System and method of restricting access to video content

• US 8,490,126 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2006
• Issued: 07/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Walter, Edward, Wollmershauser, Steven Michael, Kenyon, Erin Tania
• Primary Examiner(s): Parry, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): Parra, Omar S
• Application Number:
  US11/541,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20080092157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,479 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/25
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4508 Management of client data or end-user data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals

Abstract

Disclosed are a system and method of restricting access to video content. In a particular embodiment, the method includes sending a request for video content to a set-top box device from a remote user device via a video distribution network. The method also includes receiving location data at the remote user device via the video distribution network, the location data indicating a location of the remote user device. The method also includes indicating at the remote user device that the video content is inaccessible, when access to the video content is restricted within a region that includes the location.

Claims

1. A method of restricting access to video content, the method comprising:

sending a request for video content to a set-top box device from a remote user device via a video distribution network, the request causing recording of the video content in response to the video content being unrestricted at a location of the set-top box device while the video content is restricted at a location of the remote user device when the request is sent;

analyzing, at the remote user device, data of video content received at the remote user device in response to the request to determine whether the video content is subject to a location restriction;

receiving location data at the remote user device when the video content is subject to the location restriction, the location data indicating a location estimate of the remote user device; and

sending a restriction notice to a display device of the remote user device when analysis of the location estimate indicates that the remote user device is within a region where the video content is location restricted.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing data of the video content comprises determining whether access to the video content is location restricted based on at least one marked data packet of the video content.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one marked data packet includes a leading data packet related to the video content.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one marked data packet includes marking data indicating that the video content is subject to a blackout condition, that the video content is not subject to a blackout condition, that the video content is subject to a blackout condition within at least one market zone, that the video content is not subject to a blackout condition within at least one market zone, or any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the video content is sent to the remote user device after the set-top box determines that the remote user device includes an installed blackout enforcement application.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the video content at the display device of the remote user device when access to the video content is not restricted.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the video distribution network is an access network of an internet protocol television system.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the video content is received from a video server of the internet protocol television system.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the video content is received from the set-top box device.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining at the remote user device whether access to the video content is available in exchange for a payment; and

sending a payment interface to the display device when the video content is available in exchange for the payment.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

sending payment information to a billing server; and

displaying the video content at the remote user device after the payment information is received at the billing server.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to a determination that the remote user device does not have a blackout enforcement application installed, receiving and installing the blackout enforcement application at the remote user device, wherein the blackout enforcement application is downloaded and installed at the remote user device in response to an instruction from the set-top box device to download the blackout enforcement application from a server.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to a determination that the remote user device does not have a blackout enforcement application installed, receiving and installing the blackout enforcement application at the remote user device, wherein the set-top box device sends a message to a server and wherein a blackout enforcement application is received at the remote user device from the server in response to the message.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to a determination that the remote user device does not have a blackout enforcement application installed, receiving and installing the blackout enforcement application at the remote user device, wherein a blackout enforcement application is received at the remote user device from the set-top box device.

15. A method of restricting access to video content, the method comprising:

receiving a request for video content at a set-top box device from a remote user device via a private access network of an internet protocol television system;

receiving location data at the set-top box device via the private access network, the location data indicating a location of the remote user device;

determining at the set-top box device whether access to the video content is restricted at the location of the remote user device when the request is received; and

initiating recording of the video content using the set-top box device when the video content is unrestricted at the location of the set-top box device while the video content is restricted at the location of the remote user device when the request is received.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising sending blackout data to the remote user device, the blackout data indicating that the video content is inaccessible at the location of the remote user device when the video content is restricted at the location of the remote user device.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising re-directing the video content to the remote user device via the private access network when access to the video content is not restricted, wherein re-directing the video content includes instructing a video server of the internet protocol television system to send the video content to the remote user device.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving the video content via the private access network at the set-top box device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the video content is sent to a digital video recorder of the set-top box device when the recording of the video content is initiated.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising re-directing the video content to the remote user device via the private access network when access to the video content is not restricted at the location of the remote user device, wherein re-directing the video content includes sending the video content from the set-top box device to the remote user device via the internet protocol television system.

21. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining whether access to the video content can be obtained after payment information is sent to the internet protocol television system;

sending a payment interface to the remote user device;

sending payment information received from the remote user device via the payment interface to a billing server of the internet protocol television system; and

wherein the billing server instructs a video server of the internet protocol television system to send the video content to the remote user device.

22. A set-top box device, comprising:

a processor;

a memory device accessible to the processor, wherein the memory device includes instructions executable by the processor to;

receive a request for video content from a remote user device via a private access network of an internet protocol television system,

determine whether access to the video content is subject to a location restriction;

receive an estimated location of the remote user device when access to the video content is subject to the location restriction,

determine whether access to the video content is restricted for the remote user device when the request is received based on the estimated location; and

initiate recording of the video content when the video content is unrestricted at a location of the set-top box device while the video content is restricted for the remote user device when the request is received; and

a re-director to re-direct the requested video content to the remote user device via the private access network when access to the video content is not restricted for the remote user device.

23. The set-top box device of claim 22, wherein the memory device further includes instructions executable by the processor to:

send a command to an application server of the internet protocol television system to send offer data to the remote user device when access to the video content is restricted for the remote user device, the offer data related to an offer to purchase the video content for viewing.

24. The set-top box device of claim 22, wherein the location restriction comprises a limitation that inhibits the video content from being viewed in one or more market zones.

25. The set-top box device of claim 22, wherein the re-director comprises a device coupled to or integrated with the set-top box device or instructions stored within the memory device.

26. A tangible computer-readable storage device storing instructions executable by a processor to:

send a request for video content to a set-top box from a remote user device, the request causing recording of the video content in response to the video content being unrestricted at a location of the set-top box while the video content is restricted at a location of the remote user device when the request is sent;

receive the video content;

analyze data of the video content received in response to the request to determine whether the video content is subject to a location restriction;

receive a location estimate for the processor when the video content is subject to the location restriction; and

send a restriction notice to a display device when analysis of the location estimate indicates that the processor is within a region where the video content is location restricted.

27. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 26, wherein the data includes at least one marked data packet that indicates that the video content is subject to a blackout condition, that the video content is not subject to a blackout condition, that the video content is subject to a blackout condition within at least one market zone, that the video content is not subject to a blackout condition within at least one market zone, or any combination thereof.