Music distribution system and associated antipiracy protection

• US 20050182730A1
• Filed: 03/21/2005
• Published: 08/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zarbana Digital Fund LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Ochoa Optics LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Sparks, Kelly A., Hunter, Charles E., Hebrank, John H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,019,688 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/58
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1063 Personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2529 Mini-discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/50 characterised by the use of watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/17 on recording information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/21 Billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• 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 21/262 Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 : Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 : involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63345 : by transmitting keys key distribution for secret or secure communication H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 : involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 : involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

Music is blanket transmitted (for example, via satellite downlink transmission) to each customer'"'"'s computer-based user station. Customers preselect from a list of available music in advance using an interactive screen selector, and pay only for music that they choose to have recorded for unlimited playback, for example, by a “CD burner”. An “ID tag” is woven into the recorded music so that any illegal copies therefrom may be traced to the purchase transaction.

Claims

1. A data transmission device comprising:

an anti-piracy mechanism capable of embedding an ID tag in a decoded pre-selected music content item;

a mechanism to verify when the pre-selected music content item has been recorded at a location of at least one consumer; and

a central controller in communication with the verification mechanism and having a database for storing therein information corresponding to the at least one consumer and having a key unique to the music selections.

2. The data transmission device of claim 1 further comprising:

a user station, operable to communicate with the data transmission device, said user station for placement within at least one consumer location, the user station comprising;

a pre-selection mechanism enabling a consumer to pre-select from a transmission of a plurality of music content items specific music content items for storage at the at least one consumer location; and

a playback selection mechanism enabling said consumer to select for playback any one of the pre-selected music content items that ate stored at the at least one consumer location; and

a content access mechanism, enabling the user station to access a content library, said content library comprising said pre-selected music content items.

3. The device of claim 2 further comprising:

a play list of said content library; and

a player that will play said play list in any sequence at any time.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said player is capable of ordering said sequence in continuous playback, shuffle, sort-by-artist, sort-by-title or sort-by-category.

5. The device of claim 2 wherein said user station has a portion of a high capacity storage medium dedicated to recording pre-selected music selections.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein said high capacity storage medium is a hard drive.

7. The device of claim 2 wherein said pre-selection mechanism comprises:

a menu driven, graphical user interface with simplified controls providing music selection by artist, title and category.

8. The device of claim 2 wherein said pre-selection mechanism comprises a consumer preference mechanism that stores consumer preferred music styles and enables selection of said music styles by a consumer at said consumer location.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein said consumer preference mechanism comprises a graphical user interface with a music style preferences list.

10. The device of claim 8 wherein said consumer preference mechanism comprises:

a graphical user interface with music style, subgroup and artist preferences lists for a more detailed selection by said consumer.

11. The device of claim 2 further comprising a high capacity storage medium within the user station connected to a permanent storage.

12. The device of claim 2 wherein the central controller device comprises:

a general population cluster preference database;

a consumer catalog generator module;

an individual consumer preference information storage module; and

a payload scheduler.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein said individual consumer preference information storage module comprises an interface that obtains said consumer preferred music styles of each consumer.

14. The device of claim 12 wherein said general population cluster preference database comprises an information collector mechanism that collects said consumer preferred music styles of a plurality of consumer locations.

15. The device of claim 12 wherein said consumer catalog generator module comprises:

a catalog generator that generates an individual consumer catalog based on an analysis of said consumer preferred music styles of a plurality of consumer locations from said general population cluster preference database and said consumer preferred music styles from said individual consumer preference information storage module.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the user station is operable for a plurality of ID headers on all of the pre-selected music content items to be read and only those that are indicated by said individual consumer catalog as being desirable to the consumer are selected for recording.

17. The device of claim 2 wherein said user station has a download module for decoding pricing information and said transmitted music content items.

18. A system comprising:

a data transmission system operable for transmitting a plurality of music content items to at least one remote consumer location in digital form;

a mechanism to verify when a pre-selected music content item has been recorded at the at least one consumer location; and

an anti-piracy mechanism to identify the at least one consumer location at which the pre-selected music content item has been recorded.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein:

the anti-piracy mechanism is capable of embedding an ID tag in decoded music selections; and

further comprising;

an output device for supplying the decoded music selections to the at least one customer from a decoder; and

a central controller system in communication with the verification mechanism and having a database for storing therein information corresponding to the at least one consumer and having a key unique to the music selections.

20. The system of claim 19 further comprising:

a user station for placement at the at least one consumer location, the user station comprising;

a pre-selection mechanism enabling a consumer to pre-select from the transmission of a plurality of music content items specific music content items for storage at the at least one consumer location; and

a playback selection mechanism enabling said consumer to select for playback any one of the pre-selected music content items that are stored at the at least one consumer location; and

a content access mechanism, enabling the user station to access a content library, said content library comprising said pre-selected music content items.

21. The system of claim 20 further comprising:

a play list of said content library; and

a player that will play said play list in any sequence at any time.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein said player is capable of ordering said sequence in continuous playback, shuffle, sort-by-artist, sort-by-title or sort-by-category.

23. The system of claim 20 wherein said user station has a portion of a high capacity storage medium dedicated to recording pre-selected music selections.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein said high capacity storage medium is a hard drive.

25. The system of claim 20 wherein said pre-selection mechanism comprises:

a menu driven, graphical user interface with simplified controls providing music selection by artist, title and category.

26. The system of claim 20 wherein said pre-selection mechanism comprises a consumer preference mechanism that stores consumer preferred music styles and enables selection of said music styles by a consumer at said consumer location.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein said consumer preference mechanism comprises a graphical user interface with a music style preferences list.

28. The system of claim 26 wherein said consumer preference mechanism comprises:

a graphical user interface with music style, subgroup and artist preferences lists for a more detailed selection by said consumer.

29. The system of claim 20 further comprising a high capacity storage medium connected to a permanent storage.

30. The system of claim 19 wherein the central controller system comprises:

a general population cluster preference database;

a consumer catalog generator module;

an individual consumer preference information storage module; and

a payload scheduler.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein said individual consumer preference information storage module comprises an interface that obtains said consumer preferred music styles of each consumer.

32. The system of claim 30 wherein said general population cluster preference database comprises an information collector mechanism that collects said consumer preferred music styles of a plurality of consumer locations.

33. The system of claim 30 wherein said consumer catalog generator module comprises:

a catalog generator that generates an individual consumer catalog based on an analysis of said consumer preferred music styles of a plurality of consumer locations from said general population cluster preference database and said consumer preferred music styles from said individual consumer preference information storage module.

34. The system of claim 33 wherein the system is operable for a plurality of ID headers on all of the pre-selected music content items to be read and only those that are indicated by said individual consumer catalog as being desirable to the consumer are selected for recording.

35. A method of distributing music comprising the acts of:

providing at least one consumer location with information identifying available music content items that will be transmitted;

embedding an ID tag in at least one decoded pre-selected music selection;

supplying the at least one pre-selected decoded music selection to the at least one consumer location via transmitting a plurality of music content items to the at least one consumer location; and

verifying within a controller system when the at least one pre-selected music selection has been recorded at the at least one consumer location.

36. The method of claim 35 further comprising providing a device to the at least one consumer location to pre-select and record desired music selections included in the transmission of a plurality of music content items.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the device to record desired music selections comprises a content library comprising said pre-selected music selections.

38. The method of claim 36 further comprising providing a player that plays recorded music selections according to a consumer location created play list, said play list being arranged to play said recorded music selections in any sequence at any time.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein a menu driven, graphical user interface with simplified controls for user selection of said music is part of the consumer location created play list.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein said transmission is direct broadcast satellite data transmission accomplished with substantially a 240 watt transponder, thereby increasing effective transponder capacity.

41. The method of claim 36 wherein a consumer of said consumer location selects consumer preferred music styles by using a graphical user interface having a musical style preferences list.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein said consumer of said consumer location may select additional consumer preferences of music subgroup and artist by using said graphical user interface having additionally a subgroup preferences list and an artist preferences list.