Patent ID: 8286252

Claim:
A rights object moving method of moving a rights object indicating use rights of a content from a memory card to a content player, the memory card being capable of being inserted to and taken out from the content player and holding (a) the rights object and (b) a first state information indicating whether or not the rights object is enabled or disabled, said rights object moving method comprising: transmitting, from the content player to the memory card, a retrieval request for providing the rights object to the content player; generating second state information to be held in the content player, the second state information identifying a state of the rights object; changing the first state information indicating that the rights object in the memory card is enabled to indicate that the rights object in the memory card is disabled, when the memory card receives the retrieval request; installing, to the content player, the rights object provided from the memory card in response to the retrieval request; updating, after starting said installing, the second state information to indicate that said installing of the rights object has not yet been completed; transmitting a removal request from the content player to the memory card upon completing said installing, the removal request requesting to remove the rights object in the memory card; updating, after said transmitting of the removal request, the second state information indicating (i) that said installing of the rights object has not yet been completed to indicate (ii) that removing of the rights object in the memory card has not yet been completed; controlling to (i) prohibit the rights object in the content player from being moved or removed and (ii) permit the rights object in the content player to be used to play the content, in a case that the second state information indicates that the removing of the rights object in the memory card has not yet been completed; removing the rights object in the memory card and transmitting a removal response for notifying completion of said removing from the memory card to the content player, when the memory card receives the removal request; and updating the second state information indicating that said removing of the rights object in the memory card has not yet been completed to indicate that the rights object in the content player is enabled, when the content player receives the removal response.