JP2005167987A - Method for determining use permission of information and content distribution system using the method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for determining use permission of information with which utilization of illegal metadata can be surely excluded and metadata can also be flexibly utilized. <P>SOLUTION: The method for determining use permission of information on a terminal apparatus which uses contents provided by a content provider and metadata provided by a metadata provider and supplementing the contents comprises: a metadata use permission determination step S100 of determining use permission of the metadata based on usage control information regarding use control of the metadata; and a use step of using the metadata in the case where in said metadata use permission determination, the use of the metadata is permitted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention uses broadcast or communication to distribute digital content such as video and music, digital content licenses, metadata including digital content attributes or control information, and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system including a device to which a metadata availability determination method and a availability determination method are applied.

  In recent years, digital content such as music, video, and games (hereinafter referred to as content) is distributed from a server device to a terminal device through communication such as the Internet, digital broadcasting, CATV (Cable Television), and the like. Content distribution services that can use the Internet are entering the practical stage. In a general system used for this content distribution service, copyright protection technology is used to protect the copyright of the content and prevent unauthorized use of the content by a malicious user or the like. Specifically, copyright protection technology is a technology that securely controls the use of content such as the user playing back content or copying it to a recording medium using encryption technology or authentication technology. is there. By using the copyright protection technology, a provider such as a content provider or a service provider can securely control the use of the content in the user terminal device.

  By the way, in recent years, for the purpose of sales promotion, metadata that is data for supplementary explanation of the content body is distributed from a content provider or the like to the terminal device, and the terminal device uses the metadata to search the content scene, New forms of content usage such as digest viewing are being pursued.

  On the other hand, there is a case where illegal metadata such as a scene index for CM skip is circulated unintentionally, and a content provider providing digital content is required to prevent such illegal metadata from being distributed. There has been proposed a method of eliminating an unauthorized metadata provider using a digital signature applied to the metadata by the metadata provider that created the metadata (see Patent Document 1).

  Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the like, digital signature verification is used to detect the validity of the signer of metadata and the alteration of the contents of the metadata to determine whether or not the metadata can be used. .

Here, determination of availability of metadata using a digital signature according to the prior art will be described.
For digital signature verification of metadata, digitally signed metadata, a public key certificate of the metadata signer, and a CRL (Certificate Revocation List) that is a list of revoked public key certificates are used. The digital signature for the metadata is performed by the content provider or the metadata provider.

  When using the metadata, the terminal device determines whether or not the metadata can be used in the following procedure.

  First, it is confirmed whether the signer ID of the signer who digitally signed the metadata is included in the CRL. Here, the signer ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the signer. When the signer ID is included in the CRL, it is determined that the metadata is not usable. If the signer ID is not included in the CRL, the signature of the metadata is verified with the public key certificate, and the presence or absence of tampering is detected. When tampering is detected, it is determined that the metadata is not usable. If tampering is not detected, it is determined that metadata is available.

In other words, play back the metadata only if it is confirmed that the metadata has been signed by a metadata provider with a signer ID that has not been revoked, and that the metadata has not been tampered with. It is allowed to do. Regarding verification of a digital signature, Non-Patent Document 1 is detailed.
JP 2003-51816 A Warwick Ford + Michael Baum "Digital Signatures and Cryptography" Pearson Education 1997

  However, in the determination of the availability of metadata by verification of the digital signature of the prior art, a failure due to unauthorized metadata occurs at least once, and a CRL is created after the unauthorized discovery. For this reason, in the case of important content that cannot be troubled by unauthorized metadata, content providers need to confirm the content of the metadata and allow the use of only the digitally signed metadata. is there. In this case, there is a problem that the request cannot be realized only by verification of the conventional digital signature.

  In addition, the user wants to create metadata privately and use it only on the terminal device owned by the user. However, in the conventional determination of the availability of metadata using a digital signature, It can only be disabled. For this reason, even if the content provider tries to permit such use, there is a problem that the use range of the metadata created by the user cannot be limited only to the terminal device owned by the user.

  In addition, depending on the content, the content provider may want to restrict the creation or editing of metadata by the user, or may want to use the metadata specified by the content provider, but there is a problem that it cannot be realized only with a digital signature .

  That is, in the verification of digital signatures using CRL as in the prior art, there is a problem that not only the use of illegal metadata can be surely excluded, but also the metadata cannot be used flexibly.

  The present invention solves these conventional problems, and in a content distribution system, a content provider limits the metadata that can be used for each content or limits the range of use of metadata created by a user. It is an object of the present invention to provide a content distribution system including a metadata use availability determination method that enables the user to perform a determination, and a terminal device that performs determination using the metadata use availability determination method.

  That is, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information use availability determination method capable of reliably eliminating unauthorized use of metadata and enabling flexible use of metadata, and a content distribution system using this method.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the information availability determination method according to the present invention, content provided by a content provider and metadata provided by a metadata provider and supplementing the content are used. An information availability determination method used for a terminal device that performs the metadata availability determination step of determining availability of the metadata based on usage control information representing information related to the metadata usage control; A use step of using the metadata when it is determined that the use of the metadata is possible in the data availability determination step.

  More specifically, the usage control information includes first signer identification information indicating information specifying a range of a provider of available metadata, and the metadata includes the first signer. The metadata provider's signature specified by the identification information and second signer identification information representing information for identifying the signer of the signature are included. In the metadata availability determination step, the first Whether or not the metadata can be used is determined based on the metadata provider specified by the signer identification information, the second signer identification information, and the signature verification.

  Further, the usage control information includes reference instruction information indicating information for specifying a metadata reference method at the time of using the content. In the metadata availability determination step, the content usage is based on the reference instruction information. It is possible to determine whether or not metadata can be used at the time.

  The usage control information includes editability information indicating information related to metadata editability. In the metadata availability determination step, the availability of metadata is determined based on the editability information. Can be characterized.

  Further, the usage control information includes control availability information indicating availability of self-created metadata created by the user in the terminal device, and the metadata availability determination step, based on the control availability information, It can be characterized by determining whether or not the metadata can be used.

  The usage control information includes movement range designation information for designating a movement range of self-produced metadata created by a user at the terminal device. In the metadata availability determination step, the movement range designation information includes Based on this, it is possible to determine whether or not the metadata can be used.

  As described above, according to the present invention, usage control information that represents information related to usage control of metadata included in a content license or the like without determining whether or not the revocation is performed using the CRL as in the past. Specifically, the availability of the metadata can be determined based on the signer identification information, reference instruction information, editability information, control availability information, and movement range designation information. Therefore, unauthorized use of metadata can be surely eliminated, and metadata can be used flexibly.

  That is, it is possible to limit the usable metadata to only the metadata digitally signed by the content provider without using the CRL, according to the content license. It is also possible to use metadata specified by the content provider. Furthermore, it is possible to limit creation and editing of metadata by the user, and to limit the movement range of metadata created by the user.

  The present invention can be realized not only as such an information availability determination method, but also as a terminal device using the characteristic steps included in such an information availability determination method, It can also be realized as a content distribution system including a device, or as a program for causing a computer to execute these steps. Needless to say, such a program can be distributed via a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a transmission medium such as the Internet.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of a content distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the content distribution system 1 includes a member management server 10, a content distribution server 20, a metadata distribution server 30, a license management server 40, an authentication server 50, a terminal device 60, and these. And a transmission line N that is communicably connected.

  The member management server 10 is a computer device having a user information DB 110 for managing users who have joined the content distribution system 1, and transmits the domain key 112 to the terminal device 60.

  The content distribution server 20 is a computer device used by a content provider (CP), and includes a content provider ID 212, a content provider private key, a public key for the private key, a public key certificate, and a content encryption key 415. And the content main body and the like, and at least the creation of the encrypted content 210 and the transmission of the encrypted content 210 to the terminal device 60 are performed.

  The metadata distribution server 30 is a computer device used by the metadata provider (MP), and includes a metadata provider ID, a private key of the metadata provider, a public key for the private key, a public key certificate 510, And the metadata 310 and the like, and at least the creation of the metadata 310 for the content and the transmission of the metadata 310 to the terminal device 60 are performed.

  The license management server 40 at least creates the license 410 for using the encrypted content 210 and the metadata 310 and transmits the license 410 to the terminal device 60.

  The authentication server 50 is a computer device used by a CA (Certification Authority), which holds a CA private key and a public key for the private key, and includes a public key certificate 510, CP, MP, CA, and the like. At least the creation of the public key certificate 510, the creation of the CRL 520, and the transmission of the CRL 520 to the terminal device 60 are performed.

  The terminal device 60 at least uses the encrypted content 210 and the metadata 310. Note that the terminal device 60 includes a communication unit, a tamper-proof unit, and the like, and authentication communication, encryption key acquisition, encryption, and other processes related to encryption such as encryption do not cause an encryption key to flow out. As shown in FIG. The tamper-proof unit includes a storage unit that stores the domain key 112, the encrypted content 210, the metadata 310, the license 410, the CA public key certificate 510, the CP public key certificate 510, the CRL 520, and the like, and whether or not the metadata can be used. A metadata use availability determination unit, a use unit that uses content and metadata based on the determination result of the metadata use availability determination unit, and the like.

  The transmission path N is a communication network such as the Internet, digital broadcasting, or a network in which these are combined.

  Next, an outline of processing leading to the use of the metadata 310 and the encrypted content 210 in the content distribution system 1 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a communication procedure leading to the use of the metadata 310 and the encrypted content 210.

  The member management server 10 distributes the domain key 112 to the terminal device 60 based on the member registration request (S1100).

  The content distribution server 20 creates the encrypted content 210 (S1200), and transmits the encrypted content 210 to the terminal device 60 based on the content acquisition request (S1210).

  The metadata distribution server 30 creates the metadata 310 (S1400), and transmits the created metadata 310 to the terminal device 60 based on the metadata acquisition request from the terminal device 60 (S1410).

  The license management server 40 creates the license 410 (S1300), and transmits the license 410 to the terminal device 60 based on the license purchase request (S1310).

  The terminal device 60 receives the domain key 112 from the member management server 10 (S1000), receives the encrypted content 210 from the content distribution server 20 (S1010), receives the license 410 from the license management server 40 (S1020), The metadata 310 is received from the metadata distribution server 30 (S1030), and the metadata 310 and the encrypted content 210 are used (S1040).

  The content encryption method described in the following description generally uses a common key encryption algorithm such as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) or Triple DES (Data Encryption Standard). The processing to be performed does not depend on a specific encryption method.

  In addition, a public key encryption algorithm such as RSA or EC-DSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Algorithm) is generally used as a digital signature method, but the processing described below depends on a specific encryption method. do not do.

  In general, SHA-1 (Secure Hash Algorithm 1), MD5, or the like is used as the hash calculation method, but the processing described below does not depend on a specific hash calculation method.

  In addition, a user interface screen such as a content selection screen transmitted from the member management server 10, the content distribution server 20, the metadata distribution server 30, and the license management server 40 to the terminal device 60 is an HTTP or the like via the Internet. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) transmitted by protocol, XML (Extensible Markup Language) web page described in script language such as XML, or BML (Broadcasting Markup Language) transmitted by digital broadcasting is described in general However, the processing described below does not depend on a specific page description method.

First, a process for receiving the domain key of the terminal device 60 will be specifically described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the member management server 10 has a user information DB 110 configured by a set of a user ID 111 and a domain key 112. Here, the user ID 111 is an ID given to each owner of the terminal device 60. A domain is a set of terminal devices 60 owned by a user, and a domain key 112 is a data key so that transmission / reception of data is limited only between terminal devices having the same domain key 112. It is an encryption key used for encryption and authentication communication. For example, FIG. 3 shows that the domain key 112 of “XXXCCC” is assigned to the user ID 111 of “XXXAAA”.

  The terminal device 60 transmits a member registration request including the user ID 111 to the member management server 10. When receiving the terminal registration request from the terminal device 60, the member management server 10 acquires the domain key 112 corresponding to the user ID 111 from the user information DB 110, and transmits the domain key 112 to the terminal device 60 (S1100). The terminal device 60 receives the domain key 112 (S1000), and stores the received domain key 112 in the storage unit of the tamper resistant unit.

  When the domain key 112 is transmitted and received between the member management server 10 and the terminal device 60 through the communication path N, in order to ensure security, a secure authentication channel (Secure Authenticated Channel) such as SSL (Secure Socket Layer), Hereinafter, data is transmitted / received after establishing SAC).

  In this embodiment, the domain key 112 is transmitted / received after the SAC is established between the member management server 10 and the terminal device 60. However, a unique key (for example, a terminal ID) is stored in the terminal device 60. If the member management server 10 manages the unique key of each terminal device 60, the domain key 112 is encrypted with the unique key of the terminal device 60 and transmitted from the member management server 10 to the terminal device 60. May be.

Next, a process leading to reception of the encrypted content 210 will be specifically described.
The terminal device 60 transmits a content selection request to the content distribution server 20. In response to a content selection request from the terminal device 60, the content distribution server 20 creates a content selection screen and transmits it to the terminal device 60. The terminal device 60 displays the content selection screen received from the content distribution server 20 and transmits a content acquisition request including the content ID 211 of the content selected by the user's operation to the content distribution server 20. In the content selection screen, when content is selected in the terminal device 60, a content acquisition request including the corresponding content ID 211 is transmitted to the content distribution server 20.

  The content distribution server 20 creates the encrypted content 210 (S1200). More specifically, the content distribution server 20 attaches a content ID 211 that is different for each content and a content provider ID 212 that is different for each content provider to the content body 213, and uses the content encryption key 415 to connect the content provider ID 212 and the content body 213. Encrypted content 210 is created by encryption.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, the encrypted content 210 includes a content ID 211, a content provider ID 212, and a content body 213. Note that the content provider ID 212 and the content body 213 are encrypted with the content encryption key 415 included in the license 410.

  The content ID 211 is used to associate the license 410 with the encrypted content 210. The content provider ID 212 is used to identify the provider of the encrypted content 210. The content body 213 is digital data such as video or music.

  The content distribution server 20 transmits the encrypted content 210 corresponding to the content ID 211 included in the content acquisition request to the terminal device 60 (S1210). The terminal device 60 receives the encrypted content 210 from the content distribution server 20 (S1010), and stores the received encrypted content in the storage unit of the tamper resistant unit.

  The transmission of the encrypted content 210 from the content distribution server 20 to the terminal device 60 may be streaming or file distribution.

Next, a process leading to reception of the metadata 310 will be specifically described.
The terminal device 60 transmits a metadata selection request to the metadata distribution server 30. The metadata delivery server 30 creates a metadata selection screen in response to a metadata acquisition request from the terminal device 60, and transmits the created metadata selection screen to the terminal device 60. The terminal device 60 displays the received metadata selection screen, and transmits a metadata acquisition request including the metadata ID of the metadata 310 selected by the user's operation to the metadata distribution server 30. In the metadata selection screen, when desired metadata is selected by the terminal device 60, a metadata acquisition request including a corresponding metadata ID is transmitted to the metadata distribution server 30.

  The metadata distribution server 30 creates the metadata 310 (S1400). More specifically, the metadata distribution server 30 creates a metadata body 311, stores the metadata provider ID in the metadata signer ID 312, and creates a digital signature 313 for the metadata body 311 and the metadata signer ID 312. To do. Note that the content distribution server 20 may digitally sign the metadata 310, and in this case, the metadata body 311 is transmitted from the metadata distribution server 30 to the content distribution server 20, and the content distribution server 20 The content provider ID is stored in the data signer ID 312, the digital signature 313 of the content provider is created, the metadata 310 is created, and the metadata 310 is transmitted to the metadata distribution server 30.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the metadata 310 includes a metadata body 311, a metadata signer ID 312, and a digital signature 313.

  In the metadata main body 311, in addition to the metadata itself, a metadata ID 3111 for identifying metadata, attribute information 3112 such as a content ID, content position information 3113, and content control information 3114 such as a scene index. , A user creation flag 3115 for indicating user-created metadata is included. The metadata signer ID 312 is used to identify the signer who digitally signed the metadata 310. The digital signature 313 is used for detecting falsification of the metadata main body 311.

  The metadata distribution server 30 transmits the metadata 310 corresponding to the metadata ID included in the metadata acquisition request to the terminal device 60 (S1410). The terminal device 60 receives the metadata 310 from the metadata distribution server 30 (S1030) and stores it in the storage unit of the tamper resistant unit.

Next, a process for receiving the content license 410 will be described in detail.
The terminal device 60 transmits a license selection request to the license management server 40. The license management server 40 creates a license selection screen in response to a license selection request from the terminal device 60, and transmits the created license selection screen to the terminal device 60. The terminal device 60 displays the received license selection screen, and transmits a license purchase request including the license ID 411 of the license 410 selected by the user operation to the license management server 40. In the license selection screen, when a desired license is selected by the terminal device 60, a license purchase request including a corresponding license ID is transmitted to the license management server 40.

  When there is a license purchase request, the license management server 40 creates a license 410 including the corresponding license ID (S1300). More specifically, the license management server 40 receives the content ID 412, the content provider ID 413, the usage conditions 414, and the content encryption key 415 from the content distribution server 20, and creates the license 410 with the license ID 411 (S1300). ).

  As shown in FIG. 6, the license 410 includes a license ID 411, a content ID 412, a content provider ID 413, a use condition 414, and a content encryption key 415.

  The license ID 411 is used for identifying the license 410 in the license management server 40. The content ID 412 is used to associate the license 410 with the encrypted content 210. The content provider ID 413 is used to identify the content provider of the content controlled by the license 410. The usage conditions 414 are used for content and metadata usage control. The content encryption key 415 is used for decrypting the content.

  More specifically, the usage condition 414 includes information 4140 related to content usage control and information 4144 related to metadata usage control.

  Information 4140 related to content usage control includes usage expiration date information 4141, usage count information 4142, and the like. The usage expiration date information 4141 includes, for example, information such as “Available until December 31, 2005”. The usable frequency information 4142 includes, for example, information such as “available three times”.

  As information 4144 related to metadata usage control, metadata signer identification information 4145, metadata reference instruction information 4146, metadata editability information 4147, control permission information 4148 by user-created metadata, There is movement range designation information 4149 of user created metadata.

  The signer identification information 4145 is information for identifying a signer of usable metadata. The signer ID, the content provider, the content provider, the group of metadata providers trusted by the content provider, and the restrictions thereof The content is a flag indicating none. That is, as the signer identification information 4145 of the metadata, for example, “other than the content provider” or “metadata provider delegated to the content provider and the content provider” or “all possible” can be used as the metadata signer. Signer identification information. Here, the metadata provider delegated to the content provider is a metadata provider having the public key certificate 510 digitally signed by the content provider, and is more suitable for the content distribution server 20 than the other metadata providers. Reliability is high. Note that the metadata signer identification information 4145 may be a metadata signer ID 312 that permits or disallows use.

  The reference instruction information 4146 is information for specifying a metadata reference method at the time of content use, and includes a flag for specifying whether to refer to metadata, an ID of metadata to be referred to, and a signer of the metadata to be referred to. The contents are ID. That is, the metadata reference instruction information 4146 includes, for example, a metadata reference instruction flag when forcing reference to the metadata 310 distributed together with the encrypted content 210. Note that the reference instruction information 4146 may be either a metadata reference instruction flag, a metadata ID of metadata to be forced to be referenced, or a metadata signer ID of metadata. In this embodiment, an example in which metadata reference instruction information 4146 is included in a content license is described, but reference instruction information 4146 may be included in encrypted content 210.

  The editability information 4147 includes a flag indicating metadata editability, editable metadata ID, editable metadata signer ID, content provider, content provider, and metadata provider trusted by the content provider. And a flag indicating that there is no restriction. That is, as the metadata editability information 4147, for example, a flag indicating “metadata editable” or “metadata edit impossible”, a metadata ID of metadata that can be edited or cannot be edited, or Any metadata signer ID 312 that digitally signed editable or non-editable metadata may be used.

  In this embodiment, the case where the metadata editability information 4147 is included in the content license is described. However, the metadata editability information 4147 is included in the encrypted content 210 or included in the metadata main body 311 of the metadata 310. In this case, the metadata 310 may be encrypted in the same manner as the content, and the metadata 310 including the encryption key may be licensed or included in the metadata 310 license.

  The control availability information 4148 is a flag indicating availability of user-created metadata. That is, the control availability information 4148 based on user-created metadata includes information such as a flag indicating “controllable by user-created metadata” or “uncontrollable by user-created metadata”, for example. In the present embodiment, the case where the control permission / prohibition information 4148 based on the user-created metadata is included in the content license is described, but it may be included in the encrypted content 210.

  The movement range designation information 4149 is information for designating a terminal device that has created usable user-created metadata, and includes a flag indicating that the terminal device is owned by the user who created the metadata without limitation, metadata, and the like. The contents include the number of times of use, the expiration date, and the like that restrict the use of the terminal other than the terminal device owned by the user who created the password.

  That is, the movement range designation information 4149 of the user-created metadata includes information indicating a movable range such as “unlimited movement” or “limited to the terminal device owned by the user who created the metadata”. In this embodiment, the case where the movement range designation information 4149 of the user-created metadata is included in the content license is described. However, the case where it is included in the encrypted content 210 or the metadata body 311 of the metadata 310 is described. Or the case where the metadata is encrypted in the same manner as the content and there is a metadata license including the encryption key, or the case where the metadata is included in the metadata license.

  When the creation of the license is completed, the license management server 40 transmits a license 410 to the terminal device 60 after performing a license purchase process in response to a license acquisition request from the terminal device 60 (S1310). Note that the license purchase process is performed between a purchase server (not shown) and the license management server 40.

  When the license 410 is transmitted / received between the license management server 40 and the terminal device 60 via the communication path N, data is transmitted / received after the SAC is established in order to ensure security.

  In the present embodiment, the license 410 is transmitted / received after the SAC is established between the license management server 40 and the terminal device 60, but a unique key is stored in the terminal device 60, and the license management server 40 When the unique key of each terminal device 60 is managed, the license 410 may be encrypted with the unique key of the terminal device 60 and transmitted from the license management server 40 to the terminal device 60.

  The terminal device 60 receives the license 410 from the license management server 40 (S10220) and stores it in the storage unit of the tamper resistant unit.

Next, the reception process of the public key certificate 510 and the CRL 520 will be specifically described.
The terminal device 60 transmits a public key certificate request to the content distribution server 20 and receives the public key certificate 510 of the content distribution server 20. Further, the terminal device 60 transmits a public key certificate request to the metadata distribution server 30 and receives the public key certificate 510 of the metadata distribution server 30. Further, the terminal device 60 transmits a public key certificate request to the authentication server 50 and receives the public key certificate 510 of the authentication server 50.

  Although not shown in FIG. 2, the authentication server 50 creates the public key certificate 510 each time the public key certificate 510 is requested from the content distribution server 20 and the metadata distribution server 30, and the requested content distribution server. 20 and the public key certificate 510 is transmitted to the metadata distribution server 30. The authentication server 50 creates a CRL each time there is a revocation request from the content delivery server 20 to the metadata delivery server 30, and transmits the created CRL to the terminal device 60.

  More specifically, the authentication server 50 holds a secret key and a public key paired with the secret key, and when the content distribution server 20 and the metadata distribution server 30 request the creation of the public key certificate 510 as a subject, A public key certificate 510 is transmitted to the subject in exchange for the subject's public key 512. That is, when the authentication server 50 receives a request for creating the public key certificate 510 including the subject public key 512 from the content delivery server 20 or the metadata delivery server 30, the authentication server 50 generates a different subject ID 511 for each subject public key 512. Then, a digital signature 513 for the subject ID 511 and the subject public key 512 is created, and a public key certificate 510 composed of the subject ID 511, the subject public key 512, and the digital signature 513 is created, and the public key The certificate 510 is transmitted to the content distribution server 20 or the metadata distribution server 30.

  Note that, when the content distribution server 20 delegates the digital signature of the metadata to the trusted metadata distribution server 30, the content distribution server 20 performs a process of creating the public key certificate 510 of the metadata distribution server 30. Sometimes.

  In this case, the metadata distribution server 30 having the public key certificate 510 digitally signed by the content distribution server 20 may determine that the content distribution server 20 is more trusted than the other metadata distribution servers 30. . Such a method is a general method called a certification path and is described in detail in Non-Patent Document 1.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the public key certificate 510 includes at least a subject ID 511, a subject public key 512, a digital signature 513, and a certificate signer ID 514. The subject ID 511 is an ID for identifying the subject of the public key certificate 510. For example, X. The serial number in the certificate 509 may be used.

  The subject public key 512 is used for verifying the digital signature of the signer specified by the subject ID 511. The digital signature 513 is used at least for detecting alteration of the subject ID 511 and the subject public key 512. The certificate signer ID 514 is used to identify the signer who digitally signed the public key certificate 510.

  Further, the authentication server 50 has a CRL 520. As shown in FIG. 8, the CRL 520 includes at least an update date and time 521 and a revoked subject ID 522. Here, the revoke is to invalidate the digital signature by the signer specified by the subject ID 522.

  The update date 521 is, for example, the date when the CRL 520 is created, and is used for checking the version of the CRL 520. The revoked subject ID 522 is used to identify the signer to be revoked.

  When the authentication server 50 receives the CRL update request including the ID of the revoked metadata distribution server 30 from the content distribution server 20, the authentication server 50 changes the update date and time 521 from, for example, “January 1, 2003” to “2003. As in “November 11”, the CRL creation date is updated, the received ID of the metadata distribution server 30 is added to the subject ID 522, the CRL 520 is created, and transmitted to the terminal device 60.

  In this way, the domain key 112 is acquired from the member management server 10 (S1000), the encrypted content 210 is received from the content distribution server 20 (S1010), and the license 410 is received from the license management server 40 (S1020). When the metadata 310 is received from the metadata distribution server 30 (S1030), the terminal device 60 uses the metadata 310 and the content (S1040).

  Next, determination of availability of the metadata signed by the content distribution server 20 or the metadata distribution server 30 and the metadata created by the user will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the metadata availability determination process performed in the terminal device 60.

  It is determined whether the metadata 310 is user-created metadata (S200). The user created metadata determination process (S200) will be described later.

  If it is not user-created metadata, the process proceeds to signer identification information determination (S100). In the case of user-created metadata (in the case of a value “0” described later), the process proceeds to step S201. In the signer identification information determination (S100), the signer identification information 4145 is acquired from the use condition 414 of the license 410, and “non-content provider is not permitted” or “metadata provider delegated to the content provider and content provider” or “ It is determined whether it is “all possible”.

  When the signer identification information 4145 is “non-content provider is not possible” or “metadata provider entrusted to the content provider and content provider is possible”, the process proceeds to ID comparison (S101).

ID comparison (S101) will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of ID comparison (S101).

  In the ID comparison (S101), the content provider ID 212 is obtained by decrypting the encrypted content 210 with the content encryption key 415, and the metadata signer ID 312 is obtained from the metadata 310 and compared (S301).

  If the content provider ID 212 and the metadata signer ID 312 match, the process proceeds to signature verification (S102). That is, in this case, in order to satisfy the requirement that “only the metadata created by the content provider can be used”, the process proceeds to step S102.

  If the content provider ID 212 and the metadata signer ID 312 do not match, the signer identification information 4145 is confirmed (S302).

  If the signer identification information 4145 is “content provider and metadata provider delegated to the content provider are available”, the certificate signer ID 514 of the public key certificate 510 in which the metadata signer ID 312 and the subject ID 511 match, The content provider ID 212 is compared (S303).

  If the certificate signer ID 514 and the content provider ID 212 match, the process proceeds to signature verification (step 102). In other words, in order to satisfy the requirement of the content provider and the metadata provider that is delegated to the content provider, the process proceeds to step S102.

  On the other hand, if the signer identification information 4145 is “impossible except for content provider” in step S302, the signer of the metadata that can be used in the signer identification information 4145 is set to “impossible except for content provider”. However, since the signer of the metadata 310 is other than the content distribution server 20, the metadata 310 cannot be used.

  In step S303, if the certificate signer ID 514 and the content provider ID 212 do not match, the signer of the metadata that can be used in the signer identification information 4145 is “a metadata provider delegated to the content provider and the content provider is possible. However, since the metadata signer is other than the content distribution server 20 and the metadata distribution server 30 delegated to the content distribution server 20, the metadata 310 is disabled.

  Returning to the main routine of FIG. 9, when the IDs match, signature verification (S102) is executed to obtain a public key certificate 510 including a subject ID 511 that matches the metadata signer ID 312 of the digital signature of the metadata. Then, the digital signature of the metadata is decrypted using the subject public key 512 included in the public key certificate 510, and compared with the hash value of the metadata main body 311 and the metadata signer ID 312 to verify whether or not they match. . If they match, it is determined that the metadata 310 can be used because it has not been tampered with. On the other hand, if they do not match, it is determined that the data cannot be used because it has been altered.

  On the other hand, if the signer identification information 4145 is “all possible” in step S100, the process proceeds to CRL confirmation (S110).

  In the CRL confirmation (S110), it is determined whether the metadata signer ID 312 of the metadata 310 is included in the revoked subject ID 522 of the CRL 520. If not included, the process proceeds to signature verification (S102). Judgment is made based on the presence or absence of alteration.

  On the other hand, if it is included in the list, it is determined that the metadata 310 cannot be used because the signer has been revoked.

  With the above processing, it is possible to determine whether or not the metadata signed by the content distribution server 20 or the metadata distribution server 30 can be used based on the signer identification information 4145 stored in the use condition 414 of the license 410.

  In this embodiment, the signer identification information 4145 is set to one value from three values of “non-content provider is impossible”, “content provider and metadata provider delegated to the content provider” or “all possible”. As a flag to identify, but as a flag to identify one value from at least two values of “non-content provider is not possible”, “content provider and metadata provider delegated to content provider is possible” or “all possible” Also good.

  In this case, for example, if the signer identification information 4145 is a flag for identifying “non-content provider is impossible” or “all possible”, the signer identification information 4145 in the present embodiment is “delegated to the content provider and content provider”. If the metadata provider is “capable of metadata provider”, the signer identification information 4145 is a flag identifying “non-content provider is impossible” or “metadata provider delegated to the content provider and content provider”. For example, the process when the signer identification information 4145 in the present embodiment is “all possible” is not performed, but the same effect is brought about.

  In the present embodiment, when the signer identification information 4145 is “non-content provider is not possible” or “metadata provider delegated to the content provider and the content provider is possible” in the signer identification information determination (S100), the CRL. Although confirmation (S110) is not performed, it may be performed after signer identification information determination (S100).

  In the present embodiment, the signer identification information 4145 is stored in the usage condition 414 of the license 410, but may be stored other than the usage condition 414 in the license 410. Further, the signer identification information 4145 may be stored in the encrypted content 210. Further, when the metadata is encrypted in the same manner as the content and there is a license for the metadata 310 including the encryption key, the signer identification information 4145 may be stored in the license for the metadata 310. In the above case, the same effect is obtained although the acquisition source of the signer identification information 4145 is different.

  In this embodiment, the signer identification information 4145 is a flag indicating “non-content provider is impossible”, “content provider and metadata provider delegated to content provider is possible” or “all possible”. The metadata signer ID 312 of 310 may be used. In this case, although the signer of the usable metadata is limited to the signer of the metadata signer ID 312, the same effect is brought about.

  In the present embodiment, the content provider ID 212 included in the encrypted content 210 is used for ID comparison (S101) as to whether or not the metadata signer ID 312 of the metadata 310 is a content provider ID. However, when only the content provider's public key certificate 510 is stored in advance in the terminal device 60 such as at the time of shipment, the subject ID 511 included in the public key certificate 510 may be used. When only the content provider ID is stored in advance in the terminal device 60 at the time of shipment, the stored content provider ID may be used. If there is a license for the metadata 310 and the content provider ID is stored in the license for the metadata 310, the content provider ID of the license for the metadata 310 may be used. In any of the above cases, the same effect is brought about because the content provider ID of the content distribution server 20 can be specified.

  Next, before proceeding to the description of whether or not the metadata created by the user can be used, the process of creating metadata by the user will be described.

  In accordance with a user input operation, the terminal device 60 creates metadata. Specifically, “1” is set in a user creation flag 3115 indicating user-created metadata, and information such as a scene index is stored in the metadata body 311, and the metadata creator is a user. In order to indicate this, the value “0” is stored in the metadata signer ID 312, and the value “0” is stored in the digital signature 313 without being digitally signed.

  In this embodiment, the case where the value “0” is stored in the metadata signer ID 312 and the digital signature 313 will be described. However, if the metadata 310 created by the terminal device 60 can be identified by the user, Other values may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the user-created metadata is not digitally signed, but if all the terminal devices 60 have the metadata signer ID 312, the private key, and the public key certificate 510, the digital signature is used. May be. In this case, in a user-created meta determination (S200) described later, it is determined whether or not the digital signer of the metadata 310 is the terminal device 60 owned by the user.

  Even when the private key and the public key certificate are not held, the same effect can be obtained by encrypting the hash value of the metadata 310 with the domain key 112 or the unique key.

  The terminal device 60 obtains the movement range designation information 4149 of the user-created metadata from the usage condition 414 of the license 410, and if it is “unlimited movement”, the metadata created in the above process is stored in the terminal device 60 as it is. If “limited to the terminal device owned by the user who created the metadata”, the metadata main body 311 is encrypted with the domain key 112 and stored in the terminal device 60, an external storage medium such as a DVD-R, or the like. It transmits to the other terminal device 60 which a user owns. In this case, since the metadata body 311 is encrypted with the domain key, it cannot be used even if the terminal device 60 of a different domain acquires the metadata 310.

  In the present embodiment, when the movement range designation information 4149 of the user-created metadata is “limited to the terminal device owned by the user who created the metadata”, the metadata main body 311 is encrypted using the domain key 112. However, other information may be used as long as it is secret information common to the terminal device 60 owned by the user.

Next, the use permission determination of the metadata created by the user will be described with reference to FIG.
The terminal device 60 performs user creation meta determination (S200).

  In the user-created metadata determination (S200), it is determined whether the metadata signer ID 312 of the metadata 310 is the value “0”.

If the value is not “0”, the process proceeds to the signer identification information determination (S100) described above.
When the value is “0”, the process proceeds to the determination of whether or not the user-created metadata is controllable (S201).

  In the control availability determination (S201), control availability information 4148 based on user-created metadata is acquired from the usage condition 414 of the license 410, and the control availability information 4148 based on user-created metadata is “controllable based on user-created metadata”. Transits to user created metadata movement range determination (S202).

  In the migration range determination of the user-created metadata (S202), the migration range designation information 4149 of the user-created metadata is acquired from the usage condition 414 of the license 410. Is determined to be available.

  On the other hand, if the movement range designation information 4149 of the user-created metadata is “limited to the terminal device owned by the user who created the metadata”, the metadata body 311 is decrypted with the domain key 112, and the user-created metadata It is determined whether or not there is a user creation flag 3115 indicating data (S203). As a result of the determination, if the user creation flag 3115 exists, that is, if “1” is set in the user creation flag 3115, it is determined that the metadata 310 can be used.

  When there is no user creation flag 3115, that is, when “0” is set in the user creation flag 3115, the metadata 310 cannot be used.

  Further, if the result of the determination in step S201 is “uncontrollable by user-created metadata”, the metadata 310 cannot be used.

  With the above processing, it is possible to determine whether or not the metadata created by the user can be used based on the control availability information 4148 and the movement range designation information 4149 stored in the usage condition 414 of the license 410.

  In this embodiment, the movement range designation information 4149 is a flag indicating either “controllable by user-created metadata” or “uncontrollable by user-created metadata”, and the movement range designation information 4149 is “user”. In the case of “controllable by created metadata”, by encrypting the user created metadata using the domain key 112, the movement range of the user created metadata is limited to the terminal devices 60 owned by the user. However, the usage conditions such as the number of movements and the movement validity period are stored as the movement range designation information 4149, the user created metadata is encrypted with the encryption key generated by the terminal device 60, and the license of the user created metadata including the encryption key is used. By setting usage conditions such as the number of movements and the movement validity period stored as the movement range designation information 4149, It may be able to limit. In this case, the movement range of the user-created metadata is limited by the number of movements stored as the movement range designation information 4149, the movement valid period, and the like.

  Note that public key signature verification takes processing time. It is useless to verify metadata once verified with a public key many times. Therefore, when control by user-created metadata is possible, that is, when the content provider permits, by making the regular metadata determined to be usable as user-created metadata, signature verification processing is eliminated, This saves time and greatly reduces processing time.

  Hereinafter, a process performed after it is determined that the metadata 310 can be used in the above determination process will be described.

First, usage processing of content for which metadata reference is required will be described.
The terminal device 60 searches the usage condition 414 of the license 410 for whether there is metadata reference instruction information 4146. If there is no reference instruction information 4146, the terminal device 60 starts using the encrypted content 210. When there is the reference instruction information 4146, the reference instruction information 4146 is acquired, the metadata to be referred to is acquired from the metadata ID included in the reference instruction information 4146, and the metadata can be used in the metadata availability determination. Start using the content with reference to the metadata. The content cannot be used when the metadata to be referred to cannot be acquired and when the metadata cannot be used in the determination of whether to use the metadata.

  In this embodiment, the reference instruction information 4146 is a metadata ID, but a metadata signer ID 312 may be used.

  In this embodiment, the reference instruction information 4146 is a metadata ID. However, for example, the encrypted content 210 and the metadata 310 are transmitted to the terminal device 60 together with the encrypted content 210 and the metadata 310, for example. When 310 is associated, the reference instruction information 4146 may be a flag for identifying whether to refer or not.

Next, metadata editing processing by the user will be described.
The terminal device 60 obtains the metadata editability information 4147 from the usage condition 414 of the license 410 and determines whether “metadata editable” or “metadata editable”.

  When the metadata editability information 4147 is “metadata not editable”, the metadata 310 including the content ID 211 of the encrypted content 210 in the metadata body 311 cannot be edited.

  When the metadata editability information 4147 is “metadata editable”, the metadata 310 including the content ID 211 of the encrypted content 210 in the metadata main body 311 is edited and the edited metadata 310 is included according to the user operation. A re-digital signature request is transmitted to the signer of the metadata signer ID 312, and the metadata 310 re-signed by the signer of the metadata signer ID 312 is received.

  In this embodiment, the editability information 4147 is a flag indicating either “metadata editable” or “metadata edit disabled”, but even if the metadata ID of the editable metadata 310 is a flag. Good. In this case, it is determined that only the metadata 310 specified by the editability information 4147 can be edited.

  Similarly, the metadata ID of the metadata 310 that cannot be edited may be used. In this case, it is determined that only the metadata 310 specified by the editability information 4147 is not editable.

  In the present embodiment, the metadata 310 is edited and then re-digitally signed by the signer of the metadata signer ID 312, but the terminal device 60 has the public key, the private key, and the public key certificate 510. In such a case, the terminal device 60 may digitally sign the metadata 310.

  Since the content distribution system 1 according to the present invention can control the use of the metadata 310 by the content distribution server 20, the content distribution system 1 is useful as a content distribution system that can exclude unreliable metadata unintended by the content distribution server 20.

1 is a diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of a content distribution system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the schematic process of the content delivery system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the table structure of user information DB110 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the encrypted content 210 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the metadata 310 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the license 410 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the public key certificate 510 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of CRL520 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the availability decision of the metadata which the content delivery server 20 or the metadata delivery server 30 which concerns on embodiment of this invention signed, or the metadata which the user produced. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of ID comparison (S101) processing shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content distribution system 10 Member management server 20 Content distribution server 30 Metadata distribution server 40 License management server 50 Authentication server 60 Terminal device 110 User information DB
111 User ID
112 Domain key 210 Encrypted content 211 Content ID
212 Content provider ID
213 Content body 310 Metadata 311 Metadata body 312 Metadata signer ID
313 Digital Signature 410 License 411 License ID
412 Content ID
413 Content provider ID
414 Terms of use 415 Content encryption key 510 Public key certificate 511 Subject ID
512 Subject public key 513 Digital signature 514 Certificate signer ID
520 CRL
521 Update date and time 522 Subject ID
3111 Metadata ID
3112 Attribute information 3113 Position information 3114 Control information 4140 Information on content usage control 4141 Usage expiration date information 4142 Usable count information 4144 Information on metadata usage control 4145 Signer identification information 4146 Reference indication information 4147 Editing availability information 4148 Control availability Information 4149 Movement range designation information

Claims (46)

An information availability determination method used for a terminal device that uses content provided by a content provider and metadata provided by a metadata provider and supplementing the content,
A metadata availability determination step for determining availability of the metadata based on usage control information representing information regarding the usage control of the metadata;
And a utilization step of using the metadata when it is determined that the metadata can be used in the metadata availability determination step. The usage control information includes first signer identification information representing information specifying a range of providers of available metadata.
The metadata includes a signature of a metadata provider specified by the first signer identification information and second signer identification information representing information for identifying a signer of the signature,
In the metadata availability determination step, metadata availability is determined based on the metadata provider specified by the first signer identification information, the second signer identification information, and signature verification. The information availability determination method according to claim 1, wherein: The first signer identification information is at least one of at least two of the content provider, the content provider, only the metadata provider that signed the public key certificate by the content provider, and no restriction. The information availability determination method according to claim 2, wherein the information availability determination flag is a flag for identifying the information. The terminal device holds the public key certificate of the content provider;
In the metadata availability determination step, third content signer identification information representing information for identifying a signer of the public key certificate of the content provider matches the second signer identification information, so that the content 4. The information availability determination method according to claim 3, wherein the provider determines that the signature has been made. The terminal device holds in advance content provider identification information representing information for uniquely specifying the content provider,
4. The information according to claim 3, wherein, in the metadata availability determination step, the content provider identification information and the second signer identification information match to determine that the content provider has signed. How to determine availability. The content includes content provider identification information representing information that uniquely identifies the content provider,
4. The information according to claim 3, wherein, in the metadata availability determination step, the content provider identification information and the second signer identification information match to determine that the content provider has signed. How to determine availability. The metadata is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the metadata, and holds a second license for using the metadata;
In the metadata availability determination step, the content provider identification information representing information for uniquely identifying the content provider included in the second license matches the second signer identification information, whereby the content 4. The information availability determination method according to claim 3, wherein the provider determines that the signature has been made. The information use availability determination method according to claim 2, wherein the first signer identification information is identification information that uniquely identifies a signer of the metadata. The information availability determination method according to claim 2, wherein the metadata includes self-made identification information indicating that the metadata is self-made metadata created by a user in the terminal device. For the self-made metadata, the digital signature is omitted,
The method of determining availability of information according to claim 9, wherein the signature verification is omitted in the metadata availability determination step. 10. The information availability determination method according to claim 9, wherein the self-made metadata is encrypted with respect to the self-made metadata. The terminal device holds a domain key,
The information availability determination method according to claim 11, wherein the self-made metadata is encrypted with the domain key. The content is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the content, holds a first license for using the content,
The information availability determination method according to claim 2, wherein the first signer identification information is stored in the first license. The content is encrypted,
The information use availability determination method according to claim 2, wherein the first signer identification information is stored in the encrypted content. The metadata is encrypted,
The first signer identification information includes an encryption key for decrypting the encrypted metadata, and is stored in a second license for using the metadata. 2. The information availability determination method according to 2. The usage control information includes reference instruction information representing information for specifying a metadata reference method when using the content,
The method for determining availability of information according to claim 1, wherein, in the metadata availability determination step, metadata availability is determined when content is used based on the reference instruction information. The information use availability determination method according to claim 16, wherein the reference instruction information is a flag for identifying whether or not to use the metadata. The information availability determination method according to claim 16, wherein the reference instruction information is identification information for uniquely specifying the metadata. The method according to claim 16, wherein the reference instruction information is identification information for uniquely identifying a signer of the metadata. The content is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the content, holds a first license for using the content,
The information use availability determination method according to claim 16, wherein the reference instruction information is stored in the first license. The method according to claim 16, wherein the reference instruction information is stored in the content. The usage control information includes editability information indicating information related to metadata editability,
The information availability determination method according to claim 1, wherein the availability of metadata is determined based on the editability information in the metadata availability determination step. The information availability determination method according to claim 22, wherein the editability information is a flag for identifying whether or not editing is possible. 23. The information availability determination method according to claim 22, wherein the editability information is identification information that uniquely identifies the metadata. The information availability determination method according to claim 22, wherein the editability information is identification information for uniquely identifying a signer of the metadata. The information availability according to claim 22, wherein the editability information is either terminal identification information for uniquely identifying the terminal device or user identification information for uniquely identifying a user who uses the terminal device. Judgment method. The content is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the content, holds a first license for using the content,
23. The information availability determination method according to claim 22, wherein the editability information is stored in the first license. The content is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the content, holds a first license for using the content,
23. The information availability determination method according to claim 22, wherein the editability information is stored in the content. The metadata is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the metadata, and holds a second license for using the metadata;
23. The information availability determination method according to claim 22, wherein the editability information is stored in the second license. The information availability determination method according to claim 22, wherein the editability information is stored in the metadata. The usage control information includes control availability information indicating availability of self-created metadata created by a user in the terminal device,
The information availability determination method according to claim 1, wherein in the metadata availability determination step, metadata availability is determined based on the control availability information. The content is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the content, holds a first license for using the content,
The information availability determination method according to claim 31, wherein the control availability information is stored in the first license. The content is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the content, holds a first license for using the content,
32. The information availability determination method according to claim 31, wherein the control availability information is stored in the content. The usage control information includes movement range designation information for designating a movement range of self-made metadata created by a user in the terminal device,
The information availability determination method according to claim 1, wherein the availability of metadata is determined based on the movement range designation information in the metadata availability determination step. When the movement range designation information indicates unlimited movement range, the metadata includes self-made identification information indicating self-made metadata created by a user in the terminal device,
For the self-made metadata, the digital signature is omitted,
The information availability determination method according to claim 34, wherein, in the metadata availability determination step, verification of the signature is omitted when the self-made identification information is included. When the movement range designation information indicates that the terminal device is owned by the user, at least a part of the user-created metadata created by the user at the terminal device is an encryption common to the terminal device owned by the user. 35. The information availability determination method according to claim 34, wherein encryption is performed using a key. The encryption key common to the terminal device is a domain key,
The information availability determination method according to claim 36, wherein at least a part of the self-made metadata is encrypted with the domain key for the self-made metadata. The encryption key common to the terminal device is a secret key held by the terminal device,
37. The information availability determination method according to claim 36, wherein at least a part of the self-created metadata is encrypted with the secret key. The content is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the content, holds a first license for using the content,
35. The information availability determination method according to claim 34, wherein the movement range designation information is stored in the first license. The content is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the content, holds a first license for using the content,
35. The information availability determination method according to claim 34, wherein the movement range designation information is stored in the content. The metadata is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the metadata, and holds a second license for using the metadata;
The information availability determination method according to claim 34, wherein the editability information is stored in the second license. The metadata is encrypted,
The terminal device includes an encryption key for decrypting the metadata, and holds a second license for using the metadata;
The information availability determination method according to claim 34, wherein the editability information is stored in the metadata. A terminal device using content provided by a content provider and metadata provided by a metadata provider and supplementing the content,
Metadata availability determination means for determining availability of the metadata based on usage control information representing information relating to usage control of the metadata;
A terminal device comprising: a utilization unit that utilizes the metadata when it is determined by the metadata availability determination unit that the metadata can be used. A transmission device that transmits content provided from a content provider based on a request and metadata provided from a metadata provider and data that supplements the content to a terminal device,
A transmission apparatus comprising: means for transmitting usage control information representing information related to usage control of the metadata in order to determine whether or not the metadata can be used in the terminal device. A content distribution system including the terminal device that determines whether or not the metadata or the self-made metadata is used by the information availability determination method according to claim 1. A program for determining whether to use information, which is used for a terminal device that uses content provided by a content provider and metadata provided by a metadata provider and supplementing the content,
A metadata availability determination step for determining availability of the metadata based on usage control information representing information regarding the usage control of the metadata;
A program that causes a computer to execute a use step of using the metadata when it is determined that the use of the metadata is possible in the metadata availability determination step.

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