Monitoring nearby mobile computing devices to prevent digital content misuse

• US 10,339,278 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2016
• Issued: 07/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SR Labs, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Screening Room Media, Inc.
• Inventors: Baldwin, James Armand, Akkaraju, Prem, Vanzini, Giorgio
• Primary Examiner(s): McNally, Michael S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lin, Amie C.
• Application Number:
  US15/344,303
• Publication Number:
  US 20170124300A1
• Time in Patent Office: 970 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 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1078 Logging; Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/42 using separate channels for security data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method for preventing digital content misuse can include presenting, by a client-side computing device, digital content that was received from a remote server; detecting, by the client-side computing device, a number of mobile computing devices that are within a geographic distance of the client-side computing device; determining, based on the number of mobile computing device that are within the geographic distance of the client-side computing device, that a number of users viewing the digital content exceeds a threshold number of authorized users associated with the digital content; and in response to determining that the number of users viewing the digital content exceeds the threshold number of authorized users associated with the digital content, executing a first remedial action.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting, by a client-side computing device, a request to a remote server to initiate presentation of a digital content item, the remote server facilitating presentation of multiple digital content items, the client-side computing device being associated with a first user account

receiving, from the remoter server, the digital content item and data identifying a threshold number of users that are authorized to view presentation of the digital content item by the client-side computing device, the threshold number of users being based on a number of known inhabitants of a dwelling associated with the first user account

initiating, by the client-side computing device, presentation of the digital content item on a display of a viewing device;

after initiating presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device, detecting, by the client-side computing device, a number of mobile computing devices that are within a geographic distance of the client-side computing device;

determining, based on the number of mobile computing device that are within the geographic distance of the client-side computing device, a number of users that are viewing the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device;

determining that the number of users viewing the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device exceeds the threshold number of users that are authorized to view presentation of the digital content item by the client-side computing device; and

in response to determining that the number of users viewing the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device exceeds the threshold number of users that are authorized to view presentation of the digital content item by the client-side computing device, halting the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting the number of mobile computing devices that are within the geographic distance of the client-side computing device comprises:

scanning a home network for mobile computing devices that are connected to the network via Wi-Fi.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting the number of mobile computing devices that are within the geographic distance of the client-side computing device comprises:

scanning for mobile computing devices that are emitting a Bluetooth signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold number of users is further based on a license acquired for the digital content item.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after halting the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device, disabling the client-side computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after halting the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device, receiving a command from the remote server to resume the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device; and

in response to receiving the command, resuming the performance of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing social media activity of a user associated with the first user account to be scanned for postings made by the user that indicate that the user is allowing unauthorized access to the digital content.

8. A client-side computing device comprising:

one or more computer processors; and

one or more computer-readable mediums storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause the client-side computing device to perform operations comprising;

transmitting a request to a remote server to initiate presentation of a digital content item, the remote server facilitating presentation of multiple digital content items, the client-side computing device being associated with a first user account;

receiving, from the remoter server, the digital content item and data identifying a threshold number of users that are authorized to view presentation of the digital content item by the client-side computing device, the threshold number of users being based on a number of known inhabitants of a dwelling associated with the first user account;

initiating presentation of the digital content item on a display of a viewing device;

after initiating presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device, detecting a number of mobile computing devices that are within a geographic distance of the client-side computing device;

determining, based on the number of mobile computing device that are within the geographic distance of the client-side computing device, a number of users that are viewing the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device;

determining that the number of users viewing the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device exceeds the threshold number of users that are authorized to view presentation of the digital content item by the client-side computing device; and

in response to determining that the number of users viewing the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device exceeds the threshold number of users that are authorized to view presentation of the digital content item by the client-side computing device, halting the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device.

9. The client-side computing device of claim 8, wherein detecting the number of mobile computing devices that are within the geographic distance of the client-side computing device comprises:

scanning a home network for mobile computing devices that are connected to the network via Wi-Fi.

10. The client-side computing device of claim 8, wherein detecting the number of mobile computing devices that are within the geographic distance of the client-side computing device comprises:

scanning for mobile computing devices that are emitting a Bluetooth signal.

11. The client-side computing device of claim 8, wherein the threshold number of users is further based on a license acquired for the digital content item.

12. The client-side computing device of claim 8, the operations further comprising:

after halting the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device, disabling the client-side computing device.

13. The client-side computing device of claim 8, the operations further comprising:

after halting the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device, receiving a command from the remote server to resume the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device; and

in response to receiving the command, resuming the performance of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device.

14. The client-side computing device of claim 8, the operations further comprising:

causing social media activity of a user associated with the first user account to be scanned for postings made by the user that indicate that the user is allowing unauthorized access to the digital content.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more computer processors of a client-side computing device, cause the client-side computing device to perform operations comprising:

transmitting a request to a remote server to initiate presentation of a digital content item, the remote server facilitating presentation of multiple digital content items, the client-side computing device being associated with a first user account;

receiving, from the remoter server, the digital content item and data identifying a threshold number of users that are authorized to view presentation of the digital content item by the client-side computing device, the threshold number of users being based on a number of known inhabitants of a dwelling associated with the first user account;

initiating presentation of the digital content item on a display of a viewing device;

after initiating presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device, detecting a number of mobile computing devices that are within a geographic distance of the client-side computing device;

determining, based on the number of mobile computing device that are within the geographic distance of the client-side computing device, a number of users that are viewing the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device;

determining that the number of users viewing the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device exceeds the threshold number of users that are authorized to view presentation of the digital content item by the client-side computing device; and

in response to determining that the number of users viewing the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device exceeds the threshold number of users that are authorized to view presentation of the digital content item by the client-side computing device, halting the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein detecting the number of mobile computing devices that are within the geographic distance of the client-side computing device comprises:

scanning a home network for mobile computing devices that are connected to the network via Wi-Fi.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein detecting the number of mobile computing devices that are within the geographic distance of the client-side computing device comprises:

scanning for mobile computing devices that are emitting a Bluetooth signal.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the threshold number of users is further based on a license acquired for the digital content item.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, the operations further comprising:

after halting the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device, disabling the client-side computing device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, the operations further comprising:

after halting the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device, receiving a command from the remote server to resume the presentation of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device; and

in response to receiving the command, resuming the performance of the digital content item on the display of the viewing device.