System and method for on-line copyright management

A system for managing electronic media in which copyright subsides, comprising:

• a server connected for on-line data transfer with at least one computer, the server having:
• means for accessing a permissions data set specifing a set of rules concerning authorized use of a digital representation of a work with digital content, the rules including a relationship between at least one time measure and a permission or license term,
• means for examining the set of rules in response to a request to license the work,
• means for comparing the time measure with a clock time at the receipt of the request and for transmitting a set of license terms from the server to the computer in accordance with the relationship between the at least one time measure and the permission or license term;
• and
• means for transmitting a number of copies of the work to the computer on receipt of a response from the computer accepting the terms, the value of the number being at least one.

A method for managing electronic media in which copyright subsides, comprising the steps of:

• providing a digital representation of a work with digital content and a permissions data set specifying a set of rules concerning authorized use of the work,
• receiving the work and the permissions data set at a certification server operated by a third party and storing the work electronically,
• generating from the work and the permissions data set a digital publishing certificate signed with a digital signature of the third party, and
• storing the publishing certificate electronically.

A system for managing electronic media in which copyright subsides, comprising:

• means for providing a digital representation of a work with digital content and a permissions data set specifying a set of rules concerning authorized use of the work,
• means for receiving the work and the permissions data set at a certification server operated by a third party,
• means for storing the work electronically,
• means generating from the work and the permissions data set a digital publishing certificate signed with a digital signature of the third party, and
• means for storing the publishing certificate electronically.