Patent ID: 6963860

Claim:
An information processing apparatus, comprising: a separator that separates a first code string comprising a second code string and an encrypted third code string into the second and third code strings and outputs the second and encrypted third code strings, the first code string comprising an audio signal having spectrum components including a tone component and non-tone component; a cipher decoder that deciphers the encrypted third code string using a cipher key specification identification received from the separator and outputs a deciphered third code string; a first combiner that combines the deciphered third code string with the second code string and outputs a combined code string comprising the second code string and the deciphered third code string; an encryption section that encrypts the deciphered third code string into a re-encrypted third code string using the cipher key specification identification and outputs a re-encrypted third code string; a second combiner that combines the combined code string and the re-encrypted third code string and outputs a resultant code string comprising the combined code string and the re-encrypted code string; determination means for determining whether to output the combined code string or the re-encrypted third code string; billing means for performing billing processing if it is determined that the re-encrypted third code string is to output; and outputting means for outputting the determined one of the combined code string and the re-encrypted third code string, wherein the combined code string is a demonstration purpose code string, and wherein the first code string is coded in a first encoding algorithm and the re-encrypted third code string is coded in a second encoding algorithm different than the first encoding algorithm.