Enforcing geographic constraints in content distribution
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving, at a first device, content protected by a geographic constraint;
identifying, by the first device, a second device that is capable of determining a geographic location of the second device, wherein the second device is physically separate from the first device;
in response to identifying the second device that is capable of determining the geographic location of the second device, determining, by the first device, that the second device is within a predefined proximity of the first device, wherein the predefined proximity defines a boundary outside of which devices are not authorized to receive the geographic location of the second device; and
in response to determining that the second device is within the predefined proximity;
requesting location information from the second device;
receiving, at the first device, the requested location information from the second device, wherein the requested location information includes the geographic location of the second device as determined by the second device;
determining, by the first device, whether the requested location information satisfies the geographic constraint associated with the protected content; and
enabling, by the first device, access to the protected content in response to determining that the requested location information satisfies the geographic constraint.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Enforcement of geographic and location based constraints on content distribution is provided to allow distribution of content to remote devices while preventing unauthorized use and consumption of the content. Content requested by a device may be protected using a variety of content protection mechanisms that support geographic constraints. The requesting device may be required to validate and/or obtain the device'"'"'s physical location prior to being granted access to the protected content. The requesting device may validate and/or obtain its physical location by requesting location information from a location server or another geographic aware device. The distribution of the location information from the location server may be limited to a predefined proximity. The proximity limit on the dissemination of the location information prevents remote devices from fraudulently using the location information. Location information may be encapsulated and may be formatted as a content file.
27 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving, at a first device, content protected by a geographic constraint; identifying, by the first device, a second device that is capable of determining a geographic location of the second device, wherein the second device is physically separate from the first device; in response to identifying the second device that is capable of determining the geographic location of the second device, determining, by the first device, that the second device is within a predefined proximity of the first device, wherein the predefined proximity defines a boundary outside of which devices are not authorized to receive the geographic location of the second device; and in response to determining that the second device is within the predefined proximity; requesting location information from the second device; receiving, at the first device, the requested location information from the second device, wherein the requested location information includes the geographic location of the second device as determined by the second device; determining, by the first device, whether the requested location information satisfies the geographic constraint associated with the protected content; and enabling, by the first device, access to the protected content in response to determining that the requested location information satisfies the geographic constraint. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 30, 31)
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14. An apparatus comprising:
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at least one processor; and at least one memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to; receive content protected by a geographic constraint; identify a first device that is capable of determining a geographic location of the first device, wherein the first device is physically separate from the apparatus; in response to identifying the first device that is capable of determining the geographic location of the first device, determine that the first device is within a predefined proximity of the apparatus, wherein the predefined proximity defines a boundary outside of which devices are not authorized to receive the geographic location of the second device; and in response to determining that the first device is within the predefined proximity; request location information from the first device; receive the requested location information from the first device, the location information including the geographic location of the first device; determine whether the requested location information satisfies the geographic constraint associated with the protected content; and enabling access to the protected content in response to determining that the requested location information satisfies the geographic constraint. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause an apparatus to:
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receive content protected by a geographic constraint; identify a first device that is capable of determining a geographic location of the first device, wherein the first device is physically separate from the apparatus; in response to identifying the first device that is capable of determining the geographic location of the first device, determine that the first device is within a predefined proximity of the apparatus, wherein the predefined proximity defines a boundary outside of which devices are not authorized to receive the geographic location of the second device; and in response to determining that the first device is within the predefined proximity; request location information from the first device; receive the requested location information from the first device, the location information including the geographic location of the first device; determine whether the requested location information satisfies the geographic constraint associated with the protected content; and enabling access to the protected content in response to determining that the requested location information satisfies the geographic constraint. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification