if
license 52 can be trusted. In other words, application 60 has
the capability to verifY and validate the cryptographic signature, or other identifYing characteristic of license 52. Of
course, the example above is merely one way to effect a DRM
system. For example, license 52 and content 42 can be distributed from different entities. Clearinghouse 90 can be used
to process payment transactions and verify payment prior to
issuing a license.
As noted above, typical business models for distributing
digital content include plural parties, such as owners, publishers, distributors, and users. Each of these parties can act as
a supplier granting rights to a consumer downstream in the
distribution channel. The preferred embodiment extends the
known concepts of usage rights, such as the usage rights and
related systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,629,980, 5,634,
012, 5,638,443, 5,715,403 and 5,630,235, to incorporate the
concept of"meta-rights." Meta-rights are the rights that one
has to generate, manipulate, modifY, dispose of or otherwise
derive other rights. Meta-rights can be thought of as usage
rights to usage rights (or other meta-rights). This concept will
become clear based on the description below.
Meta-rights can include derivable rights to offer rights,
grant rights, negotiate rights, obtain rights, transfer rights,
delegate rights, expose rights, archive rights, compile rights,
track rights, surrender rights, exchange rights, and revoke
rights to/from others. Meta-rights can include the rights to
modifY any of the conditions associated with other rights. For
example, a meta-right may be the right to extend or reduce the
scope of a particular right. A meta-right may also be the right
to extend or reduce the validation period of a right. Metarights can be hierarchical and can be structured as objects
within objects. For example, a distributor may have a metaright permitting the distributor to grant a meta-right to a
retailer which permits the retailer to grant users rights to view
content. Just as rights can have conditions, meta-rights can
also have conditions. Meta-rights can also be associated with
other meta-rights.

The concept of meta-rights can be particularly useful
because distribution models may include entities that are not
creators or owners of digital content, but are in the business of
manipulating the rights associated with the content. For
example, as noted above, in a multi-tier content distribution
model, intermediate entities (e.g., distributors) typically will
not create or use the content but will be given the right to issue
rights for the content they distribute. In other words, the
distributor or reseller will need to obtain rights (meta-rights)
to issue rights. For the sake of clarity, the party granting usage
rights or meta-rights is referred to as "supplier" and the party
receiving and/or exercising such rights is referred to as "consumer" herein. It will become clear that any party can be a
supplier or a consumer depending on their relationship with
the adjacent party in the distribution chain. Note that a consumer "consumes", i.e. exercises, rights and does not necessarily consume, i.e. use, the associated content.
FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example of a multi-tier
distribution model 200. Publisher 210 publishes content for
distribution, by distributor 220 for example. Distributor 220
distributes content to retailers, such as retailer 230 and retailer
230 sells content to users, such as user 240. In model 200,
publisher 210 could negotiate business relationships with
distributor 220 and distributor 220 could negotiate business
relationships with retailer 230. Also, retailer 230 may desire
usage rights that are beyond usage rights granted to distributor 220. However, keep in mind that, in a distribution chain
that utilizes a DRM system to control use and distribution of
content or other items, content can travel from publisher 210
to user 240 through any digital communication charmel, such
a network or transfer of physical media. When user 240
wishes to use content, a license is obtained, in the manner
described above for example. Accordingly, the negotiated
relationships can become difficult, if not impossible, to manage.
In model 200 of FIG. 2, retailer 230 will only grant rights
to user 240 that have been predetermined and authorized by
the distributor 220, publisher 210 and potentially other parties
upstream of the transaction, such as the content creator or
owner. The rights are predetermined through, and derived
from, meta-rights granted to retailer 230 by distributor 220.
Of course, there can be any number of parties in the distribution chain. For example, distributor 220 may sell directly to
the public in which case retailer 230 is not necessary. Also,
there may be additional parties. For example user 240 can
distribute to other users.
In model 200 publisher grants to distributor 220 usage
rights 212 permitting distribution of content, and meta-rights
214. Meta-rights 214 permit distributor 220 to grant to retailer
230 the usage right 214' (derived from meta-rights 214) to
distribute or possibly sell content and meta-rights 216 which
permit retailer 230 to grant user 240 the right to use content.
For example, publisher 210 may specify, through meta-rights
214, that meta-right 216 granted to retailer 230 permits
retailer 230 to grant only 500 licenses and usage rights 216'
that retailer 230 can grant to a user can only be "view" and
"print-once". In other words, distributor 220 has granted
meta-rights to retailer 230. Similarly, publisher 210 issues
meta-rights 214 to the distributor that will govern what type,
and how many, rights distributor 220 can grant to retailer 23 0.
Note that these entities could be divisions, units or persons
that are part of a larger enterprise, which also has other roles.
For example, an enterprise might create, distribute, and sell
content and carry out those activities using different personnel or different business units within the enterprise. The principles of meta-rights can be applied to an enterprise to determine content usage within that enterprise. Also, retailer 230

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could grant meta-rights 218 to user 240 permitting user 240 to
share rights or grant usage rights to achieve a super-distribution model. It can be seen that meta-rights of a party are
derived from meta-rights granted by an upstream party in the
distribution chain.
For example, a person's medical records can be in digital
form managed by a first hospital as publisher 230. In this
scenario, the person, as supplier, grants usage rights to the
hospital, as consumer, to access and update the medical
records. Should that person require treatment at a second
hospital and desires to transfer their records to the second
hospital, the person can grant to the first hospital the right to
transfer the access rights to the new hospital through metarights. In other words, the person has specified meta-rights
and granted the meta-rights to the first hospital. The metarights permit the first hospital to grant rights, as a supplier, to
the second hospital, as a consumer. In another example, a
person's last will and testament can be in digital form and
managed by a law firm as publisher 210. If the person wishes
to allow a third party to review the will. The person can grant
meta-rights to the law firm permitting the law firm to grant
access rights to this third party.
At a high level the process of enforcing and exercising
meta-rights are the same as for usage rights. However, the
difference between usage rights and meta-rights are the result
from exercising the rights. When exercising usage rights,
actions to content result. For example usage rights can be for
viewing, printing, or copying digital content. When metarights are exercised, new rights are created from the metarights or existing rights are disposed as the result of exercising
the meta-rights. The recipient of the new rights may be the
same principal (same person, entity, or machine, etc), who
exercises the meta -rights. Alternatively, the recipient of metarights can be a new principal. The principals who receive the
derived rights may be authenticated and authorized before
receiving/storing the derived rights. Thus, the mechanism for
exercising and enforcing a meta-right can be the same as that
for a usage right. For example, the mechanism disclosed in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,012 can be used.
Meta-rights can be expressed by use of a grammar or rights
language including data structures, symbols, elements, or sets
of rules. For example, the XrML™ rights language can be
used. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the structure of license 52 can
consist of one or more grants 300 and one or more digital
signatures 310. Each grant 300 includes specific granted
meta-rights 302 such as rights to offer usage rights, grant
usage rights, obtain usage rights, transfer usage rights,
exchange usage rights, transport usage rights, surrender
usage rights, revoke usage rights, reuse usage rights, or management meta-rights such as the rights to backup rights,
restore rights, recover rights, reissue rights, or escrow the
rights for management of meta-rights and the like.
Grant 300 can also specifY one or more principals 304 to
whom the specified meta-rights are granted. Also grants 300
can include conditions 306 and state variables 308. Like
usage rights, access and exercise of the granted meta-rights
are controlled by any related conditions 306 and state variables 308. The integrity oflicense 52 is ensured by the use of
digital signature 310, or another identification mechanism.
Signature 310 can include a crypto-algorithm, a key, or
another mechanism for providing access to content 42 in a
known manner. The structure of digital signature 310
includes the signature itself, the method of how the code is
computed, the key information needed to verifY the code and
issuer identification.
State variables track potentially dynamic states conditions.
State variables are variables having values that represent sta-

tus of rights, or other dynamic conditions. State variables can
be tracked, by clearinghouse 90 or another device, based on
identification mechanisms in license 52. Further, the value of
state variables can be used in a condition. For example, a
usage right can be the right to print content 42 for and a
condition can be that the usage right can be exercised three
times. Each time the usage right is exercised, the value of the
state variable is incremented. In this example, when the value
of the state variable is three, the condition is no longer satisfied and content 42 cannot be printed. Another example of a
state variable is time. A condition of license 52 may require
that content 42 is printed within thirty days. A state variable
can be used to track the expiration of thirty days. Further, the
state of a right can be tracked as a collection of state variables.
The collection of the change is the state of a usage right
represents the usage history of that right.
FIG. 4 is an example of license 52 encoded in XrML™.
The provider grants the distributor a meta right to issue a
usage right (i.e., play) to the content (i.e., a book) to any end
user. With this meta right, the distributor may issue the right
to play the book within the U.S. region and subject to some
additional conditions that the distributor may impose upon
the user, as long as the distributor pays $1 to the provider each
time the distributor issues a license for an end user. The
XrML™ specification is published and thus well known.
FIG. 5 illustrates the primary modules oflicense server 50
in accordance with the preferred embodiment. License interpreter module 502 validates and interprets license 52 and also
provides the functions to query any or all fields in the license
such as meta-rights 302, conditions 306, state variables 308,
principle 304, and/or digital signature 310. License manager
module 503 manages all license repositories for storing
licenses 52, and also provides functions to create licenses 52
for derived rights, verifY licenses, store licenses, retrieve
licenses and transfer licenses. State of rights module 504
manages the state and history of rights and meta-rights. The
current value and history of the state variables together with
the conditions controls the permission to exercise given metarights for a given authenticated principal. Condition validator
506 verifies conditions associated with the meta-rights.
Together with the state variables, conditions associated with
meta-rights define variables whose values may change over
the lifetime of the meta-rights. Values of state variables used
in conditions can affect the meta-rights at the time and during
the time the rights are exercised.
Authorization module 508 authorizes the request to exercise meta-rights and to store the newly created rights or
derived rights as the result of exercising the meta-rights.
Authorization module 508 accesses both state of rights manager module 504 and condition validator module 506. Authorization module 508 interacts with license manager module
503 and the list of state variables and conditions and then
passes the state variables to state of rights manager module
504 and condition list to condition validator module 506 for
authorization.
A request for exercising a meta-right is passed to metarights manager module 510. Assuming that the requesting
device has been authenticated, meta-rights manager module
510 requests the license manager module 504 to verify the
license for exercising the requested meta-rights. License
manager module 504 verifies the digital signature of the
license and the key of the signer. If the key of the signer is
trusted and the digital signature is verified then license manager module 504 returns "verified" to the meta-rights manager module 510. Otherwise "not verified" is returned.
Authorization module 508 instructs license manager 503 to
fetch state variable 308 and conditions 306 of license 52.

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Authorization manager 508 then determines which state variabies are required to enforce to enforce license 52. State of
rights manager 504 then supplies the current value of each
required state variable to authorization module 508. Authorization module 508 then passes conditions 306 and the
required state variables to condition validator 506. If all conditions 306 are satisfied, authorization module 508 returns
"authorized" to meta-rights manager module 510.
Meta-rights manager module 510 verifies license 52 and
meta-rights 302 therein, to authorize the request to exercise
meta-rights 302, to derive new rights from meta-rights 302,
and to update the state of rights and the current value of the
conditions. Rights manager module 512, on the other hand,
manages the new rights created or the derived rights as the
result of exercising the meta-rights. Rights manager module
512 uses authorization module 508 to verifY that recipient of
the newly created rights or derived rights is intended principal
304. If the recipient are authorized then the rights manager
module 512 directs license manager 504 to store the newly
created rights in a repository associated with the consumer.
This is discussed in greater detail below with reference to
FIG. 7.
The authorization process is not limited to the sequence or
steps described above. For example, a system could be programmed to allow authorization module 508 to request the
state conditions from license manager 504 prior to verification of the digital signature. In such a case it would be possible
to proceed subject to a verified license. Further, the various
modules need not reside in the license server or related
devices. The modules can be effected through hardware and/
or software in any part of the system and can be combined or
segregated in any manner.
Once a request to exercise a meta-rights has been authorized, the meta-right can be exercised. Meta-rights manager
module 510 informs state of rights module 504 that it has
started exercising the requested meta-rights. State of rights
module 504 then records the usage history and changes its
current value of the state variables. Meta-rights manager
module 510 exercises the requested meta-rights in a manner
similar to known procedures for usage rights. Ifnew rights are
derived, then meta-rights manager module 510 invokes
license manager module 504 to create new rights as the result
of exercising the target meta-rights. Each new right is then
sent to the corresponding rights manager module 512 of the
consumer and stored in a repository associated with the consumer. Rights manager module 512 of the consumer will
authenticate and authorize the consumer before receiving and
storing the newly created right. New rights can be derived
from meta-rights in accordance with a set of rules or other
logic. For example, one rule can dictate that a consumed right
to offer a license for use will result in the consumer having the
right to offer a usage right and grant a license to that usage
right to another consumer.
FIG. 7 illustrates the workflow for transferring meta-rights
and deriving new rights from the meta-rights in accordance
with the preferred embodiment. All steps on the left side of
FIG. 7 relate to the supplier of rights and all steps on the right
side of FIG. 7 relate to the consumer of rights. In step 702,
principal 304 oflicense 52 is authenticated in a known manner. In other words, it is determined if the party exercising
meta-right 302 has the appropriate license to do so. If the
principal is not authorized, the procedure terminates in step
704. If the principal is authorized, the procedures advances to
step 706 in which meta right 302 is exercised and transmitted
to the consumer in the form of license 52 having derived
rights in the manner set forth above. In step 708 the principal
of this new license is authenticated. In other words, it is

determined if the party exercising the derived rights has the
appropriate license to do so. If the principal is not authorized,
the procedure terminates in step 710. If the principal is authorized, the procedures advances to step 712 in which the
derived right is stored. The procedure then returns to step 708
for each additional right in the license and terminates in step
714 when all rights have been processed.
Thus, the exemplary embodiments include a method for
transferring rights adapted to be associated with items from a
rights supplier to a rights consumer, including obtaining a set
of rights associated with an item, the set of rights including
meta-rights specifYing derivable rights that can be derived
therefrom by the rights consumer, determining whether the
rights consumer is entitled to derive the derivable rights specified by the meta-rights, and at least one of deriving the derivable rights, and generating a license including the derived
rights with the rights consumer designated as a principal if the
rights consumer is entitled to derive the derivable rights specified by the meta-rights. The exemplary embodiments further
include a license associated with an item and adapted to be
used within a system for managing the transfer of rights to the
item from a rights supplier to a rights consumer. The license
includes a set of rights including meta-rights specifying
derivable rights that can be derived therefrom by the rights
consumer, a principal designating at least one rights consumer who is authorized to derive the derivable rights, and a
mechanism for providing access to the item in accordance
with the set of rights. The exemplary embodiments still further include a method for deriving rights adapted to be associated with items from meta-rights, including obtaining a set
of rights associated with an item, the set of rights including
meta-rights specifYing derivable rights that can be derived
therefrom by the rights consumer, and generating a license
associated with the item and including the derived rights.
FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary system including a common state-of-rights server, according to the present invention.
In FIG. 8, the exemplary system can include a common stateof-rights server of the system 801, including a state-of-rights
manager 809, and one or more state-of-rights repositories
814, and one or more license servers 800, including a metarights manager 810, a usage rights manager 812, an authorization component 808, a condition validator 806, a state-ofrights manager 804, one or more state-of-rights repositories
816, a license manager 803, a license interpreter 802, and one
or more license repositories 818.
The common state-of-rights server 801 can be configured
as a remote server connected with one or more of the license
servers 800. The common state-of-rights server 801 provides
comparable services as the state-of-rights manager 804 in the
license servers 800 via the state-of-rights manager 809. The
services provided by the state-of-rights server 801 are accessible and states that the server 801 manages can be shared by
one or more rights suppliers and rights consumers (not
shown).
The state-of-rights server 801 can be configured as a
remote server connected with one or more of the license
servers 800 via one or more communication links 820, and the
like. The services provided by the state-of-rights server 801
also can be integrated within one or more of the license server
800 and such services can be accessible by other rights suppliers, rights consumers, and the like.
The license manager 803 derives new rights based on an
offer, which can include any suitable machine-readable
expression, and optionally including meta-rights. While
deriving rights, the license manager 803 can create new state
variables to be associated with derived rights. The creation of
state variables and their scopes can be prescribed in the offer

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or by some other function in the system. The state variables
can be created in one or more instances, for example, prior to
rights derivation, during rights derivation, upon fulfillment of
conditions, during a first exercise of rights associated with the
state variables, and the like. The state variables can be designated exclusively for a specific rights consumer, can be shared
among rights consumers, and can be shared among rights
consumers and other entities, such as rights suppliers, and the
like. The license manager 803 can interact with the state-ofrights manager 804 to associate new state variables with
physical addresses in one or more of the state-of-rights
repositories 816. The state-of-rights manager 804 can access
the one or more state-of-rights repositories 816 and can interact with the state-of-rights server 801 to access shared state
variables from one or more of the state-of-rights repositories
814.
Designated state variables can be used to support a license
that grants a recipient of the license a right to print content 5
times, shared state variables can be used to support a site
license that grants a group of authorized users a right to print
content an aggregated total of 100 times, and the like. A
designated state variable can be updated when the corresponding right is exercised, whereas a shared state variable
can be updated when an authorized user exercises the corresponding right. In other words, a shared state variable can
include a data variable that is updated in response to actions
by a plurality of users and which is globally applied to each of
the users.
There are multiple ways to specify the scope of state variabies, each of which can affect whether the derivative state
variables can be shared, how the derivative state variables can
be shared, and the like. For example, a state variable can be
local, and solely confined to a recipient or can be global, and
shared by a predetermined group of recipients. A global state
variable can be shared by a group of recipients not determined
when derived rights are issued, but to be specified later, perhaps based on certain rules defined in the license or based on
other means. A global state variable can be shared between
one or more rights suppliers, predetermined recipients, unspecified recipients, and the like. Advantageously, depending
on the sharing employed with a given a business model and
the rights granted in the meta-rights, state variables can be
created at different stages of the value chain.
A set of non-exhaustive exemplary usages of state variables will now be described. For example, a state variable can
be unspecified in meta-rights, which means the identifier and
value of the state variable are yet to be determined by the
meta-rights manager module 810 and included in the derived
right. If a distinct state variable is assigned to each derived
right, the scope of the state variable in the derived right is
typically exclusive to the recipient.
FIG. 9 is used to illustrate employing of a state variable in
deriving exclusive usage rights, according to the present
invention. In FIG. 9, rights 902 and 903 derived from an offer
901 are exclusive to each respective consumer. The offer 901
is a type of meta-right of which the recipients have the rights
to obtain specific derivative rights when the conditions for
obtaining such rights are satisfied. Accordingly, the exemplary offer 901 has an unspecified state variable 904. However, specific state variable 905 and 906, each with uniquely
assigned identifications (IDs) are included in the derived
rights 902 and 903. The derived state variables 905 and 906
are bound to their associated derived rights, e.g., "AlicePlayEbook" (i.e., Alice has the right to play Ebook) is bound
to derived right 902, and "BobP!ayEbook" (i.e., Bob has the
right to play Ebook) is bound to derived right 903 The "AliceP!ayEbook" variable can be updated when Alice exercises

her play right, whereas the "BobP!ayEbook" variable can be
updated when Bob exercises his play right.
Other than deriving rights from an offer, a right can transfer
from an entity to a recipient. When a right is transferred, the
governing of the associated state variable is also transferred to
the recipient. After a right is transferred, the source principal
typically can no longer exercise the right, whereas the recipient can exercise the right. The license server governing the
exercising of a right of a recipient assumes the responsibility
for state management. If, however, the state variables are
managed by the common state of right server 801, the state of
right server 801 needs to be informed of the transfer of right.
Specifically, the state variable can be managed in the context
of the recipient after the transfer of right.
When a right is to be shared between the source principal
and the recipient, the associated state variable is referenced in
the derived right. If the same right is shared with multiple
recipients, then typically all of the recipients share the same
state variables with the source principal. In this case, a shared
state can be managed by an entity that is accessible by all
sharing principals.
FIG.10 is used to illustrate employing of a state variable in
deriving inherited usage rights, according to the present
invention. In FIG. 10, a derived right can inherit a state variable from meta-rights. For example, a personal computer
(PC) of a user, Alice, can be configured to play an e-book
according to a license 1003. A personal data assistant (PDA)
ofAlice also can obtain a right to play thee-book according to
offer 1001, if the PC and PDA share the same state variables
1004 and 1005, e.g., "AliceP!ayEbook." A derived right 1002
allows Alice also to play the e-bookonher PDA as long as the
PDA and the PC share a same count limit 1006 of 5 times.
When a usage right is to be shared among a predetermined
set of recipients, a state variable for tracking a corresponding
usage right can be specified in a meta-right using a same state
variable identification for all recipients. During a process of
exercising the meta-right, the same state variable identification is included in every derived right.
FIG. 11 illustrates the use of state variable in deriving
rights that are shared among a known set of rights recipients,
according to the present invention. In FIG. 11, a site license
1101 is issued to FooU university. For example, via the site
license 1101, a librarian is granted a right to issue rights that
allow FooU students to play, view, and the like, corresponding
content, such as e-books and the like, as long as such usage is
tracked by a state variable 1104, e.g., "www.foou.edu."
Accordingly, rights 1102 and 1103 derived from the site
license 1101 include state variables 1105 and 1106, "www.foou.edu," which can be updated when corresponding students, Alice and Bob, play thee-book.
When a usage right is to be shared among a dynamic set of
recipients, the state variable can stay unspecified in the usage
right. When exercising a meta-right and a set of recipients is
known, a state variable can be specified using some identification unique to the known recipients and can be included
within a derived right.
FIG. 12 is used to illustrate employing of a state variable in
deriving rights that are shared among a dynamic set of rights
recipients, according to the present invention. In FIG. 12, an
offer 1201 specifies that a distributor can issue site licenses to
affiliated clubs, allowing 5 members of each club to concurrently view, play, and the like, content, such as an e-book. A
corresponding state variable 1207 associated with such a right
can be unspecified in the offer 1201. When corresponding
rights 1202 and 1203 are issued to affiliated clubs, the corresponding club identities are used to specifY state variables
1208 and 1209 in the issued rights. The offers 1202 and 1203

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are meta-rights derived from the offer 1201, with offer being
assigned the distinct state variables 1208 and 1209. Further
rights 1204-1206 can be derived from the offers 1202 and
1203 to be shared among members of each respective club.
The licenses 1204 and 1205 are examples of rights derived
from the offer 1202, and which inherit the state variable 1208,
e.g., "um:acme:club," whereas the license 1206 inherits the
state variable 1209, e.g., "um:foo:club."
Not only can state variables be shared among principals,
such as rights suppliers, consumers, and the like, a state
variable can be shared among multiple exercisable rights.
FIG. 13 is used to illustrate employing of a state variable for
maintaining a state shared by multiple rights, according to the
present invention. In FIG. 13, a same state variable 1303 is
associated to both a right to print 1302 and the right to play
1301, so that the total number of playing, printing, and the
like, can be tracked together.
The state of rights can depend on more than one state
variable. FIG. 14 is used to illustrate employing of multiple
state variables to represent one state of rights, according to the
present invention. The example described with respect to
FIG. 14 builds upon the example described with respect to
FIG. 12. In FIG. 14, a usage right can be tracked by employing
multiple state variables 1407 and 1408 in an offer 1401. The
state variable 1408, for example, representing a priority level,
can stay unspecified in the corresponding offers 1402 and
1403 (e.g., site licenses). The corresponding state variables
1409-1411, for example, used for setting a priority, can be
assigned to each member in the corresponding licenses 1404,
1405 and 1406. The corresponding right to view, play, and the
like, can now be dependent on two state variables, effectively
restricting 5 simultaneous views, plays, and the like, per
priority level.
One state variable can represent a collection of states. For
example, a unique identification can be used to represent a
state variable, and an appropriate mechanism can be
employed to map such unique id to a database of multiple
variables, where each variable represents a distinct state.
The scope of state variables can be used to determine
entities by which the state variables can be managed. For
example, for a local state variable, usage tracking of associated rights thereof can be managed solely by a trusted agent
embedded within a rights consumption environment, such as
a media player, and the like. In addition, such usage tracking
can be conducted by a trusted remote service, such as the
common state-of-rights server 801. Further, shared global
state variables can be made accessible by multiple trusted
agents. To avoid privacy issues, security issues, trust issues,
rights issues, and the like, associated with accessing content,
such as data, and the like, included within a peer rights consumption environment, managing of such shared global state
variables can be performed by a remote service, such as the
state-of-rights server 801.
A counter is a common form of state variable usage. For
example, such state sharing can include counter sharing
where a state represents a number of times a right has been
exercised, an event has occurred, and the like. Such counter
sharing can be manifested in various forms and occur in many
contexts, such as: tracking a number of simultaneous uses,
tracking a number of sequential uses, sequencing (e.g., a
commercial must be viewed before free content can be
accessed), a one-time use constraint, a transaction count, a
delegation control level, a super-distribution level, dependency on at least one or more services or devices, and the like.
In addition, state variables can be incarnated in a wide
variety of forms. For example, a state variable can be used to
track specific time slots within a period of time, such as used

by a movie studio to transfer syndication rights to a specific
TV station, to transfer syndication rights shared by a group of
stations, to transfer syndication rights assigned through a
bidding process, and the like.
State variables also can be employed, for example, with
regional selling or distribution rights, in a statement from a
financial clearing house to acknowledge that an appropriate
fee has been paid, as a status of whether a commercial has
been watched before free content can be accessed, and the
like.
Not all rights need be associated with states. FIG.15 is used
to illustrate a case where not all rights are associated with
states, according to the present invention. In FIG. 15, an offer
1501 allows a user, Alice, to grant an unlimited play right,
view right, and the like, to her PDA. Such a play right need not
be associated with any state. Accordingly, derived right 1502
also has an unlimited play right to the content, as well as the
right 1503 for her PC.
Not all rights which are associated with states are shared or
inherited. For example, some rights are meant for off-line
usage, can be transferred in whole to another device, and
hence are not shared with other devices. FIG. 16 is used to
illustrate a case where not all rights which are associated with
states are shared or inherited, according to the present invention. InFIG.16, even though a play right1603 of a user, Alice,
a play right 1602 of a PDA of Alice, and a play right 1603 of
a PC of Alice specifY a same state variable identification
1604, a same state need not be shared since each device can
track a state thereof locally. Advantageously, such an implementation would allow the PC and the PDA to each play the
corresponding content up to 5 times.
FIG.17 illustrates a form of an offer which does not explicitly include meta-rights. In FIG. 17, an offer 1701 is configured as a site license written in English. Licenses 1702 and
1703 are instances derived from the offer 1701. In an exemplary embodiment, variables 1704 and 1705 can be created
based on interpretation of the offer 1701, for example, by the
system of FIG. 8.
The preferred embodiments are not limited to situations
where resellers, distributors or other "middlemen" are used.
For example, the preferred embodiment can be applied within
enterprises or other organizations, which create and/or distribute digital content or other items to control use of the
content within the enterprise or other organization. Metarights can also be issued to end-users, when the grant of a right
relates to another right. For example, the right to buy or sell
securities as it is in the case of trading options and futures.
Meta-rights can be assigned or associated with goods services, resources, or other items.
The invention can be implemented through any type of
devices, such as computers and computer systems. The preferred embodiment is implemented in a client server environment. However, the invention can be implemented on a single
computer or other device. Over a network using dumb terminals, thin clients, or the like, or through any configuration of
devices. The various modules of the preferred embodiment
have been segregated and described by function for clarity.
However, the various functions can be accomplished in any
mauner through hardware and/or software. The various modules and components of the preferred embodiment have separate utility and can exist as distinct entities. Various communication channels can be used with the invention. For
example, the Internet or other network can be used. Also, data
can be transferred by moving media, such as a CD, DVD,
memory stick or the like, between devices. Devices can
include, personal computers, workstations, thin clients,
PDA's and the like.

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The invention has been described through exemplary
embodiments and examples. However, various modifications
can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and legal equivalents.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the state variable
inherits a state thereof for content usage or rights transfer
from the set of rights.
14. The system of claim 12, wherein the state variable
shares a state thereof for content usage or rights transfer with
the set of rights.
15. The system of claim 12, wherein the state variable
inherits a remaining state for content usage or rights transfer
from the set of rights.
16. The system of claim 12, wherein the state variable is
updated upon exercise of a right associated with the state
variable.
17. The system of claim 12, wherein exercising the metaright results creates a plurality of rights, wherein the state
variable is shared by the created rights.
18. The system of claim 12, wherein the state variable
represents a collection of states.
19. The system of claim 12, including a plurality of state
variables that determine the state of the created right.
20. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one state
variable is unspecified in the created right, is created during a
rights transfer, and is assigned to the created right.
21. The system of claim 12, wherein the state variable is
transferred from the right specified by the meta-right to the
created right.
22. The system of claim 12, further comprising means for
generating a license including the created right, if the rights
consumer is entitled to the right specified by the meta-right.
23. The system of claim 12, wherein the means for obtaining, the means for determining, and the means for exercising
comprise at least one of computer-executable instructions,
and devices of a computer system.
24. A device for transferring rights adapted to be associated
with items from a rights supplier to a rights consumer, the
device comprising:
means for obtaining a set of rights associated with an item,
the set of rights including a meta-right specifYing a right
that can be created when the meta-right is exercised,
wherein the meta-right is provided in digital form and is
enforceable by a repository;
means for determining whether the rights consumer is
entitled to the derivable right specified by the meta-right;
and
means for exercising the meta-right to create the right
specified by the meta-right if the rights consumer is
entitled to the right specified by the meta-right, wherein
the created right includes at least one state variable based
on the set of rights and used for determining a state of the
created right.
25. The device of claim 24, wherein the state variable
inherits a state thereof for content usage or rights transfer
from the set of rights.
26. The device of claim 24, wherein the state variable
shares a state thereof for content usage or rights transfer with
the set of rights.
27. The device of claim 24, wherein the state variable
inherits a remaining state for content usage or rights transfer
from the set of rights.
28. The device of claim 24, wherein the state variable is
updated upon exercise of a right associated with the state
variable.
29. The device of claim 24, wherein exercising the metaright results creates a plurality of rights, wherein the state
variable is shared by the created rights.
30. The device of claim 24, wherein the state variable
represents a collection of states.

What is claimed is:
1. A computer-implemented method for transferring rights
adapted to be associated with items from a rights supplier to
a rights consumer, the method comprising:
obtaining a set of rights associated with an item, the set of
rights including a meta-right specifying a right that can
be created when the meta-right is exercised, wherein the
meta-right is provided in digital form and is enforceable
by a repository;
determining, by a repository, whether the rights consumer
is entitled to the right specified by the meta-right; and
exercising the meta-right to create the right specified by the
meta-right if the rights consumer is entitled to the right
specified by the meta-right, wherein the created right
includes at least one state variable based on the set of
rights and used for determining a state of the created
right.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the state variable inherits a state thereof for content usage or rights transfer from the
set of rights.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the state variable shares
a state thereof for content usage or rights transfer with the set
of rights.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the state variable inherits a remaining state for content usage or rights transfer from
the set of rights.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the state variable is
updated upon exercise of a right associated with the state
variable.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein exercising the metaright creates a plurality of rights, wherein the state variable is
shared by the created rights.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the state variable represents a collection of states.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of
state variables that determine the state of the created right.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state
variable is unspecified in the created right, is created during a
rights transfer, and is assigned to the created right.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the state variable is
transferred from the right specified by the meta-right to the
created right.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating
a license including the created right, if the rights consumer is
entitled to the right specified by the meta-right.
12. A system for transferring rights adapted to be associated with items from a rights supplier to a rights consumer, the
system comprising:
means for obtaining a set of rights associated with an item,
the set of rights including a meta-right specifying a right
that can be created when the meta-right is exercised,
wherein the meta-right is provided in digital form and is
enforceable by a repository;
means for determining whether the rights consumer is
entitled to the right specified by the meta-right; and
means for exercising the meta-right to create the right
specified by the meta-right if the rights consumer is
entitled to the right specified by the meta-right, wherein
the created right includes at least one state variable based
on the set of rights and used for determining a state of the
created right.

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31. The device of claim 24, including a plurality of state

35. The device of claim 24, wherein the means for obtain-

variables that determine the state of the created right.
32. The device of claim 24, wherein the at least one state
variable is unspecified in the created right, is created during a
rights transfer, and is assigned to the created right.
33. The device of claim 24, wherein the state variable is
transferred from the right specified by the meta-right to the
created right.
34. The device of claim 24, further comprising means for
generating a license including the created right, if the rights
consumer is entitled to the right specified by the meta-right.

ing, the means for determining, and the means for exercising
comprise at least one of computer-executable instructions,
and devices of a computer system.
36. The device of claim 24, wherein one or more of the
means for obtaining, the means for determining, and the
means for exercising are specified in a license.
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