System, method and client user interface for a copy protection service
First Claim
1. A system for a service provider to provide a copy protection service to a plurality of subscribers of the service, wherein each of the plurality of subscribers owns at least one file to be protected by the service from unauthorized copying and each of the plurality of subscribers controls a client computer, the system comprising:
- a plurality of software agents controlled by the service provider, the plurality of software agents masquerading as nodes in a decentralized network for monitoring and interdicting file sharing activities of the files owned by the plurality of subscribers and being protected by the service; and
a control center controlled by the service provider and configured to receive information of such monitoring from the plurality of software agents, process the information to generate processed monitoring information for each of the service protected files, provide the processed monitoring information for each of the service protected files to the client computer controlled by the subscriber owning the protected file, and command the plurality of software agents to perform such interdicting for each of the service protected files according to subscriber selected instructions received from the client computer controlled by the subscriber owning the protected file.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system, method and client user interface for a copy protection service employs software agents masquerading as nodes in decentralized networks for monitoring and interdicting file sharing activities of protected files in the networks. A control center communicates with the software agents and subscriber client computers through user interfaces, so as to provide monitoring information to users of the client computers and control the monitoring and interdiction of protected files according to instructions received from the client computers. A one-click method for requesting protection of a file, providing the terms of such protection, and updating billing information for the user is implemented through the user interface to simplify user interaction with the copy protection service.
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Citations
61 Claims
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1. A system for a service provider to provide a copy protection service to a plurality of subscribers of the service, wherein each of the plurality of subscribers owns at least one file to be protected by the service from unauthorized copying and each of the plurality of subscribers controls a client computer, the system comprising:
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a plurality of software agents controlled by the service provider, the plurality of software agents masquerading as nodes in a decentralized network for monitoring and interdicting file sharing activities of the files owned by the plurality of subscribers and being protected by the service; and a control center controlled by the service provider and configured to receive information of such monitoring from the plurality of software agents, process the information to generate processed monitoring information for each of the service protected files, provide the processed monitoring information for each of the service protected files to the client computer controlled by the subscriber owning the protected file, and command the plurality of software agents to perform such interdicting for each of the service protected files according to subscriber selected instructions received from the client computer controlled by the subscriber owning the protected file. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for a service provider to provide a copy protection service to a plurality of subscribers of the service, wherein each of the plurality of subscribers owns at least one file to be protected by the service from unauthorized copying and each of the plurality of subscribers controls a client computer, the method comprising:
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receiving file sharing information for the files to be protected by the service in one or more decentralized networks from a plurality of software agents controlled by the service provider, the plurality of software agents masquerading as nodes in the one or more decentralized networks; providing the file information for each file to be protected to the client computer controlled by the subscriber that owns the file; receiving subscriber selected interdiction instructions for each of the files to be protected from the client computer controlled by the subscriber that owns the file; and commanding the plurality of software agents to interdict file sharing activities in the one or more decentralized networks for each of the files to be protected according to the interdiction instructions received from the client computer controlled by the subscriber that owns the file. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A one-click method implemented in at least one server controlled by a service provider for providing a copy protection service to a plurality of subscribers of the service, wherein each of the plurality of subscribers owns at least one file to be protected by the service from unauthorized copying and each of the plurality of subscribers controls a client computer, the method comprising:
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receiving protection commands and subscriber selected protection criteria for files to be protected from the client computers controlled by the subscribers that own the files; updating billing information for the plurality of subscribers to reflect the received protection commands and subscriber selected protection criteria; and interdicting file sharing activities for the files to be protected in a decentralized network according to the received protection commands and subscriber selected protection criteria. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A system for providing a copy protection service, comprising:
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a control center configured to perform instrumentation and interdiction functions for subscriber specified files in at least one file sharing network; and a subscriber operated client computer configured to receive results of the instrumentation function from the control center, display the results in a user selected format, facilitate user selection of an interdiction function from a plurality of user selectable interdiction functions distinguished by level of interdiction and duration of interdiction, and provide information of the user selected interdiction function to the control center. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61)
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Specification