SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACTIVATING A RENDERING DEVICE IN A MULTI-LEVEL RIGHTS-MANAGEMENT ARCHITECTURE

摘要

A digital rights management system for the distribution, protection and use of electronic content. The system includes a client architecture which receives content, where the content is preferably protected by encryption and may include a license and individualization features. Content is protected at several levels, including: no protection; source-sealed; individually-sealed; source-signed; and fully-individualized. In some cases, access to the content will be governed by a rights construct defined in the license bound to the content. The client components include an object which accesses encrypted content, an object that parses the license and enforces teh rights in the license, an object which obtains individualized software and data and a script of instructions that provides individualization information to a distributor of content. Content is generally protected by encrypting it with a key and then sealing the key into the content. In some instances, the key may also be encrypted.