Provisioning vehicle based digital rights management for media delivered via phone

• US 9,032,547 B1
• Filed: 10/26/2012
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Hohler, Ricky A., Katzer, Robin Dale, Singh, Ashish K., Morton, Richard S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Darrow, Justin T
• Application Number:
  US13/661,536
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 726/29, 726/30, 380/231, 705/51
• US Class Current: 726/29
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0607 Regulated

Abstract

Embodiments relate generally to systems and methods for provisioning vehicle based digital rights management (DRM) for content delivered through a brought-in mobile device. Content may be delivered by the content provider to the vehicle via connection with the mobile device, wherein the content may be accessed using a computer system (or head unit) in the vehicle. Access to the content may be controlled or managed using a DRM package associated with a vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A system for provisioning digital rights associated with a vehicle comprising:

a vehicle computer system within a vehicle with a vehicle identification number (VIN), wherein the digital rights are associated with the VIN of the vehicle and allow specific content to be communicated to the vehicle computer system from a content provider;

a mobile device in communication with the vehicle computer system and the content provider; and

a computing device that prepares the digital rights in the form of a digital rights management (DRM) package associated with the VIN and communicates the DRM package first to the content provider, wherein the content provider first interprets the DRM package into an access control list and then communicates the access control list to the mobile device, and wherein the mobile device uses the access control list to allow content to be communicated from the content provider to the vehicle computer system via the mobile device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the content is communicated to the vehicle computer system from the content provider via the mobile device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a merchant transaction server (MTS) and a management database (MDB), and wherein the computing device prepares the DRM package in response to a purchased decision received by the merchant transaction server.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle computer system comprises a head unit.

5. A method of provisioning digital rights comprising:

creating a digital rights management (DRM) package associated with a vehicle identification number (VIN) of a vehicle;

communicating the DRM package to a content provider, wherein the DRM package is interpreted to an access control list and then the access control list is communicated from the content provider to a mobile device;

validating content allowed by the DRM package; and

streaming the content allowed by the DRM package from the content provider to a head unit of the vehicle, via the mobile device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein validating content allowed the DRM package comprises:

providing the VIN from the head unit to the mobile device;

providing the VIN from the mobile device to the content provider;

associating the VIN with the DRM package; and

accessing content allowed by the DRM package.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein creating the DRM package comprises:

receiving a request to purchase content allowed by the DRM package; and

processing the request to purchase the content allowed by the DRM package, wherein the DRM package comprises a bearer independent protocol (BIP) format.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the request to purchase content is received from one of:

the head unit, the mobile device, or a computer.

9. A method of provisioning digital rights comprising:

receiving a digital rights management (DRM) package associated with a vehicle identification number (VIN) of a vehicle;

accessing the DRM package using the VIN of the vehicle, wherein the VIN of the vehicle is used as a key to identify the DRM package;

validating content allowed by the DRM package; and

communicating the content allowed by the DRM package from a content provider to the vehicle.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the content provider receives the DRM package and then communicates the DRM package to a mobile device, wherein the mobile device validates the content.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein communicating the content from the content provider to the vehicle comprises communicating the content to the mobile device and then from the mobile device to a computer system of the vehicle.