EWS-006245
`
`Early Warning Services 1053
`IPR of U.S. Pat. No. 8,887,308
`
`

`

`2,246,673 3
`6,247,130 B1
`6,248,946 B1
`6,253,237 B1
`6,295,555 B1
`6,317,722 B1
`6,349,329 B1
`6,385,596 B1
`6,389,467 B1
`6,423,892 B1
`6,430,573 B1
`6,438,752 B1
`6,452,083 B2
`6,460,036 B1
`6,484,199 B2
`6:496:802 B1
`6,502,194 B1
`6,505,160 B1
`6,507,764 B1
`6,519,648 B1
`6,529,584 B1
`6,539,395 B1
`ggggfigg 3%
`6,570,080 B1
`6,594,699 B1
`6,609,096 B1
`6,609,105 B2
`6,647,417 B1
`6,662,231 B1
`6,701,355 Bl
`6,721,954 B1
`gagiiaggg E?
`,
`,
`6,941,324 B2
`6 944 776 B1
`6:981:045 B1
`6,990,453 B2
`7,103,574 B1
`7,139,723 B2
`7,146,329 B2
`7,194,421 B2
`7,197,472 B2
`7336941 B2
`372373;; 3%
`7’7 1 1 ’838 B 1
`7,747,603 B2
`7,747,708 B2
`7,751,596 B2
`7,756,892 32
`2002/0046181 A1
`2002/0065925 A1
`2002/0077985 A1
`2002/0078029 A1
`2002/0120564 A1
`
`................... 709/228
`
`£881 £00an
`6/2001 Fulfil“
`6/2001 D“ 5:
`6/2001 Swe
`9/2001 (fogman
`“/2001 J 0 b'
`tal
`”002 ficok! e
`11
`”002 W?“ ”“05
`5/2002 E “fr
`7/2002 R1;
`8/2002 P 1135me
`8/2002 lVllcCTt d
`9/2002 P ch ar
`10/2002 H30 et
`“/2002 ES;
`12/2002 Van Zoest
`12/2002 Berman
`1/2003 Levy et a1.
`1/2003 Parrella
`2/2003 Eyal
`3/2003 Ravago
`3/2003 Gjerdingen
`$388; giggiwa
`5/2003 H
`7/2003 Selllfziggtvafi.
`8/2003 DeBonet
`8/2003 Van Zoest
`11/2003 Hunter
`12/2003 Drosset
`3/2004 Brandt
`4/2004 N1ckum
`k
`33882!
`1833,41
`w1ercze
`9/2005 Plastina et al.
`.............. 713/176
`9/2005 Lockhart et al.
`12/200 5 Brooks ......................... 709/226
`1/2006 Wang et 31.
`................. 705/51
`9/2006 Peinado et 31.
`1 1/2006 Conkwright et 31.
`12/2006 Conkwright et al.
`3/2007 Conkwright et a1.
`3/2007 Conkwright et a1.
`6/2007 Conkwrlght et 31~
`13/38:? EAR/3;: Z: 3'
`5/2010 By 1t
`t 51 """"""""""
`6/2010 Aggagoeet al
`6/2010 Armstrong et al.
`7/2010 Rhoads
`7/201() Levy
`...................... 705/59
`4/2002 Story et al.
`
`5/2002 Kenyon et al.
`.
`. 709/231
`6/2002 Kobata et a1.
`................... 705/51
`6/2002 Pachet
`8/2002 Strietzel
`
`713/165
`
`........... 709/219
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Page 2
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`8/2002 Hans et a1.
`...................... 705/59
`2002/0120577 A1 *
`1/2003 Smith et a1.
`..
`348/714
`2003/0001978 A1*
`
`1/2003 Spencer et a1.
`.
`. 707/501.1
`2003/0014436 A1 *
`3/2003 Vora et a1.
`....................... 705/36
`2003/0046213 A1 *
`3/2003 Shear et a1.
`..................... 705/52
`2003/0046244 A1 *
`4/2003 Hsu et a1.
`........................ 705/59
`2003/0069854 A1 *
`10/2003 Pearson et a1.
`2003/0187953 A1
`.......................... 705/37
`2/2004 Bi et a1.
`2004/0024688 A1*
`
`3/2004 Lambert
`709/229
`2004/0044779 A1 *
`.................. 713/201
`3/2004 Seago et a1.
`2004/0054923 A1 *
`4/2004 Zhang
`2004/0064209 A1
`..................... 705/59
`7/2004 Shirai et a1.
`2004/0128252 A1 *
`12/2004 Kondrk et a1.
`2004/0254883 A1
`1/2005 Kushalnagar et a1.
`.......... 705/59
`2005/0010531 A1 *
`3/2005 Grannan et a1.
`.................. 705/1
`2005/0049886 A1 *
`10/2005 Kopra et a1.
`2005/0227674 A1
`3/2007 Hull et a1.
`2007/0050360 A1
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`W0
`W0
`WO
`
`W00162065
`W002067447
`W002102079
`
`8/2001
`8/2002
`12/2002
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`2135351:s0p71an to offer music hits right note” Lincoln Star, May 21,
`’
`'
`'
`_
`Cohn, Peter. “-1Tunes 3.0.1 released” Macworld, Sep. 18, 2002.
`Fannlng, Dav1d. “Rev1ew: 1Tunes 3.0.1” Macworld, Apr. 1, 2003.
`“Week in Review”. Los Angeles Times, May 4, 2003; p. C2.
`Home (Computer) Terminal Musical Program, IBM Technical Dis-
`closure Bulletin, Dec. 1, 1980.
`Claudine Conrado, et a1; Privacy in an Identity-based DRM System;
`IEEE Proceedings of the 14th Internatl Workshop on Database and
`Expert Systems Applications (DEXA’03).
`_
`.
`-
`-
`-
`EdyIImg Ah Chang, et al, Mult1med1a R1ghts Management for the
`u t1ple DeV1ces of End-User, IEEE Proceed. of 23rd Interntl Conf
`on D1str1buted Computlng Systems (ICDCSW703)
`Jonker, et a1; Digital Rights Management in Consumer Electronics
`Products; IEEE S1gnal Process1ng Magazme , Mar. 2004.
`Koenen, et al; The Long March to Interoperable Digital Rights Man-
`agement; Proceedings ofthe IEEE, vol. 92, No. 6, Jun. 2004.
`Takanori Senoh, et a1; DRM Renewability & Interoperability; IEEE
`2004 p. 424.429.
`Niels Rump; Can Digital Rights Management Be Standardized?,
`IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, Mar. 2004 p. 63-70.
`.
`.
`Dav1d Geer; D1g1tal R1ghts Technology Sparks Interoperab111ty Con-
`cerns; IEEE Computer Magazine, Dec. 2004.
`Walt Rocks: Rat1ng the New Mu1sc Sltes; Wall Street Journal, Oct.
`22; 2003
`_
`_
`_
`_
`W1th the Web Shaklng Up Mus1c, A Free-for-All 1n On11ne Songs;
`Wall Street Journal, Nov. 19, 2003.
`New Web Music Stores Offer Unique Features, and One is aWinner;
`Wall Street Journal, Apr. 1, 2004.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`EWS-OO6246
`
`EWS-006246
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 1 of 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`1g.F
`
`1
`
`Maggi
`
`m.DEOQ
`
`@385on
`
`:oEwomE..
`
`mESw£830ch3:qu5m:
`
`.V—omaflm:oEmOQEOUN
`
`
`
`5:5
`
`:Sm
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`EmumMoan—zflmin:”My68mmENE5353800
`
`
`
`
`
`N.2885922598:638?88%.w
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`:oEmomSoQ3098
`
`
`
`6933.meost
`
`3389
`
`ENEmafia
`
`@88st.08:a»
`
`Sim
`
`how:8%>55
`
`we0%BEESEH
`:35:$8:3Hon—EBA
`
`:2:.6532d:@800
`
`
`
` 5“.5835numb:8Moan—woomH8333%
`
`aMomnwuum5m:
`
`vegans
`
`EWS-006247
`
`EWS-006247
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 2 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 2
`
`Experience Provider
`
`'|
`
`25
`
`Standard for usage-
`rights Tokens
`
`Usage—ri ghts
`
`Composition
`(Digital-work)
`Provider
`
`Network(s)
`
`Identity—Provider
`
`Repository (Usage-rights
`Authority)
`(Banker)
`
` User 1fl
`
`(Playback Device)
`
`\
`\_,.
`
`22
`
`Devices
`
`\
`
`EWS—OO6248
`
`EWS-006248
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 3 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 3
`
`To/From Experience
`Provider
`
`/—/%
`Favorites Compositions.
`New Recommendations list(s).
`New Compositions & Highlights.
`Usage-rights (Tokens).
`Ads, News, Weather,
`User History.
`Software Updates.
`User feedback Validation.
`
`User History Update
`
`Network Interface
`
`Device Software.
`
`Local Stora e:
`33
`Compositiofis
`New Recommendations list.
`New Compositions and
`Highlights.
`Usage—rights (Tokens).
`Ads, News, Weather,
`User History.
`
`Processor:
`30
`Sequence Generator
`User Control Action (Feedback) Capture
`User History Capture
`Experience Provider Interface
`
`User Control
`Action 5
`(Feedback)
`
`User Control Interface
`
`User Display
`
`Sound Generation
`
`Usernarne
`
`32a
`
`32b
`
`32c
`
`EWS-OO6249
`
`EWS-006249
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 4 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 4
`
`47
`
`46
`
`On/OFF
`
`Channel 2 0f 5
`K Experience- Provider
`Channel-Title
`
` 40
`
`Song Title
`Album Title
`
`Artist Name(s)
`0:23/3:33
`Publisher 1986
`
`Favorites
`
`W 101mm 64%
`
`Channels
`
`Back
`42f
`
`Pause
`42c
`
`Play
`42d
`
`Forward
`42c
`
`Favorites
`
`EWS—OO625O
`
`EWS-006250
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 5 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Actions. Functions
`
`Likeability
`Curves,
`
`User
`Control
`
`EWS-006251
`
`EWS-006251
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 6 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 6
`
`User History
`Update
`(send across
`66 network to
`Experience
`Provider)
`
`Ordered List of
`
`62
`
`New Compositions
`available.
`
`Ordered List of
`New Highlights
`available.
`
`Sequence
`Generator
`
`Queue
`
`64
`
`User Histor
`
`y
`
`65 Reschedule
`
`User Control
`Actions
`(forward,
`back, pause,
`play, like)
`61
`
`New—
`Favorites
`Control
`41
`
`ID of Next
`Composition to be
`Played
`
`67
`
`EWS—OO6252
`
`EWS-006252
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 7 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Likeability
`(Enjoyment)
`
`J
`
`K
`
`Flg. 7a
`
`Number of Times
`Heard
`
`
`Less Complex
`
`Composition
`
`More Complex
`.
`.
`COIIlpOSlthIl
`
`
`
`Number of Times Heard
`
`Time
`
`BP
`
`:tween
`ays
`
`Fig. 7b
`
`Time
`Between
`
`Plays
`
`Flg. 7c
`
`1
`
`Current Enjoyment / Peak Enjoyment
`
`EWS—OO6253
`
`EWS-006253
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 8 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 8
`
`Aggregate
`83b Feedback
`threshold
`
`Aggregate
`843 User
`Feedback
`(from all
`users)
`
`813
`
`81b
`
`Aggregate
`Likeability
`Anal Sis
`y
`
`Expert &
`Focus Group
`Untested
`Likeability ‘— OPml‘mS 0f
`A l
`.
`Untested
`“3 ySlS
`Compositions
`
`
`
`
`Composition
`
`Mapping Indexes
`803
`
`
`
`86
`
`Recommended
`List of New
`Compositions
`and/or
`
`Highlights
`for the user
`87
`
`EWS-006254
`
`Meta-Catalog of
`Compositions &
`85 Highlights
`available to the
`user.
`
`Recommendation
`Generator
`
`
`
`User
`History
`
`82
`
`66
`
`T
`
`Rate of untested
`
`compositions
`
`User Content
`Restrictions
`
`83a
`
`83b
`
`EWS-006254
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 9 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 9
`
`Aggregate One-to-One
`
`Likeability Index:
`
`Also liked # Users
`
`Comp #
`
`Comp #
`
`Sampled
`
`% Users
`
`liking both
`
`— E
`m_
`
`__——
`___——
`___
`854109 1429108_ 1,555
`84
`—
`854110 —
`
`WS-006255
`
`EWS-006255
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 10 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 10
`
`WWW I.-
`
`Likeability Index:
`—————
`Comp #
`Comp #
`Comp # Also liked
`# Users
`
`Comp #
`
`Sampled Liking all
`
`liking both
`
`
`
`———————
`—————
`—m———
`35139 ————
`—————
`
`854108
`
`883491
`
`EWS—OO6256
`
`EWS-006256
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 11 of 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 12
`
`Date &
`time
`
`120b
`
`Username,
`password
`user
`biometrics
`
`1206
`
`User feedback
`validation
`
`(encrypted)
`
`120a
`
`authent1cat1on
`121
`
`.
`.
`COIIIPOSlthl‘l
`Key
`127
`
`User’s Usage-
`Rights token
`(encrypted)
`
`122
`
`
`
`
`Encrypted
`Composition
`
`Decrypt
`
`125
`
`126
`
`C
`
`'t'
`ompom 10f]
`(for playback)
`
`EWS-006257
`
`EWS-006257
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 12 of 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`HOW(DDbI—t.71{I}c('Dr-s
`
`Token-Issue-Date/Time
`
`Composition-Provider
`
`H U.)GU)
`
`1305
`
`1306
`
`lnonymous-ownerID 1304a
`
`Encrypted
`Anonymous-ownerlD
`
`1304b
`
`Encrypted & Digitally Signed
`1304”
`
`1314
`
`Validation Hash (Digital Signature)
`
`EWS—OO6258
`
`EWS-006258
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 13 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 14
`
`1408
`
`Credit
`
`1409
`Credit Report.
`
`
`1405
`
`Usage-Rights.
`
`Report. Request
`— user-feedback
`
`
`Composition \ Usage-Rights
`Prowder
`Repository
`_ tokens
`- token status
`
`1
`
`'\ 23
`
`— user-history
`
`.
`.
`Identrty-Provnder
`(Banker)
`
`1
`
`Get
`
`Order
`
`Usage
`Status.
`
`Compositions.
`
`Purchase
`1404
`Order.
`
`
`
`Payment.
`1403
`
`.
`-R 1
`lg Its
`1406
`
`-
`Usage-Rights.
`
`1407
`
`Experience
`Provider
`
`1
`
`Invoice.
`Request
`
`Credit-repor .
`
`
`1410
`
`
`
`Payment.
`Credit-report.
`1411
`
`\ 26
`
`:Ogi’li'lnf: h .
`urc ase
`“t 0111.
`1412
`
`Compositions &
`Usage-Rights (reduced-capacity-tokens).
`1413
`
`
`
`\
`\ 22
`
`.
`Logln-Info.
`Purchase Author.
`1414
`
`EWS—OO6259
`
`EWS-006259
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet140f16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 15
`
`Interactions with User.
`
`/—’/%
`
`1511
`
`1501
`
`Login-ID’s issued
`to user
`
`(ID-package).
`
`1502
`
`User Application for an
`Status
`Payments
`Anonymous-ownerID account.
`
`Invoices,
`Account-
`
`1512
`
`Process User
`Application for an
`Anonymous-
`ownerlD
`
`Database 1:
`Anonymous-ownerID
`to Actual -User Info
`(biometric info &
`security
`questions/answers).
`
`1503
`
`1504
`
`Define Login-Info.
`- Login-ID’s
`—ID-package.
`
`1505
`
`Database 2:
`Login-Info to
`Anonymous-ownerID.
`(Login-ID, ID-package,
`etc
`
`1506
`
`Anonymous
`Banker
`Function.
`
`1508
`
`1507
`
`\
`
`.
`Identlty-
`Provider
`
`29
`
`I
`
`Translate &
`validate Login-Info
`to Anonymous-
`ownerID.
`
`Login-Info Anonymous-
`ownerID
`
`Invoices.
`
`Requests for
`Credit-Report.
`Identity
`dispute.
`
`1509
`
`Payments.
`Anonymous
`Credit-
`Reports.
`Identity
`Resolution.
`
`1510
`
`;
`
`Interactions with Providers.
`
`EVVS—OO6260
`
`:I
`IIII
`II
`:III
`II
`IIII
`
`: :: :
`
`I :III :I IIII : :IIIII :I
`
`EWS-006260
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 15 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 16
`
`Play-History:
`Anonymous-ownerID.
`
`1304
`
`1608
`
`1601
`
`1604
`/
`
`EWS—OO6261
`
`Composition-ID.
`
`1603
`
`Record-of—Play 1
`
`1604
`
`Record-of—Play 2
`
`Record-of—Play 3
`
`Record-of—Play“rn”
`Last Record. 1605
`
`1604
`
`1604
`
`1604
`
`Number of times played. 1606
`
`Average % played. 1607
`
`Validation Hash (digital signature).
`
`Fig. 17
`
`Record-of—Play “11”:
`Date & Time played. 1702
`
`1709
`
`1703
`
`Experience-Provider.
`% played.
`1704
`Usage-rights TokenID used.
`Likeability indicators
`1706
`How initiated. 1707
`
`1705
`
`Reporting status 1708
`
`Validation Hash (digital signature).
`
`EWS-006261
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 16, 2011
`
`Sheet 16 0f 16
`
`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`Fig. 18
`
`Obtain
`
`feedback from user-device.
`
`Login-Info and user-device-
`
`1802
`
`Translate Login-Info into an
`Anonymous-ownerID.
`
`Validate Anonymous-
`
`ownerID
`
`
`
`Obtain & validate tokens
`
`owned by the Anonymous—
`ownerID
`
`Determine digital-works
`
`needed by the user-device.
`
`Prepare digital-works &
`usage-authorizations in
`format needed by user-device.
`
`Send di ital-works and
`g
`usage-authorizations to the
`user-device.
`
`1803
`
`1804
`
`1805
`
`1806
`
`1807
`
`1808
`
`EWS—OO6262
`
`EWS-006262
`
`

`

`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`1
`DISTRIBUTING DIGITAL-WORKS AND
`USAGE-RIGHTS TO USER-DEVICES
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is a continuation-in-part of US. applica-
`tion Ser. No. 10/605,879, filed on NOV. 3, 2003, entitled
`“Adaptive Personalized Music and Entertainment”. This ear-
`lier application in its entirety is incorporated by reference into
`this specification.
`
`COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
`
`©2003 -2005 James W. Wieder. A portion of the disclosure
`of this patent document contains material which is subject to
`copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objections
`to the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patent disclo-
`sure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent
`files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights
`whatsoever. This notice applies to the software and data
`described below and to the drawings hereto.
`
`BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`This invention relates to a method for automatically man-
`aging and transferring across a network, a user’s digital-
`works and usage-rights to one or more user-devices wherever
`the user is active.
`
`2. Description of Related Art
`Existing methods for entertaining a listener (or viewer)
`with music or music videos (or other entertainment) have
`numerous limitations that result in a less than an ideal user
`
`experience.
`A major limitation with broadcast media such as radio and
`television is that the user has no control over the channel
`
`stream. If the listener does not like the current composition,
`the listener’s only option is to change to another station or
`channel. However, there are typically a limited number of
`alternate channels of music suitable for the user. In addition,
`to switch quickly to a suitable alternative channel requires the
`user to have found and pre-selected the alternate channels of
`interest. When the user does switch channels, the new channel
`will mo st likely be somewhere in the middle of a composition,
`advertisement or other audio presentation. Recently commer-
`cial-free radio is being offered via satellite radio (e.g., XM
`Radio) and some internet radio stations, but the music is not
`customized to each user. Another major limitation of broad-
`cast is that there is no link between the broadcast stream and
`
`the user’s music collection. If the listener does hear a song
`they would like to add to their music collection, they typically
`need to remember the artist, album and song so it can be
`located or acquired at some later time. Often, the information
`needed to acquire a song (artist, album, title, etc) is not avail-
`able at broadcast time when the listener is interested in it.
`
`A major limitation of purchased albums on media such as
`CD’s, DAT, tapes, and DVD’s is that the user must expend
`considerable effort to be able to identify what they want and
`then to locate the media at a vendor and then purchase it. In
`order to purchase a media, the listener must be able to identify
`the specific album desired by artist and album name. Each
`purchased media may include many compositions that the
`user does not want. Sometimes the listener may purchase the
`wrong album by mistake. Once purchased, the listener must
`provide physical storage for the media and then later locate
`and insert the media to playback the compositions. To play-
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2
`
`back a particular song, the user must remember the particular
`media (e. g., CD) the song is located on and then be able to find
`that specific media among perhaps 100’s of similar looking
`media. The user must also coordinate and physically transport
`the media between the user’s various locations and user-
`
`devices (e.g. home, car, portable player, etc). Often, a desired
`album’s media may not be at the desired user’s location. In
`addition, media players hold only a limited of number of
`media so the user is limited to a playback stream from a
`limited number of albums at any one time. For certain loca-
`tions, such as in an automobile, the locating, handing and
`inserting the media may be a safety distraction. The order of
`playback is limited to the composition order on the media, the
`random ordering of the media compositions and/or perhaps a
`playlist the user manually defines. The media is subject to
`scratching or other physical damage, requiring the user to
`create backup copies or purchase replacement copies. The
`physical media may have a physical lifetime which is much
`shorter then the users. In addition, due to the rapid rate of
`technological change, vendor support for a given media for-
`mat may be less than the user’s lifetime.
`An emerging technology is the storage and management of
`the user’s music collection on the user’s personal computer
`(PC). With compression technology (such as MP3 or WMA
`formats), approximately 2500 (near CD quality) songs can be
`stored per 10 Gbyte of hard disc capacity. Since PC’s with 30
`to 100+Gbyte discs are now commonly available, now or in
`the near future, PC’s will have sufficient capacity to hold a
`user’ s full music collection in compressed format. The user’ s
`collection is typically managed on the PC by interactive win-
`dows driven software, which the user must install and learn to
`use. The user must expend a significant effort to build their
`collection of compositions. The user may expend significant
`effort to convert their previously purchased media (such as
`CD’s) into suitable compressed files on the PC hard drive.
`Even using high read/write rate drives, such a conversion
`could take 3 to 10 minutes per CD and 5 to 16 hours for a
`collection of 100 CD’s. The quality of the compressed file is
`determined by the user’s ability to operate the compression
`software and select the appropriate compression settings for
`each composition.
`An emerging way of building a music collection on the
`user’ s PC is the purchase and down load of songs in a suitable
`compressed format across the internet. The major providers
`of downloadable songs include PressPlay, AOL MusicNet,
`FullAudio MusicNow, and MusicMatch. Users use the PC to
`locate, purchase and download new songs over the internet. A
`major limitation of this approach is that the user must be able
`to identify the artist, album and song by name. Disadvantages
`include that the user must manually locate each song within
`the catalog of songs in the provider’s database, by typically
`either reading through an alphabetical list of songs by musical
`category (genre), artist, album or alternatively by performing
`a search for each song via a search tool. They may have to
`navigate a separate set of web pages to locate and download
`the composition. In some cases, a web page may provide a
`short sample of a song which may be heard before purchasing
`and downloading the full song. The user may have to wait
`while the download is occurring, in order to verify it down-
`loaded correctly. An additional disadvantage is that the addi-
`tional cost of the PC may exceed the cost of the user-devices.
`In addition, the user must learn to use the PC and its software.
`The user must manage the downloaded composition once it’ s
`been downloaded. The user may have to manually create
`playlists and later relocate the user created playlists by the
`playlist name.
`
`EWS-OO6263
`
`EWS-006263
`
`

`

`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`3
`Some users have built a portion of their collection Via
`music piracy and file sharing software, often using peer-to-
`peer networks across the internet. The user faces ethical and
`legal issues. The user faces additional security and privacy
`issues associated with the peer-to-peer networks and the asso-
`ciated software such as Viruses, worms, spyware, and stealth
`software.
`In addition,
`the quality of each music file is
`unknown and not guaranteed, since there are multiple good,
`marginal, bad and bogus versions of each song out on the
`network. The user must expend effort to locate the artist,
`album and song. Then, after waiting for the download to
`complete, the user must determine if the quality of the down-
`loaded song is acceptable, and begin the process again if the
`quality is insufficient. The quality of the pirated song may be
`well below the quality of the original version.
`Once the collection is built, the user must manage their
`collection of songs on the PC storage device. Using windows
`driven software on the PC, the user must manually select
`among the songs in their collection to create one or more
`playlists. In addition, the user must periodically back-up their
`collection on the PC to protect against loss due to drive
`failure, fire, damage or theft. For large collections, this is so
`inconvenient and time consuming; it is often not done fre-
`quently enough or not done at all, placing at risk of loss all of
`the user’ s efforts in building their collection. There are many
`competing file formats (MP3, WMA, AAC, etc), which only
`operate with certain vendor’ s hardware and/or software. The
`formats are constantly evolving and may have a limited ven-
`dor support lifetime. The user’s collection in a particular
`format may no longer be supported at some point in time,
`requiring considerable user effort to convert the collection
`into another supported format, if a conversion is even pos-
`sible.
`
`Several new types of music players, including portable
`players, have emerged that are capable of handling com-
`pressed storage formats. The user’s collection and playlists
`for these devices are typically managed via interactive win-
`dows software on the user’s PC. For players with limited
`storage capacity (e.g., SonicBlue Rio MP3 player), PC soft-
`ware is used to select a limited portion ofthe user’s collection,
`which is then sent to the player’s memory over a cable or
`loaded onto memory media or a memory device which the
`user can insert into the portable player. Some recent players
`(such as Apple’s iPod, Creative’s Nomad Jukebox Zen, or
`PhatNoise’s PhatBox) have large enough hard disc storage
`(10 to 30 Gbyte) to hold a collection of up to 2000 to 8000
`songs. Some players (e.g., the Apple iPod) auto-synchronize
`with the PC by plugging into a high rate interface cable. The
`PhatBox player, intended for installation in automobiles has a
`removable hard disk cartridge that attaches to a PC cradle
`(USB 2.0 cable) for content management. The user’s collec-
`tion and the creation of user playlists are managed on the PC
`via interactive windows based software.
`
`Another emerging technology is user customized radio via
`streaming across the internet, such as Yahoo LaunchCast. An
`automatically generated sequence of songs, custom selected
`based on the user’s profile, is generated remotely at the ser-
`vice providers server. The stream is forwarded to the user
`across the internet to a player application located on the user’ s
`PC. Each user creates a unique profile using an interactive
`windows application on the PC in-order to select music cat-
`egories and artists the user likes. The user also may provide
`additional profile feedback, while a composition is playing or
`by accessing the user’s library, to rate each song, album and
`artist on a rating scale. A major disadvantage of LaunchCast
`is that there is no link between the user’s radio profile infor-
`mation and the user’s music collection [i.e., the user’s usage-
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`4
`
`listening-rights) to particular compositions].
`rights (e.g.,
`Because there is no link with the user’s usage-rights, the
`LaunchCast user does not have the ability to go “backward”
`or to repeat a song or cause a particular song to play. Ifthe user
`wishes to add a composition that is playing to their collection,
`they are only provided with a link to a web page where the CD
`may be purchased. A disadvantage of streaming is the skip-
`ping or jumps that occur if the continuous virtual bandwidth
`is interrupted by other network traffic. Another disadvantage
`of streaming is its limited tolerance to insufficient network
`latency, which can result in delays in the radio program,
`especially when the user decides to “forward” or “skip” over
`the currently playing song.
`Other interactive internet based streaming services allow
`the user to create a custom playlist or multiple playlists of
`favorites, by selecting each song to include from a catalog of
`compositions provided by the service. A major limitation is
`that the user must be familiar enough with the composition to
`be able to identify the artist, album and song by name. In
`addition, the user must expend considerable effort to manu-
`ally locate each song within the catalog of songs in the pro-
`vider’s database or the user’s library, by typically either read-
`ing through an alphabetical list of songs by genre, artist,
`album or performing a search for each song by using a search
`tool. The user must continually and manually update all this
`as their musical tastes change over time. To generate a stream
`of songs, the user may then have to choose a group or order of
`particular songs to form a user’s custom playlist. Another
`limitation is the user does not own the music collection and
`
`does not own usage-rights to the music. In addition, it is not
`integrated to other usage-rights the user already has pur-
`chased.
`
`In some internet services, the user may indicate the relative
`likeability of each of the songs in their custom playlist. Typi-
`cally, the user manually rates each composition based on a
`scale, such as 1 to 100. Which requires the user to manage in
`their mind the relative rankings of songs by rating number so
`one song has a higher number relative to another. In addition,
`the user must manually change their ratings and their playlists
`as their taste for songs changes over time. This typically
`requires a significant amount of visual interaction from the
`user, often with a PC windows based display, which is not
`suitable while driving an automobile or for many other activi-
`ties.
`
`The Apple iTunes system is currently one of the most
`popular methods for purchasing music on-line. When a user
`makes an on-line purchase, the usage-rights and composition
`is typically downloaded and then stored locally on the hard
`disk of a user’s personal computer (PC). With Apple iTunes,
`a user is only allowed to download the composition once per
`purchase. A user may lose their purchased usage-rights ifthis
`local user-device (typically a personal computer) is damaged,
`destroyed, lost, stolen, etc. If lost, the iTunes song must be
`purchased a second time before it can be downloaded again.
`To protect their iTunes collection from loss, users are
`responsible for backing up their collection of compositions
`by copying them from the personal computer to an external
`storage device or media. Without a backup copy, any damage
`or loss of the personal computer’s hard disk will result in an
`unrecoverable loss ofthe user’s collection and the user would
`
`be required to repurchase and rebuild their collection again
`from scratch. Many users do not perform regular backups
`because of the time and effort involved. Even when backups
`are done, users often keep their backup copies in close prox-
`imity to their computer hard drive, which may not protect
`against loss or damage from a fire or theft.
`
`EWS—OO6264
`
`EWS-006264
`
`

`

`US 8,001,612 B1
`
`5
`With Apple iTunes, a purchased song may be authorized
`for use on only 5 user-devices (of an authorized type) at a
`time. The user is required to perform a complicated procedure
`to transfer a song and obtain authorization to use the song on
`each new user-device. In order to authorize the use of a song 5
`on a new user-device, the user may be required to enter the
`Apple-ID and password used to purchase the song. When the
`5 user-device limit is reached, the user is also required to
`manually de-authorize a song on one user-device so it can be
`authorized on another user-device. The user must also 10
`
`remember to de-authorize their computers and user-devices
`whenever they are sold, given away or are serviced.
`Transfers of iTunes usage-rights to other user-devices
`(such as a portable player) are typically accomplished by a
`cable or local area wireless connection between the PC and 15
`
`the second device. This typically requires the other user-
`devices to be brought near the PC or local media server where
`the user’s usage-rights are stored. In addition, the user must
`plan and coordinate bringing the devices together whenever a
`transfer of usage-rights is desired. Such transfers are particu- 20
`larly difficult when the user-devices are at different physical
`locations (such as home, work, automobile, etc.) or are not
`easily portable.
`Overall, an iTunes user must expend significant time and
`effort to acquire, download, backup, and transfer songs 25
`between their user-devices and to authorize/de-authorize
`
`their collection of songs at each user-device.
`Today, a given user-device is typically compatible with
`only one or a limited number of the many different file for-
`mats, compression-decompression algorithms and content- 30
`protection methods. Vendors such as Microsoft, RealNet-
`works and Apple may use proprietary or industry standard
`(MP3, MPEG-4) approaches. These are often not interoper-
`able. Digital content packaged for one vendor’s user-devices
`(e.g., Apple) may not be playable on another vendor’s user- 35
`devices (e.g., Microsoft Windows Media). In addition, new,
`different and improved formats, compression—decompression
`algorithms and content-protection methods are expected to be
`introduced in the future.
`
`Today, the content-protection methods are typically based 40
`on proprietary digital rights management (DRM) approaches
`that are unique to each vendor’s user-devices. Examples of
`DRM solutions include InterTrust (Rights System), RealNet-
`works (Media Commerce Suite), Windows Media (Rights
`Manager) and Widevine Cyper.
`When the user purchases digital content (e.g., a composi-
`tion) today, it may only play on the user-devices from a single
`vendor. For example, if a user purchases a song from the
`Apple iTunes Music Store, it can only be played using an
`iTunes jukebox (Apple software) on the user’s PC or using an 50
`Apple hardware device such as anApple iPod portable player.
`Today, the large number of incompatible choices confuses
`consumers and reduces sales because consumers are uncer-
`
`45
`
`tain about what to buy and are afraid of buying soon-to-be
`obsolete products. Consumers recognize that many different 55
`media products that are introduced in the marketplace quickly
`die (for example, Beta VCR tapes). Consumers are also con-
`cerned that new technology will be introduced in the near
`future that will make their purchased user-devices and com-
`position formats obsolete (for example, vinyl LP records).
`Today, many consumers may decide to delay purchases of
`user-devices and their corresponding compatible digital-con-
`tent
`(e.g., digital-works) until a technology approach
`becomes the established industry standard.
`More generally, the above discussion may also apply to any 65
`type of digital-work including music, music videos, multi-
`media, artwork, pictures, audio, sound, short films, movies,
`
`60
`
`6
`video clips, television programs, audio versions of books,
`talks, speeches, voice content, lectures, software, software
`plug-ins and any other type ofdigital-work. In some cases, the
`media formats will differ (DVD’s or other formats instead of
`CD’s), but the limitations discussed are generally applicable.
`
`SUMMARY OF INVENTION
`
`The objectives and advantages of this invention include:
`1) Provide a simplified way providing an entertainment
`experience that is customized for each user.
`2) Allow the user to experience both different and new
`compositions, more easily and at a faster rate.
`3) Simplify the process of finding and acquiring a larger
`variety of pleasing compositions for each user’s collection.
`4) Simplify the purchase and delivery of compositions to
`create a user’s collection.
`
`5) Not require the user to identify and select compositions
`based upon knowledge of the composition such as composi-
`tion title, artist’s name, or album name.
`6) Protect a user’s collection of compositions against the
`theft or loss.
`
`7) Eliminate all user efforts and concerns with backing-up
`and storing their personal collection of compositions (digital-
`works).
`8) Preserve a user’s profile, history and collection even if
`user-devices are lost, stolen, broken or destroyed.
`9) Eliminate user efforts of knowing, locating or convert-
`ing different file formats for different user-devices and future
`user-devices.
`
`10) Allow each user’s profile, history and collection to be
`available to all the user-devices wherever they are located or
`used. Allow each user’s profile, history and collection to be
`immediately