Digital entertainment service platform

• US 8,468,099 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2009
• Issued: 06/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jolly Seven, Series 70 of Allied Security Trust I (Allied Security Trust)
• Original Assignee: Intertainer Incorporated
• Inventors: Headings, Kevin P., Schein, Steven M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu, Kuen S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Raab, Christopher J
• Application Number:
  US12/587,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20100036724A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,347 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/51
• US Class Current: 705/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0253 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

The present invention is directed to an open business platform that provides an end-to-end solution for managing, distributing, and/or retailing digital media assets from various content suppliers. In one or more embodiments, the present invention provides an integrated system that permits media content suppliers to deposit their media assets with the system where they are prepared by a content management system for distribution to consumers via a secure distribution system. The media content suppliers may then track and control the use of their media assets through a subscriber management system for managing consumer accounts, a licensing server for issuing licenses restricting the use of media content, and a royalty reporter for determining and reporting royalties to the various content suppliers.

Claims

1. A method for managing and marketing digital media content supplied by media content suppliers to consumers, the method comprising:

providing the media content suppliers direct access to a digital media content service platform for permitting the media content suppliers to supply video content to the digital media content service platform by electronic transmission;

storing the video content supplied by the media content suppliers on the digital media content service platform;

combining the video content with metadata to create a media content offering for use by the consumers;

including advertising information with the video content and the metadata of the media content offering, the advertising information associating at least one advertisement with the video content;

permitting the media content suppliers to supply business rules to the digital media content service platform, at least one of the business rules governing distribution of the video content to a specified geographic location;

offering the media content offering to the consumers in accordance with the business rules supplied by the media content suppliers to deliver the video content over at least two different client platforms including a set top box and a wireless cellular phone, the media content offering being associated with a localized market, the offering of the media content offering to the consumers including determining whether a consumer making a request for a selected media content offering is permitted to use the selected media content offering, and issuing a license to the consumer making the request upon a determination that the consumer is permitted to use the selected media content offering;

grouping the consumers into a grouping of consumers according to a geographic location shared by the consumers; and

delivering the media content offering associated with the localized market to the grouping of consumers if the shared geographic location corresponds to the specified geographic location in the at least one of the business rules.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein offering the media content offering to the consumers includes offering a consumer good to the consumers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the license issued expires after a selected interval of time.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising targeting advertising to the localized market, and presenting the advertising to the grouping of consumers, if the shared geographical location corresponds to the localized market.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating consumer goods with the media content offering, and offering the consumer goods to the grouping of consumers.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising embedding purchasing opportunities for the consumer goods within the media content offering.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing recommendations to the grouping of consumers for additional media content offerings based on video content usage information associated with the shared geographic location.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content offering is offered only to consumers of a media content subscription service.

4. A method for managing and marketing digital media content supplied by media content suppliers to consumers, the method comprising:

providing a digital media content service platform operable to manage and distribute video content to a plurality of the consumers in accordance with business rules supplied by the media content suppliers, wherein distribution to geographic locations is one of the business rules supplied by the media content suppliers;

providing the media content suppliers access to the digital media content service platform for permitting the media content suppliers to directly supply the video content to the digital media content service platform by electronic transmission;

storing the video content supplied by the media content suppliers on the digital media content service platform;

including coded information with the video content, the coded information being advertising information associating at least one advertisement with the video content;

specifying at least one of the business rules for distributing the stored video content to a specified geographic location;

grouping the consumers by a geographic location associated with the consumers;

distributing the video content to the grouping of consumers if the geographic location of the consumers corresponds to the specified geographic location in the at least one of the business rules;

offering the video content over at least two different client platforms, including a set top box and a wireless cellular phone, to the grouping of consumers, determining whether a consumer making a request for selected video content is permitted to use the selected video content, and issuing a license to the consumer making a request upon a determination that the consumer is permitted to use the selected video content; and

distributing targeted advertising with the video content to the grouping of consumers, the targeted advertising being targeted to the grouping of consumers based on the geographic location of the consumers.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising associating metadata with the video content supplied by at least one of the media content suppliers.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the license issued expires after a selected interval of time.

11. The method of claim 4, further comprising associating consumer goods with the video content, and offering the consumer goods to the consumers.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising embedding purchasing opportunities for the consumer goods within the video content.

17. The method of claim 4, wherein the video content is offered only to consumers of a media content subscription service.

13. A method for managing and marketing digital media content supplied by media content suppliers to consumers, the method comprising:

providing a digital media content service platform operable to manage and distribute video content to a plurality of the consumers in accordance with business rules supplied by the media content suppliers, wherein distribution to geographic locations is one of the business rules supplied by the media content suppliers;

providing the media content suppliers access to the digital media content service platform for permitting the media content suppliers to directly supply the video content to the digital media content service platform by electronic transmission;

storing the video content supplied by the media content suppliers on the digital media content service platform;

including coded information with the video content, the coded information being advertising information associating at least one advertisement with the video content;

specifying at least one of the business rules for distributing the video content to a specified geographic location;

grouping the consumers by a geographic location associated with the consumers;

embedding purchasing opportunities for merchandise with the video content, the merchandise being other than the video content supplied to the digital media content service platform and purchasable by the consumer interacting with the embedded purchasing opportunities;

distributing the video content to the grouping of consumers if the geographic location of the consumers corresponds to the specified geographic location in the at least one of the business rules, wherein the video content being distributed corresponds to a localized market for the grouping of consumers; and

offering the merchandise to the consumers for purchase via the embedded purchasing opportunities.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising distributing advertising targeted to the localized market for the grouping of consumers.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing recommendations to the consumers for additional video content based on video content usage information associated with the geographic location of the consumers.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the video content is offered only to consumers of a media content subscription service.