System for collecting use data related to playback of recordings

• US 6,330,593 B1
• Filed: 08/24/1999
• Issued: 12/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gracenote, Inc. (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Original Assignee: CDDB, Inc. (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Inventors: Greenberg, Ann E., Roberts, Dale Tyson
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, VIET DUY
• Application Number:
  US09/379,589
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/202, 709/203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/227, 709/313, 709/329, 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/438 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4393 Multimedia presentations, e.g. slide shows, multimedia albums
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/02 Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/213 Read-only discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

Entertainment content complementary to a musical recording is delivered to a user'"'"'s computer by means of a computer network link. The user employs a browser to access the computer network. A plug-in for the browser is able to control an audio CD or other device for playing the musical recording. A script stored on the remote computer accessed over the network is downloaded. The script synchronizes the delivery of the complementary entertainment content with the play of the musical recording.

Claims

1. A system for transferring information associated with playback of a recording, comprising:

a first device to reproduce a recording, to identify the recording from information obtained from contents of the recording used to play back contents of the recording perceived by a user and to collect use data associated with the recording;

a second device to store the use data; and

a network coupled to said first and second devices to transfer the use data from said first device to said second device.

97. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the information used to identify the recording was not stored for the purpose of indentifying the recording.

2. A method of obtaining information associated with playback of recordings at a first device connectable to a second device via a network, comprising:

collecting, at the first device, use data associated with a recording fixed in a medium possessed by a user and identified by information obtained from the recording used to play back contents of the recording perceived by the user and not stored to identify the recording; and

transferring the use data from the first device to the second device via the network.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the use data are related to at least one of a portion of the recording and play time of the recording.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

obtaining user demographic data; and

sending the user demographic data to the second device.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, further comprising supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, further comprising selecting the complementary content based on the use data and the user demographic data.

7. A method as recited in claim 2,

wherein the local device is a computer, and

wherein said collecting includes monitoring operations performed by the computer while the recording is played.

8. A method as recited in claim 7,

wherein said monitoring detects software executing on the computer while the recording is played, and

wherein the use data transferred to the second device include identification of the software executing on the computer while the recording is played.

9. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein said monitoring detects user inputs while the recording is played.

10. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein said monitoring detects operational data transmitted over the network to and from the computer.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the operational data include at least one uniform resource locator.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein said method further comprises supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network.

13. A method as recited in claim 12,

wherein the use data include the operational data, and

wherein said method further comprises:

sending user demographic data from the first device to the second device via the network; and

selecting the complementary content based on the use data and the user demographic data.

14. A method as recited in claim 7,

wherein said collecting detects at least one computer program loaded in the computer, and

wherein the use data transferred to the second device include identification of the at least one computer program loaded into the computer.

15. A method as recited in claim 14,

wherein said collecting detects frequency of use of the at least one computer program loaded in the computer, and

wherein the use data transferred to the second device include the frequency of use of the at least one computer program loaded in the computer.

16. A method as recited in claim 2,

further comprising registering a user of the first device to obtain a user identifier, and

wherein said transferring further includes transferring the user identifier with the use data to the second device.

17. A method as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

obtaining user demographic data; and

sending the user demographic data to the second device.

18. A method as recited in claim 17, further comprising supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network.

19. A method as recited in claim 18, further comprising selecting the complementary content based on the use data and the user demographic data.

20. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the use data include frequency data indicating number of times the recording is played at the first device.

21. A method as recited in claim 20, wherein the recording contains segments, and

wherein the frequency data indicate the number of times the segments are played at the first device.

31. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the recording is a digital file containing digitized audio signals.

32. A method as recited in claim 31, wherein the digital file contains audio data compressed using MPEG encoding.

33. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the use data include total time of use of the recording.

34. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein the use data include time of use of the first device.

35. A method as recited in claim 2, further comprising supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network.

36. A method as recited in claim 35, further comprising:

obtaining user demographic data; and

sending the user demographic data to the second device.

37. A method as recited in claim 36, further comprising selecting the complementary content based on the use data and the user demographic data.

38. A method as recited in claim 2, further comprising continuing said collecting and transferring of the use data from the first device to the second device via the network as long as the recording is being played at the first device.

39. A method as recited in claim 2,

further comprising detecting a volume level at which the recording is being played, and

wherein said sending includes sending data indicating the volume level.

40. A method as recited in claim 2,

further comprising reading a recording identifier on the recording, and

wherein said transferring includes sending the recording identifier to the second device.

77. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the recording is fixed in a medium possessed by a user of the first device.

78. A method as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

automatically generating a recording identifier from information included in the recording; and

sending the recording identifier with the use data from the first device to the second device.

79. A method as recited in claim 78,

wherein the recording includes at least two segments, and

wherein said generating generates the recording identifier based on length of the segments.

83. A method as recited in claim 2,

wherein said collecting collects the use data for a plurality of recordings fixed in at least one medium possessed by the user, and

wherein said transferring includes providing identification of the user.

84. A method as recited in claim 83, further comprising storing the use data at the second device to provide an indication of the recordings played by the user.

22. A method of obtaining information associated with playback of recordings containing segments at a first device connectable to a second device via a network, comprising:

identifying at least one segment of a recording, fixed in a medium possessed by a user, based on information obtained from contents of the recording stored in the medium for a purpose other than identifying the recording;

collecting, at the first device, use data associated with the recording, the use data including segment data identifying the at least one segment played at the first device; and

transferring the use data from the first device to the second device via the network.

23. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the segment data include a number of times the at least one segment has been played at the first device.

24. A method as recited in claim 23, wherein the segment data include how much of the at least one segment has been played each time.

25. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the segment data include how much of the at least one segment has been played.

26. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the segment data include how often the at least one segment has been played.

27. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the medium is a compact disc with audio content, the segments are tracks on the compact disc and the segment data indicate playback of the tracks on the compact disc.

28. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the medium is a digital versatile disc, the segments are tracks on the digital versatile disc and the segment data indicate playback of the tracks on the digital versatile disc.

29. A method as recited in claim 22,

further comprising identifying the recording based on length of the segments to obtain a recording identifier, and

wherein said transferring includes sending the recording identifier to the second device.

30. A method as recited in claim 29, wherein the medium is a disc and the length of the segments is obtained from table of contents information on the disc.

80. A method as recited in claim 22, further comprising:

automatically generating a recording identifier from the segment data; and

sending the recording identifier with the use data from the first device to the second device.

81. A method as recited in claim 22,

wherein said collecting is performed regardless of whether the first and second devices are connected,

wherein said process further includes establishing a connection between the first and second devices, and

wherein said transferring transfers all of the use data collected while the first and second devices were not connected, from the first device to the second device via the network after the first and second devices are connected.

82. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the recording is fixed in a medium possessed by a user of the first device.

85. A method as recited in claim 22,

wherein said collecting collects the use data for a plurality of recordings fixed in at least one medium possessed by the user, and

wherein said transferring includes providing identification of the user.

86. A method as recited in claim 85, further comprising storing the use data at the second device to provide an indication of the recordings played by the user.

98. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the medium is a compact disc, each segment is a portion of a track on the compact disc determined by track number and playing time within the track, and the segment data indicate playback of the segments on the compact disc.

99. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the information used to identify the recording is stored in the medium prior to possession of the medium by the user.

41. A system for obtaining information based on playback of at least one recording at a first device connected to a second device via a network, comprising:

identification means for identifying a recording based on information obtained from contents of the recording stored in the medium for a purpose other than identifying the recording;

collection means for collecting use data related to at least one of a portion of a recording fixed in a medium possessed by the user, and play time of the recording;

connection means for establishing a connection between the first and second devices;

transmission means for sending the use data from the first device to the second device via the network; and

storage means for storing the use data at the second device.

42. A system as recited in claim 41,

wherein the use data relate to a plurality of recordings, and

wherein the use data include frequency of use of the recordings.

87. A system as recited in claim 41,

wherein said collecting means collects the use data for a plurality of recordings fixed in at least one medium possessed by the user, and

wherein said sending means further sends data identifying the user.

88. A system as recited in claim 87, wherein said storing means stores the use data at the second device to provide an indication of the recordings played by the user.

43. A computer-readable storage storing instructions to control a processor to perform a process comprising:

collecting, at a first device, use data associated with playback of a recording, fixed in a medium possessed by a user and identified by information obtained from contents of the recording used to play back contents of the recording perceived by the user; and

transferring the use data from the first device to a second device connected to the first device via a network.

44. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 43, wherein said process further comprises:

obtaining user demographic data; and

sending the user demographic data to the second device.

45. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 44, wherein said process further comprises obtaining as the use data, information regarding playing of at least one portion of the recording.

46. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 45, wherein said process further comprises supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network.

47. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 46, wherein said process further comprises selecting the complementary content based on the use data and the user demographic data.

48. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 43,

wherein said process further comprises monitoring operations performed by the first device during playback of the recording, and

wherein the use data indicate the operations performed by the first device during playback of the recording.

49. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 48, wherein the operational data include at least one uniform resource locator.

50. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 49, wherein said process further comprises supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network.

51. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 50, wherein said process further comprises:

sending user demographic data from the first device to the second device via the network; and

selecting the complementary content based on the use data and the user demographic data.

52. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 43,

wherein the first device is a computer,

wherein said collecting detects at least one computer program loaded in the computer, and

wherein the use data transferred to the second device include identification of the at least one computer program loaded into the computer.

53. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 52,

wherein said collecting detects frequency of use of the at least one computer program loaded in the computer, and

wherein the use data transferred to the second device include the frequency of use of the at least one computer program loaded in the computer.

54. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 43,

wherein said process further comprises registering a user of the first device to obtain a user identifier, and

wherein said transferring further includes transferring the user identifier with the use data to the second device.

55. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 54, wherein said process further comprises:

obtaining user demographic data; and

sending the user demographic data to the second device.

56. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 55, wherein said process further comprises supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network based on the use data and the user demographic data.

57. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 43, wherein the recording contains segments,

wherein said process further comprises identifying at least one segment of the recording, and

wherein the use data include segment data identifying the at least one segment played at the first device.

58. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 57, wherein the segment data include a number of times the at least one segment has been played at the first device.

59. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 58, wherein the segment data include how much of the at least one segment has been played each time.

60. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 57, wherein the segment data include how much of the at least one segment has been played.

61. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 57, wherein the segment data include how often the at least one segment has been played.

74. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 43, wherein said process further comprises:

automatically generating a recording identifier from information included in the recording; and

sending the recording identifier with the use data from the first device to the second device.

75. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 74,

wherein the recording includes at least two segments, and

wherein said generating generates the recording identifier based on length of the segments.

76. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 43,

wherein said collecting is performed regardless of whether the first and second devices are connected,

wherein said process further includes establishing a connection between the first and second devices, and

wherein said transferring transfers all of the use data collected while the first and second devices were not connected, from the first device to the second device via the network after the first and second devices are connected.

89. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 43,

wherein said collecting collects the use data for a plurality of recordings fixed in at least one medium possessed by the user, and

wherein said transferring includes providing identification of the user.

90. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 89, further comprising storing the use data at the second device to provide an indication of the recordings played by the user.

100. A computer-readable storage as recited in claim 43, wherein the information used to identify the recording was not stored for the purpose of identifying the recording.

62. A system for transferring information associated with playback of a recording, comprising:

a first device to reproduce a recording fixed in a medium possessed by a user, to identify the recording from information obtained from contents of the recording stored in the medium for a purpose other than identifying the recording, and to collect use data associated with the recording;

a second device to store the use data; and

a network coupled to said first and second devices to transfer the use data from said first device to said second device.

63. A system as recited in claim 62, wherein the recording is a compact disc with audio content stored on tracks and the use data indicate playback of the tracks on the compact disc.

64. A system as recited in claim 63,

wherein said first device obtains a recording identifier based on length of the tracks, and

wherein said network sends the recording identifier to said second device.

65. A system as recited in claim 62, wherein the recording is a digital versatile disc and the use data indicate playback of tracks on the digital versatile disc.

66. A system as recited in claim 62, wherein the recording is a computer file containing digitized audio signals.

67. A system as recited in claim 66, wherein the computer file contains audio data compressed using MPEG encoding.

68. A system as recited in claim 62, wherein said network transfers complementary content for the recording from said second device to said first device.

69. A system as recited in claim 68,

wherein said first device obtains user demographic data;

and

wherein said network sends the user demographic data from said first device to said second device.

70. A system as recited in claim 69, further comprising wherein said second device selects the complementary content based on the use data and the user demographic data.

71. A system as recited in claim 62, wherein said first and said second devices are not always connected via said network and said first device stores the use data when not connected to said second device and transmits the use data to said second device after a connection is established.

72. A system as recited in claim 62, wherein said first device automatically generates a recording identifier from information included in the recording and sends the recording identifier to said second device with the use data.

73. A system as recited in claim 72, wherein the recording includes at least two segments and said first device generates the recording identifier based on length of the segments.

91. A system as recited in claim 62,

wherein said first device collects the use data for a plurality of recordings fixed in at least one medium possessed by the user, and

wherein said network further transfers data identifying the user.

92. A system as recited in claim 91, wherein said second device stores the use data to provide an indication of the recordings played by the user.

93. A method of obtaining information associated with playback of recordings at a first device connectable to a second device via a network, comprising:

collecting, at the first device, use data associated with a recording identified by information obtained from contents of the recording used to play back contents of the recording perceived by a user; and

transferring the use data from the first device to the second device via the network.

101. A method as recited in claim 93, wherein the information used to identify the recording was not stored for the purpose of identifying the recording.

94. A method of obtaining information associated with playback of recordings containing segments at a first device connectable to a second device via a network, comprising:

identifying at least one segment of a recording, based on information obtained from or related to the segment and included in the recording to enable playback of the segment rather than to identify the segment;

collecting, at the first device, use data associated with the at least one segment of the recording, the use data including segment data identifying the at least one segment played at the first device; and

transferring the use data from the first device to the second device via the network.

95. A system for obtaining information based on playback of at least one recording at a first device connected to a second device via a network, comprising:

identification means for identifying a recording based on information obtained from contents of the recording used to play back contents of the recording perceived by a user;

collection means for collecting use data related to at least one of a portion of a recording fixed in a medium possessed by the user, and play time of the recording;

connection means for establishing a connection between the first and second devices;

transmission means for sending the use data from the first device to the second device via the network; and

storage means for storing the use data at the second device.

102. A system as recited in claim 95, wherein the information used to identify the recording was not stored for the purpose of identifying the recording.

96. A computer-readable storage storing instructions to control a processor to perform a process comprising:

collecting, at a first device, use data associated with playback of a recording identified by information obtained from contents of the recording used to play back contents of the recording perceived by a user; and

transferring the use data from the first device to a second device connected to the first device via a network.

103. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 96, wherein the information used to identify the recording was not stored for the purpose of identifying the recording.