Method for media sharing based on location proximity

• US 9,774,656 B1
• Filed: 10/06/2015
• Issued: 09/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Jackson, Dean Kenneth
• Primary Examiner(s): Miah, Razu A
• Application Number:
  US14/876,519
• Time in Patent Office: 721 Days
• Field of Search: 709204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• 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 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for sharing songs stored on a cloud music storage. One method includes identifying a first user and a second user who are connected to their respective music accounts and identifying the configuration data for each of the first and second users. The configuration data identify sharing privileges as respectively defined by the first and second users. The method also includes monitoring the location proximity between the first user and second user and initiating the sharing privileges for certain songs between the first and second users when the monitored location proximity changes to be within a distance threshold. A notification to the first user is provided when the sharing privileges of the second user identify songs that are sharable with the first user.

Claims

1. A method for sharing songs stored on a cloud music storage, comprising:

identifying at a computing system that a first user and a second user are connected to their respective music accounts on the cloud music storage;

identifying at the computing system configuration data for each of the first and second users, the configuration data identifying sharing privileges as respectively defined by the first and second users;

determining at the computing system location proximity between the first and second users;

initiating the sharing privileges for certain songs between the first and second users when the location proximity is within a distance threshold;

providing a notification to the first user when the sharing privileges of the second user identify songs that are sharable with the first user;

storing data identifying the first and second users in at least one portion of a location proximity database according to the location proximity between the first and second users, where each portion in the database has a different pre-defined distance threshold;

changing the portion that the data identifying the first and second users is stored in according to a changed location proximity between the first and second users;

for songs of the first user made sharable to the second user, enabling listening to at least one song for the second user while the first and second users are within the distance threshold; and

enabling a song to finish playing, if the song has started playing for the second user, even if the first and second users move beyond the distance threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a notification to the second user when the sharing privileges of the first user identify songs that are sharable with the second user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

discontinuing the sharing privileges when the monitored location proximity changes to be beyond the distance threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the location proximity is measured based on geographic distance between the first and second users.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the location proximity between the first and second users is measured continuously over a period of time.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the location proximity between the first and second users is measured periodically.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification is a text message identifying sharable songs.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling a monitoring of the location proximity between the first and second users when both of the first and second users move slower than the predetermined speed; and

disabling the monitoring of the location proximity between the first and second users when at least one of the first and second users moves faster than a predetermined speed.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification is an in-application notification identifying sharable songs.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying that the first user and the second user are accessing their respective music accounts on the cloud music storage comprises receiving login information from each of the first user and the second user for their respective music accounts.

11. A system for sharing songs stored on a cloud music storage, comprising:

a processor communicatively coupled to a memory device, comprising;

music library access logic configured to identify that a first and second users are accessing their respective music accounts on the cloud music storage of the memory device;

share configuration logic configured to identify configuration data for each of the first and second users, the configuration data identifying sharing privileges as respectively defined by the first and second users;

share enable logic configured to;

determine location proximity between the first and second users;

initiate the sharing privileges for certain songs between the first and second users when the location proximity is within a distance threshold;

provide a notification to the first user when the sharing privileges of the second user identify songs that are sharable with the first user;

store data identifying the first and second users in at least one portion of a location proximity database according to the location proximity between the first and second users, where each portion in the database has a different pre-defined distance threshold;

change the portion that the data identifying the first and second users is stored in according to a changed location proximity between the first and second users;

for songs of the first user made sharable to the second user, enable listening to at least one song for the second user while the first and second users are within the distance threshold; and

enable a song to finish playing, if the song has started playing for the second user, even if the first and second users move beyond the distance threshold.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the share enable logic includes logic for providing a notification to the second user when the sharing privileges of the first user identify songs that are sharable with the second user.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the share enable logic includes logic for discontinuing the sharing privileges when the monitored location proximity changes to be beyond the pre-defined distance threshold.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the share enable logic is further configured to remove the identification of the first and second users stored in the portion of the location proximity database identified by the associated pre-defined distance threshold when the location proximity between the first and second users moves to be beyond the pre-defined distance threshold.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the share enable logic is further configured to monitor the location proximity between the first and second users by checking whether the identification of the first and second users are stored in the portion of the location proximity database identified by the associated pre-defined distance threshold.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the music library access logic further comprises a user access module and a user configuration database.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the user access module of the music library access logic is configured to communicate with a social media server to obtain the first and second users'"'"' social network information.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the user configuration database of the music library access logic is configured to store the configuration data of each of the first and second users in a social network configuration record, wherein the stored configuration data of each of the first and second users is defined based on the obtained social network information of each of the first and second users.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the user configuration database of the music library access logic is further configured to store the configuration data of each of the first and second users in an event configuration record, wherein the event occurs during a specified time period.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the configuration data of each of the first and second users stored in the user configuration database of the music library access logic is obtained from either inputs of each of the first and second users or configuration data portion of each of the first and second users'"'"' music accounts stored in the cloud music storage.