Patent ID: 7392395

Claim:
A system for governing access to or other use of electronic data, the system comprising: a first apparatus including: user controls, a communications port, a processor, and a memory containing: a first rule, a first secure container containing a file, the file including at least one of audio data, video data, image data, or text data, the first secure container having an associated second rule, the second rule governing, at least in part, access to or other use of at least a portion of the file; and at least one digital signature, the digital signature including data for use in validating the file; at least one of hardware or software capable of receiving and opening secure containers, at least some of said secure containers including the capacity to contain at least one governed item, and having at least one rule associated therewith; a protected processing environment containing information, the protected processing environment at least in part protecting at least some of the contained information from tampering by a user of said first apparatus, said protected processing environment including at least one of hardware or software capable of applying said first rule and said second rule in combination to at least in part govern at least one aspect of access to or use of said file; and at least one of hardware and software capable of at least one of: transmission of secure containers to other apparatuses, or the receipt of secure containers from other apparatuses.