Patent ID: 6516412
Filing Date: 2003-02-04
Classification: H04J,H04L,H04N

Abstract:
A conditional access apparatus in the receiver for giving a receiver, in a cable television system, conditional access to a given encrypted instance of service of a plurality of encrypted instances of services received in the receiver, the conditional access apparatus comprising:an agent establishment apparatus adapted to establish an entitlement agent in the receiver in response to a first message received in the receiver, wherein the agent establishment apparatus imposes constraints in the receiver on the established entitlement agent, and the established entitlement agent is associated with the given encrypted instance of service, and wherein the agent establishment apparatus further disestablishes the established entitlement agent, whereupon the access granting apparatus no longer grants access to an instance of service associated with the disestablished entitlement agent; an entitlement specification apparatus in communication with the agent establishment apparatus, the entitlement specification apparatus adapted to specify the one or more service entitlements, wherein specified service entitlements include entitlements of the receiver for instances of services received in the receiver that are associated with the established entitlement agent; and an access granting apparatus in communication with the entitlement specification apparatus, the access granting apparatus adapted to grant access to the given instance of service in response to a second message received in the receiver, the second message includes an entitlement identifier associated with the given encrypted instance of service, wherein the access granting apparatus uses the specified service entitlement and the entitlement identifier to grant access to the given instance of service, and the access granting apparatus grants access to the given instance of service only if the agent establishment apparatus has established the entitlement agent, and the given instance of service includes services including programming that are provided to the cable television system.