Hitachi Maxell, Limited

Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Consumer Electronics Co., Ltd.

Ritsuko Kanazawa

Hiroyuki Koreeda

A content receiver comprises: an acceptance unit for accepting a designation of a recording medium to which contents are to be output; a license information acquiring unit for acquiring output license information describing the output requirements of the contents; and an output unit for outputting the contents to the designated recording medium. The output license information includes usage time limit information indicating the time limit of using the contents in an output destination. The output unit acquires the usage time limit information from the output license information for the contents, and sets the acquired usage time limit information to a management information storing area in the designated recording medium, thereby managing the time period of using the contents in the recording medium even if the copyright protection of the recording medium, which is an export destination, has a function to manage the time period of using the contents.

Content-receiving device

Content receiving device, and content distribution system

A controller has a unit that stores therein a password specified by a user for each home electric appliance connected to a home network; a unit that, when a home-electric-appliance operation-request message is received, determines whether the message entry location is inside or outside the home; a unit that sends a password request message if it is determined as a result of the determination that the message entry location is outside the home; and a unit that, upon receiving a password in response to the request, determines if the received password matches the password of the controlled home electric appliance that is stored. The controller executes the operation of the home electric appliance connected to the home network only when the passwords match, thus preventing an unauthorized user outside the home from operating the home electric appliances at home.

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Kamakura, Japan

Ritsuko Kanazawa