System for limiting use of down-loaded video-on-demand data

• US 5,400,402 A
• Filed: 06/07/1993
• Issued: 03/21/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: American Patent Development Corporation LLC
• Original Assignee: Norton Garfinkle
• Inventors: Garfinkle, Norton
• Primary Examiner(s): Cain, David C.
• Application Number:
  US08/072,927
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• Field of Search: 380/10, 380/20, 380/5, 348/7, 348/10, 348/6
• US Class Current: 380/231
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00666 involving a step of erasing or nullifying data, e.g. data being overwritten with a random string
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00797 wherein the usage restriction limits the number of times a content can be reproduced, e.g. using playback counters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4623 Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17345 Control of the passage of the selected programme

Abstract

A digital data system that includes a control system at a customer site that blocks access to a down-loaded stored program after it has been viewed a predetermined number of times (e.g., once), or after a predetermined interval, or any combination thereof.

Claims

1. A method for providing a video product from a central station to a user site, comprising the steps of:

transmitting from said central station to said user site a digital data stream comprising said video product, and data establishing a limit for authorized viewing of said video product;

storing said video product at said user site;

decoding said data establishing a limit for authorized viewing of said video product;

storing a result of said decoding step;

blocking access to said video product stored at said user site if said limit for authorized viewing is exceeded.

2. A method for providing a video product from a central station to a user site, comprising the steps of:

transmitting from said central station to said user site a digital data stream comprising said video product, data establishing a time period during which viewing of said video product is authorized;

storing said video product at said user site;

decoding said data establishing a time period during which viewing of said video product is authorized;

storing a result of said decoding step;

comparing an output of a local clock signal generator with said result of said decoding step;

p1 erasing said video product stored at said user site if the result of said comparing step is that the time period during which viewing of said video product is authorized has expired.

3. A method for providing a video product from a central station to a user site, comprising the steps of:

transmitting from said central station to said user site a digital data stream comprising said video product, data establishing a time period during which viewing of said video product is authorized, and time of day clock synchronizing data;

storing said video product at said user site;

decoding said data establishing a time period during which viewing of said video product is authorized;

storing a result of said decoding step;

comparing an output of said local clock time of day signal generator with said result of said decoding step;

erasing said video product stored at said user site if the result of said comparing step is that the time period during which viewing of said video product is authorized has expired.