Patent ID: 8005758

Claim:
An encryption method being implemented by a content server and an encrypting apparatus installed in the content server, the encryption method comprising: receiving, at the content server, a request for content from a requesting device, the content being subject to a license; selecting a binding range from among a plurality of binding ranges for use of the content, wherein the plurality of the binding ranges comprises one binding range comprising a domain including a plurality of devices and another binding range comprising one of the devices; wherein the selecting is performed by the content encrypting apparatus based on license information which resides on the content server and includes information of the binding range, and each of the binding ranges limits the use of the content over a range pertaining to a binding type; encrypting the content according to a predetermined algorithm based on an identification of the selected binding range so that the content is available only within the selected binding range, the encrypting being performed by the content encrypting apparatus; and transmitting the encrypted content from the content server to the requesting device.