Method and system for managing digital rights for content

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly, to a method and system for managing digital rights for content provided to a user device.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Communication systems such as pay or subscription communication systems include a primary service provider and a user receiver device such as a set top box or integrated receiver decoder. The user device is typically provided with authorization to communicate with the primary service provider and receive services therefrom. One example of such a system is a satellite television system such as DIRECTV®. Broadcast television channels and other internal programs are provided by the primary service provider.

A set top box is typically a fixed user device. Content providers are also increasing ways to provide content to mobile user devices. In either mobile or fixed devices it is important to provide content to authorized users. For a fixed device conditional access modules are provided. Conditional access modules are typically not provided for a mobile device such a cellular phone or other portable computing device. Digital rights management must be maintained at the mobile device to comply with various contractual obligations relative to the content source and to prevent unauthorized use of the content.

Typically digital rights are maintained by pushing the rights to a user device. This method can burden a system unnecessarily since right management signals may not be required in every instance for any piece of content. That is, some devices may have rights communicated thereto before a determination is made whether rights are required. This may cause unnecessary use of system resources.

The present disclosure provides a system and method for digital rights management.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method includes receiving guide data at a user device, displaying the guide data on a display, selecting content from the guide data and forming a selection signal, communicating a digital rights determination signal to a first authentication module, communicating to a query signal from the first authentication module to a second authentication module to determine whether the user device is authorized to receive content associated with the selection signal, when the user device is authorized, communicating an address of a content delivery module from the second authentication module to user device through the first authentication module, communicating a request for content to a content delivery module using the address of the content delivery module, communicating content to the user device, and displaying content at the user device.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a system for providing digital rights to a user device is set forth. The user device receives guide data and displays the guide data on a display associated therewith. The user device forms a selection signal from the guide data. A first authentication module is in communication with the user device. The user device comprises a digital rights management module that communicates a digital rights determination signal to a first authentication module. The first authentication module communicates a query signal to a second authentication module to determine whether the user device is authorized to receive content associated with the selection signal. The second authentication module communicates an address of a content delivery module to the user device through the first authentication module when the user device is authorized. The digital rights management server communicates a request for content to a content delivery module using the address of the content delivery module. The content delivery module communicates content to the user device. The user device displays content at the user device.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 is a block diagrammatic view of a satellite communication system.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagrammatic view of the digital rights management system.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a flowchart of a method for managing digital rights for content.

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. For purposes of clarity, the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements. As used herein, the term module refers to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C), using a non-exclusive logical OR. It should be understood that steps within a method may be executed in different order without altering the principles of the present disclosure.

The teachings of the present disclosure can be implemented in a system for communicating content to an end user or user device. Both the data source and the user device may be formed using a general computing device having a memory or other data storage for incoming and outgoing data. The memory may comprise but is not limited to a hard drive, FLASH, RAM, PROM, EEPROM, ROM phase-change memory or other discrete memory components.

Each general purpose computing device may be implemented in analog circuitry, digital circuitry or combinations thereof. Further, the computing device may include a microprocessor or microcontroller that performs instructions to carry out the steps performed by the various system components.

A content or service provider is also described. A content or service provider is a provider of data to the end user. The service provider, for example, may provide data corresponding to the content such as metadata as well as the actual content in a data stream or signal. The content or service provider may include a general purpose computing device, communication components, network interfaces and other associated circuitry to allow communication with various other devices in the system.

Further, while the following disclosure is made with respect to the delivery of video (e.g., television (TV), movies, music videos, etc.), it should be understood that the systems and methods disclosed herein could also be used for delivery of any media content type, for example, audio, music, data files, web pages, advertising, etc. Additionally, throughout this disclosure reference is made to data, content, information, programs, movie trailers, movies, advertising, assets, video data, etc., however, it will be readily apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art that these terms are substantially equivalent in reference to the example systems and/or methods disclosed herein. As used herein, the term title will be used to refer to, for example, a movie itself and not the name of the movie.

While the following disclosure is made with respect to example DIRECTV® broadcast services and systems, it should be understood that many other delivery systems are readily applicable to disclosed systems and methods. Such systems include wireless terrestrial distribution systems, wired or cable distribution systems, cable television distribution systems, Ultra High Frequency (UHF)/Very High Frequency (VHF) radio frequency systems or other terrestrial broadcast systems (e.g., Multi-channel Multi-point Distribution System (MMDS), Local Multi-point Distribution System (LMDS), etc.), Internet-based distribution systems, cellular distribution systems, power-line broadcast systems, any point-to-point and/or multicast Internet Protocol (IP) delivery network, and fiber optic networks. Further, the different functions collectively allocated among a service provider and integrated receiver/decoders (IRDs) as described below can be reallocated as desired without departing from the intended scope of the present patent.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , a satellite television broadcast system 10 is illustrated. The satellite television broadcast system 10 is illustrated by way of example. However, the present disclosure is not as limited as mentioned above. The television broadcast system 10 includes a satellite 12 that receives content or programming from a primary service provider 14 .

The primary service provider 14 includes a content system 16 that generates uplink signals 20 corresponding to content through an uplink antenna 18 . As mentioned above the content may be various types of content including but not limited to live content, recorded content, pay-per-view content and on-demand content. The uplink signals 20 may be television signals and more specifically digital television signals. The uplink signals 20 may also be data including but not limited to interactive television data and program guide data. The uplink antenna 18 communicates the uplink signals 20 to the satellite 12 which in turn generates downlink signals 22 . The downlink signals 22 are communicated to a receiving antenna 24 of a user device 26 . Although only one user device 26 is illustrated, several user devices may be provided in the system 10 . The uplink signals 20 and downlink signals 22 may be referred to as communication signals. Communication signals are wireless communication signals and may include various types of entertainment content, data, traffic, weather, hazardous material warnings, advertising material, guide data and the like. As mentioned above, this system may be suitable for wired systems such as cable televisions and terrestrial wireless systems.

The user device 26 may include a satellite television receiver, set top box or a digital video recorder. The satellite television receiver may also be referred to as an integrated receiver decoder. Of course, other types of user devices may be used such as a cable television set top box. Other types of user devices may also include a mobile device such as a lap top computer, cellular phone, personal digital assistant, a portable media player or an automotive-based television receiving device. Thus, the user device 26 may be a fixed user device in the case of a satellite television set top box or a mobile user device. Both fixed and mobile devices may be used in a system.

The primary service provider 14 may also include an account/billing web service 30 and a first authentication web service module 32 . The first authentication web service module 32 may include an authentication server for generating and validating user devices using encrypted tokens (eTokens) or other processes as will be described below. The first authentication web service module 32 may also receive a setup request for a new user device and set up an account for a new user device. Details of this process are provided below.

The primary service provider 14 may also include a conditional access management system 34 . The conditional access management system 34 may be used to grant conditional access to various programming as well as provide recording commands to the user device 26 as will be described below.

The primary service provider 14 may also include a DIRECTV® listing system (DLS) 36 . The listing system 36 may be in communication with a DIRECTV® traffic and scheduling system (DTSS) 36 A. The DTSS 36 A may provide program schedule data and channel data for the program content. The program schedule data and channel data may be used as part of the program guide.

The DLS 36 may also be in communication with a content management system (CMS) 36 B. The CMS 36 B may provide metadata regarding programming content to the DLS 36 .

The listing system 36 may also be in communication with an advanced program guide module 36 C, a program guide generator 36 D, a program guide web service 36 E and other systems 36 F. The interaction of the DIRECTV® listing system 36 and the various modules 36 A- 36 F will be further described below. In summary, the listing system 36 receives various data from the various systems which may be used to generate program guide data.

An external data input 38 , such as Times Media Service® (TMS), may be used for receiving various data regarding programming. Times Media Service® is just one example of an external data service. The external data input 38 may provide channels, programs and schedules as an input to the listing system 36 . The external data input 38 may provide various types and formats of data and images such as posters for content and data regarding the program content or actors therein. A data stream may be provided with various types of data regarding programming.

The user device 26 is in communication with the primary service provider 14 through a network 40 . The network 40 may be a secured network or use a secure protocol. The network 40 may include a broadband network through which the user device 26 communicates with the primary service provider 14 . The network 40 may be a wired network such as a public-switched telephone network (PSTN) or a broadband Internet network. The network may be wireless such as a cellular or wireless Internet system. The broadband network may communicate wired, wirelessly or a combination of both. For example, the user device 26 may include a wireless antenna 42 for communicating with an antenna 44 of a router 46 which, in turn, is in communication with the network 40 .

The network 40 may also be an intranet. The components of both the primary and partner service provider may be located separately or in the same building.

The user device 26 may be associated with a display 50 for displaying content and programming, as well as displaying various types of user commands, or the like. The display 50 may be a television or display integrated into the device. The display 50 may include speakers for an audio display. The display 50 may be used for displaying primary content from a primary service provider and secondary content from a secondary service provider.

The user device 26 may include a user interface 52 , such as a keyboard, remote control, or the like, for selecting and entering various types of information by the user. The user device 26 may also include a conditional access module 54 that allows the user to access the programming provided from the content system 16 . The conditional access module 54 may be referred to as an access card. The program schedule data and channel data may include various activation codes without which the user device is not activated. The conditional access module 54 may include a conditional access module identifier such as a number or a code. As mentioned above, the conditional access module 54 is suitable for fixed user devices and may not be present in mobile user devices.

The user device 26 may also include a network interface 56 for interfacing with the network 40 . For example, the network interface 56 may communicate wirelessly through the antenna 42 or through a direct connection such as an Ethernet connection. The network interface 56 may be but is not limited to a wireless broadband interface, a broadband interface, a modem-type interface or a public-switched telephone network interface.

The user device 26 may also include a storage device 58 . The storage device 58 may store various content and data received from the primary service provider therein. The content may be received through the satellite 12 or through the network 40 through the network interface 56 . The storage device 58 may be a hard disk drive or memory chip-based device. The storage device 58 may be referred to as a digital video recorder, particularly in a fixed user device. The data may include, but is not limited to, a site user identifier, a site identifier and a location of the user device such as a URL.

The user device 26 may also include a digital rights management module 60 . The digital rights management module 60 may obtain the digital rights to allow the user device to obtain and play back various types of content such as streaming content and pay-per-view content.

The primary service provider 14 may include a program guide authentication web service module. The program guide authentication web service module 70 may provide an interface for the program guide web service 36 E. Prior to providing program guide web service data, the user device may be authenticated at the program guide authentication web service module 70 .

The program guide authentication web service module 70 may receive data from the DLS 36 . The material ID may be used to provide a streaming program identifier, a TMS identifier or other external identifier may be used to obtain the material identifier used within the primary service provider 14 , a linear program identifier may be used to obtain a material identifier used in the primary service provider 14 , and a broadband video-on-demand identifier may also be used to obtain the material identifier. The operation of the authentication is described further below.

A content delivery module (or content delivery network) 72 may provide the actual content to the user device 26 . The content delivery module 72 may be implemented in a plurality of content delivery modules. The content delivery module 72 may be implemented in a plurality of content delivery modules 72 spaced geographically relative the primary service provider 14 . Regional content delivery modules 72 may be used to provide the content directly to the various user devices 26 . Because of the various geographic locations, the content delivery module 72 closest to the user device may be used to provide content so that the fastest service may be provided. The content delivery module 72 may receive the content from the primary service provider 14 or directly from another content source 74 . The content source 74 may also provide content to the content system 16 within the primary service provider 14 .

A digital rights management server 80 is disposed between the user device 26 and the primary service provider 14 . The digital rights management server 80 may receive a query signal from the digital rights management module 60 of the user device 26 . The digital rights management module 60 may perform a concurrency check on the query signal. The query signal may include an eToken, a URL of the user device signature key, a server time and a content time. Concurrence of the signal is used to determine whether to communicate the query signal to the program guide authentication web service module 70 . When the concurrency check for the signal is not passed, the query signal is not provided to the program guide authentication web service module 70 . When the concurrency check is passed, the query signal is communicated to the program guide authentication web service module 70 . The concurrency check determines whether there is agreement with the contents of the query signal. Different contents of the signal may be used in the concurrency check. A valid eToken may be checked, the URL of the user device signature key may be checked, a content identifier may be checked, and the like. All or some of the above-mentioned data may be checked in the concurrency check.

The digital rights management server 80 may also be used to receive the authorization signal and generate a request for content to the closest content delivery network using the URL and the material ID. In this manner, the digital rights management server 80 provides the content delivery network with the proper data so that the content requested by the user device may then be communicated directly from the content delivery network to the user device. In a sense, the digital rights management server 80 intercedes in the process.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , a simplified block diagrammatic view of the components involved in digital rights management is set forth. In this example, the communication between the user device 26 and the digital rights management module 60 , the digital rights management server 80 , the authentication web service module 32 , the program guide authentication web service module 70 and the program guide web service 36 E are set forth. Operation of the components is set forth below.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 , 3 A and 3 B, the operation of the digital rights management for content at the user device 26 is set forth. In step 310 , an account for the user device 26 is set up at the authentication web service module 32 . This may take place directly using the user device 26 . The user device 26 is an account-specific user. An account-specific user is a user that has an account with the primary service provider 14 . In the present example, a current DIRECTV® subscriber would be classified as an account-specific user. The authentication web service module 32 may authorize the user based on subscribed services or authorized content. That is, program guide data or actual content may be provided to a user so that the data corresponds to the services that the particular user is subscribed to. The account setup may establish a site identifier and site user identifier. The site user identifier may be a unique identifier such as the user's email address; the site identifier may be a unique identifier assigned to each user. Step 310 may thus generate an account setup request signal which is communicated to the authentication web service. The account setup request signal may include various verifying data such as account identifiers, passwords, and the like. The account may also be setup using voice or other personal interaction with a system operator.

In step 312 , the authentication web service module 32 may provide authentication data to the user device 26 . The data may include a signature key which is based on an authentication server time. The server time may be a current time such as hours, minutes or a representation thereof. The client or user device 26 may be required to be in synch with the server time. The server time may be encrypted to form the signature key. The signature key may thus be the encrypted server time in coordinated universal time (UTC).

Other data provided from the authentication web service module 32 may include an encrypted token (eToken) and a reference identifier. The encrypted token may be an encrypted random or pseudo-random number. The reference identifier may be a unique identifier associated with a particular user account. An encrypted user account number or other type of unique identifier for the account may be used as the reference identifier. In step 314 , a request for guide data from the program guide web service module 36 E is generated at the user device 26 . The guide data may correspond to the services subscribed to by the user device 26 may be communicated to and received by the user device 26 in step 316 . Of course, data for services unavailable may be provided to entice the customer to upgrade.

In step 318 content identifiers such as a content title is selected in step 318 . The selection may be made using a user interface interacting with a display of the user device. A selection signal may thus be generated. At the same time, the digital rights management module 60 within the user device 26 may generate a digital rights determination signal which may be referred to as a query signal. The digital rights determination signal is communicated from the user device 26 to the program guide authentication web service module 70 through the digital rights management server 80 to determine whether the user device 26 has been authorized for the particular type of content selected such as streaming content. In step 322 , the digital rights management server 80 performs a concurrency check as mentioned above. The concurrency check is performed on the digital rights determination signal. The concurrency check may be performed on various portions or all of the data in the digital rights determination signal such as the eToken, the URL of the user device signature key, the server time and the content identifier. When the query or digital rights determination signal passes a concurrency check, step 324 is performed as described below. The digital rights determination signal of step 320 may include or is communicated with an electronic token that was retrieved from the authentication web service module 32 during account setup. The location or address of the user device may also be provided as a site identifier or site user identifier. The location may also be provided in or determined from a uniform resource locator (URL) from which the user communicated the digital rights determination signal. The signature key, the server time and a content identifier corresponding to the selected content title may be provided to the program guide authentication web service module in step 320 .

In step 324 , the program guide authorization web service module 70 communicates a query signal to the PG authorization web service module 32 together with one or more of the eToken, the user location, the site identifier, a site user identifier, the reference identifier, and the signature key to see if the user account is in good standing. The PG authentication web service module 32 determines whether the user device 26 is authorized for the particular subscription service. One or more of the above electronic token, signature key, reference identifier, site user identifier, and user location may be used. It should be noted that the site identifier and site user identifier may be a unique identifier assigned to each user device by the authentication web service module 32 . A unique user identifier such as a site user identifier may also be provided. In some cases, the site user identifier may be the email address associated with the particular account.

In step 326 , the PG authentication communicates to the account web service using the account identifier to get account subscription services and pay-per-view event codes. In step 328 , the PG authorization web service sets a streaming flag.

Step 330 determines whether the user is authorized by checking in the streaming flag. Step 330 may be performed at the authentication web service module 32 . If the user is not authorized in step 330 , step 332 stops the process and the content is not provided to or use-enabled at the user device. A failure signal may also be transmitted to the user device to indicate the lack of authorization. The failure signal may be displayed on the display. In step 324 , if the user is authorized in step 330 , the PG authorization web service, in step 334 , determines the closest content delivery network based upon the user device location (from a uniform research locator or site user identifier). Step 334 may also generate a new encrypted token with a time stamp. Step 334 may also return a subscription service code or pay-per-view event code for authorizing the particular content. In step 336 , the PG authorization web service module 32 communicates the URL of the closest content delivery module or network to the user device 26 through the program guide authentication web service module 70 . If a new electronic token (eToken) is generated in step 334 , the new eToken is also communicated to the user device. The authentication web service may also communicate a content authorization, a content identifier such as a material identifier for streaming, and a content provider to the user device to perform streaming. This may be performed through the digital rights management server 80 .

In step 338 , the digital rights management server 80 may generate a request for content that is communicated to the closest content delivery network using the location or URL of the closest content delivery network and a material identifier associated with the content selected. In step 340 , the content is communicated from the content delivery network to the user device. The content is displayed on a display associated with the user device in step 342 .

Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification and the following claims.