Methods and apparatus for playback of an electronic file
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- memory, the memory storing software that, when executed, causes the apparatus to;
communicate with a playback service;
receive, from the playback service, a play list of a user, in which the play list identifies a plurality of audio files available from the playback service to playback on the apparatus;
allow the user to select an audio file from the plurality of audio files identified by the play list;
send, to the playback service, a request to playback the audio file of the plurality of audio files;
receive, from the playback service, at least a portion of the audio file;
play the at least a portion of the audio file; and
after playing the at least a portion of the audio file, report, to the playback service, using a message, that the audio file is not stored in the memory.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus are disclosed for facilitating online storage of files (e.g., audio tracks, video, etc.) for playback/access or sale/exchange by the owners of the files without violating copyrights that copyright holders have in the files. For example, by providing a playback service that does not store additional versions of an audio file when the file is transmitted to, and immediately played on, a user device without buffering, the present invention avoids violating copyright laws by not making copies of the file. Numerous other aspects are disclosed.
57 Citations
50 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
memory, the memory storing software that, when executed, causes the apparatus to; communicate with a playback service; receive, from the playback service, a play list of a user, in which the play list identifies a plurality of audio files available from the playback service to playback on the apparatus; allow the user to select an audio file from the plurality of audio files identified by the play list; send, to the playback service, a request to playback the audio file of the plurality of audio files; receive, from the playback service, at least a portion of the audio file; play the at least a portion of the audio file; and after playing the at least a portion of the audio file, report, to the playback service, using a message, that the audio file is not stored in the memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method, comprising:
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receiving, at a computing device, from a playback service, a play list of a user, in which the play list identifies a plurality of audio files available from the playback service to playback on the apparatus, in which the computing device comprises a memory; allowing the user to select an audio file from the plurality of audio files identified by the play list; sending, from the computing device, to the playback service, a request to playback the audio file of the plurality of audio files; receiving, at the computing device, from the playback service, at least a portion of the audio file; playing, by the computing device, the at least a portion of the audio file; and after playing the at least a portion of the audio file, reporting, by the computing device, to the playback service, using a message, that the audio file is not stored in the memory.
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26. An apparatus, comprising:
memory, the memory storing software that, when executed, causes the apparatus to; receive, from a playback service, a play list of a user, in which the play list identifies a plurality of audio files available from the playback service to playback on the apparatus; allow the user to select an audio file from the plurality of audio files identified by the play list; send, to the playback service, a request to playback the audio file of the plurality of audio files; receive, from the playback service, at least a portion of the audio file streamed from the playback service at a rate; and play the at least a portion of the audio file with minimal buffering in the apparatus, in which the rate is configured to permit the minimal buffering, and in which the apparatus stores the at least portion of the audio file for a non-zero time that is less than one second. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A method, comprising:
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receiving, at a computing device, from a playback service, a play list of a user, in which the play list identifies a plurality of audio files available from the playback service to playback on the apparatus, in which the computing device comprises a memory; allowing the user to select an audio file from the plurality of audio files identified by the play list; sending, from the computing device, to the playback service, a request to playback the audio file of the plurality of audio files; receiving, at the computing device, from the playback service, at least a portion of the audio file streamed from the playback service at a rate; and playing, by the computing device, the at least a portion of the audio file with minimal buffering in the apparatus, in which the rate is configured to permit the minimal buffering, and in which the apparatus stores the at least portion of the audio file for a non-zero time that less than a time required to play the at least portion of the audio file.
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Specification