Monitoring location of a client-side digital content delivery device to prevent digital content misuse

• US 10,395,011 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2016
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• 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): Cribbs, Malcolm
• Application Number:
  US15/344,269
• Publication Number:
  US 20170124296A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,026 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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

In some embodiments, a method for preventing digital content misuse can include receiving, by a client-side computing device, digital content from a remote server; determining, by the client-side computing device, a current location of the client-side computing device; determining, based on the current location of the client-side computing device, that the client-side computing device is outside of a predetermined geographic area in which the client-side computing device is authorized to present the digital content; and in response to determining that the client-side computing device is outside of the predetermined geographic area, executing a 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 movie on a display device, the remote server facilitating presentation of multiple digital movies, the client-side computing device being associated with a first user account, the first user account including data identifying a geographic location of a dwelling associated with the first user account;

receiving, by the client-side computing device, a data stream of the digital movie and data identifying the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account from a remote server, the remote server having accessed the data identifying the geographic location of the dwelling from the first user account;

initiating, by the client-side computing device, presentation of the digital movie on a display of the display device, the display device being different than the client-side computing device;

determining, by the client-side computing device, a current location of the client-side computing device;

determining, based on the current location of the client-side computing device and the data identifying the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account, that the client-side computing device is outside of a predetermined radius from the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account; and

in response to determining that the client-side computing device is outside of the predetermined radius from the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account;

halting presentation of the digital movie on the display of the display device, and

scanning social media activity of a user associated with the client-side computing device for postings made by the user that indicate that the user is misusing the digital movie.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the current location of the client-side computing device is determined using a Global Positioning Service (GPS).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the current location of the client-side computing device is determined using cell tower triangulation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined radius from the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account is based on a license acquired for the digital movie.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

terminating performance of the digital movie; and

disabling the client-side computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

suspending presentation of the digital movie.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a command from the remote server to resume presentation of the digital movie; and

in response to receiving the command, resuming performance of the digital movie.

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, causes the client-side computing device to perform operations comprising;

transmitting a request to a remote server to initiate presentation of a digital movie on a display device, the remote server facilitating presentation of multiple digital movies, the client-side computing device being associated with a first user account, the first user account including data identifying a geographic location of a dwelling associated with the first user account;

receiving a data stream of the digital movie and data identifying the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account from a remote server, the remote server having accessed the data identifying the geographic location of the dwelling from the first user account;

initiating presentation of the digital movie on a display of the display device, the display device being different than the client-side computing device;

determining a current location of the client-side computing device;

determining, based on the current location of the client-side computing device and the data identifying the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account, that the client-side computing device is outside of a predetermined radius from the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account; and

in response to determining that the client-side computing device is outside of the predetermined radius from the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account;

halting presentation of the digital movie on the display of the display device, and

scanning social media activity of a user associated with the client-side computing device for postings made by the user that indicate that the user is misusing the digital movie.

9. The client-side computing device of claim 8, wherein the current location of the client-side computing device is determined using a Global Positioning Service (GPS).

10. The client-side computing device of claim 8, wherein the current location of the client-side computing device is determined using cell tower triangulation.

11. The client-side computing device of claim 8, wherein the predetermined radius from the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account is based on a license acquired for the digital movie.

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

terminating performance of the digital movie; and

disabling the client-side computing device.

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

suspending presentation of the digital movie.

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

receiving a command from the remote server to resume presentation of the digital movie; and

in response to receiving the command, resuming performance of the digital movie.

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

transmitting a request to a remote server to initiate presentation of a digital movie on a display device, the remote server facilitating presentation of multiple digital movies, the client-side computing device being associated with a first user account, the first user account including data identifying a geographic location of a dwelling associated with the first user account;

receiving a data stream of the digital movie and data identifying the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account from a remote server, the remote server having accessed the data identifying the geographic location of the dwelling from the first user account;

initiating presentation of the digital movie on a display of the display device, the display device being different than the client-side computing device;

determining a current location of the client-side computing device;

determining, based on the current location of the client-side computing device and the data identifying the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account, that the client-side computing device is outside of a predetermined radius from the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account; and

in response to determining that the client-side computing device is outside of the predetermined radius from the geographic location of the dwelling associated with the first user account;

halting presentation of the digital movie on the display of the display device, and scanning social media activity of a user associated with the client-side computing device for postings made by the user that indicate that the user is misusing the digital movie.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the current location of the client-side computing device is determined using a Global Positioning Service (GPS).