Digital delivery system and user interface for enabling the digital delivery of media content

• US 8,584,256 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2011
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. (The Walt Disney Company)
• Inventors: Spooner, Elaine M., Koscheka, John D., Bessolo, Michael S., Simpson, Mark L., Yuan, Jean L., Russell, J. Craig D., Bettes, Christopher M., McCarthy, Greg, Kundula, Srinivas, Mantena, Venkata Nagaraju
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehedi, Morshed
• Application Number:
  US13/090,993
• Publication Number:
  US 20120102573A1
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• Field of Search: 726/26, 726/28, 726/27
• US Class Current: 726/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable storage medium provides the ability to deliver media content. A repository stores media content and marketing assets for the media content. A server computer provides a website accessible on the Internet worldwide to client computers. The website provides the ability to search a public site catalog/library of media content that is publicly available. The website further provides marketing assets for licensed media content from the library to authorized client users (that have a license to media content) in a secure manner. The website further provides preview screening access and download access to licensed media content (e.g., titles of audio-visual media content) to the authorized client users.

Claims

1. A system for delivering media content in a computer system comprising:

(a) a repository configured to store media content and marketing assets for the media content, wherein the media content comprises file based film and television media assets, and wherein the marketing assets comprise marketing and promotional file-based assets for the media content;

(b) a server computer communicatively coupled to the repository and enabled to provide access to the media content and marketing assets via a website accessible on the Internet worldwide to one or more client computers, wherein the website is configured to;

(i) enable the one or more client computers to search a public site catalog comprised of a library of media content that is publicly available;

(ii) provide marketing assets for licensed media content from the library to one or more authorized client users on the one or more client computers in a secure manner, wherein the one or more authorized client users have a license to the licensed media content, and wherein the marketing assets available to the one or more authorized clients reflect particular licensed rights to related licensed media content of the one or more authorized client users;

(iii) providing preview screening access and download access to licensed media content to the one or more authorized client users, wherein the licensed media content is comprised of one or more titles of audio-visual media content;

(iv) display a title detail summary screen comprised of a grid indicating media content titles and an availability of marketing assets, screening capabilities, broadcast quality video download capabilities, and media content information for each media content title in the grid; and

(v) provide multi-platform global accessibility of digital rights management (DRM) protected, full length video.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the marketing assets comprise production level intellectual property and concept for a media content title.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the website is further configured to provide advanced search capabilities to search for media content; and

the advanced search capabilities comprises capability to search by keyword, product category, genre, run time, and theme.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the website is further configured to:

accept a specified set of search attributes for the search for media content;

save the specified set of search attributes;

select the saved specified set, wherein in response to the selecting, results of the saved set of search attributes are dynamically updated based on any changes in the library of media content and any changes in the license to the licensed media content.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the website is further configured to display one or more posters corresponding to each title of media content available to the one or more client computers, wherein each title of media content represents a series, season, or episode;

in response to requesting season details relating to a series, the website is configured to display season information for the series;

in response to requesting episode details relating to a season, the website is configured to display episode information for the season;

in response to requesting series details relating to a season, the website is configured to display series information for the season; and

in response to requesting season details relating to an episode, the website is configured to display season information for the episode.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the website is further configured to provide a title cart comprising a list of titles that the authorized client user has elected to utilize.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the website is further configured to provide an asset cart comprising marketing and media assets for licensed media content that the authorized client user has elected to utilize.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the licensed media content is grouped by a licensed title and comprises different video formats.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the website is further configured to:

display a poster of the licensed title;

when a cursor hovers over the poster, a pop-up window is displayed with the different video formats and licensed media content for selection by the one or more authorized client users.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising receiving default user preferences for configuring a display of the website from the authorized client user.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the preview screening access comprises a season pass selected by the authorized client user, wherein the authorized client user can screen, via streaming video, licensed media content for an entire season of a specific title.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein when the one or more authorized client users are logged in, the website is configured to modify the viewing and search of the public site catalog to the one or more authorized client users such that the public site catalog is color-coded to indicate whether media content in the private catalog is licensed or non-licensed by the one or more authorized client users.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a media player configured to provide the multi-platform global accessibility of digital rights management (DRM) protected, full length video for online streaming.

14. A computer implemented method for delivering media content, comprising:

(a) storing media content and marketing assets for the media content in a repository, wherein the media content comprises file based film and television media assets, and wherein the marketing assets comprise marketing and promotional file-based assets for the media content;

(b) providing access to the media content and marketing assets via a website accessible on the Internet worldwide to one or more client computers, wherein the website is configured to;

(i) enable the one or more client computers to search a public site catalog comprised of a library of media content that is publicly available;

(ii) provide marketing assets for licensed media content from the library to one or more authorized client users on the one or more client computers in a secure manner, wherein the one or more authorized client users have a license to the licensed media content, and wherein the marketing assets available to the one or more authorized clients reflect particular licensed rights to related licensed media content of the one or more authorized client users;

(iii) providing preview screening access and download access to licensed media content to the one or more authorized client users, wherein the licensed media content is comprised of one or more titles of audio-visual media content;

(iv) display a title detail summary screen comprised of a grid indicating media content titles and an availability of marketing assets, screening capabilities, broadcast quality video download capabilities, and media content information for each media content title in the grid; and

(v) provide multi-platform global accessibility of digital rights management (DRM) protected, full length video.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the marketing assets comprise production level intellectual property and concept for a media content title.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the website is further configured to provide advanced search capabilities to search for media content; and

the advanced search capabilities comprises capability to search by keyword, product category, genre, run time, and theme.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the website is further configured to:

accept a specified set of search attributes for the search for media content;

save the specified set of search attributes;

select the saved specified set, wherein in response to the selecting, results of the saved set of search attributes are dynamically updated based on any changes in the library of media content and any changes in the license to the licensed media content.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the website is further configured to display one or more posters corresponding to each title of media content available to the one or more client computers, wherein each title of media content represents a series, season, or episode;

in response to requesting season details relating to a series, the website is configured to display season information for the series;

in response to requesting episode details relating to a season, the website is configured to display episode information for the season;

in response to requesting series details relating to a season, the website is configured to display series information for the season; and

in response to requesting season details relating to an episode, the website is configured to display season information for the episode.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the website is further configured to provide a title cart comprising a list of titles that the authorized client user has elected to utilize.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the website is further configured to provide an asset cart comprising marketing and media assets for licensed media content that the authorized client user has elected to utilize.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the licensed media content is grouped by a licensed title and comprises different video formats.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the website is further configured to:

display a poster of the licensed title;

when a cursor hovers over the poster, a pop-up window is displayed with the different video formats and licensed media content for selection by the one or more authorized client users.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein the website is further configured to receive default user preferences for configuring a display of the website from the authorized client user.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein the preview screening access comprises a season pass selected by the authorized client user, wherein the authorized client user can screen, via streaming video, licensed media content for an entire season of a specific title.

25. The method of claim 14, wherein when the one or more authorized client users are logged in, the website is configured to modify the viewing and search of the public site catalog to the one or more authorized client users such that the public site catalog is color-coded to indicate whether media content in the private catalog is licensed or non-licensed by the one or more authorized client users.

26. The method of claim 14, further comprising a media player configured to provide the multi-platform global accessibility of digital rights management (DRM) protected, full length video for online streaming.

27. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with computer program instructions which when accessed by a computer causes the computer to load the program instructions to a memory therein creating a special purpose data structure causing the computer to operate as a specially programmed computer, executing a method of delivering media content, comprising:

(a) storing, in a repository, media content and marketing assets for the media content, wherein the media content comprises file based film and television media assets, and wherein the marketing assets comprise marketing and promotional file-based assets for the media content;

(b) providing, in the specially programmed computer, access to the media content and marketing assets via a website accessible on the Internet worldwide to one or more client computers, wherein the website is configured to;

(i) enable the one or more client computers to search a public site catalog comprised of a library of media content that is publicly available;

(ii) provide marketing assets for licensed media content from the library to one or more authorized client users on the one or more client computers in a secure manner, wherein the one or more authorized client users have a license to the licensed media content, and wherein the marketing assets available to the one or more authorized clients reflect particular licensed rights to related licensed media content of the one or more authorized client users;

(iii) providing preview screening access and download access to licensed media content to the one or more authorized client users, wherein the licensed media content is comprised of one or more titles of audio-visual media content;

(iv)displaying a title detail summary screen comprised of a grid indicating media content titles and an availability of marketing assets, screening capabilities, broadcast quality video download capabilities, and media content information for each media content title in the grid; and

(v) providing multi-platform global accessibility of digital rights management (DRM) protected, full length video.

28. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the marketing assets comprise production level intellectual property and concept for a media content title.

29. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein:

the website is further configured to provide advanced search capabilities to search for media content; and

the advanced search capabilities comprises capability to search by keyword, product category, genre, run time, and theme.

30. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the website is further configured to:

accept a specified set of search attributes for the search for media content;

save the specified set of search attributes;

select the saved specified set, wherein in response to the selecting, results of the saved set of search attributes are dynamically updated based on any changes in the library of media content and any changes in the license to the licensed media content.

31. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein:

the website is further configured to display one or more posters corresponding to each title of media content available to the one or more client computers, wherein each title of media content represents a series, season, or episode;

in response to requesting season details relating to a series, the website is configured to display season information for the series;

in response to requesting episode details relating to a season, the website is configured to display episode information for the season;

in response to requesting series details relating to a season, the website is configured to display series information for the season; and

in response to requesting season details relating to an episode, the website is configured to display season information for the episode.

32. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the website is further configured to provide a title cart comprising a list of titles that the authorized client user has elected to utilize.

33. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the website is further configured to provide an asset cart comprising marketing and media assets for licensed media content that the authorized client user has elected to utilize.

34. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the licensed media content is grouped by a licensed title and comprises different video formats.

35. The computer readable storage medium of claim 34, wherein the website is further configured to:

display a poster of the licensed title;

when a cursor hovers over the poster, a pop-up window is displayed with the different video formats and licensed media content for selection by the one or more authorized client users.

36. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the website is further configured to receive default user preferences for configuring a display of the website from the authorized client user.

37. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the preview screening access comprises a season pass selected by the authorized client user, wherein the authorized client user can screen, via streaming video, licensed media content for an entire season of a specific title.

38. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein when the one or more authorized client users are logged in, the website is configured to modify the viewing and search of the public site catalog to the one or more authorized client users such that the public site catalog is color-coded to indicate whether media content in the private catalog is licensed or non-licensed by the one or more authorized client users.

39. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, further comprising a media player configured to provide the multi-platform global accessibility of digital rights management (DRM) protected, full length video for online streaming.