Protected intra-system interconnect for digital rights management in electrical computers and digital data processing systems
AssigneeTL Digital Systems L.L.C.
InventorThomas W. Lynch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments including protected paths for digital rights management of digital objects are disclosed. Some embodiments disclosed herein may comprise processes or apparatus for transferring data from one or more peripherals to one or more computers or digital data processing systems for the latter to process, store, and/or further transfer and/or for transferring data from the computers or digital data processing systems to the peripherals. Some embodiments disclosed herein may comprise processes or apparatus for interconnecting or communicating between two or more components connected to an interconnection medium a within a single computer or digital data processing system.
Claims21
An apparatus comprising:
- a first processor configured to implement an application and generate control information pertaining to a digital object, wherein the digital object comprises protected information and non-protected information;
- a system interconnect coupled to the first processor and configured to receive the control information;
- a media controller coupled to the system interconnect, wherein the media controller comprises a secured partition and a non-secured partition, wherein the media controller is configured to receive the control information from the system interconnect and, responsive to the control information, receive the digital object at the secured partition, and wherein the media controller is further configured to prevent the protected information from passing from the secured partition to the non-secured partition;
- a protected data path coupled to the media controller, wherein the protected data path is different from the system interconnect and inaccessible to the application while the first processor is operating;
- and
- a media processor coupled to the protected data path and configured to process at least a portion of the digital object to generate output signals, wherein the media processor is configured to receive, in accordance with the control information, the at least a portion of the digital object from the media controller over the protected data path and wherein the media processor is further configured to provide the output signals to a media output device.
A method, comprising:
- executing an application with a first processor, and generating, by the first processor, control information pertaining to a digital object;
- providing the control information from the application to a media controller over a system interconnect;
- receiving the digital object at the media controller, wherein the digital object comprises protected and non-protected information, and wherein the media controller comprises a secured partition and a non-secured partition and wherein said receiving the digital object comprises receiving the digital object at the secured partition;
- passing the non-protected information from the secured partition to the non-secured partition;
- transmitting, in accordance with the received control information, the protected information to a media processor via a protected data path, wherein the protected data path is different from the system interconnect and inaccessible to the application while the first processor is operating;
- transmitting the non-protected information to the media processor over the system interconnect;
- and
- processing at least the protected information, by the media processor, for transmission to a media output device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.