Patents Portfolio

U.S. Patent: 9,965,233

Patent Title

Digital content services or stores over the internet that transmit or stream protected or encrypted digital content to connected devices and applications that access the digital content services or stores

Meta Information

Issued Date: May. 8, 2018
Inventor: William Ho Chang et al
External Links: UPSTO, Google Patents

Technical Fields

Smart Phone / Tablet, Smart TV, Printer, Smart Watch, Streaming Device, Laptop, Projector

Abstract

Digital content services provided over the Internet for transmitting or streaming protected digital content to information apparatus or output devices are herein disclosed and enabled. The protected digital content is encrypted and device dependent or specific for rendering at a limited number of devices including smart phones, information pads, audio players, media controllers, televisions, printers etc. To illustrate, an information apparatus may include an application for accessing selected digital content from a subscribed content service or store over the Internet. To access digital content, a client application may send, to the content service or store, authentication information, payment or subscription information, and/or a reference to selected digital content. The service then generates encrypted device dependent output data associated with a device or identification previously registered with the service for transmitting or streaming, to the information apparatus or output devices (e.g., televisions, speakers, media controllers), the digital content for rendering.

Sample Claim

1. A method of operating a digital content service for providing digital content over a network that includes the Internet to an information apparatus or a device for rendering, the digital content service including:

one or more servers for providing the digital content to the information apparatus or to the device, the one or more servers being distinct and separate from the information apparatus or the device, and

one or more server applications executable at the one or more servers for managing at least part of the digital content service, the digital content service method comprising:

receiving, from the information apparatus or the device and by the one or more servers, security or authentication information associated with a user operating the information apparatus or the device for authentication of the user, and in dependence of successful authentication of the user, enabling the user access to the digital content service;

receiving, from the information apparatus or the device and by the one or more servers, payment or subscription information associated with the user for accessing one or more digital content that are available at the one or more servers operated, at least in part, by the digital content service;

receiving, at the one or more servers, a device object from the information apparatus or the device over the network that includes the Internet, the device object including device information related to one or more devices, and the device information corresponding to at least one of device identification information, device address information, device capability information, model information, brand information, or registration information, individually or in any combination, and the one or more devices include the information apparatus or the device;

providing, to the information apparatus or the device and by the one or more servers, one or more pointers or references to at least part of the one or more digital content available at the one or more servers for selection by the user at the information apparatus or the device;

receiving, at the one or more servers and from the information apparatus or the device, at least a pointer or reference to selected digital content from among the one or more pointers or references provided, by the one or more servers, to the information apparatus or the device;

retrieving, by the one or more server applications, at least part of the selected digital content from the one or more servers employing, at least in part, the pointer or reference to the selected digital content received from the information apparatus or the device;

generating output data, at the one or more servers using the one or more server applications, the output data being related to at least part of the selected digital content, and the generating of the output data including:

applying, by the one or more server applications, an encoding operation on at least part of the selected digital content, and

applying, by the one or more server applications, an encryption scheme on at least part of the selected digital content for ensuring security of at least part of the selected digital content, and wherein, subsequent to applying the encoding operation and the encryption scheme on at least part of the selected digital content, the selected digital content is, at least in part, device dependent for rendering at the one or more devices; and

transmitting, by the one or more servers, at least part of the generated output data to the information apparatus or the device for rendering at least part of the selected digital content at the one or more devices; and

wherein the generated output data is, at least in part, device dependent to the one or more devices, and the generated output data having a relationship, at least in part, to the device information included in the device object and received by the one or more servers from the information apparatus or the device over the network that includes the Internet, and wherein the transmitting of at least part of the generated output data by the one or more servers to the information apparatus or the device is subsequent to having received the security or authentication information associated with the user operating the information apparatus or the device, and the transmitting of at least part of the generated output data is based, at least in part, on having received, from the information apparatus or the device, the payment or subscription information.