KR100370225B1 - Apparatus and method for transcopying data - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a data conversion copying apparatus for converting and copying an original content into another coding scheme, and a method thereof, comprising: a coding method checking unit for checking a coding method applied to original content data; A conversion copying unit converting the original content data and generating copy content data to be decoded by a second coding scheme different from the coding scheme of the original content data; And a management information recording unit for recording information indicating that the original content data has been copied in the management information about the original content data, and recording information indicating that the original content data has been converted and copied from the original content data. Is coded in a way that the player (or decoder) that the user has cannot play, change the coding method so that it can be played in the user's player and manage the rights so that the copyright of the content is not infringed by such conversion copying. By controlling the information, the user can make the best use of the content without compromising the rights of the content provider.

Description

Apparatus and method for transcopying data}

The present invention relates to data conversion, and more particularly, to a data conversion copying apparatus for converting and copying original content into another coding scheme and a method thereof.

If you purchase music or video data on the Internet, you receive the data to which the coding scheme provided by the seller is applied. If the buyer has a decoder capable of playing the data, there is no problem, but if the player does not have a decoder for seller data, there is a problem that cannot be used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a data conversion copying apparatus and method for converting and providing a decoder so that a decoder included in a user's player may decode the original content in a different manner for a case different from a coding method of the original content. To provide.

Another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a data structure of contents in which rights information such as copyright is embedded in converting and copying contents.

1 is a block diagram of a data conversion copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 shows an example of information included in the original content 11 or the copy content 15.

3A and 3B are views for explaining the conversion copy unit 131 shown in FIG. 1 in more detail. FIG. 3A illustrates a case in which the coding method of the original content and the player are different when the content is music data. 3B is a detailed block diagram of the conversion copy unit shown in FIG. 1.

4 is a detailed block diagram of the inverse transform unit 135 shown in FIG. 1.

5 illustrates an example of receiving and using content through a communication network such as the Internet.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a data conversion copy method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of inversely converting copied and copied copy content into original content by the method of FIG. 6.

In order to achieve the above object, the data conversion copying apparatus according to the present invention,

A coding scheme checking unit for checking a coding scheme applied to the original content data; A conversion copying unit converting the original content data and generating copy content data to be decoded by a second coding scheme different from the coding scheme of the original content data; And a management information recording unit for recording information indicating that the original content data has been copied to the management information about the original content data, and recording information indicating that the original content data has been converted and copied from the original content data. ,

The transform copy unit may include: a decoder configured to decode original content data according to the coding scheme; And an encoding unit configured to generate the copy content data by encoding the decoded original content data according to a second coding scheme to be applied to the copy content, and further comprising converting and copying the copy content data from the original content data. It is preferable to further include an inverse conversion unit for recording the right information from the copy content data that has been converted and copied to the management information on the original content data, and then restoring the copy content data back to the original content data. .

Data conversion copy method according to the present invention to achieve the above object,

(a) identifying a coding scheme applied to the original content data; (b) setting a second coding scheme different from the coding scheme; (c) converting the original content data to generate copy content data that can be decoded by the second coding scheme.

When inversely converting the copy content data back to the original content data, checking whether the copy content data has been converted and copied from the original content data; And in the management information for the original content data, record that the right information has been restored from the copy content data that has been converted and copied.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned other problem, the data structure of the content according to the present invention is

Content data; Data file information uniquely assigned to the content data for identification with other content; And rights management information for recording information on whether the content data is an original or a copy copied from the original, and rights information related to data conversion copying. Information is recorded, and the management information for the original and copy contents is characterized in that the contents are changed according to the conversion copy situation.

The management information preferably includes at least one of information on the number of copies, information on distinguishing an original from a converted copy, and information on a coding scheme of contents.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram of a data conversion copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the content player 17 refers to a play device in which a user directly plays content, such as an audio player, and includes not only an audio player but also a player for video or a special kind of other data that can be played in a player in general. . The data conversion copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be referred to as a device for supplying data suitable for the content player 17, and is generally provided in a personal computer or a server providing data. On the other hand, the content player 17 may be a separate device separate from the computer, such as a CD player, digital television, or may be implemented in hardware or software inside the computer, in the present invention, the copying device and the player are physically separated Includes both cases in combination.

The data conversion copying device 13 converts and copies the converted content from the original content 11 to the copy content 15 and the inverting part 135 to restore the original content 11 back from the copy content 15. It is provided.

The conversion copying unit 131 receives the original content 11, which may be data that is previously stored in a memory or a disk or data transmitted online. The copy content 15 converted and copied by the conversion copying unit 131 is coded in a manner suitable for playback on the player 17 of the user.

The original content 11 includes a data file related to the content and rights management information related to copyright, and similarly, the copy content 15 also includes a data file about the converted and copied content and rights management information related to copyright. Here, the rights management information may include information related to the rights or rights related to the copyright or use right of the data as well as information directly or indirectly related to the rights, such as the date of copyright occurrence, the use date, and the number of times of use. Information for, for example, file size or creation date may be included.

2 shows an example of information included in the original content 11 or the copy content 15, and data uniquely assigned to the content in order to distinguish the content from other content so as to specify a data file of the content. File information 21 and rights management information 25 in which rights information such as copyright of the contents is recorded.

As the data file information 21, information such as a producer, a seller, or a copyright holder or information such as a unique code of the content is displayed. For example, the country of the copyright holder 211, the registrant 212, the year of manufacture 213, a unique code ( 214) may be included. The rights management information 25 includes information 251 about the number of copies that can be copied, information 252 for indicating whether the content is the original or a copy copied from the original, and information about the coding method of the content 253. Record the rights information related to the conversion copy.

The original content and the copy content may share data file information with each other to confirm the identity of each other, or separate information may be provided in the copy content so that the relationship with the original content can be checked later.

3A and 3B are views for explaining the conversion copy unit 131 shown in FIG. 1 in more detail. FIG. 3A illustrates a case in which the coding method applied to the original content is different from the coding method of the player when the content is music data. For example, the encoding method 31 of the original content is " MP3 " For example, the "AAC" method is used. The encoding method applied to the original content or the decoding method of the player can be directly checked by hardware or software or directly input by the user. The encoding method of the original content is usually determined by analyzing the data of the content and decoding the player. Is usually typed directly by the user.

FIG. 3B is a detailed block diagram of the conversion copying unit 131 shown in FIG. 1, and illustrates an example of converting the original content 33 of the "MP3" type into the copy content 38 of the "AAC" type.

The encoding confirmation unit 34 confirms the coding scheme applied to the original content 33. When the content scheme of the content provider confirms the coding scheme or the content provider informs the coding scheme, the user does not need to separately check the coding scheme. You can set the coding method yourself.

The decoder unit 35 includes various types of decoders. When the content is music data, for example, the MP3 decoder 351, the AAC decoder 352, the AC3 decoder 353, and the like are included. The decoding unit 35 selects a decoder corresponding to the coding scheme of the original content 33, decodes the original content 33, and outputs the standard content 36 as standard data 36. Here, the standard data 36 may be reproduction data decoded from the original content or data of a specific coding scheme.

The encoder unit 37 also includes various types of encoders. When the content is music data, for example, the MP3 encoder 371, the AAC encoder 372, the AC3 encoder 373, and the like are included. The encoding unit 37 selects an encoder of a method set in the decoding method of the player, converts the standard data 36 to generate the copy content 38.

The right management information control section 39 changes the right management information of the original content 33 and the copy content 38 in accordance with the situation of conversion copying. For example, the right management information for the original content 33 records copy information indicating that the original content has been copied as copy content, and the copy information includes whether the original has been converted or copied normally, and the number of times of copying. It may also include information on the date. The rights management information for the copy content 38 records the information that the copy is converted from the original content.

FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of the inverse transform unit 135 shown in FIG. 1, and performs a function of restoring the copy content 41 to the original content 44 corresponding thereto.

The original content checking unit 42 checks which original content corresponds to the copy content by using information for identifying the original content such as data file information included in the copy content 41. Here, the original contents 44 may be data stored in a storage means such as a hard disk or a compact disk of a user computer, or data stored in a server providing content through a communication network such as the Internet.

When the original content corresponding to the copy content 41 is confirmed, the rights management information control unit 43 restores the copy content from the copy content back to the original content data, and the rights information is restored from the copy content that has been converted and copied into the rights management information of the original content. Record that. In addition, in the rights management information of the copy content, information that is restored to the original content is recorded or the content thereof is changed so that the copy content cannot be used. In the inverse transformation process, as in the transformation copying process, the data transformation process is not necessary and only restoring the right information is sufficient.

5 illustrates an example of receiving and using content through a communication network such as the Internet. The content provider 51 provides the original content coded according to the coding scheme determined by the content provider 51, and the content user 53 receives the content through the communication network 52. If the player 54 of the user supports the coding method of the original content, there is no problem, but if the coding method is different, the conversion copy process is performed. The software (or hardware if necessary) related to the conversion copy process may be provided by the content provider 51 or provided by the content user 53 directly.

The content user 53 may obtain a copy content coded in a manner suitable for a player by checking a coding method of the content before or after receiving the content to his computer. At this time, to provide the original content itself directly to the content user 53 (that is, to download all the original content from the content provider 51 in the user computer 53 and store it in the user computer 53). Is optional and allows the content provider 51 to provide the copy content (with or without the original content) to the user by generating the copied copy content according to the original content and coding scheme selected by the user.

If the user player 54 is embedded in the user's computer, the user's computer may be played directly. However, if the user player 54 is a device separate from the user's computer, the user may download the copy content to the user's player 54 and play the same. If the user wants to restore the copy contents back to the original contents, the rights contents are restored by changing the rights management information of each contents. Therefore, by changing the rights management information of the content according to the conversion copying and the reverse conversion, it is possible to prevent the loss caused by the infringement of copyright even from the content provider's point of view.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a data conversion copy method according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, the input method 61 receives the original content stored through the communication network or in the user's computer, checks the coding scheme applied to the original content (62), and the coding scheme of the player who wants to reproduce the original content (that is, the coding scheme of the copy contents). (63). If the coding method of the player is different from the coding method of the original content (64), the original content is converted to generate a copy content so as to be decoded by the player's coding method (65). In addition to the conversion copy of the data, the information indicating that the original content is converted into copy content is recorded in the rights management information for the original content, and the information indicating that the copy has been converted from the original content is recorded in the rights management information for the copy content (66). .

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of inversely converting (restore) the copied and copied copy content into original content by the method of FIG. 6. When the content of the inverse transformation target is input (71), it is checked whether it corresponds to the copy content (72). The content may be data stored in the memory or disk of the user's computer, downloaded back from the player to the computer, or used by direct connection of signal lines. If it is the copy content (73), it finds the original content corresponding to the copy content and records that the right information has been restored from the copy content that has been converted and copied into the rights management information for the original content (74).

In addition, although not described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, those skilled in the art will understand more details about the method for converting a bait transform based on the contents described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 5. For example, original content may be provided using an online communication network such as the Internet, or a data conversion process may be provided by a content provider or a content user. In addition, the right management information can be variously implemented in the conversion copying and inverse conversion process.

Although music data has been specifically illustrated as an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention can also be applied to still image and moving image data. For example, in the case of a still image, a conversion copy function for various data formats (eg, GIF, JPG, TIF, etc.) may be provided. In addition, it includes not only data such as audio / video, but also generally includes all kinds of data available to the consumer by decoding it corresponding to the coding scheme of the content.

The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, and may also be implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet). Include. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

As described above, according to the data conversion copying apparatus and method according to the present invention, content data purchased or provided from a content provider via the Internet or the like is coded in such a manner that it cannot be reproduced by a player (or a decoder) owned by the user. If necessary, change the coding method so that the user can play the content on the player, and control the rights management information so that the copyright of the content is not infringed by such conversion copying, so that the user can control the content without compromising the rights of the content provider. It is most suitable for.

Claims (10)

A coding scheme checking unit for checking a coding scheme applied to the original content data; A conversion copying unit converting the original content data and generating copy content data to be decoded by a second coding scheme different from the coding scheme of the original content data; And The management information for the original content data records information indicating that the original content data has been copied, and the management information for the copy content data includes a management information recording unit for recording the information that has been converted and copied from the original content data. Data conversion copy device. According to claim 1, wherein the conversion copy unit A decoding unit for decoding original content data according to the coding scheme; And And an encoding unit encoding the decoded original content data according to a second coding scheme to be applied to the copy content to generate copy content data. The method of claim 1, After confirming whether the copy content data has been converted and copied from the original content data, the management information for the original content data records that the right information is restored from the copy content data that has been converted and copied, and then recreates the original content from the copy content data. And a reverse conversion unit for restoring the content data. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the management information comprises at least one of information on the number of copies, information on distinguishing an original from a converted copy, and information on a coding scheme of contents. Content data; Data file information uniquely assigned to the content data for identification with other content; And Including information on whether the content data is an original or a copy copied from the original, and rights management information for recording rights information related to data conversion copying, The information on the original content corresponding to the data file information of the copy content is recorded, and the management data for the original and the copy content are changed in accordance with the conversion copy situation. 6. The data structure of claim 5, wherein the management information includes at least one of information on the number of copies, information on distinguishing an original from a converted copy, and information on a coding scheme of the content. (a) identifying a coding scheme applied to the original content data; (b) setting a second coding scheme different from the coding scheme; and (c) converting the original content data to generate copy content data that can be decoded by the second coding scheme. The method of claim 7, wherein In the step (c), the management information on the original content data is recorded as information indicating that the original content data has been converted and copied into the copy content data, and the right management information about the copy content data is recorded as information that has been converted and copied from the original content data. The data conversion copy method, characterized in that. The method of claim 7, wherein When the reverse conversion from the copy content data back to the original content data, Checking whether the copy content data has been converted and copied from the original content data; And And the management information for the original content data records that the right information has been restored from the copy content data which has been converted and copied. (a) identifying a coding scheme applied to the original content data; (b) setting a second coding scheme different from the coding scheme; And (c) a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for realizing a data conversion copying method comprising converting the original content data to generate copy content data that can be decoded by the second coding scheme.