Encrypted content streaming

A method of streaming encrypted content from a content server computing system, the method comprising:

• at the content server computing system, holding an encrypted content stream that is cryptographically encrypted from a content stream with a content key;
• at the content server computing system, holding an encrypted content key that is cryptographically encrypted from the content key with one or more intermediate encryption keys;
• and
• from the content server computing system, serving the encrypted content stream to a plurality of content consumption devices via a computer network, at least one of the plurality of content consumption devices having a different scalable root license than another of the plurality of content consumption devices, the encrypted content stream embedded with a plurality of copies of a leaf license comprising the encrypted content key, the encrypted content stream cryptographically decryptable by a content consumption device having a scalable root license providing one or more intermediate root keys from which the content consumption device derives one or more intermediate decryption keys paired to the one or more intermediate encryption keys, the one or more intermediate decryption keys being related to the one or more intermediate root keys via a hierarchical key tree having a binary tree structure, the encrypted content stream not cryptographically decryptable by another content consumption device that does not have the scalable root license, and the plurality of copies of the leaf license temporally spaced-apart within the encrypted content stream to accommodate one or more of the plurality of content consumption devices just joining the encrypted content stream.

A method of streaming encrypted content from a content server computing system, the method comprising:

• holding a plurality of encrypted content streams each cryptographically encrypted from a corresponding content stream with a corresponding content key, the plurality of encrypted content streams collectively constituting a channel;
• for each encrypted content stream, holding an encrypted content key that is cryptographically encrypted from the corresponding content key with one or more intermediate encryption keys;
• and
• from the content server computing system, serving one or more of the plurality of encrypted content streams to a plurality of content consumption devices via a computer network, at least one of the plurality of content consumption devices having a different scalable root license than another of the plurality of content consumption devices, each of the one or more encrypted content streams embedded with a leaf license comprising an encrypted content key corresponding to that encrypted content stream, each such encrypted content stream cryptographically decryptable by a content consumption device having a scalable root license providing one or more intermediate root keys from which the content consumption device derives one or more intermediate decryption keys paired to the one or more intermediate encryption keys, each such encrypted content stream not cryptographically decryptable by another content consumption device that does not have the scalable root license.