Music distribution system and associated antipiracy protection

• US 6,952,685 B1
• Filed: 01/20/2000
• Issued: 10/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Zarbana Digital Fund LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC), World Theatre, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ochoa Optics LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Sparks, Kelly C., Hunter, Charles E., Hebrank, John H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Elisca, Pierre E.
• Application Number:
  US09/487,978
• Time in Patent Office: 2,084 Days
• Field of Search: 705/58, 705/59, 705/26, 705/27, 705/51, 705/71, 713/160, 713/161, 713/171, 713/168, 713/193, 713/200, 380/202, 380/203, 380/241, 380/279, 380/277, 380/201, 709/227, 709/228, 709/229, 711/100, 711/163, 369/30, 340/825.31, 340/825.34, 340/825.35
• US Class Current: 705/58
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1063 Personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2529 Mini-discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/50 characterised by the use of watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/17 on recording information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/21 Billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• 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 21/262 Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 : Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 : involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63345 : by transmitting keys key distribution for secret or secure communication H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 : involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 : involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

Music is blanket transmitted (for example, via satellite downlink transmission) to each customer'"'"'s computer-based user station. Customers preselect from a list of available music in advance using an interactive screen selector, and pay only for music that they choose to have recorded for unlimited playback, for example, by a “CD burner”. An “ID tag” is woven into the recorded music so that any illegal copies therefrom may be traced to the purchase transaction.

Claims

1. A system for distributing music to users, comprising:

a transmitter blanket-transmitting a plurality of encoded digital music contents;

a plurality of user stations comprising;

a first input terminal receiving a user selection of a transmitted encoded music content to store;

a module receiving and storing the selected transmitted encoded music content;

an output terminal sending an indication of the user selection;

a decoder operable when enabled to decode the stored encoded music content;

a second input terminal receiving a key unique to the music content selected by the user to enable the decoder;

an anti-piracy module to embed an ID tag in the decoded music content; and

an output device supplying the decoded music content to the user from the decoder;

a central controller connected to the user stations and comprising a first input terminal receiving from a user station an indication of a user selection of a transmitted music content and a first output terminal transmitting to the user station a key unique to the selected music content; and

a billing system associated with the central controller to bill the user stations, wherein the billing system processes payment transactions from the user stations and the central controller transmits the key only if a payment transaction for the key is completed in advance of the key transmission.