Leveraging a unification of content hosting and social networking

• US 9,477,818 B1
• Filed: 01/02/2014
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: James, Gavin, Lewis, Justin
• Primary Examiner(s): Bates, Kevin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mahmud, Golam
• Application Number:
  US14/146,381
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204
• 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 21/1063 Personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Content hosting architectures and/or social networking architectures can be improved by, e.g., unifying the two architectures to some extent. Services or features from both can be leveraged to provide an ecosystem that can be superior or preferred by users or consumers. For example, premium content that typically must be purchased via a transaction with the content hosting service can be accessed by certain users that have not purchased the premium content provided those users have a social relationship with one that has purchased the premium content, which can be determined based on data managed by the social networking service.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a memory that stores computer executable components; and

a hardware processor that, when executing the computer executable components stored in the memory, is configured to;

receive, from a first device associated with a first user account, a request to access media content from a content provider;

determine that the media content in the received request is premium media content in which access privileges are needed to access the premium media content;

determine that the first user account is restricted from accessing the media content as not having the access privileges needed to access the premium media content;

determine, using social data representing a social graph corresponding to the first user account, that a social relationship exists between the first user account and a plurality of additional user accounts;

in response to determining the social relationship between the first user account and the plurality of additional user accounts, determine whether a second user account from the plurality of additional user accounts has the access privileges needed to access the premium media content and whether the second user account has identified the first user account to extend the access privileges needed to access the premium media content;

inhibit a denial of the request to access the premium media content from occurring in response to determining that the first user account is restricted from accessing the media content based on the access privileges associated with the first user account and authorize the request from the first device with the access privileges needed to access the premium media content based on the social relationship; and

cause the premium media content from the content provider to be presented on the device associated with the first user account.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the premium media content is at least one of:

feature film, a paid subscription to a channel, content that is presented with an advertisement removed from an associated presentation, or content associated with a paid service to present the content offline.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein social relationship is included in the social data associated with the first user account or the second user account.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the authorization of the request is performed in response to a count of a number of authorizations being less than or equal to a defined maximum threshold.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to authorize the request with a restriction that a portion of the premium content is not accessible in response to the count being greater than the defined maximum threshold.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the authorization of the request is performed in response to a selection of the first user account indicated by input received from a second device associated with the second user account.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the authorization of the request is performed in response to a timer associated with a redemption period being unexpired.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to present to the device of the first user account watch history data representing a history of premium media content for which the second user account has the access privileges.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to provide an incentive associated with the premium media content to a second device associated with the second user account in response to a payment transaction associated with the premium media content received from the device associated with the first user account.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to insert a token into uniform resource locator data representing a link to the premium media content, wherein the token includes identification data that identifies the second user account.

11. A method, comprising:

employing a computer-based processor to execute computer executable components stored in a memory to perform the following;

receiving, from a first device associated with a first user account, a request to access media content from a content provider;

determining that the media content in the received request is premium media content in which access privileges are needed to access the premium media content;

determining that the first user account is restricted from accessing the media content as not having the access privileges needed to access the premium media content;

determining, using social data representing a social graph corresponding to the first user account, that a social relationship exists between the first user account and a plurality of additional user accounts;

in response to determining the social relationship between the first user account and the plurality of additional user accounts, determining whether a second user account from the plurality of additional user accounts has the access privileges needed to access the premium media content and whether the second user account has identified the first user account to extend the access privileges needed to access the premium media content;

inhibiting a denial of the request to access the premium media content from occurring in response to determining that the first user account is restricted from accessing the media content based on the access privileges associated with the first user account and authorizing the request from the first device with the access privileges needed to access the premium media content based on the social relationship; and

causing the premium media content from the content provider to be presented on the device associated with the first user account.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the authorizing the request is in response to a count of a number of authorizations being less than a defined threshold.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the authorizing the request authorizes the request with a restriction that a portion of the premium content is not accessible in response to the count being greater than the defined threshold.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the authorizing the request is dependent on a timer associated with a redemption period being unexpired.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising facilitating on the first device a presentation of watch history data representing a set of premium media content for which the second user account has the access privileges.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing an incentive associated with the premium media content to a second device associated with the second user account in response to a payment transaction associated with the premium media content received from the first device associated with the first user account.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising including a token in uniform resource locator data representing a link to the premium media content, wherein the token includes identification data that identifies the second user account.

18. A system, comprising:

means for receiving, from a first device associated with a first user account, a request to access media content from a content provider;

means for determining that the media content in the received request is premium media content in which access privileges are needed to access the premium media content;

means for determining that the first user account is restricted from accessing the media content as not having the access privileges needed to access the premium media content;

means for determining, using social data representing a social graph corresponding to the first user account, that a social relationship exists between the first user account and a plurality of additional user accounts;

means for determining whether a second user account from the plurality of additional user accounts has the access privileges needed to access the premium media content and whether the second user account has identified the first user account to extend the access privileges needed to access the premium media content in response to determining the social relationship between the first user account and the plurality of additional user accounts;

means for inhibiting a denial of the request to access the premium media content from occurring in response to determining that the first user account is restricted from accessing the media content based on the access privileges associated with the first user account and authorizing the request from the first device with the access privileges needed to access the premium media content based on the social relationship; and

means for causing the premium media content from the content provider to be presented on the device associated with the first user account.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising means for providing an incentive associated with the premium media content to a second device associated with the second user account in response to a payment transaction associated with the premium media content received from the first device associated with the first user account.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising means for including a token into uniform resource locator data representing a link to the premium media content, wherein the token includes identification data that identifies the second user account.