System and method for participating in transactions between computing devices

Abstract

Apparatus, method, and media for participating in transactions between computing devices. An exemplary method comprises receiving a registration identifier and a registration message including an identification certificate, verifying the identity of an external computing device by verifying the identification certificate, transmitting an authentication message to test the authenticity of an external computing device, validating the authenticity of an external computing device based at least in part on information received in response to the transmission of the authentication message, and participating in a transaction with an external computing device. The transaction may comprise generating a request for content, the request corresponding to a utilization of the content, determining whether the utilization corresponds to usage rights associated with the content, and granting access to the content in accordance with the usage rights based at least in part on a determination that the utilization corresponds to the usage rights associated with the content.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for participating in transactions between computing devices, the apparatus comprising:
 a single client-side computing device including one or more processors and one or more memories operatively coupled to at least one of the one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause at least one of the one or more processors to:
 receive, from at least one of one or more computing devices external to the apparatus, a registration identifier and a registration message including an identification certificate identifying at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus; 
 verify the identity of the at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus and identified by the identification certificate by verifying the identification certificate; 
 transmit, to at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus, a second message to test the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus and identified by the identification certificate; 
 validate the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus and identified by the identification certificate based at least in part on information received from at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus in response to the transmission of the second message; and 
 participate in a transaction with the at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus and identified by the identification certificate, the transaction comprising:
 generating a request for content, the request corresponding to a utilization of the content; 
 determining whether the utilization corresponds to one or more usage rights associated with the content; and 
 granting access to the content in accordance with the one or more usage rights based at least in part on a determination that the utilization corresponds to one or more usage rights associated with the content. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the validation of the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus and identified by the identification certificate is associated with one or more session keys, wherein at least one of the one or more session keys is used based at least in part on a determination that the registration message was received, that the identity of the at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus and identified by the identification certificate was verified based at least in part on a verification of the identification certificate, and that the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus and identified by the identification certificate was validated based at least in part on the information received in response to the transmission of the second message, and wherein the at least one of the one or more session keys is used during the transaction. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein participating in a transaction with the at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus and identified by the identification certificate further comprises determining whether one or more conditions associated with the one or more usage rights are satisfied, and wherein granting access to the content in accordance with the one or more usage rights is further based at least in part on a determination that the one or more conditions associated with the one or more usage rights are satisfied. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more memories has further instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause at least one of the one or more processors to enable receipt of at least one of the content and at least one of the one or more usage rights from at least one of the one or more computing devices external to the apparatus. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions are stored separate from the content. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the utilization is at least one of rendering, distributing, viewing, playing, printing, modifying, and copying. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the content is at least one of an electronic book, music, audio information, a multimedia presentation, a movie, a computer program, and video information. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more processors is associated with at least one of a printer, a video system, and an audio system that utilizes the content. 
     
     
         10 . A computer-implemented method executed by a single client-side computing device for participating in transactions with one or more external computing devices, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the single client-side computing device, from at least one of one or more external computing devices, a registration identifier and a registration message including an identification certificate identifying at least one of the one or more external computing devices;   verifying, by the single client-side computing device, the identity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate by verifying the identification certificate;   transmitting, by the single client-side computing device, to at least one of the one or more external computing devices, a second message to test the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate;   validating, by the single client-side computing device, the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate based at least in part on information received from at least one of the one or more external computing devices in response to the transmission of the second message; and   participating in, by the single client-side computing device, a transaction with the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate, the transaction comprising:
 generating a request for content, the request corresponding to a utilization of the content; 
 determining whether the utilization corresponds to one or more usage rights associated with the content; and 
 granting access to the content in accordance with the one or more usage rights based at least in part on a determination that the utilization corresponds to one or more usage rights associated with the content. 
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the validation of the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate is associated with one or more session keys, wherein at least one of the one or more session keys is used based at least in part on a determination that the registration message was received, that the identity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate was verified based at least in part on a verification of the identification certificate, and that the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate was validated based at least in part on the information received in response to the transmission of the second message, and wherein the at least one of the one or more session keys is used during the transaction. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein participating in a transaction with the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate devices further comprises determining whether one or more conditions associated with the one or more usage rights are satisfied, and wherein granting access to the content in accordance with the one or more usage rights is further based at least in part on a determination that the one or more conditions associated with the one or more usage rights are satisfied. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising receiving at least one of the content and at least one of the one or more usage rights from at least one of the one or more external computing devices. 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the utilization is at least one of rendering, distributing, viewing, playing, printing, modifying, and copying. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the content is at least one of an electronic book, music, audio information, a multimedia presentation, a movie, a computer program, and video information. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the single client-side computing device is associated with at least one of a printer, a video system, and an audio system that utilizes the content. 
     
     
         18 . At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a single client-side computing device, cause the single client-side computing device to:
 receive, from at least one of one or more external computing devices, a registration identifier and a registration message including an identification certificate identifying at least one of the one or more external computing devices;   verify the identity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate by verifying the identification certificate;   transmit, to at least one of the one or more external computing devices, a second message to test the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate;   validate the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate based at least in part on information received from at least one of the one or more external computing devices in response to the transmission of the second message; and   participate in a transaction with the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate, the transaction comprising:
 generating a request for content, the request corresponding to a utilization of the content; 
 determining whether the utilization corresponds to one or more usage rights associated with the content; and 
 granting access to the content in accordance with the one or more usage rights based at least in part on a determination that the utilization corresponds to one or more usage rights associated with the content. 
   
     
     
         19 . The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the validation of the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate is associated with one or more session keys, wherein at least one of the one or more session keys is used based at least in part on a determination that the registration message was received, that the identity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate was verified based at least in part on a verification of the identification certificate, and that the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate was validated based at least in part on the information received in response to the transmission of the second message, and wherein the at least one of the one or more session keys is used during the transaction. 
     
     
         20 . The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein participating in a transaction with the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate further comprises determining whether one or more conditions associated with the one or more usage rights are satisfied, and wherein granting access to the content in accordance with the one or more usage rights is further based at least in part on a determination that the one or more conditions associated with the one or more usage rights are satisfied. 
     
     
         21 . The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the single client-side computing device, cause the single client-side computing device to receive at least one of the content and at least one of the one or more usage rights from at least one of the one or more external computing devices. 
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the utilization is at least one of rendering, distributing, viewing, playing, printing, modifying, and copying. 
     
     
         24 . The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the content is at least one of an electronic book, music, audio information, a multimedia presentation, a movie, a computer program, and video information. 
     
     
         25 . The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the single client-side computing device is associated with at least one of a printer, a video system, and an audio system that utilizes the content. 
     
     
         26 . At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a single client-side computing device, cause the single client-side computing device to:
 receive, from at least one of one or more external computing devices, a registration identifier and a registration message including an identification certificate identifying at least one of the one or more external computing devices;   verify the identity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate by verifying the identification certificate;   transmit, to at least one of the one or more external computing devices, a second message to test the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate;   validate the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate based at least in part on information received from at least one of the one or more external computing devices in response to the transmission of the second message, the validation of the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate being associated with one or more session keys, at least one of the one or more session keys being used based at least in part on a determination that the registration message was received, that the identity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate was verified based at least in part on a verification of the identification certificate, and that the authenticity of the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate was validated based at least in part on the information received in response to the transmission of the second message; and   participate in a transaction with the at least one of the one or more external computing devices identified by the identification certificate using the at least one of the one or more session keys, the transaction comprising:
 generating a request for content, the request corresponding to a utilization of the content; 
 determining whether the utilization corresponds to one or more usage rights associated with the content; 
 determining whether one or more conditions associated with the one or more usage rights are satisfied; and 
 granting access to the content in accordance with the one or more usage rights based at least in part on a determination that the utilization corresponds to one or more usage rights associated with the content and a determination that the one or more conditions are satisfied. 
   
     
     
         27 . The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 26 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the single client-side computing device, cause the single client-side computing device to receive at least one of the content and at least one of the one or more usage right from at least one of the one or more external computing devices. 
     
     
         28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the utilization is at least one of rendering, distributing, viewing, playing, printing, modifying, and copying. 
     
     
         30 . The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the content is at least one of an electronic book, music, audio information, a multimedia presentation, a movie, a computer program, and video information.