Media service delivery system providing conditional access to media content from various client devices

• US 9,465,945 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2013
• Issued: 10/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Rebaud, Sylvain P., Nagar, Niranjan, Bratton, Timothy R., Ryan, Sean
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M
• Application Number:
  US14/142,671
• Publication Number:
  US 20140115179A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 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: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce

Abstract

A system for protecting the digital rights of content owners allows digital media to be delivered to only those media rendering client devices that have been approved for the media content. Before delivering requested media, the media service provider may determine whether the media rendering client device that requested the media is the type of device that is authorized to receive the request media. If it is, the media service provider may transmit the media to a middleman server over a network (such as the Internet). A middleman server may then serve the media to the client device over a local network. By allowing the media content to be distributed to approved devices only, the media service provider can prevent a user from using the media in a way that is not authorized by the content owner.

Claims

1. A method for providing conditional access to content, the method comprising:

receiving a request for the content from an electronic device communicatively coupled to a remote content rendering device;

receiving a device identification associated with the remote content rendering device;

verifying that the remote content rendering device is approved to receive the content based at least in part in the device identification; and

transmitting the content to the electronic device for delivery to the remote content rendering device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is communicatively coupled to the remote content rendering device via a local network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic device is a first electronic device and the remote content rendering device is software running on a second electronic device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first electronic device is a server.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote content rendering device is software executing on the electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the device identification comprises at least one of the following information items corresponding to the remote content rendering device:

a manufacturer ID, a model number, a serial number, a MAC address, a portion of a MAC address, or a digital signature.

7. A method for delivering content from a content service provider to a plurality of subscribers, the method comprising:

for respective ones of the subscribers;

receiving a request for content from an electronic device communicatively coupled to one or more remote content rendering devices;

receiving a device identification associated with the request, the device identification associated with one of the one or more remote content rendering devices;

verifying that the remote content rendering device associated with the device identification is approved to receive the content based at least in part on the device identification; and

transmitting the content to the electronic device for delivery to the remote content rendering device associated with the device identification.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein for at least one of the subscribers, at least one of the remote content rendering devices is communicatively coupled to the electronic device via a local network.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein for at least one of the subscribers, at least one of the remote content rendering devices is software executing on the electronic device.

10. One or more computer readable media containing computer program code, which, when executed by one or more computer processors, cause the computer processor to perform a method for providing conditional access to content, the method comprising:

receiving a request for the content from an electronic device communicatively coupled to a remote content rendering device;

receiving a device identification associated with the remote content rendering device;

verifying that the remote content rendering device is approved to receive the content based at least in part in the device identification; and

transmitting the content to the electronic device for delivery to the remote content rendering device.

11. The one or more computer readable media of claim 10, wherein the electronic device is communicatively coupled to the remote content rendering device via a local network.

12. The one or more computer readable media of claim 11, wherein the electronic device is a first electronic device and the remote content rendering device is software running on a second electronic device.

13. The one or more computer readable media of claim 12, wherein the first electronic device is a server.

14. The one or more computer readable media of claim 10, wherein the remote content rendering device is software executing on the electronic device.

15. One or more computer readable media containing computer program code, which, when executed by one or more computer processors, cause the one or more computer processors to perform a method for delivering content from a content service provider to a plurality of subscribers, the method comprising:

for respective ones of the subscribers;

receiving a request for content from an electronic device communicatively coupled to one or more remote content rendering devices;

receiving a device identification associated with the request, the device identification associated with one of the one or more remote content rendering devices;

verifying that the remote content rendering device associated with the device identification is approved to receive the content based at least in part on the device identification; and

transmitting the content to the electronic device for delivery to the remote content rendering device associated with the device identification.

16. The one or more computer readable media of claim 15, wherein for at least one of the plurality of subscribers, at least one of the remote content rendering devices is communicatively coupled to the electronic device via a local network.

17. The one or more computer readable media of claim 15, wherein for at least one of the plurality of subscribers, at least one of the remote content rendering devices is software executing on the electronic device.

18. A system for providing conditional access to content, the system comprising:

one or more content databases;

a service management database comprising a plurality of device identifications associated with a plurality of remote content rendering devices;

one or more content servers communicatively coupled to the one or more content databases and the service management database, the one or more content servers to;

receive a request for content stored in the one or more content databases from an electronic device to be provided to a remote content rendering device coupled to the electronic device;

receive a device identification associated with the remote content rendering device;

verifying whether the remote content rendering device associated with the device identification is approved to receive the content based on a comparison of the device identification to the plurality of device identifications stored in the service management database; and

transmitting the content to the remote content rendering device associated with the device identification if the remote content rendering device associated with the device identification is approved to receive the content.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the service management database further comprises information indicating the content that can be played at a remote content rendering device associated with a particular device identification.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising the electronic device and the remote content rendering device, the electronic device communicatively coupled to the remote content rendering device via a local network.

21. The system of claim 20, further comprising a plurality of additional remote content rendering devices communicatively coupled to the electronic device, respective of the additional remote content rendering devices associated with a device identification different from device identifications of the remainder of the additional remote content rendering devices.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the electronic device is a first electronic device, and the remote content rendering device is software that is executable on a second electronic device separate from the first electronic device.

23. The system of claim 18, further comprising the electronic device and the remote content rendering device, wherein the remote content rendering device is software executable on the electronic device.

24. One or more computer readable media containing computer program code, which, when executed by a content rendering device, causes the content rendering device to perform a method, the method comprising:

sending a request for content to a content provider service via an electronic device communicatively coupled to the content rendering device via a local network, the request comprising a device identification associated with the content rendering device;

receiving the content from the content provider service via the electronic device, wherein delivery of the content to the electronic device is approved by the content provider service based on the device identification; and

rendering the content at the content rendering device.

25. A computing device comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more computer readable media containing computer program code, which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the computing device to perform a method, the method comprising;

sending a request for content from an electronic device to a content provider service, the request comprising a device identification associated with the electronic device;

receiving the content from the content provider service, wherein delivery of the content to the electronic device is approved by the content provider service based on the device identification; and

rendering the content at the computing device via a content rendering device, the content rendering device comprising software executable at the computing device.