Rights management system for streamed multimedia content

• US 8,290,874 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2005
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Evans, Brian P., Strom, Clifford P., Rosenstein, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): KUCAB, JAMIE R
• Application Number:
  US11/113,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20060242078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,734 Days
• Field of Search: 705/59, 713/155, 380/30
• US Class Current: 705/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A computing device segregates licenses for corresponding content according to relatively short lived licenses for relatively short lived content and relatively long lived licenses for relatively long lived content. The computing device stores the relatively short lived licenses in a more temporary and volatile license store, and the relatively long lived licenses in a more permanent and non-volatile license store. Thus, the relatively short lived licenses are deleted when the temporary license store is turned off and do not create disorder in the permanent license store.

Claims

1. A method for a computing device to store digital licenses for rendering corresponding pieces of digital content, the method comprising:

the computing device receiving a first license corresponding to a first content and a second license corresponding to a second content, wherein each of the first content and the second content are corresponding streams of digital content tuned from a combined signal comprising a plurality of streams of digital content, and wherein the second content has been directed to be saved to a storage device for subsequent playback or copying and the first content has not been directed to be saved to a storage device for subsequent playback or copying;

the computing device storing the first license in a temporary license store;

the computing device storing the second license in a permanent license store;

the computing device deleting the first license when the temporary license store is turned off or reset; and

the computing device maintaining the second license in the permanent license store when the permanent license store is turned off or reset.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein storing the first license comprises the computing device storing the first license in the temporary license store established in a RAM memory of the computing device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein storing the second license comprises the computing device storing the second license in the permanent license store established in a fixed drive memory of the computing device.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the computing device explicitly commanding a deletion of the first license in the temporary license store at a time when such computing device deems that the first license is no longer needed.

5. The method of claim 4 comprising the computing device commanding the deletion of the first license in the temporary license store by marking the first license for deletion, and further comprising:

after marking the first license for deletion, the computing device actuating a license housekeeping process;

the license housekeeping process examining each license in the temporary license store and determining if each license is marked for deletion; and

if so, the computing device deleting marked licenses from the temporary license store.

6. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions implementing a method for a computing device to store digital licenses for rendering corresponding pieces of digital content, the method comprising:

the computing device receiving a first license corresponding to a first content and a second license corresponding to a second content, wherein each of the first content and the second content are corresponding streams of digital content tuned from a combined signal comprising a plurality of streams of digital content, and wherein the second content has been directed to be saved to a storage device for subsequent playback or copying and the first content has not been directed to be saved to a storage device for subsequent playback or copying;

the computing device storing the first license in a temporary license store;

the computing device storing the second license in a permanent license store;

the computing device deleting the first license when the temporary license store is turned off or reset; and

the computing device maintaining the second license in the permanent license store when the permanent license store is turned off or reset.

7. The medium of claim 6 wherein storing the first licenses comprises the computing device storing the first licenses in a temporary license store established in a RAM memory of the computing device.

8. The medium of claim 7 wherein storing the second licenses comprises the computing device storing the second licenses in a permanent license store established in a fixed drive memory of the computing device.

9. The medium of claim 7 wherein the method further comprises the computing device explicitly commanding a deletion of a license in the temporary license store at a time when such computing device deems that such license is no longer needed.

10. The medium of claim 9 wherein the method comprises the computing device commanding the deletion of the license in the temporary license store by marking the license for deletion, and further comprises:

after marking the license for deletion, the computing device actuating a license housekeeping process;

the license housekeeping process examining each license in the temporary license store and determining if the license is marked for deletion; and

if so, the computing device deleting such marked license from the temporary license store.

11. A computing device adapted to store digital licenses for rendering corresponding pieces of digital content, comprising:

a processor programmed to;

receive a first license corresponding to a first content and a second license corresponding to a second content, wherein each of the first content and the second content are corresponding streams of digital content tuned from a combined signal comprising a plurality of streams of digital content, and wherein the second content has been directed to be saved to a storage device for subsequent playback or copying and the first content has not been directed to be saved to a storage device for subsequent playback or copying;

a temporary license store that stores the first license; and

a permanent license store that stores the second license,

wherein the processor is further programmed to delete the first license when the temporary license store is turned off or reset and to maintain the second license in the permanent license store when the permanent license store is turned off or reset.

12. The device of claim 11 wherein the temporary license store comprises a RAM memory of the computing device.

13. The device of claim 11 wherein the permanent license store comprises a fixed drive memory of the computing device.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the processor deletes a license in the temporary license store at a time when such license is no longer needed.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein the processor is further programmed to mark the license for deletion and programmed to actuate a license housekeeping process after marking the license for deletion, the license housekeeping process examining each license in the temporary license store, determining if the license is marked for deletion, and, if so, deleting such marked license from the temporary license store.