APPARATUS AND METHOD OF SETTING RIGHTS OBJECT MAPPING TABLE

Abstract

An apparatus and a method are provided for setting a rights object mapping table. The apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table includes a transmitting module which transmits a rights object mapping table of a host device to a portable storage device, and a setting module which sets the rights object mapping table in the portable storage device. The rights object mapping table contains information for conversion between rights objects.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-33836, filed on Apr. 5, 2007 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/799,652, filed on May 12, 2006 in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to setting a rights object mapping table, and in particular, to setting a rights object mapping table that sets and manages a rights object mapping table between a host device and a portable storage device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Digital rights management (DRM) has been actively studied, and commercial services, to which DRM is applied, have been introduced or are being introduced. DRM is a technical concept to protect digital contents from unauthorized copying and distribution.

In the related art, efforts to protect digital contents have been made, but they have focused on preventing an unauthorized access to the digital contents. For example, an access to the digital contents is permitted to only a user who pays a fee, while a user who does not pay the fee cannot access the digital contents. However, because of the characteristic of digital data, the digital contents can be easily reused, processed, copied, and distributed.

Accordingly, if a user who pays a fee and accesses the digital contents copies or distributes the digital contents without authorization, a user who does not pay the fee can use the digital contents. In order to solve this problem, according to DRM, digital contents are distributed in an encrypted state. In order for a user to use the encrypted digital contents, a license called a rights object (RO) is needed.

A rights object stored in a host device is moved or copied to a portable storage device. A portable storage device, such as an XD card or a multimedia card, is easily attached and detached to and from a host device, such as a cellular phone, a computer, or a digital camera. The portable storage device passes the technical limitation in a known hard disk or compact disk. That is, it not only stores data but performs a computing function, such as data control or arithmetic. In addition, a new portable storage device, to which a security function is added to protect digital rights through security related to digital contents storage and transmission/reception, has been developed. Accordingly, DRM can be used between the portable storage device and the host device. That is, the rights object can be stored in the portable storage device, and the host device can play the encrypted contents using the rights object stored in the portable storage device.

However, it is necessary to improve availability of a storage space of the portable storage device by efficiently storing the rights object in a low-performance portable storage device. In addition, it is necessary to manage the rights object according to the version such that the rights object stored in the portable storage device can be moved to the host device and used again.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention overcome the above disadvantages and other disadvantages not described above. Also, the present invention is not required to overcome the disadvantages described above, and an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may not overcome any of the problems described above.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus and method of setting a rights object mapping table that sets and manages a rights object mapping table between a host device and a portable storage device, thereby realizing high utilization of digital contents.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table, the apparatus including a transmitting/receiving module transmitting a rights object mapping table of a host device to a portable storage device, and a setting module setting the rights object mapping table in the portable storage device. The rights object mapping table contains information for conversion between rights objects.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table, the apparatus including a transmitting/receiving module a rights object mapping table of a portable storage device to a host device, and a setting module setting the rights object mapping table in the host device. The rights object mapping table contains information for conversion between rights objects.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of setting a rights object mapping table, the method including transmitting a rights object mapping table to a portable storage device, and setting the rights object mapping table in the portable storage device. The rights object mapping table contains information for conversion between rights objects.

According to yet still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of setting a rights object mapping table, the method including transmitting a rights object mapping table to a host device, and setting the rights object mapping table in the host device. The rights object mapping table contains information for conversion between rights objects.

According to yet still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table, the apparatus including a comparison module comparing version information regarding a rights object mapping table of a host device with version information regarding a rights object mapping table of a portable storage device, and a setting module setting a rights object mapping table having latest version information in a device including a rights object mapping table having earlier version information according to the comparison result. The rights object mapping table contains information for conversion between rights objects.

According to yet still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of setting a rights object mapping table, the method including comparing version information regarding a rights object mapping table thereof with version information regarding a rights object mapping table of a portable storage device, and setting a rights object mapping table having latest version information therein or in the portable storage device including a rights object mapping table having earlier version information according to the comparison result. The rights object mapping table contains information for conversion between rights objects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a rights object in a markup language;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a rights object mapping table that is used for interconversion between an XML RO and a binary XML RO;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams showing a process of setting or updating a rights object mapping table in a portable storage device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention when a rights object is moved (or copied) from a host device to a portable storage device;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams a process of setting or updating a rights object mapping table in a host device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention when a rights object is moved (or copied) from a portable storage device to a host device; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of accomplishing the same may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concept of the present invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention will only be defined by the appended claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Before the detailed description is set forth, terms used in this specification will be briefly described. The descriptions of the terms are to be construed for providing a better understanding of the specification and the terms that are not explicitly defined herein are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention.

A rights object is a type of permission to use encrypted contents. Types of permission include “Play”, “Display”, “Execute”, “Print”, “Export” (Copy or Move), and “Inspect” the encrypted contents. Examples of ROs in the present invention are the same as those defined for an OMA DRM (Open Mobile Alliance Digital Rights Management) system.

A host device is connectable to a portable storage device and enables playing back of encrypted contents using a rights object stored in the portable storage device. Exemplary host devices are portable multimedia devices, such as cellular phones, PDAs, or MP3 players, or fixed multimedia devices, such as computers or digital TVs.

A portable storage device includes a nonvolatile memory, such as a flash memory, which data can be written to, read from, and deleted from, which has a data arithmetic function, and which can be connected/disconnected to/from a host device. Examples of such a portable storage device include smart media, memory sticks, compact flash (CF) cards, XD cards, and multimedia cards. In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the portable storage device may be a multimedia card having a predetermined security function.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a rights object in a markup language.

A rights object can be expressed by a markup language, and permission information 100, constraint information 110, and version information 120 of the rights object can be included in tags of the markup language. The “Play” component 102 may be set as the permission information 100 and “datetime constraint” 112 may be set as the constraint information 110 regarding the “Play” component 102. The permission information 100 indicates a play-back type of a contents object and a copy type of a rights object. Here, the contents object is a digital content in an encrypted state. Examples of the digital contents include moving pictures, still pictures, audio, games, and texts. Examples of the play-back type include “Play” 102, “Display”, “Execute”, and “Print”. Here, “Play” 102 indicates rights to express a contents object in an audio/video format. The constraint information 110 refers to constraints on allowing a contents object to be played back, and one or more kinds of constraint information 110 may be set for the permission information 100. Examples of the constraint information 110 include count constraint, datetime constraint 112, interval constraint, and accumulated constraint.

As such, the permission information 100 and the constraint information 110 that are included in the tags of the markup language become elements of a rights object mapping table that is used for conversion of rights objects between a host device and a portable storage device shown in FIG. 2. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, for example, an Extensible Markup Language (XML) will be described as a markup language, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a rights object mapping table that is used for interconversion between an XML RO and a binary XML RO.

The rights object (RO) is divided into, for example, an XML RO and a binary XML RO. In the XML RO, permission information, constraint information, and version information of the rights object are included in the tags of the XML, and in the binary XML RO, code values corresponding to the XML RO are included. Of course, the permission information and the constraint information of the rights object may be included in the tags of various markup languages other than the XML. Further, the code values corresponding to the XML tags may be binary code values of 0 (zero) and 1, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the code values can be expressed in various ways, such as code values using octal, decimal, or hexadecimal notation, or values calculated according to a predetermined rule.

A high-performance device, such as a host device, can use the XML RO, and a low-performance device, such as a portable storage device, can use the binary XML RO. Accordingly, a rights object mapping table is defined for interconversion between the XML RO and the binary XML RO, and then the rights object mapping table can be referred to when a rights object is converted into a rights object having a different format.

As shown in FIG. 2, a rights object mapping table 200 for conversion of the rights object contains XML tag information 202 having permission information, constraint information, and version information of the rights object and code values 204 corresponding to the tags. Accordingly, for the interconversion between the XML RO and the binary XML RO, the XML tag information 202 and the code values 204 corresponding to the tags defined in the rights object mapping table 200 can be used. For example, the host device can convert the binary XML RO of the portable storage device into the XML RO using the code values defined in the rights object mapping table 200. Specifically, if information (that is, the code value) mapped to the binary XML RO of the portable storage device exists in the rights object mapping table 200, the XML RO converted with the XML tag information 202 can be obtained.

The documents “WAP-192_—105-WBXML-20011015-a, Version 15 Oct. 2001”, “WAP-192-WBXML-20010725-a, Version 1.3, 25 July 2001”, and “OMA DRM 2.0 specification, Open Mobile Alliance” are the documents to refer to the above description and are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirely.

Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. For reference, in FIGS. 3 to 6, it is determined whether to set or update a rights object mapping table using version information of the rights object mapping table when setting or updating the rights object mapping table, but this is just an example. For example, in addition to the version information of the rights object mapping table, various kinds of information in the rights object mapping table (for example, permission information and constraint information of the rights object) may be used. In this case, when the content of an existing rights object mapping table is different from the content of a rights object mapping table to be compared, the content of the existing rights object mapping table may be updated to reflect upgrades.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams showing a process of setting or updating a rights object mapping table in a portable storage device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention when a rights object is moved (or copied) from a host device to a portable storage device.

As shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the rights object mapping table 210 is stored in the host device, and no rights object mapping table or a rights object mapping table having earlier version than the rights object mapping table stored in the host device is stored in the portable storage device. As shown in FIG. 1, the version information of the rights object mapping table may be recognized by the version information 120 of the rights object, or the version information of the rights object mapping table may be managed separately from the rights object.

As shown in FIG. 4, the host device transmits a request message to the portable storage device to set a rights object in the portable storage device (S401).

The portable storage device that receives the request message secures a storage space to set the rights object (S411) and transmits a reply message to the host device (S421). At this time, the reply message can include information regarding whether or not a rights object mapping table is set in the portable storage device, version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device, and the like.

When the received reply message includes the version information of the rights object mapping table, the host device compares that with the version information regarding the rights object mapping table 210 thereof (S431).

If the version information (for example, version 2.0) regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device 210 is later than version information (for example, version 1.0) regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device, a request message is transmitted to the portable storage device to update the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device (S441). At this time, the term “update” means that a new rights object mapping table is set or a change (or upgrade) is reflected in the existing rights object mapping table. If no rights object mapping table is set in the portable storage device, the host device transmits a request message to the portable storage device to set a rights object mapping table in the portable storage device.

At this time, the request message to update or set the rights object mapping table can include the rights object mapping table 210 of the host device. The rights object mapping table 210 can be transmitted through a multimedia card in a predetermined file format.

Hereinafter, the portable storage device updates the existing rights object mapping table with the received rights object mapping table 210 or sets the received rights object mapping table 210 (S45 1) and transmits a reply message regarding the update or setting result to the host device (S461). At this time, the update or setting of the rights object mapping table 210 can be made by a predetermined module in the host device.

Next, the host device transmits a rights object to the portable storage device (S471). At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, a rights object (for example, an XML RO) 310 of the host device is converted (302) into a binary XML RO 320 through the rights object mapping table of the host device 210 before set in the portable storage device and then transmitted to the portable storage device. That is, the host device can convert (302) the rights object 310 of the host device into the binary XML RO 320 using the code values corresponding to the tag information of the rights object 310 of the host device through the rights object mapping table 210.

Next, the portable storage device sets the rights object (S481) and then transmits a reply message regarding the setting result to the host device (S491). At this time, the setting of the rights object can be made by a predetermined module in the host device.

Thereafter, when the rights object is set in the portable storage device, the host device transmits a request message to the portable storage device to end the setting of the rights object. Then, the portable storage device ends the setting of the rights object and transmits the setting result to the host device (not shown).

Through operations S401 to S491, the rights object and the rights object mapping table are set or updated in the portable storage device, and the rights object or the rights object mapping table in the host device is deleted or changed to an unusable state.

Further, the sequence of operations S401 to S491 may be changed according to the configuration of the present invention or some of them may be omitted. For example, a process (302) of converting the XML RO 310 into the binary XML RO 320 may be performed at a predetermined step of the above-described process (operations S401 to S491). Further, before the rights object mapping table 210 is set in the portable storage device, the rights object may be set in the portable storage device.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing a process of setting or updating a rights object mapping table in a host device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention when a rights object is moved (or copied) from a portable storage device to a host device.

As shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that a rights object mapping table A 220 is stored in the portable storage device, a rights object mapping table B 230 is stored in the host device, and a binary XML RO 510 (or XML RO) is stored in the portable storage device.

As shown in FIG. 6, the host device transmits a request message to the portable storage device to set a rights object, which is stored in the portable storage device, in the host device (S601).

The portable storage device that receives the request message searches the position of the rights object and version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device, and transmits a reply message to the host device (S61 1). At this time, the reply message can include information regarding the position of the rights object and the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device.

When the received reply message includes the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device, the host device compares that with version information regarding the rights object mapping table thereof (S63 1).

If the version information (for example, version 1.0) regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device is earlier than version information (for example, version 2.0) regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device, a request message is transmitted to the portable storage device to update the rights object mapping table in the portable storage device with the rights object mapping table of the host device (S641).

If the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device is later than the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device, operation S641 is performed, such that the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device can be updated. Further, when there is no rights object mapping table in the host device, a request message is transmitted to the portable storage device to set a rights object mapping table in the host device.

Thereafter, the portable storage device transmits the latest rights object mapping table thereof to the host device (S651). At this time, the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device can be transmitted to the host device in a predetermined file format.

Next, the host device updates the rights object mapping table thereof using the rights object mapping table received from the portable storage device (S661), and request the host device to transmit a rights object (S671). If there is no rights object mapping table in the host device, the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device can be newly set in the host device.

Next, the portable storage device transmits the rights object (binary XML RO) to the host device (S681).

The host device sets the received rights object (S691). At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, when the rights object of the portable storage device is a binary XML RO 510, the host device can convert (502) the binary XML RO 510 into an XML RO 520 through the updated rights object mapping table B 230 thereof and set the converted XML RO 520.

Thereafter, after the rights object is set, the host device can transmit a request message to end the move of the rights object, and the portable storage device can transmit a reply message to the host device after ending the move of the rights object (not shown).

Through operations S601 to S691, the rights object mapping table B 230 of the host device is set or updated using the rights object mapping table A 220 of the portable storage device. Further, the binary XML RO 510 of the portable storage device is converted (502) into the XML RO 520 through the rights object mapping table B 230 of a host device and the XML RO 520 is used for the use of the contents.

Further, the sequence of operations S601 to S691 can be changed according to the configuration of the present invention or some of them can be omitted. For example, when there is no rights object mapping table in the host device, and a new rights object mapping table is set from the portable storage device, the rights object (binary XML RO) may be first set in the host device and then the rights object mapping table may be set in the host device. Alternatively, according to the set rights object mapping table, the binary XML RO may be converted into the XML RO.

In addition, in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device may be kept as it is, and the rights object mapping table of the host device may be set in the portable storage device. Further, in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the rights object mapping table of the host device may be kept as it is, and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device may be set in the host device. Then, the conversion of the rights object is performed on the basis of the installed rights object mapping table.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

An apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table 700 includes a transmitting/receiving module 710, a comparison module 720, a setting module 730, and a conversion module 740. The components of the apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table 700 may be implemented in the host device or the portable storage device according to an implementation method. For example, when the setting module 730 is provided in the host device, the host device can independently set the rights object mapping table in the portable storage device. In contrast, when the setting module 730 is provided in the portable storage device, the portable storage device can independently receive the rights object mapping table from the host device and set the received rights object mapping table in the portable storage device. Preferably, but not necessarily, the functions of the transmitting/receiving module 710, the comparison module 720, the setting module 730, and the conversion module 740 are implemented in the host device. Alternatively, the functions of the transmitting/receiving module 710 and the comparison module 720 may be implemented in the portable storage device. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. If necessary, the individual modules can be configured in various ways. Hereinafter, the individual components will be described in detail.

The transmitting/receiving module 710 transmits/receives data between the host device and the portable storage device. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the transmitting/receiving module 710 can transmit/receive various request messages, reply messages, rights objects, and rights object mapping tables between the host device and the portable storage device. To this end, the transmitting/receiving module 710 can include an interface (not shown). The interface allows the host device to be connected to the portable storage device. In the present invention, when the host device is connected to the portable storage device, the host device and the portable storage device are electrically connected to each other through each interface. However, this is just an example, and “being connected” may also imply that the two devices can communicate with each other through a wireless medium in a non-contact state.

When there is a rights object mapping table in the portable storage device, the comparison module 720 compares the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device with the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device. To this end, the comparison module 720 can include a search module 725 that searches the version information of the rights object mapping table. The search module 725 can also be used to search positional information of the rights object of the portable storage device or the host device.

When there is no rights object mapping table in the portable storage device, the comparison module 720 can set the rights object mapping table of the host device in the portable storage device by the setting module 730 described below. Further, when there is no rights object mapping table in the host device, the comparison module 720 can set the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device in the host device by the setting module 730 described below.

Further, when it is determined that the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device is earlier than the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device, the comparison module 720 can update the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device using information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device by the setting module 730 described below. Similarly, when it is determined that the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device is later than the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device, the comparison module 720 can update the rights object mapping table of the host device using information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device by the setting module 730 described below.

The setting module 730 sets the rights object mapping table of the host device in the portable storage device. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the setting module 730 can set the rights object mapping table of the host device in the portable storage device, in which there is no rights object mapping table or there is a rights object mapping table having version earlier than the rights object mapping table of the host device. At this time, when the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device is earlier than the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device, the setting module 730 can update the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device using the rights object mapping table of the host device. Further, when the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the setting module 730 can keep the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device as it is and set the rights object mapping table of the host device in the portable storage device.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the setting module 730 can set the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device in the host device, in which there is no rights object mapping table or there is a rights object mapping table earlier than the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device. At this time, when the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device is earlier than the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device, the setting module 730 can update the rights object mapping table of the host device using the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device. The term “setting” may include “update” or may imply that required information is stored in a predetermined device. Further, when the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the setting module 730 can keep the rights object mapping table of the host device as it is and set the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device in the host device.

In addition, the setting module 730 can set a predetermined rights object in the host device or the portable storage device. The details can refer to the descriptions with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

The conversion module 740 converts a rights object, which allows a specific contents object of the host device to be executed, into a rights object having a predetermined format using the rights object mapping table of the host device, and transmits the converted rights object to the portable storage device through the transmitting/receiving module 710. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the conversion module 740 can convert an XML RO having an XML format into a binary XML RO having a binary format using the rights object mapping table of the host device. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the conversion module 740 can convert a binary XML RO into an XML RO, which allows a specific contents object to be executed, using the rights object mapping table of the host device. As such, with the conversion of the rights object, the storage space of the portable storage device can be efficiently used. When the apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table 700 is implemented in the portable storage device, the conversion module 740 can be omitted.

The term “module”, as used herein, means, but is not limited to, a software or hardware component, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which performs certain tasks. A module may advantageously be configured to reside on the addressable storage medium and configured to execute on one or more processors. The functionality provided for in the components and modules may be combined into fewer components and modules or further separated into additional components and modules.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the above exemplary embodiments are not limitative, but illustrative in all aspects.

According to the apparatus and method of setting a rights object mapping table of the present invention, the following effects may be obtained.

First, since the host device converts the rights object into a rights object having a predetermined format through the rights object mapping table and moves (or copies) the converted rights object to the portable storage device, efficiency and availability of the storage space of the portable storage device can be improved.

Second, since the rights object mapping table can be set or updated when the rights object moves between the host device and the portable storage device, the play back of the digital contents on the host device can be prevented from being obstructed due to different rights object mapping tables.

Third, when the host device is an offline device, the rights object mapping table of the host device can be updated or set by portable storage device without needing a complex procedure.

Claims

1. An apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table, the apparatus comprising:

a transmitting module which transmits a rights object mapping table of a host device to a portable storage device; and

a setting module which sets the rights object mapping table in the portable storage device,

wherein the rights object mapping table comprises information for conversion between rights objects.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a conversion module which uses the rights object mapping table to convert a rights object, which allows a specific contents object of the host device to be executed, into a rights object having a predetermined format and transmits the converted rights object to the portable storage device, or uses the rights object mapping table convert a rights object having a predetermined format received from the portable storage device into a rights object, which allows a specific contents object of the host device to be executed.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, if version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device is earlier than version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device, the setting module updates the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device using information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information for conversion between rights objects comprises at least one of permission information, constraint information, and version information of the rights objects.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information for conversion between rights objects comprises code values corresponding to tag information of the rights objects.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, if the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the setting module keeps the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device as it is and sets the rights object mapping table of the host device in the portable storage device.

7. An apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table, the apparatus comprising:

a transmitting module which transmits a rights object mapping table of a portable storage device to a host device; and

a setting module which sets the rights object mapping table in the host device,

wherein the rights object mapping table comprises information for conversion between rights objects.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

a search module which searches version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device and positional information of the rights objects.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein, if version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device is earlier than version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device, the setting module updates the rights object mapping table of the host device using information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the information for conversion between rights objects comprises at least one of permission information, constraint information, and version information of the rights objects.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the information for conversion between rights objects comprises code values corresponding to tag information of the rights objects.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein, if the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the setting module keeps the rights object mapping table of the host device as it is and sets the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device in the host device.

13. A method of setting a rights object mapping table, the method comprising:

transmitting a rights object mapping table to a portable storage device; and

setting the rights object mapping table in the portable storage device,

wherein the rights object mapping table comprises information for conversion between rights objects.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

converting a rights object, which allows a specific contents object of a host device to be executed, into a rights object having a predetermined format using the rights object mapping table, and transmitting the converted rights object to the portable storage device.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

converting a rights object having a predetermined format received from the portable storage device into a rights object, which allows a specific contents object of the host device to be executed, using the rights object mapping table.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein, if version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device is earlier than version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device, the setting comprises causing the host device to update the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device using information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein, if the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the setting comprises causing the host device to keep the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device as it is and to set the rights object mapping table of the host device in the portable storage device.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the information for conversion between rights objects comprises at least one of permission information, constraint information, and version information of the rights objects and code values corresponding to tag information of the rights objects.

19. A method of setting a rights object mapping table, the method comprising:

transmitting a rights object mapping table to a host device; and

setting the rights object mapping table in the host device,

wherein the rights object mapping table comprises information for conversion between rights objects.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, if version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device is earlier than version information regarding the rights object mapping table of a portable storage device, the setting comprises causing the portable storage device to update the rights object mapping table of the host device using information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein, if the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the setting comprises causing the portable storage device to keep the rights object mapping table of the host device as it is and to set the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device in the host device.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the information for conversion between rights objects comprises at least one of permission information, constraint information, and version information of the rights objects and code values corresponding to tag information of the rights objects.

23. An apparatus for setting a rights object mapping table, the apparatus comprising:

a comparison module which compares version information regarding a rights object mapping table of a host device with version information regarding a rights object mapping table of a portable storage device; and

a setting module which sets a rights object mapping table having latest version information in a device including a rights object mapping table having earlier version information according to a result of the comparison by the comparison module,

wherein the rights object mapping table comprises information for conversion between rights objects.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising:

a conversion module which uses the rights object mapping table to convert a rights object, which allows a specific contents object of the host device to be executed, into a rights object having a predetermined format and transmits the converted rights object to the portable storage device, or uses the rights object mapping table to convert a rights object having a predetermined format received from the portable storage device into a rights object, which allows a specific contents object of the host device to be executed.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein, if the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device is earlier than the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device, and the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the setting module keeps the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device as it is and sets the rights object mapping table of the host device in the portable storage device.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein, if the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device is earlier than the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device, and the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the setting module keeps the rights object mapping table of the host device as it is and sets the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device in the host device.

27. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the information for conversion between rights objects comprises at least one of permission information, constraint information, and version information of the rights objects, and code values corresponding to tag information of the rights objects.

28. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the setting module compares the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device with the rights object mapping table of the host device and updates a rights object mapping table having earlier version information to reflect upgrades.

29. A method of setting a rights object mapping table, the method comprising:

comparing version information regarding a rights object mapping table thereof with version information regarding a rights object mapping table of a portable storage device; and

setting a rights object mapping table having latest version information therein or in the portable storage device including a rights object mapping table having earlier version information according to the comparison result,

wherein the rights object mapping table comprises information for conversion between rights objects.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

converting a rights object, which allows a specific contents object thereof to be executed, into a rights object having a predetermined format using the rights object mapping table, and transmitting the converted rights object to the portable storage device.

31. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

converting a rights object having a predetermined format received from the portable storage device into a rights object, which allows a specific contents object of a host device to be executed.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein, if the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device is earlier than the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device, and the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the setting comprises causing the host device to keep the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device as it is and to set the rights object mapping table of the host device in the portable storage device.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein, if the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device is earlier than the version information regarding the rights object mapping table of the host device, and the rights object mapping table of the host device and the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device are incompatible with each other, the setting comprises causing the host device to keep the rights object mapping table of the host device as it is and to set the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device in the host device.

34. The method of claim 29, wherein the information for conversion between rights objects comprises at least one of permission information, constraint information, and version information of the rights objects, and code values corresponding to tag information of the rights objects.

35. The method of claim 29, wherein the setting comprises causing the host device to compare the rights object mapping table of the portable storage device with the rights object mapping table of the host device and to update a rights object mapping table having earlier version information to reflect upgrades.