Patent ID: 7336791

Claim:
An information processing apparatus for providing a second information processing apparatus with a key to decrypt an encrypted content when said information processing apparatus is accessed by said second information processing apparatus, said information processing apparatus comprising: receiving means adapted to receive a key request and a license request for using content from said second information processing apparatus; key generating means adapted to generate a device node key by assigning said second information processing apparatus to a leaf of a key-managed hierarchical tree structure according to the received key request; license generating means adapted to generate a license including leaf identification information and content use condition according to the received license request; and transmitting means adapted to transmit to said second information processing apparatus said device node key generated by said key generating means and the leaf identification information for identifying the leaf assigned to said second information processing apparatus, and to transmit said license to said second information processing apparatus; wherein the device node key is provided to said second information processing apparatus to decrypt an encrypted key set provided with the encrypted content data.