System and method for multimedia content composition and distribution

• US 20020010759A1
• Filed: 12/28/2000
• Published: 01/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Bruce L. Hitson, Jeffrey M. Williams, Paul B. Mayer
• Original Assignee: Bruce L. Hitson, Jeffrey M. Williams, Paul B. Mayer
• Inventors: Williams, Jeffrey L., Mayer, Paul B., Hitson, Bruce L.
• Application Number:
  US09/749,633
• Publication Number:
  US 20020010759A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed which allows multimedia content to be delivered to a computer, personal desktop assistant, portable media player, or other electronic device. Such content may include advertisements, and distribution of content may emulate current television and/or radio broadcasts. Content may be encrypted or otherwise secured, and such security may restrict use of some content; examples of such restrictions may include limiting content to specific devices, specific users, or a predefined number of playbacks. Users of the present invention may also indicate a preference for a particular content type or types, and content may be chosen by the present invention based on user preferences. Users may further refine content preferences as content is experienced, thus providing a more enjoyable experience. Users of the present invention may indicate a desire to purchase content or find out more about specific content, and such desires may be recorded for later review or action.

Claims

1. A custom content presentation system through which users can influence presented content, comprising:

a client such as a PC, PMP, or other device capable of stimulating human senses which is capable of receiving data from and conveying data to a server;

a server which conveys, receives, and stores data;

a content rating and information request system; and

a server-based reporting tool.

2. The system of claim 1 in which data stored by said server includes content, content attributes, and content reviews.

3. The system of claim 1 in which data conveyed from said server includes content and content information.

4. The system of claim 1 in which said client acts as a server, thereby providing content-related information stored thereon to other devices.

5. The system of claim 1 in which said content rating system allows a user to rate content as or after it is experienced.

6. The system of claim 1 in which said device has buttons or other interface elements that allow a user to provide feedback concerning various content, enter preference information, or otherwise interact with content or with a server.

7. The system of claim 1 in which data conveyed from said server contains proprietary or restricted content that is marked as such, and which said client may refuse to process if certain restrictions are not met.

8. The system of claim 1 in which said server conveys only data of interest to a user, as determined by user feedback and user preferences.

9. The system of claim 1 in which said information request system allows a user to purchase or indicate a desire to purchase content before, during and after it is experienced.

10. The system of claim 1 in which user feedback and information requests are immediately sent to a server through a wireless or wired communications medium.

11. The system of claim 1 in which user feedback and information request are stored on a device until said device can communicate with a server, at which time said feedback and information requests are conveyed to a server.

12. The system of claim 1 in which said reporting tool provides reports to content authors, advertisers, and other interested parties which contain average content ratings, content popularity indexes, content information requests, genre-based content preferences, and other information derived from data stored in a server.

13. A method for individualized content distribution comprising the steps of:

selecting content based on user preferences, content author or publisher preferences;

preparing said content, including the addition of ownership, authorship, and other digital rights information, and content compression or encryption;

conveying said content to a PMP, PC, or other device from which said content may be experienced; and

removing said content after a length of time, number of experiences, or other event.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said user preferences are based on ratings gathered substantially contemporaneous with a user'"'"'s experiencing said content.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein content preferences are entered by a user prior to content selection, and where such preferences are modified as content is experienced and user ratings are received.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein said content includes advertisements which are targeted at a particular individual or group of individuals based on content preferences, frequency with which content is purchased through the present invention, geographic region in which a user resides, or other demographic information.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein said digital rights information may be used to restrict access to content on an individual-by-individual, device-by-device, or group-by-group basis.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein said user preferences include the option to refuse certain content types, such as advertisements or full-motion video, and content genres.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein said content compression includes down-sampling content to reduce such content'"'"'s file size or conveyance needs.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein said conveyance may be achieved by a means set forth in user preferences.

21. The method of claim 13 wherein said content may be altered, such as resizing text or graphical information, down-sampling audio or video files, or other alterations, to match device capabilities or to meet user specifications.

22. The method of claim 13 wherein said conveyance may be achieved by a means appropriate to a specific device, such as wired or wireless communications or removable media.

23. The method of claim 13 wherein said content may be removed based on digital rights management or other content attributes associated with a specific content.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein said content removals are also controlled by user preferences and user ratings such that popular content is maintained by a device, thus reducing storage, conveyance, and related needs.

25. The method of claim 13 wherein said content is conveyed from a server to a client by transmitting said content as a continuous data stream.

26. The method of claim 13 wherein said content is conveyed from a server to a client by a server storing said content on removable media and transferring said media to a client.

27. The method of claim 13 wherein said content is conveyed from a server to a client by transmitting said content as discrete files.

28. The method of claim 13 wherein said content is conveyed from a server to a client as a combination of discrete file transfers and streamed data.

29. A custom content presentation system through which users can influence presented content, comprising:

a client such as a PC, PMP, or other device capable of stimulating human senses which is capable of receiving data from and conveying data to a server;

a server which conveys, receives, and stores data;

a content rating and information request system; and

a server-based reporting tool;

wherein said server stores content, content attributes, and content reviews;

said server conveys some content information to a client along with said content;

users experience said content through a device;

users rate content during or after such content is experienced;

users request information about or indicate a desire to purchase content as it is experienced;

user ratings, information requests, and purchase requests are conveyed to a server; and

said user ratings and requests are used to select additional content for a client, and to generate usage statistics and other information for content creators.

30. A method for individualized content distribution comprising the steps of:

selecting content based on user preferences, content author or publisher preferences;

preparing said content, including the addition of ownership, authorship, and other digital rights information, and content compression or encryption;

conveying said content to a PMP, PC, or other device from which said content may be experienced; and

removing said content after a length of time, number of experiences, or other event;

the method further comprising the steps of a user;

specifying content preferences in a web page or other machine-readable format;

said content selected based on such preferences;

selected content processed for conveyance and conveyed to a device;

said content experienced by said user;

said user rating said content;

all or a portion of said content at or above a certain rating level being maintained on a device, while some portion of said content may be removed from a device once said content has been experienced; and

content remaining on a device is only experienced after approval from a server, content author, or content provider.