SERVER DEVICE, CLIENT DEVICE, INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20140372562A1
• Filed: 08/28/2014
• Published: 12/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nagasaka, Hideo, Inoue, Shigeru, Tominaga, Takashi, Miyajima, Yasushi, Kimijima, Tadaaki, Miyoshi, Toshimasa, Tokashiki, Mamoru, Atsumi, Soichiro, Sasaki, Toru
• Granted Patent: US 9,319,487 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/60 of audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/63 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols

Abstract

An information processing method of an information processing system including a client device functioning as a client and a server device functioning as a server which are capable of communication via a network, includes the steps of: at the server device, managing format identification information provided so as to be unique for each content data within the range of each data format, corresponding to the contents of each content; at the client device, causing execution of communication via network, for specifying a content, as to the server device; at the server device, transmitting, to the client device, format identification information correlated with a specified content in response to specification of a content via network from the client device; and at the client device, managing the received and obtained format identification information as corresponding to the specified content.

Claims

1. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon executable instructions that cause a first computing device operated by a user to carry out a method comprising:

storing, on the first computing device operated by the user, information on a plurality of pieces of content data that the user has permission to reproduce, each piece of content data comprising audio and/or video content, the information identifying a first content data that is stored in a first data format on a second computing device operated by the user;

controlling transmission, from the first computing device to a media distribution service comprising at least one third computing device, of a request for the first content data and a demonstration that the user has permission to reproduce the first content data, the demonstration that the user has permission to reproduce the first content data comprising an identifier for the first content data that identifies the first content data in a manner that is generic to a data format of the first content data; and

controlling receipt, at the first computing device from the media distribution service in response to the transmitting of the request and the demonstration that the user has permission to reproduce the first content data, of the first content data in a second data format different from the first data format.

2. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the information identifying the first content data comprises information identifying a first content data that was copied from an optical media and stored in the first data format on the second computing device.

3. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein controlling transmission of the demonstration to the media distribution system comprises controlling transmission of authentication information to the media distribution system.

4. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the content data is available in two or more data formats and the identifier identifies the content data in the first data format and identifies the content data in the second data format.

5. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

the user operates two or more computing devices, the two or more computing devices comprising the first computing device and the second computing device, and

controlling receipt of the first content data in the second data format comprises controlling receipt of the first content data in a data format in which the first content data is not stored on the two or more computing devices operated by the user prior to receipt of the first content data in the second data format.

6. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

the information identifying the first content data comprises information identifying a content data copied from an optical media and stored in the first data format on the second computing device operated by the user; and

the content data is not stored on the first computing device operated by the user prior to the receiving.

7. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein controlling transmission of the demonstration that the user has permission to reproduce the first content data comprises controlling transmission of information identifying the user.

8. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first computing device is a mobile phone and the second computing device is a personal computer.

9. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, prior to the controlling transmission of the request:

determining that the first content data is not stored locally on the first computing device.

10. A first computing device operated by a user comprising:

at least one circuitry to;

store, on the first computing device operated by the user, information on a plurality of pieces of content data that the user has permission to reproduce, each piece of content data comprising audio and/or video content, the information identifying a first content data that is stored in a first data format on a second computing device operated by the user;

transmit, from the first computing device to a media distribution service comprising at least one third computing device, a request for the first content data and a demonstration that the user has permission to reproduce the first content data, the demonstration that the user has permission to reproduce the first content data comprising an identifier for the first content data that identifies the first content data in a manner that is generic to a data format of the first content data; and

receive, at the first computing device from the media distribution service in response to the transmitting of the request and the demonstration that the user has permission to reproduce the first content data, the first content data in a second data format different from the first data format.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the information identifying the first content data comprises information identifying a first content data that was copied from an optical media and stored in the first data format on the second computing device.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein transmitting the demonstration to the media distribution system comprises transmitting authentication information to the media distribution system.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the content data is available in two or more data formats and the identifier identifies the content data in the first data format and identifies the content data in the second data format.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the user operates two or more computing devices, the two or more computing devices comprising the first computing device and the second computing device, and

receiving the first content data in the second data format comprises receiving the first content data in a data format in which the first content data is not stored on the two or more computing devices operated by the user prior to the receiving the first content data in the second data format.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the information identifying the first content data comprises information identifying a content data copied from an optical media and stored in the first data format on the second computing device operated by the user; and

the content data is not stored on the first computing device operated by the user prior to the receiving.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein transmitting the demonstration that the user has permission to reproduce the first content data comprises transmitting information identifying the user.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first computing device is a mobile phone and the second computing device is a personal computer.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises, prior to the transmitting the request:

determining that the first content data is not stored locally on the first computing device.