Patent ID: 7549060
Filing Date: 2009-06-16
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method of providing a signed rights label for publishing digital content in connection with a digital rights management (DRM) server where the digital content is encrypted and is renderable consistent with the signed rights label and where the DRM server is associated with a public key (PU-DRM) and a private key (PR-DRM), the method comprising: providing a rights template comprising a pre-defined set of users or classes of users, a pre-defined set of rights that specify a permissible set of actions that is carried out upon the digital content by each pre-defined user or class of users, and a pre-defined set of use conditions that must be met by each predefined user or class of users in order to carry out an action defined in the pre-defined set of rights, the rights template thereby adapted for repetitive use in defining multiple rights labels that are useable on different pieces of content that are directed to the pre-defined set of users or classes of users; submitting the rights template to the DRM server for signing in order to produce an official rights template; sending the official rights template to the user amongst the pre-defined set of users or classes of users, the official rights template comprising rights data, a first digital signature, and a unique identifying indicia, where the first digital signature is the result of signing the rights data with PR-DRM and wherein the rights data comprises (i) an identifier associated with an entity that has a right in the digital content and (ii) the right associated with the entity; receiving a rights label from the user, where the rights label comprises content information, the rights data, and the first digital signature; validating the rights data consistent with the first digital signature; if valid then, signing the fights label, and sending the signed rights label to the user where the signed rights label comprises the content information, the rights data, and a second digital signature, where the second digital signature results from signing the content information and the rights data with PR-DRM, and wherein the signed rights label when verified permits access to the content information; wherein the official rights template comprises a rule that permits modifying the rights data, where the rule is protected according to PU-DRM and wherein the validating the rights data further comprises verifying the rights data consistent with the rule; and wherein the rule allows for selection among a set of alternative rights data.