MULTI-SOURCE BRIDGE CONTENT DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20080155614A1
• Filed: 12/21/2006
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verimatrix Incorporated (Verimatrix SA)
• Original Assignee: Verimatrix Incorporated (Verimatrix SA)
• Inventors: Munro, Thomas A., Cooper, Robin Ross
• Granted Patent: US 8,191,098 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/91
• 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: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26208 the scheduling operation being performed under constraints
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals

Abstract

A multi-source bridge content distribution system links multiple content owners with access network operators or content distribution providers leasing space on access networks so that multi-media content can be provided from multiple content owners to consumers through a multi-source bridge or data center. Content files and associated content owner preference settings are provided from a plurality of content sources or providers to the multi-source data center. Files stored at the data center or locally at an access network are provided to subscribers through the local access network Content files are provided if the content owner preference settings are a sufficient match with service provider access network preference settings set up by the service provider using the access network to provide content to subscribers.

Claims

1. A method of distributing content from a plurality of different content providers to subscriber devices, comprising:

receiving and storing content files from a plurality of different content providers at a multi-source data center;

connecting the multi-source data center to a plurality of multi-source content distribution providers over a multi-source distribution network, each multi-source content distribution provider associated with a selected group of subscriber devices for connection with the subscriber devices over at least one second network;

connecting at least one multi-source content distribution provider to a selected subscriber device in the associated group over the second network; and

providing the content of at least one requested content file from the multi-source data center to the selected subscriber device through the content distribution provider associated with the subscriber device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the content distribution providers are associated with second networks comprising respective client access networks and provide content to subscriber devices over the client access networks.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the client access networks are selected from the group consisting of cable networks, Internet protocol television (IPTV) networks, telephone company networks, and satellite networks

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one second network comprises a public network and at least some of the content distribution providers are associated with web portals to provide content to subscribers over the public network through the web portals.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one second network comprises a mobile network and at least some of the content distribution providers are associated with mobile networks to provide content over a mobile network to mobile device users.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the content distribution providers are application service providers and provide content to subscriber devices through the internet.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving and storing content files includes storing content preference settings associated with the content provider of each content file at the multi-source data center.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising storing distribution preference settings associated with each content distribution provider.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising comparing the content preference settings of the content provider of the requested content file with the distribution preference settings of the local content distribution provider before providing requested content, and providing the content of a selected content file from the multi-source data center to a content distribution provider only if a predetermined match is found between the content and distribution preference settings.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the content and distribution preference settings include title-level criteria based on the content of a requested content file, and the step of comparing the preference settings includes comparing title-level criteria of a requested content file with the title-level criteria in the distribution preference settings, whereby a particular content file is only provided to the local content distribution provider if there is a match in title-level criteria.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein at least some of the preference settings are selected from the group consisting of geography, content ratings, pricing, parental controls, digital rights management (DRM), and localization.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising coordinating the billing systems of the content provider and the content distribution provider when a content file of the content source is requested by a subscriber of the content distribution provider, whereby a total amount billed to a requesting subscriber is shared between the content provider and distribution provider billing systems.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating an extended program guide (EPG) of the content files available from each multi-source content distribution provider, and providing the respective content distribution provider EPG to the group of subscribers associated with the respective content distribution provider.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a request for subject matter from a subscriber, searching meta-data associated with saved content files to look for the requested subject matter in the meta-data, and providing the subscriber with a list of content file titles having meta-data corresponding to the requested subject matter.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising allowing a subscriber to select a title from the list and providing the content of the file associated with the selected title to the subscriber.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of searching for requested subject matter at predetermined intervals and providing the search results to the requesting subscriber after each search.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the content is provided to the subscriber as a video-on-demand session.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the content is provided to the subscriber as a broadcast session.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising collecting content file request history for each requesting subscriber, creating a subscriber profile based on the file request history, and inserting custom advertisements in content files provided to the subscriber based on the profile created for that subscriber.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising providing coupons to subscribers based on the profile created for each respective subscriber.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising associating each subscriber with an identification code, associating the profile of each subscriber with the subscriber identification code, and providing the profile and associated subscriber identification code only to prospective advertisers outside the multi-source network, whereby subscriber personal identification information is not provided outside the multi-source content distribution network.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a request at the multi-source data center from at least one content distribution provider for download of selected titles, uploading the selected titles from the multi-source data center to the requesting content distribution provider, and storing the received titles in a local multi-source data storage module at the content distribution provider.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of providing a selected content file to a subscriber device comprises checking whether the requested content file is available in the local data storage module of the content distribution provider of the requesting subscriber, searching for the content file at the multi-source data center if not available at the local data storage module, and providing the requested content file to the subscriber.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of searching for the content file at the multi-source data center comprises searching for the content file in a plurality of different locations, wherein the locations comprise data storage modules at the multi-source data center and local data storage modules of peer content distribution providers, and the step of providing the requested content file comprises providing the content from a selected one of the locations containing the content file.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising storing the start portions only of a selected set of content files at the local data storage module of at least one content distribution provider, providing the start portion of a requested content file in the selected set to a subscriber on request, requesting the remainder of the content file from the multi-source data center as the start portion is playing, and providing the remainder of the content file to the subscriber on receipt from the multi-source data center.

26. The method of claim 9, further comprising storing subscriber preference settings associated with each subscriber at the multi-source content distribution provider, and providing a requested content file to a requesting subscriber only when there is a sufficient match between the content preference settings, the distribution preference settings, and the subscriber preference settings.

27. The method of claim 9, further comprising storing government preference settings which apply to subscribers belonging to respective institutional bodies and providing a requested content file to a requesting subscriber only when there is a sufficient match between the content preference settings, the distribution preference settings, and the government preference settings applying to an institutional body to which the requesting subscriber belongs.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising establishing different government preference settings corresponding to different institutional bodies to which different multi-source system subscribers belong, at least some of the institutional bodies being selected from the group consisting of countries, states, and other geographical regions.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of storing content files comprises storing associated data along with each content file, the associated data for each content file comprising file content meta-data and preference settings of the content provider which provided the content file.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the file content meta-data includes content ratings.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein at least some of the content ratings are established by the multi-source data center.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the associated data further comprises trailers and promotional material.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein the associated data further comprises digital rights management (DRM) requirements.

34. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating multiple associated files at the multi-source data center for each received content file and storing the original content file and associated content files.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the associated files comprise files localized for a plurality of different geographical regions.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the associated files comprise files adapted for a plurality of different screen sizes.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein the associated files comprise files adapted for a plurality of different user device digital rights management (DRM) requirements.

38. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding security components to each received content file at the multi-source data center prior to storing the file.

39. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing content sources with an option to buy, trade, or sell content files stored at the multi-source data center.

40. A multi-source bridge content distribution system, comprising:

a first communication module configured to communicate with a plurality of content providers in order to receive content files and associated content owner preference settings from the content providers;

a multi-source data storage module associated with the first communication module for receiving and storing content files and associated preference settings from the content providers;

a second communication module configured to provide requested content files to content distribution providers linked to different groups of subscribers and to receive distribution provider preference settings from the content distribution providers; and

a multi-source controller linked to the data storage module and communication modules and configured to control processing of content files for storage in the data storage module and operation of the communication modules to receive and distribute content files, the multi-source controller having a preference control module configured to compare the distribution provider preference settings of a distribution provider requesting a content file with the content owner preference settings associated with the requested content file and to control the second communication module to provide the requested content file to the content distribution provider only if there is a predetermined match between the distribution provider and content owner preference settings.

41. The system of claim 40, further comprising a multi-source network configured to connect the second communication module to a plurality of content distribution providers.

42. The system of claim 40, further comprising a multi-source billing coordination module configured to link content provider billing systems and content distribution provider billing systems, whereby billing associated with providing a requested content file to a subscriber is shared between the provider of the content file and the distributor of the content file.

43. The system of claim 40, wherein the preference control module is further configured to receive subscriber preference settings of subscribers requesting content files through a content distribution provider, and to provide a requested content file to a content distribution provider of a requesting subscriber only when there is a predetermined match between the content owner preference settings of the requested file and the distribution provider preference settings and subscriber preference settings.

44. The system of claim 40, wherein the preference control module is further configured to receive government preference settings of institutional bodies, and to provide a requested content file to a content distribution provider of a requesting subscriber only when there is a predetermined match between the content owner preference settings of the requested file, the government preference settings of an institutional body to which the requesting subscriber belongs, and the distribution provider preference settings.

45. The system of claim 40, wherein the multi-source controller further comprises a subscriber proxy module configured to associate each subscriber with an identification code, to collect subscriber profile information on the content of files requested by subscribers, and to store subscriber profile information associated with the subscriber identification code only.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein the subscriber proxy module is further configured to provide subscriber profile information and associated subscriber identification codes to advertisers outside the multi-source system, and to insert subscriber targeted advertisements provided by advertisers into content files requested by the associated subscribers.

47. A multi-source bridge content distribution system, comprising:

a plurality of multi-source content distribution providers each associated with a different group of subscribers for providing content to subscriber devices, each content distribution provider having a network for distributing content to the subscriber devices of the respective subscriber group;

a multi-source data center having a first communication module configured to communicate with a plurality of content providers, a data storage module associated with the first communication module for receiving and storing content files from the content providers, a second communication module configured to provide requested content files to the content distribution providers, and a control module configured to process content files for storage in the data storage module and to operate the communication modules to receive and distribute content files; and

a multi-source network linking the multi-source data center to the multi-source content distribution providers;

whereby content from a plurality of different content providers can be provided from the multi-source data center to any subscriber device through the associated multi-source content distribution provider and network.

48. The system of claim 47, wherein at least some of the multi-source content distribution provider networks are client access networks.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein the client access networks are selected from the group consisting of cable networks, Internet protocol television (IPTV) networks, telephone company networks, and satellite networks

50. The system of claim 47, wherein at least some of the multi-source content distribution providers are Internet service providers (ISPs) configured to provide content to subscribers through web portals.

51. The system of claim 47, wherein at least some of the content distribution providers are configured to provide content to subscribers using mobile devices over mobile networks.

52. The system of claim 47, wherein the multi-source data center control module has a content source preference module configured to associate each content file with preference settings of the content source and file content criteria.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein each multi-source content distribution provider has a distribution preference module containing distribution preference settings established by the multi-source content distribution provider.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein the control module at the multi source data center is configured to compare the content preference settings of the content source of the requested content file with the distribution preference settings of the local content distribution provider of the requesting subscriber, and to control the second communication module to provide the content of a selected content file from the multi-source data center to a local content distribution provider only if a predetermined match is found between the content and distribution preference settings.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein each multi-source content distribution provider has a subscriber preference module containing subscriber preference settings established by each subscriber for content of files to be provided to the subscriber, the content distribution provider having a control module configured to compare the subscriber preference settings with the content preference settings and to provide the content of a selected content file to a subscriber only if a match is found between the content preference settings and the subscriber preference settings.

56. The system of claim 54, further comprising a government preference module for containing preference settings established by a government organization for content of files to be provided to subscribers falling under the rules of the government organization, the control module at the multi-source data center being further configured to compare the government preference settings with the content preference settings and to control the second communication module to provide the content of a selected content file to a subscriber only if a match is found between the content preference settings and the government preference settings.

57. The system of claim 47, further comprising a content source billing system associated with each content source and a multi-source distribution billing system associated with each multi-source distribution provider, the control module at the multi-source data center including a billing module configured to coordinate the billing systems of the content source and the content distribution provider when a content file of the content source is requested by a subscriber of the content distribution provider through the multi-source data center and local access network, whereby a total amount billed for a requested content file is shared between the billing systems.

58. The system of claim 47, wherein each multi-source content distribution provider has a multi-source data base containing selected complete and partial content files downloaded from the multi-source data center.

59. The system of claim 47, wherein each multi-source content distribution provider has a multi-source data base and a multi-source control module associated with the data base configured to control supply of content to its subscriber group, the multi-source distribution provider data base having an extended program guide (EPG) of the content files available from the multi-source content distribution provider, and the multi-source distribution provider control module being configured to provide the EPG to the group of subscribers associated with the respective content distribution provider.

60. The system of claim 47, wherein the multi-source data center further comprises a search engine configured to search meta-data associated with each content file in response to a subscriber request for desired content, and to provide a list of content files containing the desired content to the subscriber through the multi-source content distribution provider.

61. The system of claim 53, wherein at least one of the multi-source data center and content distribution provider has a subscriber profile module configured to collect content file request history for each requesting subscriber, to create a subscriber profile based on the file request history, to provide subscriber profiles to prospective advertisers outside the multi-source system, and to insert custom advertisements in content files provided to the subscriber based on the profile created for that subscriber.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the subscriber profile module is further configured to associate each subscriber with an identification code, to associate the subscriber profile of each subscriber with the subscriber identification code, and to provide the associated subscriber identification code and corresponding subscriber profile without any subscriber personal identifying information to prospective advertisers outside the multi-source network, whereby subscriber personal identification information is not provided outside the multi-source content distribution network.

63. The system of claim 47, wherein the multi-source network includes peer-to-peer links between multi-source content distribution providers for peer-to-peer content sharing, each multi-source content distribution provider having a local data base containing selected content files downloaded from the multi-source data center, each multi-source content distribution provider having a control module configured to search for content requested by a subscriber in its own local data base, to request the content from peer content distribution providers or from the multi-source data center if not available in its own local data base, and to download the content to provide to the requesting subscriber from other local data bases or the multi-source data center data base if not available at its own local data base.

64. The system of claim 47, wherein each multi-source content distribution provider has a control module configured to provide a start portion of a selected content file to a subscriber on request, to request the remainder of the content file from the multi-source data center as the start portion is playing, and to provide the remainder of the content file to the subscriber on receipt from the multi-source data center.

65. The system of claim 54, wherein each multi-source content distribution provider has a subscriber preference module containing preference settings associated with each subscriber in the group associated with the respective content distribution provider, and a control module configured to provide a requested content file to a requesting subscriber only when there is a sufficient match between the content preference settings, the distribution preference settings, and the subscriber preference settings.

66. The system of claim 54, further comprising at least one government preference module containing preference settings established by a government entity, and a preference control module configured to provide a requested content file to a requesting subscriber covered by the government entity only when there is a sufficient match between the content preference settings, the distribution preference settings, and the government preference settings.

67. The system of claim 47, wherein the multi-source data center further comprises a content ingestion module configured to create multiple associated files corresponding to each received content file, and to index and store the original content file and the associated files in the data base.

68. The system of claim 67, wherein the associated files comprise files localized for a plurality of different geographical regions.

69. The system of claim 67, wherein the associated files comprise files adapted for a plurality of different screen sizes.

70. The system of claim 67, wherein the associated files comprise files having different digital rights management (DRM) properties adapted for a plurality of different user device DRM requirements.

71. The system of claim 67, wherein the file ingestion module is configured to add security components to each received content file at the multi-source data center prior to storing the file.

72. The system of claim 47, wherein the first communication module is configured to communicate with content sources comprising selected web sites over the internet and the control module is configured to link content from the selected web sites to requesting subscribers through the multi-source network.