US 8,819,720 B2Granted

IPTV follow me content system and method

AssigneeQwest Communications International Inc.

InventorsSteven M. Casey, Gnanasegeran Selvadurai, Felipe Castro, Waqar Khan

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Tools are provided for distributing access-restricted content in an internet protocol television (“IPTV”) environment based on portable entitlement keys. Such tools can include a decoder, an encoder, and a network entitlement handler. The decoder may be configured to receive a key associated with entitlement information, and transmit the entitlement information over a network. The encoder may be configured to receive content from content providers, and to encode the content to create IP-compatible content, with access restrictions based on entitlement. The network entitlement handler may be configured to receive a request for requested content from the decoder; receive the access-restricted content including (including the requested content) from the encoder; and transmit the requested content over the network to the decoder using IP, when the decoder is entitled to receive the requested content.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A system for distributing access-restricted content in an internet protocol-based television environment, the system comprising:

a decoder unit, in operative communication with a network and locatable in the network by an internet protocol address, and configured to:
receive a key from a key store configured to store the key, the key being associated with a set of access rights for an account;
and
transmit, over the network, entitlement information relating to the set of access rights;
and
a network entitlement handler unit, in operative communication with the network, and configured to:
receive, over the network from the decoder unit, a request for a requested content set;
receive, over the network, a set of access-restricted content, the set of access-restricted content having limited accessibility based at least in part on the set of access rights and comprising at least a portion of the requested content set;
receive the internet protocol address corresponding to the requesting decoder unit;
and
transmit the set of access-restricted content over the network to the network address using the internet protocol.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/539,712Filed 2 Jul 2012 · continuation
Priority: 2 Apr 2008
Published: US 2012/0272260 A125 Oct 2012
Granted: 26 Aug 2014
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

H04N 21/4627
Content or additional data management e.g. creating a master electronic programme guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end or…:…
H04L 63/10
Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security: for controlling access to devices or network resources
H04N 21/26613
Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD…: for…
H04N 21/4181
External card to be used in combination with the client device, e.g. for conditional access: for conditional access

Family

Application12/061,046Parent of this continuation · filed 2 Apr 2008
US 2012/0272260 A1Pre-grant publication · published 25 Oct 2012
US 8,238,559 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2009/0252329 A1Published application
US 8,819,720 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.