Media content device, system and method

• US 9,369,353 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2015
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Next Issue Media
• Inventors: Barraclough, Keith, Irvine, David, Larson, Melanie, Guenther, Morgan P., Johnson, Gerri
• Primary Examiner(s): Nalven, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fields, Courtney
• Application Number:
  US14/632,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20150200819A1
• Time in Patent Office: 474 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: H04L 41/5054 Automatic deployment of services triggered by the service manager, e.g. service implementation by automatic configuration of network components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/75 Media network packet handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Media content is provided using metric-apportioning. In accordance with one or more embodiments, remote-user interface circuits are authenticated and remote access is provided to different sets of media content via the interface. For each authenticated interface and a time-based period during which the interface accesses the media content, time-stamped usage data that characterizes use of the media content at the interface is communicated therewith. A usage metric characterizing usage of the media content is apportioned based upon the time-stamped usage data and stored weighting factor data for the media content.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a first circuit-based module configured and arranged to communicate a plurality of different sets of media content to a plurality of remote-user interface circuits based upon user-interaction with the first circuit-based module via the respective remote-user interface circuits by non-linearly delivering portions of periodical-based media content to the remote-user interface circuits based upon historical access to previous versions of the periodical-based media content by a user associated with one or more of the remote-user interface circuits, wherein the different sets of media content include different types of magazine content with respectively-assigned value metrics; and

a second circuit-based module configured and arranged with the first circuit-based module to access time-stamped usage data indicating non-linear access to media content at each remote-user interface circuit, and configured and arranged to use the time-stamped usage data by;

characterizing time periods during which remote users accessed different sets of the media content via the remote-user interface circuits, and

for each of the remote users, apportion a usage metric characterizing usage of the respective sets of media content based upon the characterized time periods, and based on a plurality of different sets of weighting factor data, each set of weighting factor data having a weighting value that is associated with one of the respectively-assigned value metrics, thereby weighting the different sets of magazine content differently.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the time-stamped usage data characterizes time periods during which the remote users non-linearly access portions of periodical-based media content at the remote-user interface circuits, by providing time-based data indicative of time periods during which each user non-linearly accesses the respective portions of periodical-based media content.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first circuit is configured and arranged to communicate the sets of media content to respective ones of the users at the remote-user interface circuits based upon, for each one of the users, historical access to previous versions of the periodical based media content by the user.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first circuit is configured and arranged to communicate the sets of media content to respective ones of the users at the remote-user interface circuits by non-linearly delivering portions of periodical-based media content to each remote-user interface circuit based upon historical access to previous versions of the periodical-based media content by a user associated with the remote-user interface circuit to which each portion of periodical-based media content is delivered.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each set of weighting factor data is associated with a type of content in the accessed media content, with at least two different sets of media content being assigned different weighting factors with the difference being attributable to a content-particular value metric.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each set of weighting factor data is independent of an amount of time in each of the time periods during which the remote users access the media content.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each set of weighting factor data is associated with a type of content, prior to the content being accessed by the remote users.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second circuit-based module is configured and arranged to characterize the time periods by characterizing periods during which users access media content stored at the respective remote-user interface circuits.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second circuit-based module is configured and arranged to characterize the time periods by characterizing periods during which users access media content stored at the respective remote-user interface circuits.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each set of weighting factor data is associated with a type of content in the accessed media content, with at least two different sets of media content being assigned different weighting factors.

9. An apparatus comprising:

a first circuit-based module configured and arranged to communicate a plurality of different sets of media content to a plurality of remote-user interface circuits based upon user-interaction with the first circuit-based module via the respective remote-user interface circuits by non-linearly delivering portions of periodical-based media content to the remote-user interface circuits based upon historical access to previous versions of the periodical-based media content by a user associated with one or more of the remote-user interface circuits, wherein the different sets of media content include different types of magazine content with respectively-assigned value metrics; and

a second circuit-based module configured and arranged with the first circuit-based module to access time-stamped usage data indicating non-linear access to media content at each remote-user interface circuit, and configured and arranged to use the time-stamped usage data by;

characterizing time periods during which remote users accessed different sets of the media content via the remote-user interface circuits, and

for each of the remote users, apportion a usage metric characterizing usage of the respective sets of media content based upon the characterized time periods, and based on a plurality of different sets of weighting factor data, each set of weighting factor data having a weighting value that is associated with one of the respectively-assigned value metrics, thereby weighting the different sets of magazine content differently, wherein the second circuit-based module is configured and arranged to characterize the time periods by controlling the remote-user interface circuits to track time periods during which the media content is accessed, and to transmit data indicative of the tracked time periods.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second circuit-based module is configured and arranged to communicate with applications running at the remote-user interface circuits, and to characterize the time periods based on time period information tracked by the applications.