Systems and Methods to Identify Target Video Content

• US 20090165031A1
• Filed: 12/19/2007
• Published: 06/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Li, Zhi, Ou, Canhui, Savoor, Raghvendra, Ghosal, Dipak
• Granted Patent: US 9,984,369 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/22
• 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 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3825 Use of electronic signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; 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 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; 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 21/835 Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method of identifying target video content is provided. The method includes accessing content metadata of a video content item at a content storage. The method also includes determining at least one content signature based on the video content item and determining whether the video content item includes target content based at least partially on the content signature and the content metadata.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring transmission of video content, the method comprising:

monitoring a data transmission, wherein the data transmission includes video content data;

generating a content signature based on the video content data;

identifying content metadata associated with the video content; and

determining whether the video content includes prohibited content by evaluating the content signature and the content metadata.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the content metadata is identified by accessing content descriptive information provided by a transmission of the video content.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the video content includes prohibited content comprises:

comparing the content metadata to a metadata index to identify at least one prohibited content item that the video content potentially includes;

accessing a prohibited content signature associated with the at least one prohibited content item; and

comparing the content signature to the prohibited content signature to determine whether the video content includes prohibited content.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when the video content includes prohibited content, generating a record of the data transmission, the record including information descriptive of a user transmitting the video content and information descriptive of the video content.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing a user profile history, wherein the user profile history includes information related to a user associated with the data transmission;

determining whether the user associated with the data transmission has previously transmitted prohibited video content based on the user profile history; and

determining whether the video content includes prohibited content when the user associated with the data transmission has transmitted prohibited video content before.

6. A system to monitor data transmissions, the system comprising:

a network interface to receive video content data;

a signature module to generate a content signature based on the video content data; and

a prohibited content module to select one or more prohibited content signatures associated with at least one prohibited content item based on content metadata of the video content and to compare the content signature to the one or more prohibited content signatures.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the prohibited content module compares the content metadata to prohibited content metadata to determine whether the video content includes prohibited video content.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the video content data is received via a data transmission, and wherein the system further comprises a blocking module to block the data transmission when the video content includes prohibited video content.

9. The system of claim 6, further comprising a detection module to determine whether a user modified a format of the video content.

10. A method of identifying target video content, the method comprising:

accessing content metadata of a video content item at a content storage;

determining at least one content signature based on the video content item; and

determining whether the video content item includes target video content based at least partially on the content signature and the content metadata.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the target video content comprises prohibited video content, and wherein the method further comprises inhibiting access to the video content item when the video content item includes the prohibited video content.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining a resolution value of the video content item based on the content metadata.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining whether the video content item includes the target video content comprises comparing the content signature to at least one target signature, wherein the at least one target signature is selected based at least partially on the resolution value.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the content metadata is accessed by a system associated with an Internet service provider.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the content storage is operated by a first entity and the content metadata is accessed by a system operated by a second entity.

16. A system to identify target video content, the system comprising:

a database interface to access at least one video content item from a content storage, wherein the content storage includes the at least one video content item and content metadata of the at least one video content item;

a signature module coupled to the database interface to determine a content signature based on the at least one video content item; and

a target content module to compare the content signature to target content signature data based at least partially on the content metadata.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the target content signature data corresponds to target content that comprises prohibited video content.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising a scrubbing module to remove the at least one video content item from the content storage when the at least one video content item includes the prohibited video content.

19. The system of claim 17, further comprising an access module to modify access privileges associated with the content storage when the at least one video content item includes the prohibited video content.

20. A computer-readable medium including instructions executable by a processor to:

access content metadata of a video content item at a content storage;

determine at least one content signature based on the video content item; and

determine whether the video content item includes target video content based at least partially on the at least one content signature and the content metadata.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein determining at least one content signature based on the video content item comprises generating a first sequence of coefficients of a wavelet transform of at least a portion of the video content item, and wherein determining whether the video content item includes the target video content comprises comparing the first sequence of coefficients to a second sequence of coefficients based on the target video content.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein determining whether the video content item includes the target video content comprises determining a cross-correlation vector based on the at least one content signature and to a target signature associated with the target video content to identify a match between the at least one content signature and the target signature.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the match is indicated by a peak in the cross-correlation vector.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, further comprising instructions executable by the processor to:

access target content signature data, wherein the target content signature data includes a plurality of target signatures, wherein each target signature of the plurality of target signatures is associated with a different degree of resolution of a target content item.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein determining whether the video content item includes the target video content based at least partially on the content signature and the content metadata comprises:

determining a degree of resolution of the video content item based on the content metadata;

selecting at least one target signature associated with a degree of resolution similar to a degree of resolution of the video content; and

comparing the at least one content signature with the at least one target signature.