Patent ID: 7845011

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for encrypting and transferring a license that comprises content data, key data for decrypting the content data, and decryption permission condition data for the content data, the computer-implemented method comprising: causing a transfer destination comprising a recorder/player to, transmit to a transfer source comprising a distribution server, a certificate including a public key of the transfer destination; causing the transfer source to, verify the validity of the received certificate, generate a challenge key, encrypt the challenge key with the public key, transmit first data to the transfer destination, said first data being formed by joining a certificate including a public key of the transfer source to the resulting encrypted data, and transmit second data to the transfer destination, said second data being formed by joining a license ID for identifying the license to key type data used for indicating the type of a license encryption key; causing the transfer destination to, decrypt said first data excluding the transfer source's public key with a secret key of the transfer destination to acquire the challenge key after acquiring the transfer source's public key from said first data, generate a first session key and a second session key or only the first session key in accordance with the key type data, generate joined data by joining the first session key to the transfer destination's own public key or joining the first session key to the second session key, generate encrypted data by encrypting the joined data with said transfer source's own public key, generate further encrypted data by encrypting the encrypted data with said challenge key, and transmit the further encrypted data to the transfer source; causing the transfer source, generate decrypted data by decrypting the further encrypted data with said challenge key, generate further decrypted data by decrypting the decrypted data with a secret key of the transfer source, acquire the first session key and the second session key or the first session key and the transfer destination's public key from the further decrypted data, generate an encrypted license by encrypting the license with the second session key or the transfer destination's public key, generate a further encrypted license by encrypting the encrypted license with said first session key, and transmit the further encrypted license to the transfer destination; and causing the transfer destination to, generate a decrypted license by decrypting the further encrypted license with said first session key, acquire the license by generating a further decrypted license by decrypting the decrypted license with said second session key or the transfer source's own public key, and store the further decrypted license, and access the content data utilizing the further decrypted license.