System and method for centrally distributing mobile content

• US 8,798,591 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2012
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: LeBlanc, Michael, Glidden, Jody Daniel, O'Reilly, Jacob Samuel
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, David Q
• Application Number:
  US13/688,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20130085863A1
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/414.3, 455/414.4, 455/405, 705/7, 705/14
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

There are provided methods, systems, devices and computer program products for distributing mobile content, on behalf of mobile content providers, to mobile devices. A central mobile content delivery system and a central mobile content delivery store system are provided. Interfaces permit a mobile content provider to author and publish mobile content in association with subscription data. Content offers may be defined from such data and offered to mobile device user subscribers such as in a catalog system. Content is delivered on behalf of the content providers in accordance with the subscriptions concluded by the store system. Subscriptions may relate to single packages of mobile content or a plurality of packages (e.g. in a series of publications) such as previously or subsequently published mobile content. Subscriptions are provided to the central delivery system to assign and deliver mobile content to devices.

Claims

1. A method for centrally distributing mobile content comprising:

at a mobile content provider server device, receiving mobile content and associated subscription data from respective content providers, the subscription data defining content offers and subscription terms to receive a plurality of respective content packages comprising the mobile content and at least one of previously published mobile content and subsequently published mobile content defining a series of publications;

forwarding the subscription data to a mobile content storage server device, said mobile content storage server device providing the content offers to deliver the mobile content to subscribers completing respective subscriptions to receive the mobile content in accordance with the content offers; and

receiving, at a central content delivery server device, the respective subscriptions from said mobile content storage server device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the subscription data comprises information describing the mobile content for defining a content offering and information describing subscription terms for concluding an ecommerce transaction.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile content comprises interactive components.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising configuring, at the central content delivery server device, the content package for delivery to said mobile devices in accordance with the respective subscriptions.

5. The method of claim 4 comprising delivering the mobile content in accordance with a push delivery model for delivering content packages.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein a particular subscription is associated to a plurality of mobile content defining respective content packages and wherein delivering comprises delivering for subsequent retrieval by said mobile device.

7. The method of claim 5 comprising defining a manifest for said content package and push delivering said manifest to the mobile device to enable retrieval of said content package.

8. The method of claim 5 comprising defining said content package in response to a type of mobile device to which the content package is delivered.

9. The method of claim 1 comprising downloading a mobile content player to the mobile device and registering said player to receive and play mobile content.

17. A computer program product comprising a memory storing instructions and data to configure a processor of a central mobile content delivery system to perform the method of claim 1.

10. A central mobile content delivery system comprising:

a processor and memory coupled thereto;

a communications subsystem for communicating with;

at least one mobile content provider system for content providers to author and publish mobile content,

at least one mobile content store system for offering the mobile content for delivery to mobile devices in accordance with concluded subscriptions therefor; and

at least one mobile device for delivery of mobile content according to the subscriptions; and

a storage subsystem for storing the mobile content received;

the central mobile content delivery system configured by one or more subsystems and/or components to;

receive mobile content and associated subscription data from respective content providers, the subscription data defining content offers and including subscription terms to receive a plurality of respective content packages comprising the mobile content and at least one of previously published mobile content and subsequently published mobile content defining a series of publications; and

forward the subscription data to a mobile content store system, said mobile content store system providing the content offers to deliver the mobile content to subscribers completing respective subscriptions to receive the mobile content in accordance with the content offers; and

receive the respective subscriptions from said mobile content store system.

11. The central mobile content delivery system of claim 10 further comprising configuring the content package for delivery to subscribers in accordance with said subscriptions and delivering said mobile content.

12. The central mobile content delivery system of claim 11 further configured to deliver the mobile content in accordance with a push delivery model for delivering content packages.

13. The central mobile content delivery system of claim 12, wherein a particular subscription is associated to a plurality of mobile content defining respective content packages and further wherein when delivering in response to a new subscription to a plurality of mobile content, the central mobile content delivery system is configured to deliver a one of said content packages for subsequent retrieval by said mobile device.

14. The central mobile content delivery system of claim 12 further configured to define a manifest for said content package and push deliver said manifest to the mobile device to enable retrieval of said content package.

15. The central mobile content delivery system of claim 11 further configured to define said content package in response to a type of mobile device to which the content package is delivered.

16. The central mobile content delivery system of claim 10 further configured to download a mobile content player to the mobile device and register said player to receive and play mobile content.

18. A method of publishing mobile content comprising:

at a mobile content storage server device, associating subscription data with particular authored mobile content, said subscription data comprising information defining a content offer and subscription terms to receive a plurality of respective content packages comprising the mobile content and at least one of previously published mobile content and subsequently published mobile content defining a series of publications; and

publishing the mobile content and associated subscription data to a central mobile content delivery server device configured to;

store said mobile content and deliver said mobile content to mobile devices in accordance with respective subscriptions therefor;

forward said subscription data on behalf of content providers to a mobile content store system, said store system providing the content offers to deliver the mobile content to subscribers completing respective subscriptions to receive the mobile content in accordance with the content offers; and

receive respective subscriptions from said mobile content store system.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the subscription data comprises at least one of a) terms for defining a subscription to receive an individual content package comprising only the mobile content and b) terms for defining a subscription to receive a plurality of respective content packages comprising the mobile content and at least one of previously published mobile content or subsequently published mobile content defining a series of publications.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the subscription data comprises pricing terms for the subscription.