Network-based photosharing architecture for search and delivery of private images and metadata

• US 6,629,100 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2002
• Issued: 09/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CDN Innovations, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: IPAC Acquisition Subsidiary I LLC
• Inventors: Scardino, Patricia, Svendsen, Hugh, Morris, Robert Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Greta
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Debbie M.
• Application Number:
  US10/122,082
• Publication Number:
  US 20030063771A1
• Time in Patent Office: 536 Days
• Field of Search: 207/1-10, 209/202, 209/217, 209/226
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1834 implemented based on peer-to-peer networks, e.g. gnutella p2p communication protocols H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/30 in albums, collections or shared content, e.g. social network photos or video
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1072 Discovery involving ranked list compilation of candidate peers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2183 the stored images being distributed among a plurality of different locations, e.g. among a plurality of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3254 Orientation, e.g. landscape or portrait; Location or order of the image data, e.g. in memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3277 The additional information being stored in the same storage device as the image data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A method for executing searches for resources that span more than one private resource repository in a restricted-access resource sharing system is disclosed. The system includes at least one server node and multiple peer nodes connected to a network. Resources, such as data digital images, may be retrieved from the nodes based by issuing queries containing terms matching the metadata associated with the resources. The method includes maintaining storage of resources and associated metadata on respective peer nodes, wherein the associated metadata is based on at least one metadata vocabulary. Each of the peer nodes is allowed to indicate to the server that the metadata vocabularies associated with the resources are designated as private, thereby becoming a restricted access peer node. If a first restricted access peer node specifies to the server which metadata vocabularies the first restricted access peer node supports, a first level of privacy is provided whereby search queries received by the server that use the specified metadata vocabularies are passed to the first respective restricted access peer nodes for processing, while searches that do not use the specified vocabularies are processed by the server. If the first restricted access peer node does not specify to the server which metadata vocabularies the first restricted access peer node supports, a second level of privacy is provided whereby search queries received by the server are passed to the first respective restricted access peer nodes for processing.

Claims

1. A method for executing searches for resources that span more than one private resource repository in a restricted-access resource sharing system comprising at least one server and multiple peer nodes connected to a network, the resource sharing network for storing resources, including data digital images, and for retrieving the resources based on metadata associated with the resources, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) maintaining storage of resources and associated metadata on respective peer nodes, wherein the associated metadata is based on at least one metadata vocabulary;

(b) allowing each of the peer nodes to indicate to the server that the metadata vocabularies associated with the resources are designated as private, thereby becoming a restricted access peer node;

(c) if a first restricted access peer node specifies to the server which metadata vocabularies the first restricted access peer node supports, providing a first level of privacy whereby search queries received by the server that use the specified metadata vocabularies are passed to the first respective restricted access peer nodes for processing, while searches that do not use the specified vocabularies are processed by the server; and

(d) if the first restricted access peer node does not specify to the server which metadata vocabularies the first restricted access peer node supports, providing a second level of privacy whereby search queries received by the server are passed to the first respective restricted access peer nodes for processing.

2. The method of claim 1 further including the step of:

routing responses generated by the first restricted access peer node in response to a particular search query to a requesting peer node through the server.

3. The method of claim 1 further including the step of:

routing responses generated by the first restricted access peer node in response to a particular search query directly to a requesting peer node without going through the server.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein step (c) further includes the steps of:

(i) embedding the search query in a locator for the first restricted access peer node;

(ii) sending the locator to requesting peer node;

(iii) using the locator to send the query to the first restricted access peer node;

(iv) in response to receiving the query on the first restricted access peer node, searching the stored metadata on the first restricted access peer node for a match; and

(v) returning resource locators for resources having metadata that match the query to the requesting peer node.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein step (c) further includes the step of:

(i) sending search queries to the first restricted access peer node with a locator for the requesting peer node so that the first restricted access peer node can send search results directly to the requesting peer node.

6. The method of claim 1 further including the step of:

encrypting the responses sent from the first restricted access peer node.

7. The method of claim 6 further including the step of:

encrypting the responses using a public key associated with the requesting peer node.

8. A method for executing searches for resources that span more than one private resource repository in a restricted-access resource sharing system comprising at least one server and multiple peer nodes connected to a network, the resource sharing network for storing resources, including data digital images, and for retrieving the resources based on metadata associated with the resources, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) maintaining storage of resources and associated metadata on respective peer nodes, wherein the associated metadata is based on at least one metadata vocabulary;

(b) allowing each of the peer nodes to indicate to the server that the metadata vocabularies associated with the resources are designated as private, thereby becoming a restricted access peer node;

(c) receiving on the server a search query for a resource from a requesting peer node, wherein the search query uses one or more of the metadata vocabularies therein;

(d) determining by the server which of the restricted access peer nodes have specified to the server which metadata vocabularies the respective restricted access peer node supports;

(e) executing the search query on each of the restricted access peer nodes that have specified to the server which metadata vocabularies are supported and where the specified metadata vocabularies match the metadata vocabularies used in the search query, wherein after executing the search query, those restricted access peer nodes send a list of resource locators for resources matching the search query to the requesting node;

(f) executing the search query on the server for each of the restricted access peer nodes that have specified to the server which metadata vocabularies are supported, but where the specified metadata vocabularies do not match the metadata vocabularies used in the search query, wherein after executing the search query, the server sends a list of resource locators for resources matching the search query to the requesting node; and

(g) executing the search query on each of the restricted access peer nodes that have not specified to the server which metadata vocabularies are supported, wherein after executing the search query, each of those peer nodes returns a list of resource locators for resources matching the search query to the requesting node.

9. The method of claim 8 further including the step of:

encrypting the responses sent from the restricted access peer nodes.

10. The method of claim 9 further including the step of:

encrypting the responses using a public key associated with the requesting peer node.