METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRACKING AND MANAGING RIGHTS FOR DIGITAL MUSIC

• US 20080320598A1
• Filed: 08/28/2008
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/02/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Catch Media, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Catch Media, Inc.
• Inventors: Ben-Yaacov, Yaacov, Ben-Yaacov, Boaz
• Application Number:
  US12/200,606
• Publication Number:
  US 20080320598A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/26
• 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: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• 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 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8113 comprising music, e.g. song in MP3 format
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

A method for digital rights management for a copyright work that is copied from device to device from among a plurality of devices, some of which are parent devices and some of which are child devices, and wherein a child device may be registered with a parent device, including copying a digital work from a parent device, P1, to a child device, C1, registered with device P1, the digital work encapsulating digital rights management (DRM) data that serves to permit full access to the digital work by parent device P1, and to deny access to the digital work by devices other than device P1, modifying the DRM data in the copy of the digital work within device C1, so as to permit full access to the digital work, for a prescribed time period, by device C1 and by child devices other than device C1, inserting auxiliary DRM data in the copy of the digital work within device C1, so as to permit full access to the digital work by device C1, and so as to permit limited access to the digital work by child devices other than device C1, if the digital work is copied from device C1 to a parent device P2 other than device P1, then modifying the DRM data in the copy of the digital work within device P2, so as to permit limited access to the digital work by device P2, and removing the auxiliary DRM data in the copy of the digital work within device P2, and if the digital work is copied from device C1 to a child device C2 other than device C1, then modifying the auxiliary DRM data in the copy of the digital work within device C2, so as to permit limited access to the digital work by child device C2 and so as to permit limited access to the digital work by child devices other than device C2. A system and a computer-readable storage medium are also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method for tracking usage and fulfillment of a copyright digital work that is copied from device to device from among a plurality of devices, some of which are parent devices and some of which are child devices, and wherein a child device may be registered with a parent device, and wherein a copy of the digital work may encapsulate digital rights management (DRM) data that serves to determine one of at least two levels of access, namely, (i) permit full access to the digital work, or (ii) permit limited access to the digital work, and wherein a copy of the digital work may be licensed from a fulfiller in at least two ways, namely, (A) receiving a copy of the digital work with DRM data set to access level (i), or (B) adjusting the DRM data within an already existing copy of the digital work from access level (ii) to access level (i), comprising:

generating a cumulative record of licenses within copies of the digital work, comprising;

maintaining a record of source information within a copy of the digital work, when the digital work is copied from a source to a device;

maintaining a record of purchase information within a copy of the digital work, when the digital work is licensed from a fulfiller;

maintaining a record of usage information within a copy of the digital work, for the current device in which the copy of the digital work is stored; and

further maintaining a record of usage information within a copy of the digital work, for a previous device from which the copy of the digital work on the current device was copied, if the current device is a parent device and the previous device is a child device that is registered with the current device, or if the previous device is a parent device and the current device is a child device that is registered with the previous device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said maintaining a record of purchase information maintains a record of purchase information of type (A).

3. A system for tracking usage and fulfillment of a copyright digital work that is copied from device to device from among a plurality of devices, some of which are parent devices and some of which are child devices, and wherein a child device may be registered with a parent device, and wherein a copy of the digital work may encapsulate digital rights management (DRM) data that serves to determine one of at least two levels of access, namely, (i) permit full access to the digital work, or (ii) permit limited access to the digital work, and wherein a copy of the digital work may be licensed from a fulfiller in at least two ways, namely, (A) receiving a copy of the digital work with DRM data set to access level (i), or (B) adjusting the DRM data within an already existing copy of the digital work from access level (ii) to access level (i), comprising:

cumulative record managers within parent devices and child devices for generating cumulative records of licenses within copies of the digital work, a cumulative record including;

a record of source information within a copy of the digital work, when the digital work is copied from a source to a device;

a record of purchase information within a copy of the digital work, when the digital work is licensed from a fulfiller;

a record of usage information within a copy of the digital work, for the current device in which the copy of the digital work is stored; and

a record of usage information within a copy of the digital work, for a previous device from which the copy of the digital work on the current device was copied, if the current device is a parent device and the previous device is a child device that is registered with the current device, or if the previous device is a parent device and the current device is a child device that is registered with the previous device.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the record of purchase information includes a record of purchase information of type (A).