| 摘要 |
<p>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To disable the illegal use of illegally copied data even when a device, for which a special code for illegal copy prevention is not written in a hidden storage area, is illegally acquired. SOLUTION: A non-volatile semiconductor memory has a hidden storage area 2 for recording the special code for preventing illegal copy in addition to a main storage area 1 for recording ordinary data, and the hidden storage area 2 is in read permitted state in a write protect state and in read inhibited state in the other state. When the vendor of the semiconductor memory records the special code in the hidden storage area and turns the area into write protect state, for the first time, the read of the hidden storage area is enabled. The method of a change into write protect state is secret except for the vendor. As a result, even when the semiconductor memory, for which the special code is not recorded in the hidden storage area, is acquired in a black market, since the read of the hidden storage area is still inhibited, illegally copied data can not be utilized and illegal copy is prevented.</p> |
