Restricted media sharing over networks
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of managing sharing of media content from a server computer to one or more client computers across a computer network, said method comprising:
- (a) receiving a connection request from a particular one of the client computers to receive media content from the server computer;
(b) determining whether at least one of a limited number of client slots is available for use by the particular client computer;
(c) assigning an available one of the client slots for use by the particular client computer when said determining (b) determines that at least one of a limited number of client slots is available for use by the particular client computer;
(d) establishing a connection for the particular client computer using the assigned client slot;
(e) determining when the connection for the particular client computer has ended or is to be ended; and
(f) reserving the assigned client slot for the particular client computer for at least a predetermined period of time after the connection for the particular client computer has ended.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Improved techniques to restrict sharing of media assets over a network are disclosed. A server computer having media assets can permit one or more clients to receive access to such media assets over a computer network. However, the access to such media assets can be restricted based on numerical limits as well as temporal limits. The media assets are digital media assets, such as audio items (e.g., audio files, including music or songs), videos (e.g., movies) or images (e.g., photos).
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of managing sharing of media content from a server computer to one or more client computers across a computer network, said method comprising:
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(a) receiving a connection request from a particular one of the client computers to receive media content from the server computer;
(b) determining whether at least one of a limited number of client slots is available for use by the particular client computer;
(c) assigning an available one of the client slots for use by the particular client computer when said determining (b) determines that at least one of a limited number of client slots is available for use by the particular client computer;
(d) establishing a connection for the particular client computer using the assigned client slot;
(e) determining when the connection for the particular client computer has ended or is to be ended; and
(f) reserving the assigned client slot for the particular client computer for at least a predetermined period of time after the connection for the particular client computer has ended. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for restricted sharing of media content from a server computer to one or more client computers across a computer network, said method comprising:
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(a) receiving, from a particular one of the client computers, a login request to the server computer;
(b) obtaining a unique identifier associated with the particular client computer;
(c) determining whether any of a plurality of limited client slots are reserved for use by particular client computers;
(d) assigning the client slot to the particular client computer when said determining (c) determines that at least one of the limited client slots is reserved for the particular client computers; and
(e) granting the login request when the particular client device has been assigned one of the limited client slots. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer readable medium including at least computer program code for managing sharing of media content from a server computer to one or more client computers across a computer network, said computer readable medium comprising:
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computer program code for receiving a connection request from a particular one of the client computers to receive media content from the server computer;
computer program code for determining whether at least one of a limited number of client slots is available for use by the particular client computer;
computer program code for assigning an available one of the client slots for use by the particular client computer when said computer program code for determining determines that at least one of a limited number of client slots is available for use by the particular client computer;
computer program code for establishing a connection for the particular client computer using the assigned client slot;
computer program code for determining when the connection for the particular client computer has ended or is to be ended; and
computer program code for reserving the assigned client slot for the particular client computer for at least a predetermined period of time after the connection for the particular client computer has ended. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. An electronic device, comprising:
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a network interface for coupling said electronic device to a computer network;
a memory for storing media content;
a media management module operable to permit limited sharing of at least a portion of the media content stored in said memory to one or more other electronic devices coupled to the computer network, wherein said media management module limits the sharing of at least a portion of the media content to a limited number of other electronic devices, wherein when one of the other electronic devices is permitted to participate in the sharing, the one of the other electronic devices is deemed to be sharing, and wherein when one of the other electronic devices has completed its participation in the sharing, the one of the other electronic devices is deemed to be reserved for sharing for at least a predetermined period of time, thereby restricting the sharing by different ones of the other electronic devices per unit time.
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Specification