Patent ID: 7209902

Claim:
In a system having a server and at least one repository, a method for accessing digital works in accordance with usage rights associated with the digital works, the method comprising: receiving by a server a request from a repository to access a digital work in accordance with usage rights associated with the digital work, the usage rights specifying a manner of access and indicating a security class of the repository, and identifying the repository as a repository authorized for the requested access; determining by the server a security level of the repository; and if the security level of the repository corresponds to the security class specified in the usage rights associated with the digital work, granting by the server the request and permitting exercise of the manner of access specified in the usage rights associated with the digital work in accordance with the usage rights, wherein the security class indicates a security level of the repository and the usage rights are expressed with a grammar including one or more symbols selected from a set of predetermined symbols to define respective valid sequences of symbols to indicate the manner of access, and the security class, an authorization object is used for identification of the repository, the physical integrity of the repository is secured, the repository and the server communicate with a transmission transaction protocol, network connectivity between the server and the repository is with the transmission transaction protocol, the granting step includes permitting the repository to access the digital work only through the transmission transaction protocol, and the transmission transaction protocol provides no time at which a communication connection between the repository and the server can be broken in a manner which will permit unauthorized use of the digital work by the repository.