Enforcing advertisement playback for downloaded media content

• US 7,836,511 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2006
• Issued: 11/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: da Costa, Bruno Kraychete, Hydrie, Aamer, Oliveira, Eduardo P., Lisboa, Paulo Henrique Cavalcante
• Primary Examiner(s): Zand; Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sanders; Stephen
• Application Number:
  US11/424,208
• Publication Number:
  US 20070294772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,616 Days
• Field of Search: 726/27
• US Class Current: 726/27
• 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: H04K 1/00 Secret communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management

Abstract

Enforcing rendering advertisements and other predetermined media content in connection with playback of downloaded selected media content. Playback of selected media content is made conditional on acquisition of a playback token that is generated in response to playback of the predetermined content. The playback token may be implemented as a digital rights management (DRM) license acquired in response to playback of the predetermined content. Another aspect involves a content insertion engine for inserting ads or other predetermined content into the playback of downloaded content.

Claims

1. A method of enforcing rendering of predetermined media content in connection with rendering user selected media content to a user, said method comprising:

receiving a request from a user to render the selected media content via a media player of a computing device;

downloading to the computing device a selected content file in response to receiving the request from the user to render said selected media content, said selected content file including the selected media content;

downloading to the computing device a predetermined content file in response to receiving the request from the user to render said selected media content, said predetermined content file being separate from the selected content file and including media content that is predetermined for rendering with the selected content file;

rendering the predetermined media content of the predetermined content file to the user via the media player of the computing device;

disabling transport controls of the media player for a predetermined period of time based on an expected length of time for rendering the predetermined media content;

generating a token after the predetermined period of time, said token being separate from the predetermined content file and the selected content file;

delivering the generated token to the computing device, said delivering comprising delaying delivery of the generated token for the predetermined period of time; and

permitting the selected media content of the selected content file to be rendered to the user via the media player on the computing device only after the delayed delivery of the generated token to the computing device whereby rendering of the predetermined media content is enforced before rendering of the selected media content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device is coupled to a network, and wherein said downloading the selected content file comprises downloading the selected content file to the computing device via the network.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising encrypting the selected media content before downloading the selected media content.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein permitting the selected media content to be rendered comprises decrypting the encrypted selected media with the token.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined media content is associated with the selected media content.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising specifying, by a content insertion engine, the predetermined media content to be rendered in connection with the selected media content.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising raising an event to the content insertion engine in response to receiving the request for the selected media content, said event triggering the rendering of the predetermined media content.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected media content comprises a video program and the predetermined media content comprises targeted advertising associated with the video program.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initially rendering the selected media content to the user via the media player of the computing device in response to the delivering of the generated token;

interrupting the initial rendering of the selected media content;

rendering additional predetermined media content to the user via the media player of the computing device;

generating another token after the additional predetermined media content has been rendered, said generated other token different from the token delivered before said rendering of the selected media content;

delivering the generated other token to the computing device; and

permitting the selected media content to resume rendering to the user via the media player of the computing device only after said delivering of the generated other token to the computing device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the token comprises a DRM license.

11. A media system for rendering encrypted media content of a selected content file to a user, said system comprising:

a playback engine for rendering media content to a user;

a content insertion engine for specifying predetermined media content of a predetermined content file separate from the selected content file to be rendered to the user via the playback engine, said content insertion engine generating a token only in response to the playback engine having rendered the predetermined media content, wherein the predetermined content file and the selected content file do not comprise the generated token; and

a playback enforcer for receiving the token generated by the content insertion engine after an expected length of rendering time of the predetermined media content and, responsive to receiving said token, decrypting the encrypted media content of the selected content file and permitting the playback engine to render the media content of the selected content file to the user, wherein the playback enforcer enforces rendering of the predetermined media content by disabling transport controls of the playback engine.

12. The media system of claim 11, wherein the content insertion engine schedules the predetermined media content for rendering to the user.

13. The media system of claim 11, further comprising a local computing device for executing the playback engine, said local computing device being coupled to a network, and wherein the encrypted media content and the predetermined media content are downloaded to the local computing device via the network.

14. The media system of claim 11, wherein the content insertion engine is responsive to an event for causing the predetermined media content to be rendered by the playback engine, said event being raised when the user selects encrypted media content to be rendered.

15. The media system of claim 11, wherein the encrypted media content comprises a video program and the predetermined media content comprises targeted advertising associated with the video program.

16. The media system of claim 11, wherein the playback engine is responsive to the content insertion engine for interrupting the rendering of the encrypted media content to render additional predetermined media content to the user, said content insertion engine generating another token in response to the rendering of the additional predetermined media content, and wherein the playback enforcer is responsive to receiving the other token to permit the playback engine to resume rendering the encrypted media content.

17. The media system of claim 11, wherein the playback enforcer comprises a DRM system and wherein the token comprises a DRM license.

18. A method of enforcing rendering of predetermined media content in connection with rendering selected media content to a user, said method comprising:

receiving a request from the user to render selected media content of a first content file via a media player of a computing device;

rendering predetermined media content of a second content file to the user via the computing device in response to receiving the request to render the selected media content of the first content file, said rendering comprising disabling transport controls of the media player for an expected length of rendering time of said predetermined media content;

acquiring a DRM license associated with the selected media content only after the expected length of rendering time, said DRM license being generated by and acquired from a DRM license server in response to the predetermined media content having been rendered via the computing device, wherein the first content file and the second content file do not include said DRM license; and

executing the acquired DRM license to permit the selected media content to be rendered to the user via the computing device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the predetermined media content is associated with the selected media content and further comprising downloading the second content file to the computing device in response to receiving the request for the selected media content.