Methods and systems employing digital content

• US 8,874,244 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2007
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B., Levy, Kenneth L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Goins, Davetta W
• Assistant Examiner(s): SELLERS, DANIEL R
• Application Number:
  US11/746,804
• Publication Number:
  US 20070250194A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,728 Days
• Field of Search: 700/94, 455/3.06, 380/236, 380/237, 348/231.4, 348/207.1, 712 28- 31, 381/56, 381/77, 726/26, 726/27, 726/30, 726/31
• US Class Current: 700/94
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/683 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• 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 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/10 Usage protection of distributed data files
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/16 Copy protection or prevention
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

A portable device for use with audio or visual content (e.g., an MP3 player-like device, or a camera-enabled device) is equipped with one or more features/capabilities, including: a user interface through which a consumer can instruct that content be delivered to a different consumer'"'"'s device, the ability to derive identifiers from content and take action(s) based thereon, the ability to count playbacks of content; and/or the ability to interact with remote web services. A variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Claims

1. A portable device comprising:

a display screen;

a data storage medium;

a processor configured to process data representing audio content to derive content identification data therefrom; and

a user interface configured to receive an instruction from a user that the audio content be sent to a destination device;

wherein the processor is further configured to process the instruction by transmitting the audio content to a device indicated by the derived content identification data, wherein the device is configured to render the audio content, and is further configured to perform a digital camera function.

2. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the portable device is configured to respond to the instruction by requesting that a third device send the selected audio content to the destination device.

3. The portable device of claim 2, wherein the portable device does not have the selected audio content stored in the data storage medium thereof.

4. The portable device of claim 1, further comprising a sensor associated with the digital camera function, wherein the sensor is configured to capture visual content associated with the audio content.

5. The portable device of claim 1, further comprising an interface configured to transmit data corresponding to the selected audio content from the portable device.

6. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the data storage medium is configured to store address data for the destination device.

7. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the data storage medium is configured to store IP address data for the destination device.

8. A portable device comprising:

a display screen;

a data storage medium;

a microphone;

a processor configured to process audio captured by the microphone to derive content identification data therefrom, wherein the content identification data indicates an identity of the audio captured by the microphone, wherein the portable device is further configured to perform a digital camera function;

a user interface configured to receive from the user an instruction that audio content corresponding to the content identification data be sent to a destination device, wherein the destination device is configured to render the audio content; and

a radio frequency (RF) interface configured to transmit data from the portable device to the destination device.

9. The portable device of claim 8, wherein the portable device is configured to respond to the instruction by requesting that a third device send the selected audio content to the destination device.

10. The portable device of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the derived content identification data to be transmitted from the portable device together with the instruction that audio content corresponding to the content identification data be sent to the destination device.

11. The portable device of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the derived content identification data and the instruction be sent to a device other than the destination device, wherein the device other than the destination device is configured to execute the instruction.

12. A method comprising:

receiving content identification data at a computing device, wherein the content identification data identifies audio content, and wherein the content identification data is derived by a portable device from data representing the audio content;

receiving, at the computing device, an instruction from the portable device to transmit the audio content identified by the content identification data to a destination device; and

transmitting a version of the audio content data from the computing device to the destination device in accordance with the received instruction, wherein the destination device is indicated by the discerned content identification data and the destination device is configured to render the version of the audio content data.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting the discerned content information data to the destination device together with the audio content data.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the content identifier comprises an object identifier by which both the audio content and a distributor of the audio content can be identified.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the audio content comprises audio content received via a microphone of the portable computing device.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the content information data from is derived from data representing human-perceptible attributes of the audio content.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the content information data is derived from a digital watermark encoded in the human-perceptible attributes of the audio content.

18. A method comprising:

processing, at a portable computing device, audio content to discern content information data therefrom;

receiving, at an interface of the portable computing device, an instruction from a user that the audio content associated with the discerned content information data be transmitted to a destination device, wherein the instruction is processed by communicating with a device indicated by the discerned content information data; and

causing, by the portable computing device, transmission of the audio content data to the destination device, wherein the destination device is configured to render the audio content data.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising transmitting a request to an intermediate device that the intermediate device transmit the audio content to the destination device.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising transmitting the discerned content information data to the intermediate device together with the request.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising transmitting the audio content data and the discerned content information data from the portable computing device to the destination device.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the processing audio content comprises deriving the content information data from data representing human-perceptible attributes of the audio content.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the processing audio content comprises deriving the content information data from a digital watermark encoded in the audio content.

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising playing a representation of the audio content, wherein the receiving the instruction is performed during the playing the representation of the audio content.

25. The method of claim 18, further comprising playing a representation of the audio content and storing the audio content for a period of time after the playing the representation of the audio content, wherein the receiving the instruction is performed after the playing the representation of the audio content.

26. An article of manufacture including a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving content identification data that identifies audio content, wherein the content identification data is derived by a portable device from data representing the audio content;

receiving an instruction from the portable device to transmit the audio content identified by the content identification data to a destination device, wherein the destination device is configured to render the audio content; and

transmitting a version of the audio content data to the destination device in accordance with the received instruction, wherein the destination device is indicated by the discerned content identification data.

27. The article of manufacture of claim 26, further comprising transmitting the discerned content information data to the destination device together with the audio content data.

28. The article of manufacture of claim 26, wherein the content identifier comprises an object identifier by which both the audio content and a distributor of the audio content can be identified.

29. The article of manufacture of claim 26, wherein the content information data from is derived from data representing human-perceptible attributes of the audio content.

30. The article of manufacture of claim 29, wherein the content information data is derived from a digital watermark encoded in the human-perceptible attributes of the audio content.

31. An article of manufacture including a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

processing audio content to discern content information data therefrom;

receiving, at an interface of the computing device, an instruction from a user that the audio content associated with the discerned content information data be transmitted to a destination device, wherein the instruction is processed by communicating with a device indicated by the discerned content information data; and

causing transmission of the audio content data to the destination device, wherein the destination device is configured to render the audio content data.

32. The article of manufacture of claim 31, further comprising transmitting a request to an intermediate device that the intermediate device transmit the audio content to the destination device.

33. The article of manufacture of claim 32, further comprising transmitting the discerned content information data to the intermediate device together with the request.

34. The article of manufacture of claim 31, further comprising transmitting the audio content data from the portable computing device to the destination device.

35. The article of manufacture of claim 34, further comprising transmitting the discerned content information data to the destination device together with the audio content data.

36. The article of manufacture of claim 31, wherein the processing audio content comprises deriving the content information data from data representing human-perceptible attributes of the audio content.

37. The article of manufacture of claim 31, wherein the processing audio content comprises deriving the content information data from a digital watermark encoded in the audio content.