Customized user-controlled media overlays

• US 10,203,855 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2016
• Issued: 02/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Inventors: Al Majid, Newar Husam, Chang, Sheldon, Gong, Yunchao, Ouimet, Kirk, Zhao, Haibo
• Primary Examiner(s): Shiau, Shen
• Application Number:
  US15/374,862
• Publication Number:
  US 20180164986A1
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/464 Multimedia object, e.g. image, video
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1242 Image or content composition onto a page
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/543 User-generated data transfer, e.g. clipboards, dynamic data exchange [DDE], object linking and embedding [OLE]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20104 Interactive definition of region of interest [ROI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 Region-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure improve the functionality of electronic messaging and imaging software and systems by enabling users to generate customized media overlays that can be shared with other users. For example, media overlays can be generated by the system and displayed in conjunction with media content (e.g., images and/or video) generated by an image-capturing device (e.g., a digital camera). In some embodiments, existing media overlays may be used by users to create derivative media overlays. The system may track usage of media overlays and any derivatives created based thereon, and allow users to control the distribution and use of their overlays in future derivatives. In some embodiments, for example, a user can modify an overlay they created and cause the modification to propagate to all derivative overlays based on the user'"'"'s overlay.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor;

a user interface coupled to the processor, the user interface comprising an input device and a display screen; and

memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising;

causing an image to be displayed on the display screen of the user interface;

receiving input, via the input device of the user interface, from a user of the system selecting an object within the image;

generating a media overlay containing the selected object;

transmitting the media overlay to a server;

receiving input from the user via the input device of the user interface for controlling usage of the media overlay; and

in response to the input from the user for controlling usage of the media overlay, transmitting instructions for controlling usage of the media overlay by other computing devices to the server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from the server, a uniform resource locator link to the media overlay.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

receiving input from the user via the input device of the user interface for sharing the uniform resource locator to the media overlay with a computing device of a second user; and

in response to receiving the input for sharing the uniform resource locator to the media overlay, transmitting an electronic communication containing the uniform resource locator to the computing device of the second user.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the system includes a token in the electronic communication that limits access to the uniform resource locator to the computing device of the second user and prevents access to the uniform resource locator by other computing devices.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the uniform resource locator is accessible by other computing devices receiving the electronic communication receiving the electronic communication from the computing device of the second user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein generating the media overlay includes generating a geolocation field in a data structure for the media overlay that includes location information received from a location sensor coupled to the system.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein generating the media overlay includes generating a name field in a data structure for the media overlay that includes a name for the overlay received from the user via the input device of the user interface.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the system prevents the user from modifying the name field in the data structure for the media overlay after the media overlay is transmitted to the server.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from the server, a second image having a second media overly applied to the second image; and

causing the second image to be displayed on the display screen of the user interface.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

retrieving the second media overlay applied to the second image in response to selection of the second media overlay by the user via the input device of the user interface; and

applying the second media overlay to a third image displayed on the display screen of the user interface.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein causing the second image to be displayed includes causing a name associated with the second media overlay and an identifier associated with a user who created the second media overlay to be displayed.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the second image has a plurality of media overlays applied to the second image and wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

retrieving one or more random media overlays from the plurality of media overlays applied to the second image.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from the server, information on usage of the media overlay by one or more other users via a respective one or more other computing devices; and

causing the information to be displayed on the usage of the media overlay on the display screen of the user interface.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the usage information includes one or more of:

a number of views of the media overlay, a number of applications of the media overlay, and information regarding derivative media overlays created based on the media overlay.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the usage information includes information regarding derivative media overlays and wherein the input from the user for controlling usage of the media overlay includes deleting the media overlay by the user to cause the server to delete the derivative media overlays.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the usage information includes information regarding derivative media overlays and wherein the input from the user for controlling usage of the media overlay includes performing a modification to the media overlay by the user to cause the server to perform the modification to the derivative media overlays.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the usage information includes information regarding derivative media overlays and wherein the input from the user for controlling usage of the media overlay includes input for selectively deleting or modifying one or more derivative overlays from a plurality of derivative media overlays.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions for controlling usage of the overlay includes instructions for controlling distribution of the overlay according to one or more of:

a whitelist, a blacklist, and a geographical location.

19. A computer-implemented method comprising:

causing, by a computer system, an image to be displayed on a display screen of a user interface coupled to the computing device;

receiving, by the computer system, input from a user of the computer system via an input device of the user interface selecting an object within the image;

generating, by the computer system, a media overlay containing the selected object;

transmitting, by the computer system, the media overlay to a server;

receiving, by the computer system, input from the user via the input device of the user interface for controlling usage of the media overlay; and

in response to the input from the user for controlling usage of the media overlay, transmitting, by the computer system, instructions for controlling usage of the media overlay by other computing devices to the server.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations comprising:

causing an image to be displayed on a display screen of a user interface coupled to the computer system;

receiving input, via an input device of the user interface, from a user of the system selecting an object within the image;

generating a media overlay containing the selected object;

transmitting the media overlay to a server;

receiving input from the user via the input device of the user interface for controlling usage of the media overlay; and

in response to the input from the user for controlling usage of the media overlay, transmitting instructions for controlling usage of the media overlay by other computing devices to the server.