Content providing system and method, shared content providing apparatus and method, content output apparatus and method, and program

• US 8,645,560 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2008
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Dewa, Yoshiharu
• Primary Examiner(s): ZHANG, SHIRLEY X
• Application Number:
  US12/528,820
• Publication Number:
  US 20100106800A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,168 Days
• Field of Search: 709217-219, 709/231, 725 74- 15, 725 9- 21, 725/46, 705 51- 59
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6112 involving terrestrial transmission, e.g. DVB-T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6334 for authorisation, e.g. by transmitting a key wireless communications network key management H04W12/04; wireless communications network access security H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The present invention relates to a content providing system and method, a shared content providing apparatus and method, a content output apparatus and method, and a program for making it possible to provide content to a different user without infringing on copyright. Content items are provided from a content server 21 to a plurality of broadcast receiving apparatuses 14-1 to 14-3 via a broadcasting network 12. A video clip server 16 obtains, from the content server 21, shared content that is content shared by a plurality of users, among the provided content items. The video clip server 16 sends selecting information for selecting the obtained shared content to the plurality of broadcast receiving apparatuses 14-1 to 14-3 via the Internet 11. The shared content selected by the broadcast receiving apparatuses 14-1 to 14-3 on the basis of the selecting information is provided from the video clip server 16 to the broadcast receiving apparatuses 14-1 to 14-3.

Claims

1. A content providing system comprising:

content providing means for providing content items via a network;

content output means for outputting the provided content items;

specifying/selecting means for specifying, among the output content items output by the content output means, shared content that is content to be shared by a plurality of users and for selecting predetermined shared content;

means for determining a number of times the shared content has been requested to be published by a user; and

shared content providing means for obtaining the specified content as the shared content from the content providing means and for providing the shared content, selected based on selecting information for selecting the obtained shared content, via the network to the content output means which selected the shared content based on the selecting information, the shared content providing means providing the shared content if the number of times the shared content has been requested to be published exceeds a threshold, the selecting information including channel information that the content output means is receiving at that time and current date and time information.

2. The content providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content providing means is constituted by a broadcasting apparatus that broadcasts the content via a broadcasting network serving as the network,

wherein the content output means is constituted by a broadcast receiving apparatus that receives and outputs the broadcast content and displays the selecting information,

wherein the specifying/selecting means is constituted by a remote controller that remotely operates the broadcast receiving apparatus, the remote controller specifying the content output from the broadcast receiving apparatus at a timing at which a predetermined button is operated as the shared content, and selecting the shared content based on the selecting information displayed on the broadcast receiving apparatus, and

wherein the shared content providing means is a server connected to the broadcast receiving apparatus via Internet serving as the network, and the shared content providing means obtains specification information for specifying the content as the shared content from the broadcast receiving apparatus via the Internet, obtains the shared content from the broadcasting apparatus based on the specification information, and sends the selecting information to a plurality of the broadcast receiving apparatuses via the Internet.

3. The content providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content providing means is constituted by a providing apparatus that provides the content via Internet serving as the network,

wherein the content output means is constituted by an electronic device that accepts the provision of the content and outputs the content,

wherein the specifying/selecting means is constituted by an input unit that inputs a command to the electronic device, the input unit specifying the content output from the electronic device at a timing at which a predetermined button is operated as the shared content, and selecting the shared content based on the selecting information displayed on the electronic device, and

wherein the shared content providing means is a server connected to the electronic device via the Internet, and the shared content providing means obtains specification information for specifying the content as the shared content from the electronic device via the Internet, and obtains the shared content from the providing apparatus based on the specification information.

21. The content providing system according to claim 1, wherein the shared content providing means providing the shared content if the number of times the shared content has been requested to be published exceeds a threshold based on the user that requested publication of the shared content.

22. The content providing system according to claim 21, wherein the threshold based on the user that requested publication of the shared content is equal to a first value for a no charge member, the threshold is equal to a second value less than the first value but greater than zero for a paid member, and is equal to zero for a user paying higher fees than the paid member.

4. A content providing method comprising:

providing content items via a network;

outputting the provided content items;

specifying, among the output content items output by the outputting, shared content that is content to be shared by a plurality of users;

obtaining the content, specified in the specifying, as the shared content from an apparatus that provides the content in the providing;

determining a number of times the shared content has been requested to be published by a user;

selecting predetermined shared content based on selecting information for selecting the obtained shared content, wherein the selecting information including channel information that an apparatus, having selected the shared content, is receiving at that time and current date and time information; and

providing the selected shared content via the network to the apparatus having selected the shared content based on the selecting information, the providing including providing the shared content if the number of times the shared content has been requested to be published exceeds a threshold.

5. A shared content providing apparatus comprising:

specification information obtaining means for obtaining, from a content output apparatus that accepts provision of content items via a network from a content providing apparatus, specification information for specifying a predetermined item among the content items as shared content that is content to be shared by a plurality of users via the network, the specification information including channel information that the content output apparatus is receiving at that time and current date and time information;

shared content obtaining means for obtaining the shared content specified used on the specification information from the content providing apparatus;

means for determining a number of times the shared content has been requested to be published by a user; and

providing means for providing the shared content selected based on selecting information for selecting the obtained shared content to the content output apparatus having selected the shared content based on the selecting information via the network, the providing means providing the shared content if the number of times the shared content has been requested to be published exceeds a threshold.

6. The shared content providing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising selecting information notification means for sending a notification of the selecting information to the content output apparatus via the network.

7. The shared content providing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the network via which the content providing apparatus provides the content items is a broadcasting network, the content providing apparatus is a broadcasting apparatus, the network via which the specification information obtaining means obtains the specification information is the Internet, and the content output apparatus is a television receiver.

8. The shared content providing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

counting means for counting the number of times the content has drawn attention; and

sending means for sending the counted number of times to the content providing apparatus.

9. The shared content providing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the counting means includes

first counting means for counting the number of times the specification information is received;

and

second counting means for counting the number of times the shared content is selected based on the selecting information.

10. The shared content providing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the network via which the content providing apparatus provides the content items and the network via which the specification information obtaining means obtains the specification information are the Internet, and the content output apparatus is a personal computer.

11. A shared content providing method comprising:

obtaining, from a content output apparatus that accepts provision of content items via a network from a content providing apparatus, specification information for specifying a predetermined item among the content items as shared content that is content to be shared by a plurality of users via the network, the specification information including channel information that the content output apparatus is receiving at that time and current date and time information;

obtaining the shared content specified based on the specification information from the content providing apparatus;

determining a number of times the shared content has been requested to be published by a user; and

providing the shared content selected based on selecting information for selecting the obtained shared content to the content output apparatus having selected the shared content based on the selecting information via the network, the providing including providing the shared content if the number of times the shared content has been requested to be published exceeds a threshold.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a program causing a computer to execute a method comprising:

obtaining, from a content output apparatus that accepts provision of content items via a network from a content providing apparatus, specification information for specifying a predetermined item among the content items as shared content that is content to be shared by a plurality of users via the network, the specification information including channel information that the content output apparatus is receiving at that time and current date and time information;

obtaining the shared content specified based on the specification information from the content providing apparatus;

determining a number of times the shared content has been requested to be published by a user; and

providing the shared content selected based on selecting information for selecting the obtained shared content to the content output apparatus having selected the shared content based on the selecting information via the network, the providing including providing the shared content if the number of times the shared content has been requested to be published exceeds a threshold.

13. A content output apparatus comprising:

output means for outputting content items received from a content providing apparatus via a network;

detection means for detecting, when a predetermined item among the output content items is specified as shared content that is to he shared by a plurality of users, specification information for specifying the content, the specification information including channel information that the output means is receiving at that time and current date and time information;

specification information sending means for sending the detected specification information via the network to a shared content providing apparatus;

selecting means for selecting a predetermined item among the shared content based on selecting information for selecting the shared content;

means for determining a number of times the shared content has been requested to be published by a user; and

shared content obtaining means for obtaining the selected shared content from the shared content providing apparatus via the network, the shared content obtaining means obtaining the shared content if the number of times the shared content has been requested to be published exceeds a threshold.

14. The content output apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising selecting information obtaining means for obtaining the selecting information from the shared content providing apparatus via the network.

15. The content output apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the network via which the output means receives the content items from the content providing apparatus is a broadcasting network, the content providing apparatus is a broadcasting apparatus, the network via which the specification information is sent to the shared content providing apparatus is the Internet, the shared content providing apparatus is a server, and the content output apparatus is a television receiver.

16. The content output apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the specification information is channel information indicates a channel that broadcasts the content and the current date-and-time information indicates date and time at which the content is broadcast.

17. The content output apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the network via which, the content providing apparatus provides the content items and the network via which the specification information sending means sends the specification information are the Internet, and the content output apparatus is a personal computer.

18. The content output, apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the specification information includes a URL for accessing the content.

19. A content output method comprising;

outputting content items received from a content providing apparatus via a network;

detecting, when a predetermined item among the output content items is specified as shared content that is to be shared by a plurality of users, specification information for specifying the content, the specification information including channel information that a content output means is receiving at that time and current date and time information;

sending the detected specification information via the network to a shared content providing apparatus;

selecting a predetermined item among the shared content based on the selecting information for selecting the shared content;

determining a number of times the shared content has been requested to be published by a user; and

obtaining the selected shared content from the shared content providing, apparatus via the network, the obtaining including obtaining the shared content if the number of times the shared content has been requested to be published exceeds a threshold.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a program causing a computer to execute a method comprising:

outputting content items received from a content providing apparatus via a network;

detecting, when a predetermined item among the output content items is specified as shared content that is to be shared by a plurality of users, specification information for specifying the content, the specification information including channel information that a content output means is receiving at that time and current date and time information;

sending the detected specification information via the network to a shared content providing apparatus;

selecting a predetermined item among the shared content based on selecting information for selecting the shared content;

determining a number of times the shared content has been requested to be published by a user; and

obtaining the selected shared content from the shared content providing apparatus via the network, the obtaining including obtaining the shared content if the number of times the shared content has been requested to be published exceeds a threshold.