Activating licensable component of consumer electronic device at point of sale

• US 8,396,748 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2011
• Issued: 03/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shintani, Peter, Sadja, Aran London, Douillet, Ludovic
• Primary Examiner(s): Frenel, Vanel
• Application Number:
  US13/049,021
• Publication Number:
  US 20120123885A1
• Time in Patent Office: 727 Days
• Field of Search: 705/21, 705/16, 705/17, 705/18, 340/5.81, 340/10.4, 235/379, 235/380
• US Class Current: 705/21
• 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: G06F 21/125 by manipulating the program code, e.g. source code, compiled code, interpreted code, machine code
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/306 using TV related infrastructures external card used for payment with client device H04N21/4185
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/10 Tax strategies
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25816 involving client authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/641 : Multi-purpose receivers, e.g. for auxiliary information H04N9/642 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/642 : Multi-standard receivers

Abstract

A purchaser of a CE device informs a retail clerk, at the point of sale (POS) of features of the CE device the purchaser wishes to employ, some of which require a license. The CE device is vended without the licenses but the clerk can upload the desired features to a server, which correlates the features to licensable components and which returns to the POS the license codes needed to enable the components. The codes can be provided to the CE device using RFID at the POS, or storing the codes on a removable storage at the POS and giving the storage to the purchaser, or by printing the codes as bar codes in the sales receipt at the POS and giving the receipt to the purchaser, who later scans the codes past a camera of the CE device to enable the associated licensable components.

Claims

1. Consumer electronics (CE) device comprising:

processor controlling one or more licensable components, at least one of which requires a license code to enable, the license code not being available to the processor at a point of sale (POS) of the CE device until a transaction for the CE device has been satisfied;

display controlled by the processor; and

computer readable storage medium bearing instructions executable by the processor to;

pursuant to satisfying the transaction, receive at least one license code associated with at least one licensable component, the license code being provided through a point of sale terminal (POST), the license code not having to be typed into the CE device by a person to make the license code available to the processor; and

use the license code to enable operation of the licensable component, the licensed component not being enabled for operation without the license code.

2. The CE device of claim 1, wherein the processor-receives the license code from a radiofrequency identification (RFID) device communicating with the processor, the RFID device storing the license code received from an RFID device of the POST.

3. The CE device of claim 1, wherein the processor receives the license code from a removable storage medium removably engageable with the CE device, the removable storage medium storing the license code written to it by the POST.

4. The CE device of claim 1, wherein the processor receives the license code from an imaging device reading the license code from a substrate printed by a printer associated with the POST.

5. Point of sale terminal (POST), comprising:

processor;

computer readable storage medium accessible by the processor and bearing instructions to cause the processor to;

receive at least one purchaser-desired feature of a consumer electronics (CE) device, the purchaser-desired feature implicating a license for a licensable component of the CE device;

transmit data representing the purchaser-desired features to a server;

receive from the server in response to the data representing the purchaser-desired features at least one license code; and

provide the license code to the CE device and/or to a purchaser thereof.

6. The POST of claim 5, wherein the processor receives the purchaser-desired feature by means of a user interface (UI) presented on a display of the POST.

7. The POST of claim 6, wherein the UI indicates plural sources of content to be displayed on the CE device and the purchaser decides which of the sources of content the purchaser wishes to enable.

8. The POST of claim 6, wherein the UI indicates plural licensable components and the purchaser decides which of the licensable component the purchaser wishes to enable.

9. The POST of claim 5, wherein the POST causes a bar code representing the license code to be printed by a printer onto a substrate which can be provided to the purchaser.

10. The POST of claim 5, wherein the POST sends the license code to the CE device using RED.

11. The POST of claim 5, wherein the POST stores the license code on a removable memory medium that can be provided to the purchaser of the CE device for insertion thereof into the CE device.

12. Method comprising:

receiving, from a point of sale (POS) of a consumer electronics (CE) device, desired features of the CE device as defined by a purchaser of the CE device; and

using a terminal at the POS to provide to the CE device and/or the purchaser thereof at least one license code required to enable the feature to function on the CE device without requiring the license code to be typed into the CE device.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising correlating the desired features to one or more respective licensable components disabled in the CE device absent input of respective license codes associated with the respective licensable features to a processor of the CE device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a purchaser-desired feature of terrestrial antenna input is correlated town ATSC demodulator in the CE device requiring a respective license code to enable.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein a purchaser-desired feature of video disk input is correlated to a high definition content protect (HDCP) license event.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein a purchaser-desired feature of Internet use is correlated to a licensable component established by a Web browser.

17. The method of claim 12, comprising providing the license code to the CE device using RFID.

18. The method of claim 12, comprising providing the license code to the CE device using a removable storage medium.

19. The method of claim 12, comprising providing the license code to the CE device using at least one bar code printed onto a substrate readable by the CE device.