Digital content management method and apparatus for mobile terminal

• US 20100049989A1
• Filed: 11/02/2009
• Published: 02/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Hyung Chul
• Granted Patent: US 8,863,294 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/189
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level

Abstract

A mobile terminal includes an apparatus configured to perform content management method. When a DRM content that is not playable owing to license expiration is found during the content playback mode, the non-playable DRM content can be removed, moved to a pre-specified folder, or license-renewed according to settings. The content management method includes: playing back a content selected from a given content list during a content playback mode; finding, during the content playback mode, an expired DRM content that is not playable owing to license expiration; determining, when an expired DRM content is found, a handling option for the expired DRM content; and performing one of deleting the expired DRM content, moving the expired DRM content, and renewing the license associated with the expired DRM content, according to the determined handling option.

Claims

1. A content management method for a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

playing back a content selected from a given content list during a content playback mode;

finding, during the content playback mode, an expired Digital Rights Management (DRM) content that is not playable due to license expiration;

determining, when an expired DRM content is found, a handling option for the expired DRM content; and

performing one of;

deleting the expired DRM content,

moving the expired DRM content, and

renewing the license associated with the expired DRM content, according to the determined handling option.

2. The content management method of claim 1, wherein finding an expired DRM content comprises:

identifying, when a DRM content is found during the content playback mode, a license associated with the found DRM content; and

regarding, when the license has expired, the found DRM content as an expired DRM content.

3. The content management method of claim 2, wherein performing one of the deleting, the moving and the renewing comprises:

deleting, when the determined handling option indicates deletion, the expired DRM content and playing back the next content in the content list; and

deleting, according to settings, all remaining expired DRM contents from the content list simultaneously.

4. The content management method of claim 2, wherein performing one of the deleting, the moving and the renewing comprises:

moving, when the determined handling option indicates movement, the expired DRM content to a pre-specified folder and playing back the next content in the content list; and

moving, according to settings, all remaining expired DRM contents in the content list to the pre-specified folder substantially simultaneously.

5. The content management method of claim 2, wherein performing one of the deleting, the moving and the renewing comprises:

transitioning to, when the determined handling option indicates renewal, a license renewal mode;

determining a renewal option during the license renewal mode;

renewing, when the determined renewal option is single renewal, a license associated with the expired DRM content; and

renewing, when the determined renewal option is collective renewal, individual licenses associated with all expired DRM contents in the content list.

6. The content management method of claim 5, wherein performing one of the deleting, the moving and the renewing further comprises:

transitioning back to the content playback mode after license renewal; and

playing back, according to settings during the content playback mode, the license-renewed DRM content (having been found as the first expired DRM content) or the next content in the content list.

7. The content management method of claim 2, wherein when the content list is displayed, each DRM content is listed together with an icon indicating the status of a license associated with the DRM content.

8. The content management method of claim 7, wherein an icon for an expired DRM content is different from that for a playable DRM content, and wherein contents in the content list being displayed are represented as one of a list of total contents, a list of DRM contents, a list of playable DRM contents, and a list of expired DRM contents.

9. The content management method of claim 5, wherein renewing a license associated with the expired DRM content comprises:

connecting to, using uniform resource locator (URL) information of a DRM server contained in the header of the expired DRM content, the DRM server; and

downloading a license associated with the expired DRM content;

updating an old license associated with the expired DRM content on the basis of the downloaded license; and

moving the license-renewed DRM content to a pre-specified folder.

10. A mobile terminal comprising:

a storage unit separately storing various contents according to their types including regular contents, DRM contents, playable DRM contents and expired DRM contents, the storage unit further storing licenses associated with DRM contents, and store settings for handling expired DRM contents and license renewal; and

a control unit determining, when an expired DRM content is found during a content playback mode, a handling option for the expired DRM content, and controlling an operation to perform one of deleting the expired DRM content, moving the expired DRM content, and renewing the license associated with the expired DRM content according to the determined handling option.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 10, wherein the storage unit stores metadata regarding individual contents, and provides, when a content list is read, the metadata regarding contents in the content list.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the control unit identifies, when a DRM content of a content list is found during the content playback mode, a license associated with the found DRM content, regards, when the license has expired, the found DRM content as an expired DRM content, and determines a handling option for the expired DRM content.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 12, wherein the control unit deletes, when the determined handling option indicates deletion, the expired DRM content, plays back the next content in the content list, and deletes, according to settings, all remaining expired DRM contents from the content list substantially simultaneously, and wherein the control unit moves, when the determined handling option indicates movement, the expired DRM content to a pre-specified folder, plays back the next content in the content list, and moves, according to settings, all remaining expired DRM contents in the content list to the pre-specified folder substantially simultaneously.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 12, wherein the control unit transitions to, when the determined handling option indicates renewal, a license renewal mode, determines a renewal option during the license renewal mode, renews, when the determined renewal option is single renewal, a license associated with the expired DRM content, and renews, when the determined renewal option is collective renewal, individual licenses associated with all expired DRM contents in the content list.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 14, wherein the control unit transitions back to the content playback mode after license renewal, and plays back, according to settings during the content playback mode, the license-renewed DRM content (having been found as the first expired DRM content) or the next content in the content list.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 14, wherein the control unit connects to, using uniform resource locator (URL) information of a DRM server contained in the header of the expired DRM content, the DRM server, downloads a license associated with the expired DRM content, and updates the old license associated with the expired DRM content with the downloaded license.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 16, wherein the control unit updates, after license renewal, status information of the expired DRM content, and moves the license-renewed DRM content to a pre-specified folder.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 12, wherein the control unit lists, when the content list is displayed, each DRM content of the content list together with an icon indicating the status of a license associated with the DRM content in a manner that an icon for an expired DRM content is different from that for a playable DRM content.

19. The mobile terminal of claim 18, wherein the control unit lists contents of the content list in the form of a list of total contents, a list of DRM contents, a list of playable DRM contents, or a list of expired DRM contents according to selection of a menu item.

20. The mobile terminal of claim 10, further comprising a display unit displaying a content playback window during the content playback mode, and separately displaying contents of a content list according to their types including regular contents, DRM contents, playable DRM contents, expired DRM contents, and total contents.