SYSTEM FOR HANDLING DIGITAL RIGHTS AND KEYS IN BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS APPLICATIONS, COMPUTER-SOFTWARE PROGRAM, COMPUTER SOFTWARE MODULES AND SOFTWARE PRODUCTS THEREFORE

摘要

There is provided a conditional access system for the distribution andmanagement of digital rights and keys in business-to-business applications ofa plurality of actors including rights owners and rights consumers. Thelogical path between the rights owner and the rights consumer is decomposedinto a succession of point-to-point communications between actors or groups ofactors and by sharing information that allows identifying actors or groups ofactors and establishing secure communications between these actors or groupsof actors. Keys communication channels and digital rights communicationchannels are matched with a network of business relations defining a networkof trust between the different actors. The conditional access system of theinvention for the distribution and management of digital rights and keys isadapted to be used in a digital cinema network comprising keys communicationchannels and digital rights communication channels. A computer program forrunning the system and software or hardware modules and products for thispurpose are also provided.