Patent ID: 8619982

Claim:
A method for securely utilizing content, the method comprising: receiving, at a content provider computer system, an Appliance ID from a recipient device, wherein the Appliance ID identifies the recipient device and is generated from a computation involving a password entered at the recipient device, and wherein the password is associated with an identification of a distinguished content; generating, at the content provider computer system, a production key associated with original content corresponding to the distinguished content, wherein the production key is based at least in part upon the Appliance ID; setting, by the content provider computer system, usage rights associated with the original content, wherein the usage rights specify one or more functions permitted at the recipient device; encrypting, by the content provider computer system, the original content using the production key to generate encrypted content; and encrypting, by the content provider computer system, the usage rights using the production key to generate an associated encrypted ticket configured to regulate the functions permitted at the recipient device with respect to the encrypted content, wherein the usage rights are encrypted with the production key independently from encrypting the original content such that the independent encryption is without reference to the encrypted original content and results in one or more data objects distinct from the encrypted original content.