Smartflash LLC et al v. Apple Inc, et al
Filing
1
COMPLAINT for Patent Infringement against All Defendants ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0540-4157664.), filed by Smartflash LLC, Smartflash Technologies Limited. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Exhibit A - US 7334720, # 3 Exhibit B - US 7942317, # 4 Exhibit C - US 8033458, # 5 Exhibit D - US 8061598, # 6 Exhibit E - US 8118221, # 7 Exhibit F - US 8336772)(Caldwell, Bradley)
Exhibit D
Illlll llllllll Ill lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll 111111111111111111111111111111111
US008061598B2
United States Patent
(10)
Racz et al.
c12)
(45)
(54)
Inventors: Patrick Racz, Saint Heller (JE);
Hermen-ard Hulst, Amsterdam (NL)
(73)
Assignee: Smartflash Technologies Limited,
Tortola (VG)
( *)
Notice:
5,148,432
5,226,145
5,367,150
5,406,619
5,457,746
5,532,466
5,588,146
5,677,953
5,703,951
5,740,369
5,744,787
5,754,654
5,794,202
DATA STORAGE AND ACCESS SYSTEMS
(75)
Patent No.:
US 8,061,598 B2
Date of Patent:
*Nov. 22, 2011
Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
9/1992
7I1993
1111994
4/1995
10/1995
7/1996
12/1996
10/1997
12/1997
4/1998
411998
511998
8/1998
Gordon et al.
Moronaga et al.
Kitta et al.
Akhteruzzarnan et al.
Dolphin
Konno et al.
Leroux
Dolphin
Dolphin
Yokozawa et al.
Teicher
Hiroya et al.
Kim
(Continued)
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
(21)
(22)
Appl. No.: 13/012,541
Filed:
EP
Primary Examiner - Thien M Le
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm - Kilpatrick Townsend &
Stockton LLP
Prior Publication Data
US 2011/0114723 Al
May 19, 2011
Related U.S. Application Data
(57)
(63)
Continuation of application No. 12/014,558, filed on
Jan. 15, 2008, now Pat. No. 7,942,317, which is a
continuation of application No. 11/336,758, filed on
Jan. 19, 2006, now Pat. No. 7,334,720, which is a
continuation of application No. 10/111,716, filed on
Sep. 17, 2002, now abandoned.
(51)
Int. Cl.
G06K 5100
(2006.01)
U.S. Cl. ........................................ 235/380; 235/382
Field of Classification Search .................. 235/380,
235/382, 492, 451
See application file for complete search history.
(56)
ABSTRACT
Data storage and access systems enable downloading and
paying for data such as audio and video data, text, software,
games and other types of data. A portable data carrier has an
interface for sending and receiving data, data memory for
storing received content data, and payment validation
memory for providing payment validation data to an external
device. The carrier may also store a record of access made to
the stored content, and content use rules for controlling access
to the stored content. Embodiments store further access control data and supplementary data such as hot links to web sites
and/or advertising data. A complementary data access terminal, data supply computer system, and data access device are
also described. The combination of payment data and stored
content data and use rule data helps reduce the risk of unauthorized access to data such as compressed music and video
data, especially over the Internet.
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U.S. Patent
Nov. 22, 2011
Sheet 1of17
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US 8,061,598 B2
U.S. Patent
Nov. 22, 2011
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US 8,061,598 B2
Sheet 5of17
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U.S. Patent
Nov. 22, 2011
US 8,061,598 B2
Sheet 6of17
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Nov. 22, 2011
S10
Sheet 10 of 17
US 8,061,598 B2
-----
SMART FLASH CARD INSERTED
INTO CONTENT ACCESS
TERMINAL CARD INTERFACE
S11
SCHEME OWNER REG!STAA T!ON
WEB PAGE LOADED ONTO
CONTENT ACCESS TERMINAL
$12
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ENTERED INTO CONTENT ACCESS
TERMINAL
S13
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TRANSMITTED TO SCHEME OWNER
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AND VVRITTEN ONTO CARO
S18
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WRITTEN ONTO CARD ANO
OUTPUT TO USER
srn
CARO AVAILASU:'. FOR USE
U.S. Patent
Nov. 22, 2011
Sheet 11 of 17
US 8,061,598 B2
820
REQUEST FOR CARD
REGISTRATION WEB PAGE
RECEIVED FROM CONTENT
ACCESS OEVICE
i
S21
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TO COITTENT ACCESS TERMINAL
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TRANSACTION COMPLETE
Fig.11 b
U.S. Patent
Nov. 22, 2011
Sheet 12 of 17
US 8,061,598 B2
830
INSERT CARO IN CONTENT
ACCESS TERMINAL
i - - - - - - - - · - - - - - - - - - - - -.. . . . .
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ACCESS\IVEBPAGEONTO
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OUTPITT ACCESS REFUSED
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Fig~
12a
U.S. Patent
Nov. 22, 2011
Sheet 13 of 17
US 8,061,598 B2
S45
CONTENT SEARCH REQUEST
DATA INPUT AND TRANSMITTED
TO SCHEME OWNER CONTENT
DiSTRtBUT!ON PROCESSOR
CONTENT SEARCH RE SULTS
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DISPLAYED ON CONTENT ACCESS
TERMINAL
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INPUT ANO TRANSMITTED TO
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CONTENT COST DATA, CONTENT
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S50
CARD VALUE AND CRM DATA
READ FROM CARD
S52
NO
PAYMENT REQUEST
TRANSMITTED TO CARD
DISPLAY !NSUFFIClENT
VALUE WARNING
U.S. Patent
Nov. 22, 2011
Sheet 14of17
US 8,061,598 B2
c
S54
PAYMENT FOR SCHEME OWNER
RECEIVED FROM CARD SY
CONTENT ACCESS TERMINAL AND
a~PAYMENT
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S55
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SYSTEM BY CONTENT ACCESS
TERMINAL AND FORWARDED TO
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S56
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REGISTRATION DATA
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557
CONTENT ANO CONTENT ACCESS
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RECEIVE CRM DATA FROM
CONTENT DfSTRIBUflON
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WRJTE AUDIT TRAIL TO CARO
ANO UPDATE CARD CRM DATA
B
Fig~ 12c
U.S. Patent
Nov. 22, 2011
Sheet 15 of 17
US 8,061,598 B2
S60
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I
CONTENT ACCESS WEB PAGE
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f
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RECEIVED FROM CONTENT
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~
Fig. 12d
U.S. Patent
Nov. 22, 2011
Sheet 16of17
US 8,061,598 B2
y
$68
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$69
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Fig~
12e
U.S. Patent
Nov. 22, 2011
Sheet 17 of 17
US 8,061,598 B2
sn
CARD INSERTED INTO PLAYER
$16
USER PASSWORD ENTERED INTO
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RULES LOADED FROM THE CARD
l- AND UPDATED
US 8,061,598 B2
1
2
DATA STORAGE AND ACCESS SYSTEMS
Another aspect of the invention provides a corresponding
mobile data retrieval device for retrieving and outputting data
such as stored music and/or noise from the data storage
device.
The payment validation means is, for example, means to
validate payment with an external authority such as a bank or
building society. The combination of the payment validation
means with the data storage means allows the access to the
downloaded data which is to be stored by the data storage
means, to be made conditional upon checked and validated
payment being made for the data. Binding the data access and
payment together allows the legitimate owners of the data to
make the data available themselves over the internet without
fear ofloss of revenue, thus undermining the position of data
pirates.
A further advantage of the system is that it allows users
under the age of 18 to make internet purchases. Currently
internet users pay for goods and/or services by credit card.
Since credit cards cannot legitimately be used by persons
under the age of 18 (at least in the UK), a significant fraction
of adventurous internet users are excluded from e-commerce,
one of the most significant predicted uses of the internet. In
one embodiment of the invention, however, the payment validation means comprises e-cash; that is, the payment validation means stores transaction value information on a cash
value of transactions validatable by the data storage means. In
simple terms, the data storage means can be a card which is
charged up to a desired cash value (if necessary limited to a
maximum value) at a suitable terminal. This might be an
internet access terminal but could, more simply, be a device to
accept the data storage card and to receive and count money
deposited by the user to charge the card, writing update cash
value information onto the card. More sophisticated ways of
updating the cash value on the card are also possible, such as
direct bank transfer. Since, with this type of embodiment, the
data storage means is, essentially, precharged with cash rather
than acting as a credit card, it can be used by young people
without the risk of their incurring large debts.
In one embodiment the data storage means is powered by
the retrieval device when it is connected to the device and
retains a memory of the downloaded data when it is unpowered. This can be achieved by the use of Flash RAM or, more
generally, any form of programmable read-only memory.
Alternatively the data storage means may incorporate a
rechargeable cell or capacitor and store information in battery
backed-up static RAM.
The downloaded data may be entered into the data storage
device by means of an interface such as a magnetically or
capacitatively coupled connection or an optical connection,
but preferably the interface comprises contacts for direct electrical connection to the storage means. The payment validation means may likewise have one of a variety of interfaces
but again preferably comprises a set of electrical contacts.
The payment validation means could, however, comprise a
magnetic or holographic data-strip such as is known for use
with credit cards and phone cards. The interface to receive the
downloaded data may be separate from the interface to the
payment validation means, to facilitate separate and simultaneous access to both these systems. In other embodiments a
single interface may serve for both data storage and payment.
Advantageously the payment validation means includes
memory storing information to identify the person who is
paying for the downloaded data.
For additional security the downloaded data may be
encrypted. In this case data decryption may be necessary at
some stage, either in the data storage means or in the retrieval
device or in an information delivering apparatus such as a data
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED
APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/014,558, filed on Jan. 15, 2008, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/336,758,
filed on Jan. 19, 2006, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,334,720;
which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
10/111,716, filed on Sep. 17, 2002, which application is a
national stage application under 35 U.S.C. 371, claiming the
priority of international PCT Application No. GB00104110,
filed on Oct. 25, 2000; which claims priority to UK Application No. 9925227.2, filed on Oct. 25, 1999, each of which is
incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is generally concerned with data storage and
access systems. More particularly, it relates to a portable data
carrier for storing and paying for data and to computer systems for providing access to data to be stored. The invention
also includes corresponding methods and computer programs. The invention is particularly useful for managing
stored audio and video data, but may also be applied to storage and access of text and software, including games, as well
as other types of data.
One problem associated with the increasingly wide use of
the internet is the growing prevalence of so-called data
pirates. Such pirates obtain data either by unauthorized or
legitimate means and then make this data available essentially
world-wide over the internet without authorization. Data can
be a very valuable commodity, but once it has been published
on the internet it is difficult to police access to and use of it by
internet users who may not even realize that it is pirated. This
is a particular problem with audio recordings, and, once the
bandwidth becomes available, is also likely to be evident with
video.
Over the past three or four years compressed audio sources
have become increasingly widely available on web pages.
One widely used audio data compression format is MP3
(MPEG-Audio Layer 3 of the MPEGl compression algorithm), which is an internationally defined standard including
a definition of compressed audio information such as speech
or music. It relies on psycho-acoustic properties of human
hearing to achieve very large data compression factors. It is
thus feasible to download usefully long passages of music in
a practically convenient short time. Pirate data suppliers have
not been slow to realize the potential of this, and many unauthorized websites have sprung up offering popular music,
including recent releases by world-famous bands. This has
caused the recording industry considerable concern and there
is an urgent need to find a way to address the problem of data
piracy.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is therefore provided a method of providing portable data comprising providing a portable data storage device comprising downloaded
data storage means and payment validation means; providing
a terminal for internet access; coupling the portable data
storage device to the terminal; reading payment information
from the payment validation means using the terminal; validating the payment information; and downloading data into
the portable storage device from a data supplier.
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access terminal. Alternatively the data decryption function
can be shared amongst one or more of these devices. The
skilled person will be aware of a range of suitable encryption/
decryption techniques, including Pretty Good Privacy (Registered Trade Mark) and PKI (Public Key Infrastructure).
Normally, when the downloaded data is encrypted, a decryption key must be supplied. This can be generated 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 into the mobile data retrieval device.
The data storage means and/or the retrieval device can be
provided with access control means to prevent unauthorized
access to the downloaded data. Additionally or alternatively,
use control means can be provided to stop or provide only
limited access of the user to the downloaded data in accordance with the amount paid. These access and use control
functions may in some embodiments be combined, permitted
use controlling access or permitted access controlling use.
Thus, for example, a complete set of data information relating
to a particular topic, a particular music track, or a particular
software package might be downloaded, although access to
part of the data set might thereafter be controlled by payments
made by a user at a later stage. In this way, a user could pay to
enable an extra level on a game or to enable further tracks of
an album.
In embodiments where the access or use control means is
responsive to the payment validation means, access or use
control information may be stored with the downloaded data
or in a separate storage area, for example in the payment
validation means. The user's access to the downloaded data
could advantageously be responsive to the payment validation means, for example, by means of a control line coupling
the payment validation means with a memory access or
decryption control element.
In one embodiment the data storage means comprises an
electronic memory card or smart card and the mobile data
retrieval device is provided with a slot to receive the card.
Preferably the card is a push-fit within the retrieval device,
and retention of the card may be effected by pressure from
electrical interface connections and/or resilience of the housing, or by using a resilient retaining means. In a preferred
embodiment the retrieval device includes an audio output and
a display, to play a downloaded track and to show information
about the track and/or an accompanying video.
To download data onto the data storage means the user can
employ a data access terminal coupled to the internet. The
terminal can directly validate payment; for example in the
case of a smart card charged with electronic cash it can deduct
a cash value from the card. Alternatively it can communicate
with a bank or other financial services provider to control
payment. In a preferred embodiment, however, the terminal
connects to a data access service provider which provides a
portal to other sites and which validates payment and then
forwards data from a data supplier to the user's local access
terminal. The data access service provider may alternatively
forward payment validation information and/or information
from the payment validation authority to the data supplier for
control by the supplier of the data supplied. Thus, access to
the payment validation system and/or data for downloading
may be entirely controlled by the data supplier.
Data held on the data storage means may advantageously
include data relating to the user's or payer's usage of the
system. This information may include, for example, information on a user's spending pattern, information on data suppliers used and information on the downloaded data. This information may be accessed by the data supplier and/or data
access service provider and can be used for targeted marketing or loyalty-based incentive schemes such as air miles or the
like.
The data access terminal may be a conventional computer
or, alternatively, it may be a mobile phone. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and i-mode allow mobile phones to
efficiently access the internet and this allows a mobile phone
to be used to download data to the data storage means, advantageously, directly. The data storage means can, if desired,
incorporate the functionality of a mobile phone SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card, which cards already include a
user identification means, to allow user billing through the
phone network operator.
In a preferred embodiment the downloaded data is MP3 or
other encoded audio data, but the system finds more general
application for other data types. For example, download data
can include software, and particularly games, share price
information, current news information, transport timetable
information, weather information and catalog shopping
information. The downloaded information may also include
compressed video data. The storage capacity of the data storage means is adaptable to suit the type of data intended to be
downloaded; for example, 32 megabytes is sufficient for CD
quality music, but for video it is preferable that the data
storage means has a capacity of 128 megabytes or greater.
In another aspect, the invention provides a portable data
carrier comprising an interface for reading and writing data
from and to the carrier; non-volatile data memory, coupled to
the interface, for storing data on the carrier; non-volatile
payment data memory, coupled to the interface, for providing
payment data to an external device.
These features allow the data carrier to store both payment
data and content data, thus providing the advantages outlined
above. Depending upon the payment system used, the payment data memory may also store code for validating or
confirming a payment to an external payment system. The
payment data will normally be linked to a card or card holder
identification data for payment by the card holder. The nonvolatile memory ensures that stored content and payment data
is retained in the data carrier when the data carrier is not
receiving power from an external source. Thus "non-volatile"
encompasses, for example, low-power memory whose contents are retained by a battery back-up system. In one embodiment the payment data memory comprises EEPROM and the
content data memory comprises Flash memory, but other
types of content data memory, such as optical, for example,
holographic, data memory can also be used. The data carrier
may also be integrated into other apparatus, such as a mobile
communications device.
Preferably, the portable data carrier further comprises a
program store for storing code implementable by a processor;
and a processor, coupled to the content data memory, the
payment data memory, the interface and to the program store
for implementing code in the program store, wherein the code
comprises code to output payment data from the payment
data memory to the interface and code to provide external
access to the data memory.
Normally, the (content) data memory allows both write and
read access for both storing and retrieving data, but in some
embodiments the content data memory may be read-only
memory (ROM). In such embodiments, content may be preloaded onto the carrier and payment may then be made for
permission to access the pre-loaded data.
Preferably, the data carrier also stores a record of access
made to the content data and updates this in response to
external access, preferably read access, made to the data
memory. The carrier may also store content use rules pertain-
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ing to allowed use of stored data items. These use rules may
be linked to payments made from the card to provide payment
options such as access to buy content data outright; rental
access to content data for a time period or for a specified
number of access events; and/or rental/purchase, for example
where rental use is provided together with an option to purchase content data at the reduced price after rental access has
expired.
Thus where the data carrier stores, for example, music, the
purchase outright option may be equivalent to the purchase of
a compact disc (CD), preferably with some form of content
copy protection such as digital watermarking. In this
example, the rental or subscription payment option may be a
pay-per-play option, and with this option payment may either
be before or after access to the stored data so that the carrier
may operate in either a debit or credit payment mode.
The portability of the data carrier potentially allows it to be
used to access content or, in the example, play music without
the need to be linked to a communications system or to be
on-line to the internet. By providing a use record memory on
the data carrier, use of the stored data can be tracked while
off-line and then any necessary payment can be made when
the data carrier is next coupled to a communication system.
This allows the data carrier to operate in a credit mode. In a
debit mode, the additional storage of use rules facilitates the
regulation of access to content data stored on the carrier
without the need for further exchange of payment/use data
with an external system to validate the use.
By combining digital rights management with content data
storage using a single carrier, the stored content data becomes
mobile and can be accessed anywhere while retaining control
over the stored data for the data content provider or data
copyright owner. Preferably, the data carrier also stores
access control data, such as a user ID and a password, as the
stored data may be valuable. The access control data may be
combined with access control to the payment data, which is
typically by means of a PIN (Personal Identification Number)
to simplify access to valued content stored on the carrier.
In one embodiment the stored content data is encrypted and
a unique password or PIN and/or biometric data is required
for decryption. The data carrier may be arranged so that the
content is erased after a predetermined number of incorrect
access attempts. Additionally or alternatively, a permanently
stored flag may be set and/ or a hardware modification (such as
a fusable link) may be made to prevent the data carrier from
functioning for further data storage/retrieval. Preferably,
however, access to any stored value/payment data is nevertheless retained.
Supplementary data may also be stored on the carrier in
association with stored content data. This supplementary data
may comprise customer reward management data and/or
advertising data. The supplementary data may comprise a
pointer to an external data source from which data is downloaded either to the data carrier or to a data access device or
content player, so that advertising or other data can be displayed when reviewing or accessing the stored content.
Additional data security and/or a mechanism for rewarding
operators at different levels in the data supply chain may be
provided using a content synthesis function. The content synthesis function combines partial content information from
two or more sources to provide content data items for storage
and/or output. Thus, for example, a first percentage of a
content data item could be provided by a content retailer,
while a remaining percentage could be provided by an on-line
data supplier. This would provide an incentive for a user to
register with a content retailer or distributor as well as with an
on-line system owner and so could encourage the use of
existing retailers and could provide a mechanism for paying
commission to such retailers. The two portions of data combined to provide a content data item could comprise encryption data and a key but preferably comprise separate parts of
a complete data item, for example, least significant bits and
most significant bits or high frequencies and low frequencies
(for audio). This arrangement also facilitates customer reward
and loyalty management.
In one embodiment the data carrier further comprises
memory for storing data for accessing a mobile communications network, for example to receive content data over the
network. For such an embodiment, the data carrier may
replace a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card in a mobile
communications device, thus providing a single card for both
network access and valued content retrieval and storage.
Additionally or alternatively the card may also store the web
address of a data supplier from whom data may be downloaded onto the carrier.
The data memory for storing content data may be optic,
magnetic or semiconductor memory, but preferably comprises Flash memory. Preferably, the data memory has a large
capacity for storing large data files such as compressed video
data. Preferably, the data memory is partitioned for lock
access, that is, for read and/or write access to blocks of, for
example, 1K, 4K, 16K or 64K databytes for faster data access,
particularly where the stored content data will normally be
accessed serially, as is normally the case with audio and video
data. Preferably the card is configured as an IC card or smart
card and has a credit card-type format, although other formats
such as the "memory stick" format may also be used. This
provides a small and convenient portable format and facilitates removable interfacing with a variety of devices.
The invention also provides a related method of controlling
access to data on a data carrier, the data carrier comprising
non-volatile data memory and non-volatile parameter
memory storing use status data and use rules, the method
comprising receiving a data access request; reading the use
status data and use rules from memory; and evaluating the use
status data using the use rules to determine whether access to
the stored data is permitted.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer system for providing data to a data
requester, the system comprising a communication interface;
a data access data store for storing records of data items
available from the system, each record comprising a data item
description and a pointer to a data provider for the data item;
a program store storing code implementable by a processor; a
processor coupled to the communications interface, to the
data access data store, and to the program store for implementing the stored code, the code comprising code to receive
a request for a data item from the requester; code to receive
from the communications interface payment data comprising
data relating to payment for the requested data item; code
responsive to the request and to the received payment data, to
read data for the requested data item from a content provider;
and code to transmit the read data to the requester over the
communications interface.
The computer system is operated by a data supplier or data
supply "system owner" for providing content data to the data
carrier described above. The payment data received may
either be data relating to an actual payment made to the data
supplier, or it may be a record of a payment made to an
e-payment system relating either to a payment to the data
supplier, or to a payment to a third party. The data from the
content provider, preferably without permanent (local) storage of the forwarded data, improves data security as the
content provider retains control over a content data item, and
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the data supplier, a copy of a data item, is unable to supply
data for the item without the content provider's assistance.
The computer system may provide temporary storage for a
requested data item, for example using a disk cache, but
preferably the computer system does not store a complete
data item, even temporarily.
Preferably, the computer system includes payment distribution information so that when payment is made for a data
item, the payment can be distributed for reimbursing royalties
and making other payments. Typically a large fraction of the
payment for a data item will be transferred to a copyright
owner or "content provider" for the item while smaller payments will go to the artist and/or publisher and/or retailer/
distributor. Payment may be made directly by the computer
system to the computer systems of other relevant parties
using, for example, a signature-transporting type e-payment
system. Alternatively, the computer system can issue appropriate instructions to a third party e-payment system for making the transfers. The computer system allows automatic distribution of payments either before, during or after content
data download, or after content data access by a user. Instructions for distributing the payments may be issued substantially simultaneously, thereby avoiding long delays in the
payment of some parties; for example, it can presently take a
year or more for an artist generating content to be paid by
conventional methods.
Preferably, the computer system also stores content data
item access rule data, for downloading in association with a
content data item. The rule data may be stored by a content
provider but is preferably held by the computer system, and
links a content identifier with an access rule, typically based
upon a required payment value, as outlined above in the
context of the data carrier. Normally, each content data item
will have an associated access rule, but a single rule may
apply to a large number of data items. The computer system
also, preferably, stores requester reward data for customer
reward/loyalty management. This data may again comprise
one or more rules linking a payment value and/or content data
item type to a specified reward, such as a number of air miles
or retailer value points. The computer system preferably also
keeps a record of an identified user's or data's carriers content
item downloads and payments for market research purposes.
The computer system, in one embodiment, also stores
access control data, such as an access request identity and
password which can be employed, for example, to create an
extranet of system users, which again can be linked to stored
access record data for marketing purposes. When further
linked to content item type data, such an arrangement can be
used to construct a club of users of content data items of a
particular type, for example country and western or rock and
roll music. As described in connection with the portable data
carrier, the computer system may also comprise content synthesis code for additional data security and for more secure
management of payment distributions.
The invention also provides a related method of providing
data to a data requester comprising receiving a request for a
data item from the requester; receiving payment data from the
requester relating to payment for the requested data; reading
the requested data from a content provider responsive to the
received payment data; and transmitting the read data to the
requester.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a data access terminal for retrieving data from a
data supplier and providing the retrieved data to a data carrier,
the terminal comprising a first interface for communicating
with the data supplier; a data carrier interface for interfacing
with the data carrier; a program store storing code implement-
able by a processor; and a processor, coupled to the first
interface, to the data carrier interface and to the program store
for implementing the stored code, the code comprising: code
to read payment data from the data carrier and to forward the
payment data to a payment validation system; code to receive
payment validation data from the payment validation system;
code responsive to the payment validation data to retrieve
data from the data supplier and to write the retrieved data into
the data carrier.
This terminal can be used for retrieving data from the
above-described computer system and for downloading the
retrieved data to the above-described portable data carrier. As
with the data supply computer system, it is preferable that
there is no (local) storage of content item data forwarded from
the data supplier to the data carrier. The data access terminal
is not restricted to use with the above-described status supplier and could, for example, retrieve data for downloading to
the data carrier from a local data source, such as a CD (Compact Disc) or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or from a third
party such as a cable TV company.
The terminal reads payment data from the data carrier and
transmits this to a payment validation system for validating
the data and authorizing the payment. This may be part of the
data supplier's computer system or it may be a separate system such as an e-payment system. Thus, the terminal operates
with a data carrier storing payment (validation) data and, in
some embodiments, additional payment validation code for
validating payment to the payment validation system. Again,
the terminal is preferably configured to provide a data item
use rule to the carrier in conjunction with a data item. As
before, the data item use rule will normally be dependent
upon payment value information embodied in the payment
data read from the data carrier. The terminal is preferably also
configured for user input of access control data. This access
control data may be forwarded to the data carrier for access
permission verification and/or it may be passed to the data
supplier computer system for a similar purpose. The terminal
may be configured to warn a user of content access or data
carrier function inhibition after a predetermined number of
access requests have been refused. The terminal may also
incorporate content synthesis code as described above.
The terminal may comprise code to output supplementary
data when downloading data to the data carrier. Identity data
on the data carrier can be used to retrieve the supplementary
data, or a pointer to the supplementary data, from the data
supplier computer system, or the supplementary data or a
pointer thereto can be retrieved directly from the data carrier.
Preferably, however, identification data on the card is used to
retrieve characterizing data such as card user preference data
from the data supplier computer system, and this characterizing data is then used by the terminal to retrieve and output
supplementary data to a terminal user. When the terminal is
associated with a contact distributor or retailer, the supplementary data may be retrieved over a network associated with
the retailer/distributor such as a local area network (LAN),
wide area network (WAN) or extranet.
The invention also provides a method of providing data
from a data supplier to a data carrier, the method comprising
reading payment data from the data carrier; forwarding the
payment data to a payment validation system; retrieving data
from the data supplier; and writing the retrieved data into the
date carrier.
The payment validation system may be part of the data
supplier's computer systems or it may be a separate e-payment system. In one embodiment the method further comprises receiving payment validation data from the payment
validation system; and transmitting at least a portion of the
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payment validation data to the data supplier. Alternatively the
payment validation system may comprise a payment processor at the data supplier or at a destination retrieved from the
data supplier. The payment processor may also provide payment distribution data for distributing a payment represented
by the payment data.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a data access
device for retrieving stored data from a data carrier, the device
comprising a user interface; a data carrier interface; a program store storing code implementable by a processor; and a
processor coupled to the user interface, to the data carrier
interface and to the program store for implementing the stored
code, the code comprising code to retrieve use status data
indicating a use status of data stored on the carrier, and use
rules data indicating permissible use of data stored on the
carrier; code to evaluate the use status data using the use rules
data to determine whether access is permitted to the stored
data; and code to access the stored data when access is permitted.
The data access device uses the use status data and use rules
to determine what access is permitted to data stored on the
data carrier. As described above, the use rules will normally
be dependent upon payments made for data stored on the data
carrier, but may also comprise access control employing a
user identification and password. Since a single data carrier
may have more than one user, the use status and use rules may
be selected dependent upon a user identity. The data access
device may also be configured to present supplementary data
when presenting the content data, retrieved as described
above, from the card, from a remote computer system or from
some other source such as a cable TV network or off-air.
The invention also provides a related method of controlling
access to data from a data carrier, comprising retrieving use
status data from the data carrier indicating past use of the
stored data; retrieving use rules from the data carrier; evaluating the use status data using the use rules to determine
whether access to data stored on the carrier is permitted; and
permitting access to the data on the data carrier dependent on
the result of said evaluating.
According to a further aspect of the invention there is
provided a data access system comprising a data supply computer system for forwarding data from a data provider to a
data access terminal; an electronic payment system for confirming an electronic payment; a data access terminal for
communicating with the data supply system to write data
from the data supply system onto a data carrier; and a data
carrier for storing data from the data supply system and payment data; wherein data is forwarded from the data provider
to the data carrier on validation of payment data provided
from the data carrier to the electronic payment system.
In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a
portable data carrier comprising an interface for sending and
receiving data from and to the carrier; non-volatile data
memory, coupled to the interface, for storing data on the
carrier; and a digital rights management processor for controlling access to the stored data.
In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a
portable data carrier comprising an interface for sending and
receiving data from and to the carrier; non-volatile data
memory, coupled to the interface, for storing data on the
carrier; and an access control processor; wherein the data
memory is partitioned as data blocks and the access control
processor controls external access to the data blocks.
In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a
computer system for providing data to a data requester, the
system comprising a communication interface; a data access
data store for storing records of data items available from the
system, each record comprising a data item description and a
resource locator; a data provider for the data item; a program
store storing code implementable by a processor; a processor
coupled to the communications interface, to the data access
data store, and to the program store for implementing the
stored code, the code comprising code to receive a request for
a data item from the requester to receive from the communications interface payment data comprising data relating to
payment for the requested data item; code, responsive to the
request and to the received payment data, to output the item
data to the requester over the communication interface;
wherein said data access data store further comprises payment distribution information indicating to whom payments
should be made for a data item; and further comprising code
to output payment data for a data item for making payments
for the item when the item is supplied to a requester.
In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a
computer system for providing data to a data requester, the
system comprising a communication interface; a data access
data store for storing records of data items available from the
system, each record comprising a data item description and a
printer location data identifying an electronic address for a
provider for the data item; a program store storing code
implementable by a processor; a processor coupled to the
communications interface, to the data access data store, and to
the program store for implementing the stored code, the code
comprising code to receive a request for a data item from the
requester to receive from the communications interface payment data comprising data relating to payment for the
requested data item; code responsive to the request and to the
received payment data to output the item data to the requester
over the communication interface; wherein the data access
data store further comprises data item access rule data for
output to the requester with a data item; and further comprising code to select access rule data for output with a data item
in response to the payment data.
In a yet further aspect of the invention, there is provided a
method of providing data to a data requester comprising
receiving a request for a data item from the requester; receiving payment data from the requester relating to payment for
the requested data; transmitting the requested data to the
requester; reading payment distribution information from a
data store; and outputting payment data to a payment system
for distributing the payment for the requested data.
In a still further aspect of the invention, there is provided a
method of providing data to a data requester comprising
receiving a request for a data item from the requester; receiving payment data from the requester relating to payment for
the requested data; transmitting the requested data to the
requester; and transmitting data access rule data to the
requester with the read data.
These and other aspects of the invention will now be further
described, by way of example only, with reference to the
accompanying figures.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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FIG. 1 shows a data access device a) from the top; b) from
the front; and c) from the side;
FIG. 2 shows, conceptually, a portable data carrier;
FIGS. 3a and b show exemplary data access terminals;
FIGS. 4a and b show, respectively, a logical signal path
between elements of a conceptual data access system; and a
physical representation of a conceptual data access system;
FIG. 5 shows a content provision system;
FIG. 6 shows a data supply computer system;
FIG. 7 shows a variety of data access terminals;
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FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of components of a data
access terminal;
FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of components of a data
carrier;
FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of components of a
data access device;
FIGS. lla and llb are flow diagrams of a data carrier
registration process;
FIGS. 12a-c and 12d-e show, respectively, a flow diagram
of data access using a data access terminal; and a flow diagram of data supply using a data supply computer system; and
FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram of data retrieval using a data
access device.
The service provider may provide a direct portal to data
providers (80) or may collect information from data suppliers
(80) and provide a "front end" to present data from the suppliers to the terminal user. Alternatively, data supply service
provider (60) may regulate direct access between terminal
(40) and data providers (80), as shown by links (66), by
communicating with the terminal and the data providers to
provide communication regulation information to, for
example, instruct data suppliers about what information the
user of terminal (40) should have access to.
In a preferred embodiment, service provider (60) pays
royalties at an agreed rate-for example, 10 pence per track or
10 pence per minute-to a computer system owned by a
company or entity in the recording industry, such as a content
provider or copyright owner, a content publisher or a content
creator, and the user of terminal (40) effectively pays the
service provider. Billing can also be regulated by bandwidth
and/or data download time.
Preferably the service provider (60) monitors the user's
access to the system and either stores or forwards to data
providers (80), or downloads to the data carrier (30), usage
information. In a preferred embodiment the service provider
sends information via terminal (40) to data carrier (30) which
can be used to determine incentives to be provided to users of
the system.
FIG. 4b shows a conceptual physical configuration of the
system of FIG. 4a in which a plurality of terminals (40), a
plurality of service providers (60) and a plurality of data
providers (80) all interact via the internet. The physical
embodiment of the system is not critical and a skilled person
will understand that the terminals, data processing systems
and the like can all take a variety of forms.
Referring now to FIG. 5, this shows a conceptual illustration of a content provision system 100. Content creators 104a,
b generate or receive content data from artist terminals
l02a-d and store content data in databases 106a, b. The
content data stored in databases 106a, b may comprise audio
data, such as music, video data, such as films or TV programs,
text, such as literary works, software, such as games software,
or other data. Content creators 104a, bare coupled to communications network 101 for communicating created content
data over the network. Also coupled to communications network 101 are content publishers llOa and llOb, each of
which is coupled to an associated stored content database,
112a and 112b respectively. The content publishers make
their stored content available for controlled access using communications network 101. In some instances, for example
where the content data comprises computer games, the functions of content creator and content publisher may be provided by a single entity. Also although conceptually illustrated as blocks in FIG. 5, the content creator and content
publisher typically each comprise a client server computer
network.
The communications network 101 is typically a private
communications network, such as an extranet, with security
controlled access to entities connected to the network. Physically the network may comprise an internet protocol network
or it may comprise, or consist of, dedicated point-to-point
links. Thus, for example, a content creator 104 may be
directly linked to a content publisher 110 and/or to other
entities shown in FIG. 5 such as a content provider or content
distributor.
The content provision system includes a plurality of content providers 108a-e, each coupled to the communications
network 101. In the illustrated system, the content providers
own copyright in stored content data accessible over communications network 101 and may, in practice, also perform a
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, this shows a data access device for
playing MP3 audio (10) with operator controls (12) and LCD
display (14). The outline of a smart card data storage device is
shown at (16). The operator controls allow a user to select and
play tracks, while track information and still or video images
are provided on display (14). A slot (18) is provided in the
front of the device to receive a smart card-type data storage
means. This smart card occupies space (20) and interfaces
with resilient contacts (24); it is held in the data retrieval
device against the contacts, by resilient housing element (22).
Referring now to FIG. 2, this shows a portable data carrier
(30) suitable for use with the device of FIG. 1. The data
storage means is based on a standard smart card; it is plastic,
about the size of a standard credit card, and has some flexibility. On the card (30) are two sets of contacts, contacts (32)
for interfacing with the payment validation means and contacts (34) for interfacing with the memory for storing downloaded data (although in other embodiments, a single set of
contacts may be used for both). The surface of the card can be
embellished with suitable graphics.
In one embodiment the smart card retains all its useable
functionality as specified for standard Electronics Point of
Sale Systems (EPOSS) and, if desired, the memory for storing the downloaded data can be electrically separate from
this. However, it may be preferable to provide interaction
between the standard smart card device and the data memory
in order to accomplish the access control/decryption functions described above.
Referring now to FIG. 3, an example of a data access
terminal is shown at (40). This has a screen (42) and a slot (44)
to receive the data carrier (30). Alternatively the data carrier
may interface to the terminal via the data access device (10)
and an interface (46) to the terminal (40). In FIG. 3b a dedicated terminal (50) has a slot (52) to receive the data carrier,
a display (54) and controls (56). Coins can be inserted into the
terminal at (58) and notes at (60) to charge the data carrier
with cash.
Referring now to FIG. 4a, this illustrates conceptually the
logical connections and data flow between data processing
systems involved in payment validation, and data download
to the carrier (30). A user connects the data carrier (30) to
terminal (40) and logs on to a data web page of data supply
service provider ( 60). Either terminal (40) or service provider
(60) then communicates via data paths (62) with a payment
validation authority (70) to check and authorize the user's or
payer's payment. In the case of electronic cash the terminal
(40) may immediately validate the payment information,
updating the service provider and/or payment validation
authority (70) at a later stage. The logical connection (64)
between the terminal and the service provider is preferably
made over the internet.
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content publication function. Five content providers own the
copyright in over 80% of all world-wide music sales. The
content providers are coupled to stored content databases 106
and 112 via communications network 101, for supplying
stored content data.
A gateway server 114 is also coupled to communications
network 101 to link the communications network to other
networks such as the internet and/or mobile communications
networks. Gateway server 114 provides security and access
control functions and firewalls. A second gateway, content
distributor WAN gateway 116, is also shown attached to communications network 101. This provides similar security and
firewall functions and coupled communications network 101
to distributor WAN (wide area network) 117. Gateway 116
has logical access to one or more of a content creator, content
publisher and content provider for accessing stored content
data. Content distributor gateway 116 may be owned by a
chain of record stores and provide content access terminals
118, coupled to WAN 117, in separate retail outlets. Content
access terminals 118 have access, via gateway 116, to stored
content accessible over communications network 101.
Referring now to FIG. 6, this shows a data supply computer
system 120. In this embodiment, three content access terminals 118a-c, e-payment systems 121a, b, and content access
web server 124 are all coupled to internet 142. Data supply
system 120 is coupled to the content provision system 100
illustrated in FIG. 5. Where communications network 101 of
FIG. 5 is an extranet, this extranet physically operates over
internet 142; where communications network 101 does not
partly operate via internet 142, a connection to internet 142 is
established via gateway server 114 as shown in FIG. 5. In this
way content access terminals 118a-c are provided with controlled access to the stored content data of content provision
system 100.
E-payment systems 12la and 121b are coupled to banks
122a, b and c, d respectively. These provide an e-payment
system according to, for example, MONDEX, Proton, and/or
Visa cash compliant standards. Preferably at least one of
e-payment systems 12la, b operates a so-called "open purse"
system in which the value is stored as a publicly verifiable
digital signature issued by the e-payment system. In such a
signature-transporting arrangement, payment data may be
validated using public keys and thus payment authentication
need not be performed by the e-payment system but may
instead be performed by, for example, a data access terminal
or data supply system computer, using payment management
code. The authenticated signatures, which in effect perform a
similar role to checks, are submitted to the relevant e-payment
system after authentication for verification and reimbursement or transfer of monetary value. With such a system payments may be made anonymously and thus payer identification is not essential. Data carriers, such as data cards, may be
issued with stored value or without value, in which latter case
value (that is, a publicly verifiable digital signature) may be
written onto the card during an on-line transaction.
In alternative embodiments, a data carrier such as the smart
Flash card described below may be used to create value bearing digital signatures as is well-known to those familiar with
e-money.
Content access web server 124 is also coupled to internet
142 for providing content access terminals 118a-c with
access to content data. Content access web server 124 is
typically owned by a content data supply "system owner"
who acts as an intermediary between a content access terminal user and a content provider, forwarding content data provided (directly or indirectly) by a content provider to a content access terminal and then to a stored content data carrier.
Web server 124 is coupled to web server code storage 126
storing Java code for generating web pages for interpretation
by web browsers on content access terminals llla-c. The
web pages provide the content download, value add, CRM
(customer reward management) value check/spend and website link functions described below.
Web server 124 is coupled to paymentprocessor128, Digital Rights Management (DRM) processor 130, access control
processor 132, and content distribution processor 134. Payment processor 128 includes payment management code storage 128a and is coupled to payment record data store 136.
Access control processor 132 includes access control code
storage 132a and is coupled to access control data store 138.
DRM processor 130 includes DRM code storage 130a and is
coupled to content access and DRM data store 140. Content
distribution processor 134 includes CRM (customer reward
management) and payment distribution management code
storage 134a and is also coupled to content access and DRM
data store 140.As shown in FIG. 6, processors 128-134 are all
in communication with one another.
Processors 128, 130, 132 and 134 may comprise separate
application programs or a single computer program and may
operate on a single physical computer, on which web server
124 may also be provided, or may operate on separate computers. Likewise data stores 136, 138 and 140 may comprise
a single physical data store or may be distributed over a
plurality of physical devices and may even be at locations
physically remote from processors 128-134 and coupled to
these processors via internet 142.
Web server 124 communicates with processors 128-134 by
means of a CGI (common gateway interface) script and the
code associated with processors 128-134 may be written in
any conventional computer language such as C, C++, or Perl.
However, in other embodiments one or more of the processors
may be coupled to web server 124 via internet 142 and owned
and operated by a separate entity, such as a financial institution. In this case conventional secure web-based communications may be operated between web server 124 and the
relevant processor. In particular, payment processor 128 may
be operated by one of the e-payment system providers 128a,
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Payment management code 128a issues and authenticates
payment data and stores an audit record in payment record
data store 136. Access control code 132a stores identification
data (of a user or card) together with registration data provided by a user when registering with the system owner. This
data comprises a user password for accessing stored content
and/or payment data; user characterizing data, for example
characterizing user preferences, for marketing purposes; data
indicating an e-payment system to use; and in some embodiments, further general 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 with the
content data on the portable data carrier, as described further
below. Alternatively, one or both of the access control data
store and portable data carrier may simply store data for
verifying a user-entered password.
Content access and D RM data store 140 stores data related
to content access and content use, but does not itself store
content data items; these are instead provided via content
provision system 100 described above. Data store 140 stores
a plurality of records each comprising a data item identifier, a
data item description, a data item type or genre, and location
data comprising one or more pointers to a location or locations from where the data item can be downloaded. Associated with a data item is also a table of use rule data comprising
a list of values (i.e. content data item prices) and correspond-
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ing levels of permitted usage. Thus a value of £1 might permit
coupled to internet 142 via radio tower 150, mobile communications system 148 and mobile communications internet
ten plays ofa music track, while the value of £10 might permit
gateway 146.
an unlimited number of plays of the track and copying of the
In another embodiment, a smart Flash card interface is
track for personal use.
provided to a so-called "set top box" (STB) 154. The set top
Also associated with a data item is a table of payment
box is, in effect, a receiver for television programs received on
distribution data comprising a list of recipients and correvideo input 154b, which may comprise a satellite TV signal,
sponding fractions of the data item value each is to receive.
a cable TV signal or an off-air TV signal. The video signal is
Typically, the main recipient will be the copyright owner of
provided from the set top box to television 156 or to some
the data item and other recipients will be selected from the
1o other home entertainment device such as a personal computer
content creator, the artist or artists, the system owner, the
(not shown). In another embodiment, content access termicontent publisher, and the retailer/distributor. The payment
nals 166 and 168 each with respective SFC interfaces 166a
distribution proportions may be dependent upon the payment
and 168a are coupled to a retailer local area network (LAN)
value, in which case a plurality of sets of payment distribution
160 connected to internet 142 via retailer LAN server 158.
figures may be associated with each data item, each set of 15 DVD player 164 is also coupled to LAN 160. In a further
distribution figures corresponding to a payment value range.
embodiment a smart Flash card interface 170a is provided for
The payment data and distribution data is here termed DRM
a CD/DVD player 170.
(Digital Rights Management) data.
In these latter three embodiments, content data for storage
Further associated with a data item is a table of CRM
on the smart Flash card may be retrieved from broadcast
(Customer Reward Management) data, linked to the user rule 20 video and/or a CD or DVD. In this case, the computer data
data, comprising CRM rules to specify, for one or more data
supply system 120 illustrated in FIG. 6 may be used to proitem use levels, a quantity of reward points and one or more
vide use rule data for the content data stored on the smart
recipients for the reward points (the recipients may include
Flash card, and to pay for data downloaded onto the card; the
the card user and the retailer/distributor).
content data may be captured before or after the data supply
The CRM and payment distribution code 134a operates 25 system 120 is accessed to enable use of the stored data, but in
with content access and DRM data store 140 to inform a
a preferred embodiment content data written to the card from
system user of the description and value of a data item, to
a supplier other than the content data supply computer system
access and download a data item from the content provider
is not accessible to a user until corresponding use rule data has
system to a content access terminal, to provide content use
been downloaded from computer system 120, which will
rules with the data item, and to provide instructions either to 30 normally be after receiving payment forthe downloaded data.
Referring now to FIG. 8, this shows a schematic diagram of
payment processor 128 or to e-payment system 121 to disone embodiment of a data access terminal 170. The terminal
tribute payments for the data item to the recipients identified
by the data store 140 and to distribute CRM reward points.
comprises a general purpose computer including an audio/
The access control data store 138 holds a secure key, such
visual interface 184, a keyboard 186 and a pointing device
as a secret "public" key in a public key cryptography system, 35 188 for providing an interface to the user. The terminal has an
internet interface 176, for example a modem, and optionally
for the system owner to authenticate its identity to a content
a LAN/WAN interface 174 for connecting the terminal to a
provider. This data is held securely with other sensitive data in
retailer or distributor LAN or WAN. The terminal also has an
the access control data store 138. As is described in more
optional video input 178 for receiving broadcast video data
detail below, when data supply system 120 receives a request
for a content data item from a content access terminal 118, it 40 and a media input device 180, such as a CD or DVD drive.
looks up a location from which the data item is available using
Further communications I/O ports 182 may also be provided.
A portable data carrier or smart Flash card interface 190 is
content access and DRM data store 140 and then determines
the identity of the corresponding content provider. This idenprovided for interfacing to a smart Flash card. Optionally, a
cash input and verification system 192, such as is conventiontity is either stored in content access and DRM data store 140
or, as there are relatively few content providers, it may be hard 45 ally used in an automatic teller machine (ATM), may also be
incorporated within the content access terminal. The terminal
written in DRM code 130a. DRM code 130 then requests
access control processor 132 to provide the secure system
has working memory 194 such as RAM and program memory
owner identifier from access control data store 138 to the
196 which can comprise any conventional storage device
relevant content provider and sets up a trusted connection
such as RAM, ROM or a disk drive. Program code in program
between the content provider and content access web server 50 memory 196 may also be stored on removable disk 198. A
processor 200 loads and implements program code stored in
124 for downloading the data item to a content access termiprogram memory 196. All the components of the terminal are
nal 118 and then to a portable data carrier.
Referring now to FIG. 7, this shows a variety of content
linked by a data and communications bus 172.
access terminals for accessing data supply computer system
More specifically, processor 200 loads and implements
120 over internet 142. The terminals are provided with an 55 cash payment management code 200a for managing cash
interface to a portable data carrier or "smart Flash card"
input data from cash input and verification system 192, for
(SFC) as generally described with reference to FIG. 2 and as
adding value to a smart Flash card. Processor 200 also impledescribed in more detail below. In most embodiments of the
ments a web browser 200b for accessing system owner web
terminal the SFC interface allows the smart Flash card data
pages and data exchange interface 200c for exchanging data
carrier to be inserted into and removed from the terminal, but 60 between a smart Flash card interface to the terminal and data
in some embodiments the data carrier may be integral with the
supply system 120.
Processor 200 also implements off-line contents retrieval
terminal.
code 200d for retrieving data for storage on a smart Flash card
Referring now to the specific embodiments illustrated in
from media input device 180 and/or video input 178 and/or
FIG. 7, a simple content access terminal may comprise a
home personal computer 144 with SFC interface 144a. In 65 LAN/WAN interface 174. The processor implements a conanother embodiment, a mobile communications device 152 is
tent sampler 200e for outputting small extracts of content data
provided with a smart Flash card interface 152a and is
items to a user via audio/visual interface 184. Such data item
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samples may be stored with the content description data in
content access data store 140. The processor also implements
a smart Flash card interface driver 200/, user interface code
200g and additional communication drivers 200h for driving
LAN/WAN interface 174 and/or comms I/O ports 182.
Referring now to FIG. 9, this shows a schematic diagram of
components of a portable data carrier 202, in the embodiment
shown a so-called "smart Flash card". In this context, "smart
Flash card" refers to an IC card similar in size to a plastic
payment card incorporating a processor and Flash data
memory, preferably of large capacity. For further details on
smart cards, reference may be made to the ISO (International
Standards Organization) series of standards, including ISO
7810, ISO 7811, ISO 7812, ISO 7813, ISO 7816, ISO 9992
and ISO 10102, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Referring in more detail to FIG. 9, a data and communications bus 204 links components of the card which include a
processor 210, working memory 212, timing and control
logic 208 and an external interface which may have contacts
(ISO 7816) or be contactless (ISO 10536) for providing external access to a bus 204 for reading data from and writing data
to the card 202. Also coupled to bus 204 are permanent
program memory 216, non-volatile data memory 218 and
non-volatile (Flash) content data memory 214. Non-volatile
data memory 218 may comprise EEPROM and permanent
program memory 216 may comprise ROM, for example,
mask-programmed ROM. All the components of FIG. 9 are
mounted on a single substrate, in a preferred embodiment
bearing contacts for external interface 206.
Processor 200 loads and implements program code from
permanent program memory 216. This code comprises operating system code for providing the card with a basic operating system for at least external communications; payment
management code for supplying payment data from nonvolatile data memory 218 to pay for downloaded content;
DRM (Digital Rights Management) and security code,
including code to implement content data use rules and code
for password controlled access to data and program functions; CRM code for implementing CRM-related rules; and
content synthesis code for combining stored content data with
additional data provided via external interface 206 for synthesizing complete content item data.
Non-volatile data memory 218 stores data including card
identity data, access control data, including password data for
validating a user password, access record data for storing a
record of access attempts and their outcomes, and content
supply data such as system owner website addresses and
retailer/distributor website addresses.
Data memory 218 further stores card value data comprising
e-money such as publicly verifiable digital signatures, and
payment data for storing a payment audit trail including payment amounts and data on to whom payments have been
made. The memory 218 also stores RFM (Recency Frequency Monetary) data to provide a record of transactions for
market research and customer reward purposes, and CRM
data storing customer reward points. Data memory 218 also
stores an index of content data items stored in Flash memory
214 and associated content use rules, as well as DRM and
royalty data for maintaining an audit trail of use history for
rights management tracking Optionally, data memory 218
may also store supply chain data specifying a supply chain
route through which data has been obtained from a content
provider, which may be used for rewarding supply chain
intermediaries, for example on a commission or reward points
basis.
Content data memory 214 preferably comprises at least
100 MB of data storage, partitioned as data blocks of a size
selected to match the stored content type. For storing video
data, Flash memory 214 preferably comprises > 1 GB data
storage and the data blocks into which the data memory is
partitioned are larger.
Referring now 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 comprises a conventional
dedicated computer system including a processor 238, permanent program memory 236, such as ROM, working
memory 234, such as RAM, and timing and control logic 226
all coupled by a data and communications bus 222. Also
coupled to the bus are an audio interface 228, a display 230
and user controls 232, for providing a user interface. A smart
Flash card interface 224 is coupled to bus 222 for interfacing
with a smart Flash card for retrieving and playing stored
content data.
Permanent program memory 236 stores program code for
implementation by processor 238; this code may also be
provided on a data carrier such as a ROM chip or disk 240.
Processor 238 implements an SFC interface 238a, a user
interface 238b, a content player 238d for retrieving stored
content data from a smart Flash card interfaced to the device
and for outputting audio and/or video data derived from the
retrieved content data (which may comprise compressed
audio and/or video data) to a user of the device.
Processor 238 also implements use control 238c for controlling access to and use of contents stored on the smart Flash
card by the content access device user. Use control routine
238c and/or DRM and security code in permanent memory
216 on the smart Flash card may also implement digital
watermarking and other Secure Digital Music Initiative
(SDMI) content protection code as specified in the SDMI
portable device specification, part one, version 1.0 (see
www.sdmi.org) which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIGS. lla and llb show a flow diagram of a process for
registering a data carrier or smart Flash card with a data
supplier or system owner operating a data supply system as
illustrated in FIG. 6. A smart Flash card may be issued
entirely blank, that is, with no prestored content or value, with
prestored value but no prestored content, with prestored content but no prestored value (the content being provided free)
or with both prestored value and prestored content. Thus, for
example, a user may purchase a card with stored value but no
stored content over the counter at a retailer. The process of
FIGS. lla and llb illustrates the registration of a card with
neither prestored content nor prestored value. As illustrated
the registration process records user registration data in the
access control data store 138 of FIG. 6 and writes value data
onto the blank card.
At step SlO a smart Flash card is inserted into a content
access terminal smart Flash card interface. The system owner
web page is then loaded onto the content access terminal and
displayed to the user (step Sll). User registration data is then
entered into the content access terminal (step S12) and transmitted to the system owner (S13). The user registration data
may include a user identity, a preferred e-payment system to
use and, optionally, a content access PIN or password, and a
service level (for example bronze, silver or gold). The
optional password may be a password required by thee-payment system for validation of a payment by the user with the
card or it may be a password to protect unauthorized access to
content on a smart Flash card to protect stored data in the
event, for example, of the card being stolen. A single password may serve both these functions. The content access
terminal web browser is configured so that all sensitive data
passing between the terminal and the system owner is
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securely transmitted, for example by using a conventional
encryption system such as PKI (Public Key Infrastructure).
At step S14 a payment request is received from the system
owner at the content access terminal and displayed to the user.
At step SlS the user enters payment data into the content
access terminal and this payment data is transmitted to the
system owner, for adding value to the card. This may, for
example, be a credit card transaction as is conventionally used
for purchase over the internet. Card value data and a card
value access code is then received by the content access
terminal from the system owner at step S16. The card value
corresponds to the payment made by the user and the value
access code may be a password entered by the user at step S12
or may comprise a password or PIN created by payment
processor 128 ore-payment system 121 as illustrated in FIG.
6. In a preferred embodiment, the user pays the system owner
and the system owner then directly provides digital signature
data representing value to the content access terminal for
writing onto the smart Flash card.
At step Sl 7, card registration data is received from the
system owner by the content access terminal and written onto
the smart Flash card. This card registration data comprises
user identity data, access control data, payment system specifying data, system owner access data, such as a system owner
web page address and other dial-up information. At this stage
other data may be entered by the user and written onto the
card, including, for example, user preference data, retail outlet and CRM data (alternatively user preference data may be
captured at step S12). At step S18 the card value data and card
value access code received at step Sl 6 is written onto the card
and output to the user visually and, optionally, as a printed
record. The card is then available for use, at step S19.
FIG. llb shows the corresponding registration steps performed by the system owner's data supply system 120. At step
S20, a request for a smart card registration web page is
received from a content access device and, at step S21, transmitted to the device.User registration data is then received, at
step S22, from the content access terminal and stored in
content access control data store 138. The system owner's
computer system then transmits, at step S23, a payment
request to the content access terminal and receives, at step
S24, payment data in reply, this payment is then authenticated, at step S2S, with an e-payment system such as payment
system 121a orb illustrated in FIG. 6, and after verification
the payment processor 128 of the computer system transmits,
at step S26, value data and a value access code to the content
access terminal, for writing onto the smart Flash card. The
payment processor then updates the payment record data
store 136 with data relating to the transaction (step S27) and,
at step S28, retrieves card registration data previously written
into the access control data store and transmits this registration data to the content access terminal. At step S29 the
transaction is then complete.
Referring now to FIGS. 12a-c, these illustrate a flow chart
for downloading data to a smart Flash card using a data access
terminal. At step S30 the smart Flash card is inserted into the
content access terminal and the user then enters, at step S31,
their password for gaining access to the functionality of the
smart Flash card. At step S32, the content access terminal
transmits the password to the smart card for verification and
the terminal checks, at step S33, whether access is permitted.
If access is not permitted, a warning is displayed by the
terminal, at step S34, and an access denied count is implemented. A threshold count is then read from the card together
with a count of the total number of times access to the card has
been denied (step S3S). At step S36 the terminal checks
whether the total number of denied accesses is within three of
the card threshold, and ifit is not, returns to step S31, while if
it is, it proceeds to step S37 where the terminal displays a
warning that a further denied access is likely to result in
erasure of content stored on the card. At step S38 the terminal
then checks whether its count of denied accesses is greater
than its threshold value, returning to step S31 if not, and
displaying an access refused message at step S39 ifthe total
number of permitted accesses has been exceeded. The system
then waits at step S39 for removal of the smart Flash card
from the content access terminal.
If access is permitted at step S33, the terminal loads outline
CRM data from the card (step S40) and loads retail data, such
as targeted advertising, from the retailer LAN/WAN (step
S41). At step S42, the terminal then displays a menu of
options, retail data such as advertising or CRM-related data
and outline CRM data, such as a total number of reward points
earned, on the content access terminal. Many options include
download content (from a system owner), add monetary value
(to the card), check/spend CRM value stored on the card,
follow website links, and exit. At step S43, the user inputs a
menu option which, in the illustrated flow chart, is the download option. The system thus passes to step S44 and loads the
system owner's content access web page onto the content
access terminal and displays this to the user.
At step S4S, the user enters a content search request, which
is transmitted to the system owner content distributor processor 134. Content search results are received back from the
content distribution processor, including a content identifier,
a brief description, and content cost data for at least one
payment option, and these results are displayed on the user on
the content access terminal. The user then selects one or more
content items at step S47 and the selection is transmitted to
the content distribution processor 134 where further content
cost data and purchase option data is retrieved from data store
140. At step S48, this content cost and purchase data (including use rule data) is received from the system owner and
displayed to the terminal user. The user then selects, at step
S49, a purchase option and confirms a purchase request or,
alternatively, selects "exit" to return to the menu display of
step S42. After one or more content items have been selected,
together with a purchase option, hard value and CRM data is
read from the smart Flash card at step SSO, and at step SSl a
check is made to determine whether the monetary and/or
CRM (reward points) value stored on the smart Flash card is
sufficient to purchase the selected purchase data items. If the
card value is insufficient, a warning is displayed at step SS2
and the system returns to the menu display at step S42. If the
card value is sufficient, at step SS3 the content access terminal
transmits a payment request to the smart Flash card.
Payment for the data item or items requested may either be
made directly to the system owner or may be made to an
e-payment system such as e-payment systems 121a and 121b
of FIG. 6, with these systems then forwarding payment confirmation data to the system owner computer system. Alternatively, the content access terminal may transmit data to the
card to set up a transaction directly with a content provider
who, being the copyright owner, would normally receive the
majority of the payment.
At step SS4, payment data for making a payment to the
system owner is received from the smart Flash card by the
content access terminal and forwarded to an e-payment system such as e-payment system 121 in FIG. 6. Payment record
data, validating payment by the card to the system owner, is
then received back from thee-payment system at step SSS by
the content access terminal and forwarded to the card for
updating payment data on the card. In alternative embodiments, payment data from the card may be provided directly
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to the system owner's data supply computer for authentication and, optionally, further validation with an e-payment
system by the system owner's computer.
Distribution of the payment received by the system owner
from the card is performed by the system owner's computer
system, as described elsewhere. Such payment distribution
will normally provide a small percentage of the total payment
to a "owner" or operator of the content access terminal, such
as a retailer, distributor, or in other embodiments, mobile
communications network operator or cable TV network
operator.
In the presently described embodiment, payment record
data received in step SSS is transmitted to the system owner to
confirm payment by the card and thus it is the content access
terminal, in the described embodiment, which authenticates a
payment before confirming that the payment has been made
to the system owner.
In step SS6, together with the payment record data, purchase request and card registration data is transmitted to the
system owner to identify one or more content data items for
purchase and to identify the purchaser. Then, at step SS7, the
content access terminal sets up a transaction between the
system owner data supply computer and the smart Flash card
for download of the identified content items requested from
the data supplier to the smart Flash card. The download is
preferably arranged so that there is no permanent storage of
downloaded data on the content access terminal (although
temporary storage in a disk cache may be permissible), and
there is further preferably no temporary storage on the content access terminal of complete data for a content data item.
This provides data security and reassurance to the content
providers.
In the same way as with card registration described with
regard to FIG. 11, a secure and trusted link is set up between
the content access terminal and/or the smart Flash card and
the data supply computer in a conventional marmer as is well
known to those skilled in the art (for example, 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 has no
access to unencrypted content data, or it may be set up
between the content access terminal and the data supply computer, in which case unencrypted data is written by the content
access terminal to the smart Flash card. Standard transmission protocols are used to ensure complete transmission of a
content data item, for example by re-transmitting blocks of
data which are not correctly received.
Also at step SS7, one or more content access rules are
received from the system owner data supply computer and
written to the smart Flash card so that each content data item
has an associated use rule to specify under what conditions a
user of the smart Flash card is allowed access to the content
data item.
At step SSS the content access terminal receives CRM data
from the content distribution processor 134 of the system
owner, for example specifying a number of reward points
earned by downloading the selected content items. This CRM
data will normally be written to the smart Flash card (step
SS9), but may additionally or alternatively be stored in the
content access terminal or in a data store of the content access
terminal owner so that the reward points are held by the
distributor/retailer/cable TV operator. Finally, also at step
SS9, a complete record of details of the transactions between
the smart Flash card and the content access terminal, the
smart Flash card and the system owner, the smart Flash card
and the e-payment system, and the content access terminal
and the e-payment system and/or data supply computer is
recorded on the smart Flash card to provide an audit trail. The
system then returns to the menu display at step S42.
The add monetary value menu option provided by the
menu operates in a similar marmer to that described with
regard to steps SlS and S16 of FIG. lla and steps S24 to S27
ofFIG. llb. In embodiments of the system in which the smart
Flash card operates either in a debit (pre-pay) or credit mode,
operating mode data may be loaded from the card together
with outlying CRM data at step S40. If the card is operating in
a credit mode then, at step S41, the content access terminal
reads content use data records from the card and proceeds
correspondingly to steps S47 and S48 to determine the value
of the content accessed and then proceeds according to steps
SlS and S16 of FIG. lla and steps S24 to S27 of FIG. llb to
retrieve payment for the accessed content from the card
owner. Where enhanced access control features are provided,
access control data read from the smart Flash card or entered
into the content access terminal at step S31 is used, in step
S44, to access the system owner content access webpage and,
in some embodiments, to set up a secure connection between
the content access terminal and system owner data supply
computer at step S44.
Referring now to FIGS. 12d and 12e, these show steps in a
process implemented on the system owner's data supply computer for providing content data to a content access terminal
and thence to a data carrier such as a smart Flash card. At step
S60 the system owner's content access web page is requested
by a content access terminal and transmitted to the requesting
terminal. A search request for searching for a content data
item is received, at step S61, from the content access terminal,
and at step S62 content distribution processor 134 of the
content supply system searches content access and DRM data
store 140 and transmits the search results to the content access
terminal. The search results will normally comprise a content
item identifier, a content item description, optionally a content item sample, and at least one content item price, for
example for a default payment option. The search results may
comprise a set of content data items, either selected by type or
artist or comprising some predetermined selection in a similar
manner to a compilation of tracks on a CD.
At step S63 content item selection data identifying one or
more content items is retrieved from the content access terminal, and at step S64 content item purchase data for the
selected content items is retrieved from content access and
DRM data store 140. This purchase data will normally
include, for each selected content item, one or more prices
and purchase options. Purchase option data may simply comprise one of a set of standard options, for example "1" to
purchase outright, "2" to rent for a period of time, "3" to rent
for a number of plays, and "4" to rent with a final purchase
option. The purchase option data may also indicate when a
content item is available free.
At step S6S the content purchase data is transmitted to the
content access terminal, and at step S66 payment record data,
indicating a payment made from the smart Flash card to the
system owner, purchase request data, card registration data
and, optionally, access control data, is received from the
content access terminal. The payment record data confirms a
payment for the requested data items, the purchase request
data specifies the payment option selected for the selected
content items, and the card registration data provides data for
keeping records of the transaction and providing reward
points; the access control data may be required for additional
data security. At step S67 the payment record data, in the
described embodiment of the system, is validated with an
e-payment system such as e-payment system 121 of FIG. 6.
As illustrated in the flow chart, the data supply system com-
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puter checks with thee-payment system that a payment has in
fact been made to the system owner. In other embodiments of
the system, payment may be made directly to the system
owner, and either concurrently with the content access and
download process, or, at some later stage, payment data
received from the smart Flash card may be verified with the
e-payment system for reimbursement of the system owner.
At step S68, payment distribution data is read from the
content access data store 140. This data will indicate how
payment made by the card for the data is to be distributed
among recipients. In one embodiment, recipient's payment
fractions are specified in general terms in the content access
data store, for example copyright owner 0.90, system owner
0.01, retailer/distributor 0.02, publisher 0.02, creator 0.05.
Identification of who is the relevant copyright owner is stored
in the data store together with the content item identifier, but
may be selected from more than one possible content provider
for the data item, and identification of who is the relevant
retailer/distributor may be determined from, for example,
content access identity information received from the content
access terminal when the system owner content access web
page is accessed at step S60. At step S69, payments are then
distributed in accordance with the payment distribution data,
either by direct distribution of value-bearing digital signatures to the relevant parties, or by issuing a payment distribution instruction toe-payment system 121. Preferably the data
supply system stores records of individual card payments
and, at intervals, combines the payment distribution data for
a plurality of individual records to output payment data for
distributing the total payment received by the data supply
system from a batch of individual payments.
At step S70, content access rules forthe purchased level of
service are read from the content access data store. These
rules could, for example, specify that only a predetermined
number of accesses to the content are permitted, for example
10 plays. Alternatively, the rules could provide access for, say,
one month from the download date. Other rules may provide
unlimited plays but only on specified players, for example set
top boxes owned by a particular cable TV network (as determined by content access device identification data provided
to a smart Flash card from a content access device). A content
provider identification for the requested content data is also
read from the content access data store at step S70 together
with CRM data for issuing reward points.
At step S71, content access rules for the requested content
data items are retrieved from data store 140 and transmitted to
the content access terminal. Then, at step S72, DRM processor 130 of the data supply system transmits a transaction
request and authentication data to the content provider identified in step S70. This request identifies the system owner
data supply system to the content provider in a secure manner,
either by means of physical security, such as a dedicated
connection from the system owner data supply system to the
content provider, or by means of an electronically secure
connection such as an encryption connection. Then, at step
S73, the content access web server 124 receives protected
content from the content provider, comprising the data items
requested by the content access terminal, and transmits this
protected content to the content access terminal. The content
is preferably protected by data encryption but may be protected in other ways, for example, by digital watermarking or
simply by the large number of other transactions taking place
at any one time over the internet. The data supply system
computer, at this point, essentially acts as a transparent data
forwarder, forwarding data from the content provider to the
content access terminal, which itself is preferably effectively
transparent, using data exchange interface 200c to transmit
the protected content data directly to the smart Flash card. As
described with regard to FIG. 12d, the content download
protocol includes error protection and transmission retry protocols to ensure substantially error-free data transmission.
Once content has been downloaded to the content access
terminal (and, hence, to the smart Flash card) at step S74 a
record of the purchase data and content accessed is written to
payment record data store 136, to provide an audit trail. Then,
at step S75, updated CRM data is written to the content access
data store 140, using rules stored in the content access data
store, in conjunction with a record of the downloaded data
items, to calculate the CRM data (i.e. reward points). The
updated CRM data is then also transmitted to the content
access terminal, where it can be forwarded to the smart Flash
card. Then, at step S76, the process ends.
Referring now to FIG. 13, this shows a flow chart for user
access of stored data on a smart Flash card using a data access
device such as the MP3 layer of FIG. 1. At step S77 the smart
Flash card is inserted into the player and, at step S78, the user
enters a password into the player, which is transmitted to the
smart Flashcard for validation (this step is optional). Ifaccess
to stored data on the card is permitted, the process proceeds to
step S79 where an index of content data items stored on the
card is loaded from the card and displayed together with a
menu. The menu provides options including access content,
check value (stored on the card), check CRM data (such as
reward points) stored on the card, and play options (such as no
video, repeat play, random play, and the like). If the user
wishes to access content data items stored on the smart Flash
card, a user selection of such items is entered into the player
at step SSO, for example using cursor keys or a pointer;
additionally or alternatively a default play option may be
provided to, for example, play the most recently downloaded
data.
At step S81 content use status data for the selected content
items is loaded from the smart Flash card together with associated content use rules. Then, at step S82, the use rules and
present use status for each selected content item are compared
and the result is displayed together with a content play menu.
The content play menu may comprise a simple list of the
selected content items with items not available for access
highlighted in, for example, red. Alternatively, more detailed
content access permission data may be displayed such as the
purchased contents use for a content data item, the actual use
of the data item made so far, and the available remaining use.
Then, at step S83, the player determines whether content use
is permitted. Ifuse is not permitted, the process returns to step
S79 to re-display the menu; if content use is permitted the
system proceeds to step S84.
At step S84 the selected content data items whose use is
permitted are retrieved sequentially from the card, decoded as
necessary, and the decoded audio and/or video data is made
available to the user, for example, by providing audio output
at a headphone socket on the player and displaying video
output on the player display. Preferably, the player also
retrieves supplementary data stored in association with a content data item, such as advertising data, or for a web-enabled
player, hot links to web sites for sale of goods or services,
particularly those related to the accessed content data item or
those identified to appeal to users accessing the data item
(such as pop group merchandizing or Harley Davidson (trade
mark) motor bikes for rock music/video).
Preferably, the player is provided with "pause" and "continue" functions and corresponding user controls. When
"pause" is selected the process passes to step SSS and writes
a record to the smart Flash card comprising data specifying
how much use has been made of the accessed content data
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item. In the case of music or video data, this may comprise
start and end time markers or simply a play duration time (the
start time being predetermined, for example at the start of the
data item). In the case of a game the partial use data may
comprise an elapsed play time or a number oflives left. In the
case of a data item providing a service such as access to stock
and share prices, or weather information, or a share dealing
service, the partial use information may comprise a status
record indicating the status of an interrupted transaction.
When the "continue" function is selected on the player the
process returns to step SS4.
To allow for the smart Flash card being removed from the
player between pause and continue events, a check may be
made at step S7S, by reading a partial use status data from the
card, to determine whether a content data item was left in a
pause state when the card was last used. If such a pause state
is determined to exist for a content data item, the process may
then jump directly to step SSS to allow a user to resume or
continue with the content data item and proceed directly to
step SS4.
Once play is complete the process moves to step SSS where
updated content use data is written to the smart Flash card.
This updated use data provides a record of the use of a content
made in step SS4. This record can then be used in steps SSl to
SS3 to determine, on a subsequent occasion, whether further
use of the content data item is permitted. Finally, at step SS6,
customer reward management reward rules are loaded from
the smart Flash card together with CRM data stored on the
card. The CRM data is then updated, using the CRM reward
rules, to reflect the use of content data items made in step SS4
and the updated data is written back to the smart Flash card.
In one embodiment the CRM reward rules are determined
by the content access terminal owner (retailer/distributor/
cable or mobile network operator) and are written onto the
card when registering the card. The updated CRM data may
then be accessed by a content access terminal for spending or
other use when the smart Flash card is next inserted into a
content access terminal. Once the CRM data has been
updated, the process returns to step S79 to display the content
index and menu.
The specific embodiments of the invention described
above use communication over the internet and web-based
technology but this is not essential, and the invention may be
implemented using any electronic communications network,
such as a wide area network, local area network, wireless
network, or conventional land line network. Likewise, the
invention is applicable to the internet, intranets, extranets, and
other internet protocol networks.
The skilled person will understand that many variants to
the system are possible and the invention is not limited to the
described embodiments but encompasses modifications
which lie within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
What is claimed is:
1. A portable data carrier comprising:
an interface for reading and writing data from and to the
portable data carrier;
content data memory, coupled to the interface, for storing
one or more content data items on the carrier;
use rule memory to store one or more use rules for said one
or more content data items;
a program store storing code implementable by a processor; and a processor coupled to the content data memory,
the use rule memory, the interface and to the program
store for implementing code in the program store,
wherein the code comprises code for storing at least one
content data item in the content data memory and at least
one use rule in the use rule memory.
26
2. A portable data carrier as claimedin claim 1, wherein the
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code further comprises code to provide access to the at least
one content data item in accordance with the at least one use
rule.
3. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 2, further
comprising status memory defining a use status of the content
data item stored on the data carrier, and
wherein the code to provide access to the content data item
permits access to the content data item in accordance
with the use rule and the use status.
4. A portable data carrier as claimedin claim 3, wherein the
status memory comprises non-volatile status memory.
S. A portable data carrier as claimedin claim 1, wherein the
code further comprises code to provide access to the at least
one content data item and code to provide access to the use
rule.
6. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim S, further
comprising non-volatile status memory defining a use status
of the at least one content data item stored on the data carrier,
and
wherein the code further comprises code to provide access
to the use status of the at least one content data item
stored on the data carrier.
7. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising payment data memory to store payment data and
code to provide the payment data to a payment validation
system.
S. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 7, wherein
code to provide payment to the payment validation system
comprises code to provide the identification data identifying
the user of the portable data carrier to the payment validation
system.
9. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim S, further
comprising a subscriber identity module (SIM) portion storing the identification data identifying the user of the portable
data.
10. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 9, wherein
the identifying the user comprises identifying the user to a
network operator.
11. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 7, wherein
the payment data comprises credit card data.
12. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 10, wherein
the code to provide payment to the payment validation system
comprises code to provide the payment data and/or identification data to the network operator.
13. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 1 further
comprising content location data defining a pointer to an
external content provider.
14. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 13 wherein
the pointer comprises a URL for the external content provider.
lS. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising a content access PIN memory store to store a PIN
number for controlling access to the content data memory.
16. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the code further comprises code for encrypting the at least one
content data item before storing the least one content data
item in the content data memory.
17. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 7, further
comprising payment PIN memory store to store a PIN number for controlling access to the payment data memory.
lS. A portable data carrier comprising a mobile communications device subscriber identity module (SIM) card device,
wherein the SIM card device provides network access to a
mobile communications network for the mobile communications device and includes:
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an interface for reading and writing data from and to the
portable data carrier;
content data memory, coupled to the interface, for storing
content data items on the carrier;
use rule memory to store use rules for said content data
items.
19. A portable data carrier comprising a mobile communications device SIM card device as claimed in claim 18, configured to store an address for downloading said content data
items from a data supplier over said mobile communications
network.
20. A portable data carrier comprising a mobile communications device SIM card device as claimed in claim 18, further
comprising status memory to store for storing a use status of
the content data item stored on the data carrier.
21. A portable data carrier comprising:
use rule memory to store one or more use rules for a content
data item;
an interface for reading and writing the one or more use
rules from and to the portable data carrier;
a program store storing code implementable by a processor; and
a processor coupled to the the use rule memory, the interface and to the program store for implementing code in
the program store,
wherein the code comprises code for storing and accessing
the one or more use rules in the use rule memory.
22. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 21, further
comprising status memory to store a use status of the content
data item; and
wherein the code further comprises code for storing and
accessing the use status.
23. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 21, further
comprising a subscriber identity module (SIM) portion for
storing identification data to identify a user of said portable
data carrier.
24. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 23, wherein
the use rule is associated with the identification data.
25. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 23, wherein
the identification data identifies the user of the portable data
carrier to a data supplier and/or payment validation system.
26. A portable data carrier comprising:
an interface for sending and receiving data from and to the
carrier;
memory, coupled to the interface, for storing data on the
carrier;
a processor for controlling access to data; and
a subscriber identity module (SIM) portion storing identification data to identify a user of said portable data
carrier to a network operator.
27. A portable data carrier comprising:
an interface for reading and writing data from and to the
portable data carrier;
content data memory, coupled to the interface, for storing
content data items on the carrier;
use rule memory to store use rules for said content data
items; and
a subscriber identity module (SIM) portion storing identification data to identify a user of said portable data
carrier to a network operator.
28. A portable data carrier as claimed in claim 27, wherein
said access to said data is dependent on said use rules in
combination with said identification data.
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29. A portable data carrier comprising a mobile communi-
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cations device subscriber identity module (SIM) card device,
wherein the SIM card device provides network access to a
mobile communications network for the mobile communications device and includes:
use rule memory to store use rules for content data items;
and
an interface for reading and writing the rules from and to
the portable data carrier.
30. A portable data carrier comprising a mobile communications device subscriber identity module (SIM) card device
as claimed in claim 29,
further comprising status memory defining a use status of
the content data items; and
wherein the interface is further suitable for reading and
writing the use status data from and to the portable data
carrier.
31. A method of controlling access to content data, the
method comprising:
receiving a data access request from a user for a content
data item,
reading the use status data and one or more use rules from
parameter memory that pertain to use of the requested
content data item;
evaluating the use status data using the one or more use
rules to determine whether access to the content data
item is permitted; and
enabling access to the content data item responsive to a
determination that access to the content data item is
permitted.
32. A method as claimed in claim 31, wherein the method
is implemented on a mobile communications device subscriber identity module (SIM) card device.
33. A method as claimed in claim 32, wherein the mobile
communications device SIM card device comprises the
parameter memory.
34. A method as claimed in claim 31, further comprising a
data access terminal, wherein the data access terminal comprises content data memory for storing the content data item,
and wherein enabling access to the content data item comprises enabling access to the content data item stored in the
content data memory.
35. A method of controlling access to content data using a
data carrier,
the data carrier comprising:
use rule memory to store one or more use rules for a content
data item and use status data;
the method comprising:
receiving a data access request from a user for the content
data item,
reading the use status data and one or more use rules from
the data carrier that pertain to use of the requested content data item;
evaluating the use status data using the one or more use
rules to determine whether access to the content data
item is permitted;
and enabling access to the content data item responsive to
a determination that access to the content data item is
permitted.
36. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein the content
data is stored on the data carrier.
37. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein the content
data is stored on the data access terminal.
38. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein the data
carrier further comprises a mobile communications device
subscriber identity module (SIM) card device, the method
further comprising retrieving the one or more use rules via a
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mobile communications network before storing the one or
more use rules on the data carrier.
wherein the data access terminal is integrated with a mobile
communication device, a personal computer, and/or an audio/
video player; and
comprising the portable data carrier of claim 18.
41. A data access terminal for retrieving content data from
a data supplier and retrieving use rules for the content data,
wherein the data access terminal is integrated with a mobile
communication device, a personal computer, and/or an audio/
video player; and
comprising the portable data carrier of claim 21.
39. A data access terminal for retrieving content data from
a data supplier and retrieving use rules for the content data,
wherein the data access terminal is integrated with a mobile
communication device, a personal computer, and/or an audio/
video player; and
comprising the portable data carrier of claim 1.
40. A data access terminal for retrieving content data from
a data supplier and retrieving use rules for the content data,
10
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