SCALE CONTENT LICENSING PLATFORM AND MARKETPLATE SYSTEM, METHOD, AND MEDIUM - Patent application

Abstract

The method includes receiving a request from a content creator to upload a media content item to a content sharing service; determining that the media content item incorporates a media asset that is at least partially owned by a partner, where the media asset is associated with a claim for which at least one license is available; determining whether a license use is associated with the media content item corresponding to the media asset; generating a claim bundle including the claim associated with the partner and the license use associated with the content creator; determining a policy based on the generated claim bundle; and implementing an action on the media content item based on the determined policy.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 233,735, filed Aug. 16, 2021, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The disclosed subject matter relates to a scaled content licensing platform and marketplace system, method, and medium. [Background technology]

[0003] Currently, when a video content creator uploads a video that includes popular music within the video, the content creator receives a third party claim from the music owner that trumps the content creator's own first party claim. Thus, the content creator cannot make any revenue from the video because that revenue goes to the partner who owns the music. This is becoming an increasingly big problem as content creators, as owners of intellectual property assets (e.g., videos, books, songs, video games, etc.), have an increasing desire to monetize their assets. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It is therefore desirable to provide a new scaled content licensing platform and marketplace system, method and medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to various embodiments, a scaled content licensing platform and market mechanism (which may include methods, systems, and media) is provided.

[0006] According to some embodiments of the subject matter of the present disclosure, a method for providing scaled content licensing is provided, the method including: receiving, using a hardware processor, a request from a content creator to upload a media content item to a content sharing service; determining, using the hardware processor, that the media content item incorporates a media asset that is at least partially owned by a partner, where the media asset is associated with a claim for which at least one license is available; determining, using the hardware processor, whether a license use is associated with the media content item corresponding to the media asset; generating, using the hardware processor, a claim bundle including claims associated with the partner and license uses associated with the content creator; determining, using the hardware processor, a policy based on the generated claim bundle; and implementing, using the hardware processor, an action on the media content item based on the determined policy.

[0007] In some embodiments, license usage is stored in a child table of a claim table that stores multiple claims, each associated with one or more licenses. In some embodiments, license usage is stored as a field of a claim table that stores multiple claims, each associated with one or more licenses. In some embodiments, license usage is stored as a claim type in a claim table that stores multiple claims, each associated with one or more licenses. In some embodiments, license usage is stored in a license usage database that is separate from the claims database that stores multiple claims, each associated with one or more licenses.

[0008] In some embodiments, the method further includes detecting, in response to receiving a request to upload a media content item to the content sharing service, whether the media content item includes one or more media assets, wherein a claim is generated in response to detecting a media asset within the media content item that is at least partially owned by the partner.

[0009] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining that at least one license may be obtained from the partner, where the at least one license is associated with license terms.

[0010] In some embodiments, the method further includes having the content creator presented with licensing options in response to determining that the at least one license may be obtained from a partner. In some embodiments, the licensing terms include an option to purchase the at least one license based on revenue generated from the media content item. In some embodiments, the licensing terms include an option to purchase the at least one license using an electronic payment system associated with a user account of the content creator.

[0011] In some embodiments, the action taken on the media content item based on the determined policy includes determining, based on the determined policy, whether to inhibit the media content item from being provided to other users of the content sharing service. In some embodiments, the action taken on the media content item based on the determined policy includes determining, based on the determined policy, whether the media content item is eligible for monetization.

[0012] In some embodiments, the method further includes generating one or more recommendations for replacing a media asset included within the media content item in response to a determination that at least one license is not available for acquisition from a partner corresponding to the media asset.

[0013] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a selection of a purchased license associated with the media asset, and activating the purchased license to apply the purchased license to the media content item.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining that a licensing strategy is associated with the media asset. In some embodiments, the licensing strategy indicates a free license associated with the media asset. In some embodiments, the free license is associated with a usage limit period, a territory usage period, a time usage period, and a license usage period, and the free license is specified by a partner for one or more content creators using a user identifier.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting the media asset to a content creator for temporary insertion within the media content item.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a scaled content licensing system is provided, the system comprising a server including a hardware processor configured to: receive a request from a content creator to upload a media content item to a content sharing service; determine that the media content item incorporates a media asset that is at least partially owned by a partner, where the media asset is associated with a claim for which at least one license is available; determine whether a license use is associated with the media content item corresponding to the media asset; generate a claim bundle including the claims associated with the partner and the license use associated with the content creator; determine a policy based on the generated claim bundle; and implement an action on the media content item based on the determined policy.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided that includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for providing scaled content licensing, the method including receiving a request from a content creator to upload a media content item to a content sharing service; determining that the media content item incorporates a media asset that is at least partially owned by a partner, where the media asset is associated with a claim for which at least one license is available; determining whether a license use is associated with the media content item corresponding to the media asset; generating a claim bundle including claims associated with the partner and license uses associated with the content creator; determining a policy based on the generated claim bundle; and implementing an action on the media content item based on the determined policy.

[0018] According to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a system for providing scaled content licensing is provided, the system comprising: means for receiving a request from a content creator to upload a media content item to a content sharing service; means for determining that the media content item incorporates a media asset that is at least partially owned by a partner, where the media asset is associated with a claim for which at least one license is available; means for determining whether a license use is associated with the media content item corresponding to the media asset; means for generating a claim bundle including claims associated with the partner and license uses associated with the content creator; means for determining a policy based on the generated claim bundle; and means for implementing an action on the media content item based on the determined policy.

[0019] Various objects, features, and advantages of the disclosed subject matter may be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description of the disclosed subject matter when considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements and in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an illustrative example of a scaled content licensing platform and marketplace system according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an illustrative example of a scaled content licensing platform and marketplace system according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an illustrative example of a scaled content licensing platform and marketplace system according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 4]FIG. 1 illustrates an illustrative example of a scaled content licensing platform and marketplace system according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary license flow diagram between a content sharing service, a partner of the content sharing service having assets for licensing, a creator of the content sharing service who uploads a content item that may include one or more assets, and a viewer of content provided by the content sharing service, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 6] A diagram showing illustrative examples of used content or assets within a content item, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 7] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 8] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 9] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 10] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is an illustrative flow diagram of license states across assets, license proposals, license provision, license acquisition, and license usage in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 12] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 13] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 14] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 15] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 16] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 17] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 18] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of data categories describing creator content, usage content, and licenses, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 19] 1A-1C are diagrams illustrating illustrative examples of two cases of content reuse of a content item, where each case of content reuse has a license, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 20] A diagram showing illustrative examples of matching licenses and direct licenses that may be associated with an asset, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 21] 1 shows an illustrative example of a license table for storing licenses and license conditions, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 22]A diagram illustrating an illustrative example of the relationship between a rights management mechanism, a commercial mechanism, and a content management mechanism in storing information regarding items for licensing, items for download or preview, licensing strategies, and one or more offers associated with each item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 23] A diagram illustrating an illustrative example of the relationship between a rights management mechanism, a commercial mechanism, and a content management mechanism in storing information regarding items for licensing, items for download or preview, licensing strategies, and one or more offers associated with each item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 24] A diagram illustrating an illustrative example of the relationship between a rights management mechanism, a commercial mechanism, and a content management mechanism in storing information regarding items for licensing, items for download or preview, licensing strategies, and one or more offers associated with each item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 25] FIG. 1 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 27]FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 28] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 29] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 30] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 31]FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 32] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 33] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 34] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 35]FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 36] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 37] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 38] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 39]FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 40] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 41] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 42] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 43]FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 44] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a creator to upload a content item, perform inspection for any issues that may limit the visualization or monetization of the content item, obtain licenses for assets (if any) found within the content item, and apply the obtained licenses to the content item, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Diagram 45] FIG. 11 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a partner to create and / or assign a licensing strategy for one or more assets, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 46] FIG. 11 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a partner to create and / or assign a licensing strategy for one or more assets, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 47] FIG. 11 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a partner to create and / or assign a licensing strategy for one or more assets, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 48] FIG. 11 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a partner to create and / or assign a licensing strategy for one or more assets, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 49]FIG. 11 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a partner to create and / or assign a licensing strategy for one or more assets, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 50] FIG. 11 illustrates an illustrative example of a storefront user interface that enables a partner to create and / or assign a licensing strategy for one or more assets, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 51] FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture for using a storefront to submit a search query or filter selection and receive assets with metadata, terms of use, and available licenses in response, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 52] FIG. 10 is an exemplary flow diagram illustrating how a storefront user interface may be used to submit a search query or filter selection and receive assets with metadata, terms of use, and available licenses in response, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 53] A diagram showing illustrative examples of relationships between content items, licenses, license acquisition, license usage, assets, and claims, according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 54] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of how license usage information may be stored along with billing information, and how a logical layer may calculate an effective policy based on such license usage and billing information, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 55] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of how license usage information may be stored along with billing information, and how a logical layer may calculate an effective policy based on such license usage and billing information, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 56]FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of how license usage information may be stored along with billing information, and how a logical layer may calculate an effective policy based on such license usage and billing information, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 57] FIG. 13 illustrates an illustrative example of how license usage information may be stored along with billing information, and how a logical layer may calculate an effective policy based on such license usage and billing information, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 58] 1 illustrates an illustrative example of interactions between partner asserted claims, licensed use market claims, overall video policy, and ownership snapshots in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 59] 1 illustrates an illustrative example of interactions between partner asserted claims, licensed use market claims, overall video policy, and ownership snapshots in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 60] 1 illustrates an illustrative example of interactions between partner asserted claims, licensed use market claims, overall video policy, and ownership snapshots in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 61] A diagram showing an illustrative example of interaction between a matching claim mechanism, a rights management mechanism, and a licensing application engine according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 62] A diagram showing an illustrative example of interaction between a matching claim mechanism, a rights management mechanism, and a licensing application engine according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 63] A diagram showing an illustrative example of interaction between a matching claim mechanism, a rights management mechanism, and a licensing application engine according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 64]A diagram showing an illustrative example of interaction between a matching claim mechanism, a rights management mechanism, and a licensing application engine according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 65] A diagram showing an illustrative example of interaction between a matching claim mechanism, a rights management mechanism, and a licensing application engine according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 66] A diagram showing an illustrative example of interaction between a matching claim mechanism, a rights management mechanism, and a licensing application engine according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 67] A diagram showing an illustrative example of interaction between a matching claim mechanism, a rights management mechanism, and a licensing application engine according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 68] A diagram showing an illustrative example of interaction between a matching claim mechanism, a rights management mechanism, and a licensing application engine according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 69] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary scalable content licensing system suitable for implementation of the mechanisms described herein, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. [Figure 70] A diagram showing detailed examples of hardware that may be used in the content server, data server, and / or user device of FIG. 69 according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] According to various embodiments, a scaled content licensing platform and market mechanism (which may include methods, systems, and media) is provided.

[0022] According to some embodiments, the mechanisms described herein may enable a content creator (sometimes referred to herein as a "creator") to acquire licenses to content assets directly from partners, such as music or entertainment partners, and then apply the acquired licenses within its content items. This may enable, for example, a content creator to monetize a content item and participate in revenue sharing when third-party content from a partner is detected and claimed within a content item uploaded by the content creator. Additionally, viewers of a content item uploaded by a content creator to a content sharing service may include associated license information during playback of the content item.

[0023] It should be noted that, by way of example only, the embodiments described herein relate generally to providing mechanisms that enable content creators to obtain licenses to songs or other music content directly from partners, such as music partners, and to apply the licenses obtained for songs to content items (e.g., videos) that are being uploaded to a content sharing service. The mechanisms described herein may enable content creators to obtain licenses directly to any suitable type of content, such as video content, image content, audio content, art content, unique encrypted digital assets (e.g., non-fungible token container files), etc.

[0024] As used herein, a direct license may be obtained by a creator, where the license grants the creator certain rights to use the underlying asset within their content item.

[0025] Each content item uploaded to the content sharing service may be associated with a license state. For example, an unlicensed state may be assigned to a content item uploaded to the content sharing service that includes assets or other intellectual property assets that are not explicitly licensed by the content sharing service or by the content creator who uploaded the content item. Such content (e.g., Hollywood movies uploaded to the content sharing service) is blocked or possibly inhibited from being provided to other users of the content sharing service. In another example, an authorized state may be assigned to a content item uploaded to the content sharing service that includes assets or other intellectual property assets that are not explicitly licensed by the content creator who uploaded the content item, but are licensed by the content sharing service. Such content (e.g., user-generated content uploaded to the content sharing service) may be provided to other users of the content sharing service as long as the license with the content sharing service is active. In yet another example, a license state may be assigned to a content item uploaded to the content sharing service that includes assets or other intellectual property assets that are explicitly licensed for use to the content sharing service by the content creator who uploaded the content item. This may also include, in some implementations, content that falls under exceptions to copyright law, such as the fair use exception and expired rights status.

[0026] Assets, as used herein, may generally refer to any content, such as creator content, or content uploaded to a content sharing service (which may include existing intellectual property or intellectual property created by a creator), or content used, or content uploaded to a content sharing service found within creator content. As shown in FIG. 7, creator content may include any suitable audiovisual content, audio content, image content, and / or any other suitable type of content and may be associated with any suitable distribution medium, such as video on demand (VOD), live content, broadcast content, and performance content. As shown in FIG. 8, used content may include any suitable audio content, audiovisual content, content composed of melodies, and the like. As also shown in FIG. 8, used content may be associated with any suitable source, such as a video uploaded to a content sharing service. As shown in FIG. 9, used content may be associated with an inclusion mechanism and license status as described above (e.g., direct license, copyright exception, or unlicensed licensed by the content sharing service).

[0027] Embedding, as used herein, may generally refer to the presence of any used content within another used content, whether detected, inferred, or declared. This is shown, for example, in Figure 6, where Used Content #3 (e.g., audio content) is embedded within Used Content #2 (e.g., music content).

[0028] As mentioned above, a license may be obtained by a creator that grants the creator certain rights to use the underlying asset within its content item. Such a license may include license terms and ancillary data.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 10, the terms may be used to specify who the agreement is for (parties), what is covered (asset), what the licensor expects (obligations from licensee to licensor), what the licensee can do to the licensed asset (grant of rights to licensee), etc. FIG. 12 further illustrates that the parties to a license agreement may include a licensor, a licensee, and an enforcing or verifying party. For example, the licensor may be a partner or a content owner, the licensee may be a creator represented by a channel identifier associated with the content sharing service, and the enforcing or verifying party may be an identifier associated with the content sharing service. FIG. 13 further illustrates that the grant of rights to a license may include a provision for content, content use, scope, use within a certain time, license life, access to features, monetization information, etc. FIG. 14 further illustrates that the provision for the content or assets covered by the license may be specified by a set of asset identifiers. For example, a license may cover a single asset. In another example, if the license covers an album, the asset identifier may be encoded in the license terms under "content definition" and then "multiple assets". Note that in some embodiments, in addition to a fixed set of assets, a license may be granted to a growing set of assets (such as granting to a catalog of assets for a given partner). FIG. 15 further illustrates content usage within a license. For example, the content usage may specify how many times the license may be used (e.g., single use, n number of uses, or unlimited use). For a license covering multiple assets, a given license usage may be provided for a subset of assets (e.g., m assets out of n available assets) or may provide that all assets may be used. For each asset covered by the license, the content usage may specify how much of it may be used, and some licenses may only make some parts of the asset's reference available.

[0030] Ancillary data may be used to describe the license (descriptive metadata) and may include display and pricing or targeting information for use in the marketplace, such as prior price, time availability in the marketplace, etc. For example, key terms from the license may be displayed in the marketplace. Once obtained, the mechanism may set specific terms, such as a channel identifier that identifies who the license is intended for. Generally, terms may be established when a license for an asset becomes available. An exception to this may be when a licensor wishes to expand the assets covered by the license. In some embodiments, terms may be specified in sections that describe the parties to the agreement, sections that describe the rights granted by the agreement, and sections that describe the obligations the licensee has toward the licensor.

[0031] Note that in some embodiments, each asset may have its own license. This is shown, for example, in FIG. 16. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, one license may be generated that covers all of the assets. This is shown, for example, in FIG. 17. This may allow, for example, a partner or licensor to bundle its content at a preferred price, offer bonuses, and control its licenses for broad categories of content. By specifying the content usage section of the terms to one of n available assets, a partner or licensor may offer a catalog for selection under one license, but only one asset may be used each time for each license use.

[0032] Referring again to the license terms contained within the license of FIG. 10, FIG. 18 further indicates that the obligations section of the license terms may include modifications to the license, access to features, and monetization, whereby a licensee of the asset may monetize a content item that includes the asset.

[0033] Note that there can be three levels of time control for a license.

[0034] [Table 1]

[0035] It should also be noted that there are various license objectives. For example, a license strategy may be a collection of license templates, which may be presets for license parameters that may be reused if a new license is created. A license may be defined as an objective shown in a storefront and may be acquired by an entitled creator. This license in the marketplace may transition between an available state and an inactive state. License acquisition may be defined as the state that a license changes to after being acquired by a creator, which may then become available for use on that creator's content items (e.g., videos). License acquisition may transition, for example, between (i) an available state, where a creator may apply the license due to the number of uses remaining and / or the remaining time, and (ii) an inactive state, where there is no time or use remaining for the creator to apply the license to a content item, or the license has been revoked. License usage may be defined as the state that a license acquisition changes to after being applied to a content item and recorded on billing. A license use may transition between an active state and a disabled or superseded state such that a license transitions from an active state to a disabled state and may be replaced by another license when a trigger for the license to be modified is met or the license is disabled. For example, when a trigger is met (e.g., the time remaining on the license, the dollar amount or views remaining before the license is modified, etc.), the license use conditions may transition to a superseded state and point to a new license use created to replace it. Thus, the conditions of the previous license use do not apply to this content. Illustrative examples of state transitions between assets, license proposals, licenses, and license uses are shown in FIG. 11.

[0036] Referring again to the license conditions contained in the license in Figure 10, Figure 12 shows that the parties to the license agreement may include a licensor, a licensee, and an enforcing or verifying party. For example, the licensor may be a partner or a content owner, the licensee may be a creator represented by a channel identifier associated with the content sharing service, and the enforcing or verifying party may be an identifier associated with the content sharing service.

[0037] Note that the claim action and policy provisions may be part of the license. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, there are two cases of content reuse, each case of content reuse has a license, e.g., the creator who uploaded the content item to the content sharing service has a default license where the creator grants all of the rights, in which case there is monetization of the web asset to the creator and the partner who owns the rights to the pop song, in which case there is monetization to the partner for the use of the pop song asset and there is no monetization to the creator of the video.

[0038] Partners and Licensing In some embodiments, the facility may include a storefront where partners, such as music partners or entertainment partners, sell direct licenses of content assets to content creators. For example, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, music partners 200 may be provided with a user interface to upload music and other content assets at 210, configure licenses for such music or other content assets at 220, define a licensing strategy at 230, and / or download reports and analytics regarding the use and revenue generation of such content at 240. In another example, as shown in the license flow diagram of Figure 5, media content platform 510 may enable partners 520 to create and / or configure licenses for content assets or perform any suitable license ingestion functionality and may enable partners 520 to manage the licenses they create and / or configure.

[0039] 1 and 2, in response to creating and / or configuring a license for a content asset, the license and an associated licensing strategy may be transmitted to content management system 250. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 20, the license may include at least two components: license availability (e.g., whether to show the asset in the marketplace and / or make the asset available for a particular creator / channel) and license terms (e.g., the cost to purchase the license, how long the license is applicable for, how many uses the license allows, etc.). For example, for a particular music asset, content management system 250 may store the license terms and availability in a set of terms, e.g., allowing channels A, B, and C to purchase this music asset on the marketplace for $0.00, in which case the license will never expire; allowing channels D and E to purchase this music asset on the marketplace for $1.00, in which case the license will expire in one year; and allowing all other creators or channels to purchase this music asset from the marketplace for $7.50, in which case the license will expire in three years.

[0040] It should be noted that the licensing platform described herein may extend the types of licenses associated with an asset. As used herein, a direct license may be obtained by a creator, where the license grants the creator certain rights to use the underlying asset within its content item. It should also be noted that licenses may potentially be obtained by more than one creator (e.g., a creator may want to use a one-time use license in different videos). It should also be noted that because licenses are obtained directly between a creator and a partner, such licenses remain in accordance with their issued terms even if the partner terminates its contract with a service provider that provides a marketplace for listing assets and licenses for acquisition.

[0041] Generally, there may be at least three objects for license model formation: license, license acquisition, and license use. As mentioned above, a license may be acquired by a creator, and the license grants the creator certain rights to use the underlying asset in its content item. A license acquisition is a record of a creator purchasing a license. A license use is an action of a creator applying an acquired license to a content item (e.g., a video). It should be noted that more than one license may be acquired by one creator (e.g., a creator wants to use a single-use license of an asset in different videos). It should also be noted that a license acquisition may have multiple uses for different videos (e.g., if the license is a multiple-use license).

[0042] It should be noted that the mechanism described herein may store the license and license conditions in any suitable manner. There may be at least three objects regarding the license: the license itself, the license acquisition record, and the license usage record. For example, as shown in FIG. 21, the license and the license conditions (the territory in which this license may be used) may be stored in table 2110. In FIG. 21, when a partner creates a license, AssetFullPartnerService may be requested to create an offer. Upon successful return of that remote procedure call (RPC), InternalLicenseService may be requested to create a license with a returned offer identifier (OfferId: returned offer identifier). It should be noted that some license information may be stored and / or replicated in additional components. For example, the License table 2110 may store a key to reference canonical data, such as an ItemId corresponding to a license for an asset or any other item to be sold and an OfferID corresponding to an offer on how, where, and when a license for the asset may be acquired by a creator, and pricing information may be stored on a commerce backend component. In another example, license acquisition records may be stored on a commerce backend component as entitlements.

[0043] In a more specific example, FIG. 22 is an illustrative example of how various entities relate. For example, a rights management entity (RM entity) may store reconciled assets, licenses, the relationship between the licenses and the offers stored in the commerce entity, and the relationship between the licenses and the license strategies stored in the content management system (CMS entity). Continuing with this example, the commerce entity may store items, offers, and the relationship between the items and offers. As shown, the license has a channel level target, but there may be a single price, in this case a free license. The "US" in the offer means that the license is only visible to creators in the United States in the storefront. There may be two items for each reconciled asset, one for the license itself and one for the downloaded preview. For an item for a license, there may be multiple offers (e.g., 1 to n), where one offer corresponds to one license. For example, if a reconciled asset has three licenses, there may be one item and three offers in FIG. 22.

[0044] In some embodiments, each license may be assigned a unique license identifier that serves as a primary key. When a partner wants to publish a license for an asset, the mechanism may first call the (InsertOfferListForItem) RPC of the commerce entity and update the license table upon successful return of the previous RPC. In some embodiments, a strategy identifier may be stored to indicate when the license was populated. The relationship between the strategy and the conditions may be maintained by the CMS entity. When creating a license, the CMS entity may pass the populated license conditions and the license strategy identifier to the RM entity. Any rights management specific information may be stored in the license table, and general commerce information is stored in the Offer. When the marketplace needs to fetch a license, the identifiers necessary for the marketplace to communicate with the commerce entity may be returned. For example, the Offer may include the price, the country (where this may correspond to the country where the license may be made available in the storefront, not the country where the license may be used), and the license availability time in the storefront (corresponding to "time availability in store"). In some embodiments, the tag field may be used for channel targeting. For example, if this offer can only be purchased by channels with over 10 million subscribers, this tag could be a string of "channel:>10M" or "channel_id=12345." When presenting licenses that can be acquired within the storefront, the mechanism can call MultiGetSelectedOfferDetails with the item identifier and the tag crafted on the fly based on the subscriber count of the current channel.

[0045] Another more specific example is shown in FIG. 23, where a partner wants to issue licenses for its tailored asset (RA1) using a “low price” strategy, meaning that there are three licenses: a $19.99 license for popular creators, a $14.99 license for medium creators, and a $9.99 license for small creators. These three licenses may include additional terms, such as perpetual and fixed term. There may be downloadable previews as well, and the downloads may have a flat price tag. Note that in some embodiments, an asset may have a download preview even if the asset does not have any available license associated with it. For example, a partner may provide a creator with the ability to download the asset and insert at least a portion of the asset into a content item using an editor (e.g., a video editing application) to assist the creator in deciding whether to use the storefront to obtain a license for the asset.

[0046] Note that an asset may correspond to multiple licenses, since these licenses may have different conditions. Each license may correspond to just one offer. Note also that an asset corresponds to one item. However, in some embodiments, when a license contains multiple assets, a license may correspond to one item, and some assets may appear in multiple items. Because creators may be allowed to download assets for preview (e.g., with or without a fee), corresponding items and offers may be created for previewing assets.

[0047] Yet another specific example is shown in FIG. 24, where a partner wants to issue licenses for its alignment assets (RA1 and RA2). As shown, one strategy (low price strategy) has multiple licenses (License 1, License 2, and License 3). For example, License 1 may be offered to a creator with a channel or page with over 1 million subscribers, License 2 may be offered to a creator with a channel or page with 100,000 to 1 million subscribers, and alternatively, License 3 may be offered to a creator without cost. Note that each offer may be on a country basis. For example, Offer 1, Offer 3, and Offer 5 indicate that licenses are available for acquisition in the UK storefront, and Offer 2, Offer 4, and Offer 6 indicate that licenses are available for acquisition in the US storefront.

[0048] Note that while the embodiments described herein generally describe licenses for assets being stored in a separate table, this is by way of example only, in some embodiments the license may be stored as part of the asset.

[0049] Creator and Licensee In some embodiments, the mechanism may include a marketplace for creators that allows creators to acquire one or more direct licenses for content assets from partners. For example, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, creators 300 may be provided with a user interface for searching for assets (e.g., music assets) at 310, downloading and acquiring licenses for assets at 320, uploading content items (e.g., videos) to a content sharing service at 330, and / or implementing video-level licensing when applying acquired licenses to one or more content items at 340. In another example, as shown in the license flow diagram of Figure 5, media content platform 510 may present available licenses from one or more partners to creator 530 for acquisition, enable creator 530 to manage licenses for assets that have been acquired from one or more partners, enable creator 530 to acquire licenses for assets from one or more partners, and enable creator 530 to use or, in some cases, apply acquired licenses for assets on content items.

[0050] 25 and 26 show illustrative examples of storefront home pages that may be provided to creators to obtain one or more direct licenses of assets from partners. As shown in FIG. 25, creators may be provided with multiple listing modules for selecting playlists 2510 (e.g., adventure playlist), moods 2520 (e.g., calm mood, happy mood, etc.), genres 2530 (e.g., rock, ambient, country, etc.), and tracks 2540 filtered for "New & Hot" assets. As shown in the filtered asset listings, each available asset for which a license may be purchased may be represented with a thumbnail image (e.g., album art), title, artist name, mood, genre, total playtime, a waveform visualization interface that allows the creator to navigate and play the asset, and a price for obtaining a license (e.g., $19.99 for Title A by Artist A, zero cost for Title C by Artist C, and $9.99 for Title D by Artist D). For example, the waveform visualization information may enable a creator to select a particular point on the waveform representation and, in response to the selection, play a portion of the asset that corresponds to the selected point on the waveform representation. This may, for example, enable a creator to receive a preview of the asset prior to purchasing a license. It should also be noted that, as discussed above, the price for obtaining a license to an asset may be determined based on an account associated with a creator (e.g., a creator having a channel identifier associated with a particular number of subscribers).

[0051] As shown in FIG. 26, multiple filters 2610 may be provided that allow a creator to select one or more filter options for reviewing a subset of assets available for license. For example, a creator using a storefront may select one or more filters, such as "free" use and "calm" mood, to receive a subset of assets available for download and / or application within a content item. In another example, as shown in FIG. 26, filters 2620 are selected and configured to obtain a subset of assets available for license where each asset does not include vocal content.

[0052] It should be noted that any suitable filters may be provided to allow a user to consider a subset of assets available for license acquisition. Such filters may include filtering by genre, mood, duration, vocality, license attributes (e.g., licenses available for purchase and revenue share, free vs. paid, price), etc.

[0053] An exemplary architecture illustrating how the storefront facility provides assets and associated license information within one or more user interfaces is shown in FIG. 51, and an exemplary flow diagram illustrating how the storefront user interface is used to transmit a search query or filter selection and, in response, receive assets with metadata, terms of use, and available licenses is shown in FIG. 52. For example, as shown in FIG. 51 and FIG. 52, in response to receiving a search query within the storefront user interface that includes specific search criteria (e.g., artist name, genre, or category name, etc.) and / or one or more filter selections (e.g., a filter to retrieve calm songs, a filter to retrieve songs in the pop category, etc.), the list track application programming interface may generate a search request for transmission to a search system (e.g., a search application programming interface), which may return content identifiers or other appropriate content information for content that matches the received search request. The list track application programming interface may then transmit the received content identifiers or other appropriate content information to a music service to obtain corresponding metadata (e.g., song title, artist name, genre, mood, etc.). The list track application programming interface may then communicate with a rights management system by inputting a content identifier or other appropriate content information for content that matches the received search request into the rights management application programming interface, and the rights management application programming interface may retrieve a claim with an artist track asset identifier, an artist track asset with a sound recording (SR) asset identifier embedded therein based on the artist track asset identifier, and a usage policy and available licenses with license terms and license prices based on the sound recording asset identifier.The usage policies and available licenses with license terms and license prices may be returned to the ListTrack application programming interface, which may update content matching the search query (e.g., songs) in the storefront user interface with music metadata from the music search and with available licenses with the terms of use, license terms and license prices from the rights management system.

[0054] In some embodiments, the storefront facility may provide creators with the opportunity to download assets to try out in a local editor for incorporation into a content item (e.g., inserting a song into the background using a video editor) prior to purchasing a license.

[0055] In some embodiments, the storefront facility may provide a library of assets to the creator. For example, FIG. 27 provides an illustrative example of a storefront interface in which saved tracks are provided to the creator. This may include, for example, a listing of assets for which the creator has previously expressed interest in obtaining a license. As shown in FIG. 28, the storefront facility may provide a library of licensed assets to the creator, in which license term information (e.g., an expiration date associated with each licensed asset) is presented. For example, as shown in FIG. 28, one or more of the assets for which licenses are being obtained may have licenses that expire at a particular time. In another example, also as shown in FIG. 28, one or more of the assets for which licenses are being obtained may have licenses that do not expire. As shown in FIG. 29, the storefront facility, in some embodiments, may indicate licenses that have been purchased but not yet activated by applying the licenses to content items (e.g., "2 available" for the fifth asset in the list at 2910, "1 available" for the sixth asset in the list at 2920, etc.).

[0056] In some embodiments, the storefront mechanism may enable creators to obtain licenses to assets when uploading content items to the content sharing service, where the content items include the assets.

[0057] For example, as shown in FIG. 30, the storefront facility may present an interface to inform the creator that upon uploading a content item, checks are performed to search for issues that may limit the visibility or monetization of the content item. This may include checking whether the content item contains any copyrighted content and / or checking whether the content item is suitable for advertising. As shown in FIG. 31, no issues were found with respect to advertising suitability, but licensable music was detected in the content item at 3110. The storefront facility may then provide the creator an opportunity to view licensing options for obtaining a license for the music detected in the uploaded content item (e.g., by selecting "video license options" 3120).

[0058] In response to selection of the "View License Options" element, the storefront facility may provide the creator with a status summary (e.g., that the video cannot currently be monetized) as well as information about the asset identified within the content item. For example, as shown in FIG. 32, the storefront facility may present the creator with information about the asset identified within the content item (e.g., song "Title A" by artist "Artist A"), the asset's copyright owner (e.g., "Partner Name A on behalf of Record Company"), and the impact the asset has on the content item (e.g., a license is required to monetize the content item). As also shown in FIG. 32, the storefront facility may retrieve the price for obtaining a license to the asset (e.g., license from $19.99).

[0059] In response to presenting instructions to the creator to purchase a license, the storefront facility may present the purchase interface of FIG. 33 that allows the creator to purchase one or more licenses with different licensing terms (e.g., pay out of revenue 3310, where the creator pays nothing initially for the license, but the first $24.99 or any other appropriate amount earned is paid to the partner, or pay up front at 3320, where the creator pays $19.99 to obtain a 10-year license). In some embodiments, each set of license terms may provide the creator with monetization terms, pricing information, license term, and amount of the asset available for use. It should be noted that while two payment options are provided, this is by way of example only, and the storefront facility and / or partners may offer any suitable number of payment options.

[0060] For example, as shown in Figure 33, the storefront facility may configure a recoupment model in which payments for licenses to assets are made from revenues, where the storefront facility is configured to direct video monetization payments to partners or asset licensors up to a certain amount (e.g., the first $24.00) and then direct all additional video monetization payments to the creator of the content item.

[0061] In response to the creator's selection of a set of licensing terms, the storefront facility may present a payment interface in FIG. 34 that allows the creator to use a linked electronic payment account to obtain a direct license to the asset. FIG. 35 shows that the acquired license may be applied to the content item. For example, in the status summary section 3510, the above-mentioned check may be updated to indicate that no copyright claims were found and that video visibility and monetization are not restricted by copyright. In a more specific example, FIG. 35 also shows the impact of the license on the content item in the license impact section 3520, which may include license acquisition information, license application information, and / or license agreement information, for example, that a license for the asset has been acquired from a partner, that the license has been applied to the content item, and that the license will not terminate.

[0062] Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 30, the storefront facility may present an interface to inform the creator that upon uploading the content item, a check is performed to search for issues that may limit the visibility or monetization of the content item. As shown in FIG. 36, no issues were found with respect to advertising suitability, but a copyright claim was detected for which a license is not available for an asset found in the content item at 3610. The storefront facility may then provide the creator with a status summary (e.g., the video is not eligible for monetization) and information about the assets identified in the content item for which a license is not available for acquisition from the content sharing service. For example, as shown in FIG. 37, the storefront facility may present the creator with information about the assets identified in the content item (e.g., song "Title A" by artist "Artist A"), the copyright owner of the asset, and the impact the asset has on the content item (e.g., a license is required to monetize the content item) in the content section 3710. As also shown in FIG. 32, the storefront facility may retrieve the price for acquiring a license to the asset (e.g., from $19.99 license). Additionally or alternatively, the storefront mechanism may provide creators with recommendations, if applicable, that can make the content item eligible for monetization (e.g., edit the content item to remove copyright assets, change or replace background audio from copyright assets to licensable assets, manually add a license, etc.).

[0063] In some embodiments, the storefront facility may provide an interface to the creator for inputting license information associated with the content identified in the video. For example, as shown in input section 3720 of FIG. 37, the storefront facility may provide the creator with a link for inputting license information associated with content that was not automatically identified, such as content identification information, copyright owner information, license information, etc.

[0064] Alternatively, in Figures 38 and 39, in response to non-detection of any copyright issues that would limit the visibility or monetization of a content item (e.g., see section 3810 of Figure 38 and section 3910 of Figure 39), the storefront mechanism may present an interface element that allows the content creator to indicate assets within the content item that may not have been detected (e.g., see section 3820 of Figure 38 and section 3920 of Figure 39). In response, as shown in Figure 39, the storefront mechanism may allow the content creator to manually declare licenses to protect the content item from being subject to copyright claims at a later point in time. For example, if the creator is aware of assets within the content item that may have copyright claims and that may not have been detected by the detection mechanism, the storefront mechanism may allow the creator to declare licenses that the creator has obtained from appropriate partners. Continuing with this example, as shown in Figure 40, the storefront mechanism may provide an interface that allows the creator to select from one or more downloaded and / or saved assets for inserting or declaring licenses within the content item. Similar to the interfaces shown in Figures 32-34, the storefront facility may allow content creators to manually declare licenses by purchasing and applying licenses to assets. As shown in Figure 41, the storefront facility may show confirmation of licenses to assets in a content item in section 4110, and the licenses to assets may be activated upon publication of the content item.

[0065] If a license has already been purchased for an asset found in the content item, the storefront facility may automatically populate the copyright check portion 4210 of the user interface of FIG. 42 to indicate that a previously acquired license is available for the asset identified in the content item. In response to selection of an element such as the "Activate License" link 4220 shown in FIGS. 42 and 43, the storefront facility may apply the license for the asset to the content item, thereby enabling the creator to monetize the content item. For example, FIG. 44 shows the storefront facility updating the copyright check portion 4410 to indicate that a license for the song "Title A" by artist "Artist A" has been applied to the content item uploaded by the creator.

[0066] As described above, the storefront mechanism may also enable partners to upload assets that can be licensed for use, where the license includes license availability and license agreements, as well as license strategies. For example, as shown in FIG. 45, the storefront mechanism may provide an interface that allows partners to create a general license strategy. In a more specific example, the license strategy may include different prices based on the number of subscribers associated with the channel identifier of the content creator. In another more specific example shown in FIG. 46 and FIG. 47, a custom license strategy may be created by a partner, where the partner may specify, among other things, a customized base price point or a set of prices for all channels. As shown in section 4610 of FIG. 46, the custom license strategy may include different license terms based on the audience size (e.g., number of subscribers) associated with the creator seeking to obtain a license (e.g., channel or user account associated with the content provider platform). Alternatively, as shown in section 4710 of FIG. 47, the custom license strategy may include the same license terms (e.g., one license price for all channels) regardless of the audience size associated with the creator seeking to obtain a license.

[0067] In some embodiments, the storefront facility may enable partners to offer channel-specific free licenses. For example, as shown in FIG. 48, the storefront facility may provide a partner with a free license interface 4810, where the free license is a single-use license for an asset that ends in 10 years and must be used within a two-year period. As shown in FIG. 49, the partner may indicate the creator or channel for which the free license is offered by providing a channel identifier or some other suitable identifier in a creator identification section 4910. In a more specific example, as shown in FIG. 49, the storefront facility may enable partners to manage the free licenses by entering a user identifier (e.g., “Creator A” to “Creator P”), input conditions for the free license (e.g., ending in 10 years, global territory use, use within two years, single-use license, etc.), and the like.

[0068] In some embodiments, the storefront facility may enable a partner to modify a licensing strategy. For example, as shown in section 5010 of FIG. 50, a partner has modified their licensing strategy from a premium licensing strategy with an old pricing scheme based on the number of subscribers associated with a channel to a premium licensing strategy with a new pricing scheme based on the number of subscribers associated with a channel.

[0069] License Usage As explained above, a creator may declare its right to use an asset using a license obtained for the asset for a content item, and the usage related data is called a license usage. Figure 53 shows an example graph illustrating the relationship between license usage and related entities.

[0070] Regarding the relationship between assets and license uses, it should be noted that one asset may have multiple license uses associated with it, but one license use is associated with one asset. For example, as shown in Figure 53, Coordination Asset 1 (RA1) has multiple license uses (License Use 1 and License Use 2), but each license use is associated with one asset (e.g., License Use 1 with RA1).

[0071] Regarding the relationship between licenses and license uses, it should be noted that one license may have multiple license uses, but one license use originates from only one license. For example, as shown in Figure 53, License 1 has multiple license uses (e.g., License Use 1 and License Use 3).

[0072] Regarding the relationship between license acquisitions and license uses, it should be noted that one license acquisition may have multiple license uses, but one license use results from only one license acquisition. For example, as shown in Figure 53, License Acquisition 1 has multiple license uses (e.g., License Use 1 and License Use 3). In some embodiments, a license may be configured to have a fixed number of license uses.

[0073] Regarding the relationship between content items and license uses, it should be noted that one content item may apply to multiple license uses (e.g., due to multiple assets within the content item), but one license use may only apply to one content item. For example, as shown in Figure 53, video 1 has multiple license uses (e.g., license use 1 and license use 2).

[0074] Regarding the relationship between claims and license uses, it should be noted that one third-party claim may have multiple license uses, but one license use may only be associated with one third-party claim. For example, one third-party claim may have multiple license uses over time, but only one license use is active at the same time. In another example, one third-party claim may have multiple license uses for different territories at the same time.

[0075] As also described above, usage-related data for licensed usage may include a license identifier (which license this license usage is from), a content identifier (which content item this license is used for), a billing identifier (which third party this license is associated with), a license entitlement identifier (which license acquisition this license usage is from), a channel identifier (which channel associated with the creator initiated this license usage), an alignment asset identifier (which asset this license usage is based on), and additional time-related fields such as usage start time, usage expiration time, etc.

[0076] In some embodiments, in the license usage data model, a new entity may be created with its own table (e.g., LicenseUsage) that stores information about what a creator declares its rights to use assets for a content item. This LicenseUsage table may be a child table from the Claim table, and (VideoId, ClaimId, LicenseId) may be its primary key. When a LicenseUsage is active (e.g., as indicated by a flag), it may affect the policy of the associated claim. For example, as shown in FIG. 54, in response to the use of a license in the upload flow (e.g., when uploading a content item that includes a third-party owned asset), an active claim may be created, and an active LicenseUsage may be created as a child entity of the claim. To protect a content item with a license usage, the existing claims for the content item, including LicenseUsage, are loaded, and such information may be used to determine whether the associated segment should be protected. The mechanism may use a logical layer based on the ClaimBundle, which contains both Claim and LicenseUsage, to calculate the effective claim policy and ownership. Note that when LicenseUsage is active, it acts as a mask for the policy and ownership of third-party claims. An effective claim should not return any policy. Note also that in some embodiments, the territory may be stored in the LicenseUsage table, and the territory may be taken into account by the logical layer when calculating the effective policy and ownership for a content item.

[0077] This implementation may, for example, separate the storage of ownership information and right to use information. For example, Claim and LicenseUsage may each have its own status information. In another example, one may query usage related data in the LicenseUsage table without querying the Claims table or retrieving all of the claim related data.

[0078] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the LicenseUsage table may be stored as additional data (e.g., a new field) in the Claim table. For example, the license usage status may be represented by a new field license_usage.status. A flag may be added to the claim to indicate that an active LicenseUsage is associated with it. This is shown, for example, in FIG. 55. In this implementation, when a claim is loaded into the logical layer, the logical layer includes both the third party claim information and the license usage information to perform the claim calculation.

[0079] Alternatively, in some embodiments, license use may be defined as the type of claim, and (ClaimId, VideoId) may be its primary key. License claim information for which the creator declares its rights to use the asset for the content item. This claim status represents the status of the license use. When it is an active license claim, the active license claim may affect the effective policy of third-party claims with the same asset. For example, as shown in FIG. 56, an active matching / manual claim may be created and a license claim may be created. To protect a content item with license use, existing claims for the content item including third-party claims and license claims may be loaded, and such information may be used to determine whether the related segment should be protected. The mechanism may use a logical layer based on the ClaimBundle (e.g., the two ClaimBundles shown in FIG. 56) to calculate the effective claim policy and ownership.

[0080] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the LicenseUsage table may be stored as its own separate table, with (VideoId, LicenseID, AssetID) being its primary key. This is shown, for example, in FIG. 57.

[0081] Matched Billing In previous implementations, when a partner has a third-party claim, the content sharing service can terminate the first-party claim and the creator can lose all control to set blocks on the content item and monetize it. In some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, rather than replacing the first-party claim, the mechanisms described herein can annotate the claim with information that the content item has a third-party claim (e.g., if a partner in the first-party claim is not eligible for n-way revenue sharing). As shown in FIG. 58, the ownership snapshot calculation can be modified to exclude an owner only from claims in territories where that owner has a specified policy for tracking or monetizing the asset.

[0082] In some embodiments, a direct license may be modeled as a separate claim (e.g., a license claim) for a video. In this class of license claims, a license claim may prevent or replace matching user-generated content claims and manual user-generated content claims for a license segment, another claim may not affect the state of a license claim even if that claim may affect the overall state of the video or content item, a matching claim may only replace other matching claims, a first-party claim may not be replaced by another claim, and license claims may be allowed to be created without explicit policies.

[0083] In the case of a direct license acquired from the marketplace and a license claim created, the terms of the direct license in the marketplace may be attached to the claim as a specific license use such that asset ownership / asset match policies are not relevant. For example, as shown in Figure 59, the creator has chosen to create a first-party claim for their video, and since no copyright issues have been detected, the ownership and policies flow downstream.

[0084] Flexible revenue sharing may be provided if a particular licensed use from the marketplace is revoked (or terminated) by the publisher (sometimes referred to as "n-way"). For example, as shown in FIG. 60, if a licensed use is revoked by the publisher, the claim becomes a UGC match claim and is attributed to the asset match license.

[0085] Alternatively, in some embodiments, a license claim may not be modeled as a claim, but as additional data about the claim that describes how it is licensed. For example, a claim may include three broad components: what is being claimed (asset id, A / V channel, match / manual / sync segment), whether it is being claimed correctly (claim origin, dispute / review status), and how this claim affects the video. Because the component that specifies how this claim affects the video is controlled by the claim's rights type, whether claim-level administrative rights exist in the claim, the asset type of the asset claimed by the claim, and whether the claim has a shorts synchronization origin, the mechanism may extend this by replacing this component with a claim field and a message that may represent at least the following cases: indirect UGC licensing through a content sharing service, audio swap licensing, art track licensing, DMCA takedown licensing, shorts synchronization licensing, and direct licensing via one or more acquired licenses (e.g., acquired via a storefront).

[0086] It should be noted that match claims may integrate with the rights management mechanism by fetching assets using the MatchedAssets API and determining if a claim should be made by returning asset ownership and match policy information. It should also be noted that match claims may integrate with the rights management mechanism by getting the current claim restriction rules using GetClaimingRestrictions to be applied in the match claims logical layer. It should further be noted that match claims may integrate with the rights management mechanism by creating and / or replacing claims using StoreContentIdClaims. This is shown, for example, in FIG. 61, where the match claims mechanism fetches asset information and protections for claims based on channel relationships and licensing from the rights management mechanism, and the match claims mechanism may terminate a particular claim and create claims to be applied to the content item.

[0087] In some embodiments, the match claim mechanism may be configured to create all of the various claim types (e.g., UGC match claims and license claims). As shown in FIG. 62, the match claim mechanism may fetch (1) creator entitlements and purchases from the entitlement store, (2) asset information and licenses from the rights management mechanism, and (3) channel relationships and licensing-based protections for claims from the rights management mechanism. Continuing with this example, the match claim mechanism may terminate a particular claim and / or create claims to apply to the content item, including direct license usage, based on the information fetched regarding the entitlements, asset licenses, and claim restrictions.

[0088] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the matching claim mechanism may be configured to create matching claims, and the rights management mechanism may integrate the license logic. For example, as shown in FIG. 63, the matching claim mechanism may fetch asset information and licenses and protections to claim based on channel relationships and licensing. Note that the matching claim mechanism may need to have credentials returned to the matching claim mechanism, as the matching claim mechanism may need to make decisions regarding the creation of matching claims. Continuing with this example, the rights management mechanism may create claims upon request from the matching claim mechanism, and, if applicable, use knowledge of licensing and entitlements to make these claims directly license claims.

[0089] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the mechanism may create a new layer of assets to video mapping entities from which claims can be derived. This may, for example, separate the configuration of what claims do to a content item into two parts: asset usage (linking the video to the asset / reference) and claims (applying policies / embedding / IBRC to the video). As shown in FIG. 64, the matching claims mechanism may create asset usage from the matching system (e.g., without needing to bring in logic regarding licensing). Continuing with this example, the matching claims may simply be free to manipulate the matching asset usage, and a separate interpretation layer may determine which claims are embodied. Logic in the licensing application engine may apply the rules for claims in GetClaimingRestrictions.

[0090] As shown in FIG. 65, if a partner (Owner B) declares this channel as excluded from content discovery (e.g., channel whitelisting), logic within the licensing application engine may apply rules for billing to matching asset usage based on channel relationships and licensing.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 66, if an asset or reference (e.g., for SR Asset 2) is indicated as being licensed for free, logic within the licensing application engine may apply rules for billing to the matching asset usage based on this indication.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 67, when a creator declares the use of a license when uploading a content item that creates the asset usage that the creator claims, logic in the licensing application may apply rules that would authorize the Creator AU in the data layer to prevent any matching claims from being created, and instead create claims based directly on the details of the license.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 68, for a short form content item, an asset usage may be created indicating an asset (e.g., music) for a video short form content item has been inserted. This may be performed, for example, when the short form content item is being uploaded to a content sharing service. The matching claim mechanism may run independently and create a duplicate matching asset usage. However, this simply results in the short claim shown in FIG. 68 when the logic in the licensing application engine applies the rules for claiming for matching asset usage. As also shown in FIG. 68, no matching claim has been created. In some embodiments, the licensing application engine may perform a check that an asset (e.g., SA Asset 2) is synchronizable for the short form content item.

[0094] Overall System 69, illustrated is example hardware 6900 that may be used in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. As shown, the hardware 6900 may include one or more servers, such as a content server 6902 and a data server 6904, as well as a communications network 6910, and / or one or more user devices 6912, such as user devices 6914 and 6916.

[0095] In some embodiments, the content server 6902 may be any suitable server for storing media content and delivering the content to the user devices 6912. For example, the content server 6902 may be a server that streams media content to the user devices 6912 over the communications network 6910. The media content provided by the content server 6902 may be any suitable content, such as video content, audio content, e-books, documents, images, and / or any other suitable type of media content. As more specific examples, the media content may include television programs, movies, cartoons, sound effects, streaming live content (e.g., streaming radio shows, live concerts, and / or any other suitable type of streaming live content), and / or any other suitable type of media content. The media content may be created and uploaded to the content server 6902 by any suitable entity. In some embodiments, the content server 6902 may be omitted.

[0096] In some embodiments, the data server 6904 may be any suitable server for storing and / or transmitting information regarding one or more media content items. As a more specific example, in some embodiments, the data server 6904 may store and / or transmit metadata related to the media content items. As another more specific example, in some embodiments, the data server 6904 may include a license table that stores, among other things, information regarding licenses associated with assets and license usage information related to application of licenses to content items. In some embodiments, the data server 6904 may be omitted.

[0097] The communications network 6910, in some embodiments, may be any suitable combination of one or more wired and / or wireless networks. For example, the communications network 6910 may include any one or more of the Internet, an intranet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless network, a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a frame relay network, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, a virtual private network (VPN), and / or any other suitable communications network. The user devices 6912 may be connected by one or more communications links 6918 to the communications network 6910, which may be linked to the content server 6902 and the data server 6904 via one or more communications links (e.g., communications links 6920 and / or 6922). The communications links 6918, 6920, and / or 6922 may be any communications link suitable for communicating data between the user device 6912 and the server 6902 and / or 6904, such as a network link, a dial-up link, a wireless link, a hardwired link, any other suitable communications link, or any suitable combination of such links.

[0098] User devices 6912 may include any one or more user devices suitable for requesting media content, searching for media content, presenting media content, presenting advertisements, receiving input to play media content, and / or any other suitable functionality. For example, in some embodiments, user devices 6912 may be implemented as mobile devices, such as mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, vehicle (e.g., cars, boats, airplanes, or any other suitable vehicle) entertainment systems, portable media players, and / or any other suitable mobile devices. As another example, in some embodiments, user devices 6912 may be implemented as non-mobile devices, such as desktop computers, set-top boxes, televisions, streaming media players, gaming consoles, and / or any other suitable non-mobile devices.

[0099] Although the content server 6902 and the data server 6904 are shown as separate devices, the functions performed by the content server 6902 and the data server 6904 may be implemented using any suitable number of devices in some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the functions performed by either the content server 6902 or the data server 6904 may be implemented on a single server. As another example, in some embodiments, multiple devices may be used to implement the functions performed by the content server 6902 and the data server 6904.

[0100] To avoid overcomplicating the figure, two user devices 6914 and 6916 are shown in FIG. 69, however, in some embodiments, any suitable number of user devices and / or any suitable type of user devices may be used.

[0101] In some embodiments, the content server 6902, the data server 6904, and the user device 6912 may be implemented using any suitable hardware. For example, in some embodiments, the devices 6902, 6904, and 6912 may be implemented using any suitable general-purpose or special-purpose computer. As another example, a mobile phone may be implemented using a special-purpose computer. Any such general-purpose or special-purpose computer may include any suitable hardware. For example, with reference to FIG. 70, as shown in the exemplary hardware 7000, such hardware may include a hardware processor 7002, memory and / or storage 7004, an input device controller 7006, an input device 7008, a display / audio driver 7010, a display / audio output circuit 7012, a communication interface 7014, an antenna 7016, and a bus 7018.

[0102] The hardware processor 7002 may, in some embodiments, include any suitable hardware processor, such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, special purpose logic, and / or any other suitable circuitry for controlling the functions of a general purpose or special purpose computer. In some embodiments, the hardware processor 7002 may be controlled by a server program stored in memory and / or storage 7004 of a server (such as one of the servers 6902 or 6904). For example, the server program may cause the hardware processor 7002 to perform the mechanisms described herein for determining the language of a media content item based on a comment, and / or perform any other suitable action. In some embodiments, the hardware processor 7002 may be controlled by a computer program stored in memory and / or storage 7004 of the user device 7012. For example, the computer program may cause the hardware processor 7002 to present a media content item, request a media content item, and / or perform the mechanisms described herein for determining the language of a media content item based on a comment.

[0103] The memory and / or storage 7004, in some embodiments, may be any suitable memory and / or storage for storing application information, programs, data, media content, and / or any other suitable information. For example, the memory and / or storage 304 may include random access memory, read-only memory, flash memory, hard disk storage, optical media, and / or any suitable memory.

[0104] The input device controller 7006, in some embodiments, may be any suitable circuitry for controlling and receiving input from one or more input devices 7008. For example, the input device controller 7006 may be circuitry for receiving input from a touch screen, from a keyboard, from a mouse, from one or more buttons, from a voice recognition circuit, from a microphone, from a camera, from an optical sensor, from an accelerometer, from a temperature sensor, from a near-field sensor, and / or from any other type of input device.

[0105] The display / audio driver 7010, in some embodiments, may be any suitable circuitry for controlling and driving output to one or more display / audio output devices 7012. For example, the display / audio driver 7010 may be circuitry for driving a touch screen, a flat panel display, a cathode ray tube display, a projector, one or more speakers, and / or any other suitable display and / or presentation device.

[0106] The communications interface 7014 may be any suitable circuitry for interfacing with one or more communications networks, such as the network 6910 shown in Figure 69. For example, the interface 7014 may include network interface card circuitry, wireless communications circuitry, and / or any other suitable type of communications network circuitry.

[0107] The antenna 7016, in some embodiments, may be any of one or more suitable antennas for wirelessly communicating with a communications network (e.g., communications network 6910). In some embodiments, the antenna 7016 may be omitted.

[0108] The bus 7018 may be any suitable mechanism for communicating between two or more components 7002, 7004, 7006, 7010, and 7014, in some embodiments.

[0109] According to some embodiments, any other suitable components may be included in hardware 7000.

[0110] In some embodiments, at least some of the above-described blocks of the processes of the figures may be executed or performed in any order or sequence, including but not limited to the order and sequence shown in and described in connection with the figures. Also, some of the above-described blocks of the figures may be executed or performed substantially simultaneously, where appropriate, or in parallel to reduce latency and processing time. Additionally or alternatively, some of the above-described blocks of the processes of the figures may be omitted.

[0111] In some embodiments, any suitable computer-readable medium may be used to store instructions for implementing the functions and / or processes herein. For example, in some embodiments, the computer-readable medium may be transitory or non-transient. For example, a non-transient computer-readable medium may include media such as magnetic media in non-transient form (such as hard disks, floppy disks, and / or any other suitable magnetic media), optical media in non-transient form (such as compact disks, digital video disks, Blu-ray disks, and / or any other suitable optical media), semiconductor media in non-transient form (such as flash memory, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and / or any other suitable semiconductor media), any suitable media that is not ephemeral or does not lose apparent permanence during transmission, and / or any suitable tangible media. As another example, a transitory computer-readable medium may include signals on a network, in wires, in conductors, in optical fibers, in circuits, in any suitable medium that is ephemeral and loses any apparent permanence during transmission, and / or in any suitable non-tangible medium.

[0112] In situations where the systems discussed herein may collect or utilize personal information about a user, the user may be given the opportunity to control whether a program or function collects personal information (e.g., information about the user's social network, social behavior or activities, occupation, user preferences, or the user's current location) and / or to control whether and / or how to receive content from a content server that may be relevant to the user. In addition, some data may be handled in one or more ways before being stored or used such that personally identifiable information is removed. For example, the user's identification information may be handled such that personally identifiable information cannot be determined about the user, or the user's geographic location may be generalized (such as to the city, ZIP code, or state level) when location information is obtained such that the user's specific location cannot be determined. Thus, the user can control how information is collected about the user and used by the content server.

[0113] Thus, a scaled content licensing platform and marketplace system, method and medium are provided.

[0114] While the present invention has been described and shown in the foregoing illustrative embodiments, it will be understood that the disclosure is made by way of example only, and that numerous changes in the details of the implementation of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The features of the disclosed embodiments may be combined and rearranged in various ways. [Explanation of symbols]

[0115] 200 Music Partners 250 Content Management Systems 300 Creators 510 Media Content Platform 520 Partners 530 Creator 2510 Playlists 2520 Mood 2530 genre 2540 Trucks 2620 Filter 3120 Video License Options 3510 Status Overview Section 3520 License Impact Section 3710 Content Section 3720 Input Section 3810 Section 3820 Section 3910 Section 3920 Section 4110 Section 4210 Copyright Inspection Section 4220 "Activate License" link 4410 Copyright Inspection Section 4610 Section 4710 Section 4810 Free License Interface 4910 Creator Identification Section 5010 Section 6900 Hardware Example, Hardware 6902 Content Server, Server, Device 6904 Data Server, Server, Device 6910 Communication Network 6912 User Device 6914 User Device 6916 User Devices 6918 Communication Link 6920 Communication Link 6922 Communication Links 7000 Hardware 7002 Hardware Processor 7004 Memory and / or Storage 7006 Input Device Controller 7008 Input Devices 7010 Display / Audio Driver 7012 Display / audio output circuit 7014 Communication Interface 7016 Antenna 7018 Bus

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing scaled content licensing, comprising: receiving, using a hardware processor, a request from a content creator to upload a media content item to a content sharing service; determining, using the hardware processor, that the media content item incorporates a media asset that is at least partially owned by a partner, the media asset being associated with a claim for which at least one license is available; determining, using the hardware processor, whether a licensed use is associated with the media content item corresponding to the media asset; generating, using the hardware processor, a claim bundle including the claims associated with the partner and the licensed usage associated with the content creator; determining a policy based on the generated claim bundle using the hardware processor; using the hardware processor to implement an action on the media content item based on the determined policy; A method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the license usage is stored in a child table of a claims table that stores multiple claims, each claim associated with one or more licenses.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the license usage is stored as a field in a claims table that stores a number of claims, each claim being associated with one or more licenses.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the license usage is stored as a claim type in a claims table that stores a number of claims, each claim being associated with one or more licenses.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the license usage is stored in a license usage database separate from a claims database that stores a plurality of claims, each associated with one or more licenses.

6. 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to receiving the request to upload the media content item to the content sharing service, detecting whether the media content item includes one or more media assets, wherein the claim is generated in response to detecting the media assets within the media content item that are at least partially owned by the partner.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining that the at least one license may be obtained from the partner, the at least one license being associated with license terms.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising the step of causing the content creator to be presented with licensing options in response to determining that the at least one license can be obtained from the partner.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the license terms include an option to purchase the at least one license based on revenue generated from the media content item.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the license terms include an option to purchase the at least one license using an electronic payment system associated with a user account of the content creator.

11. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the action to be taken on the media content item based on the determined policy comprises determining, based on the determined policy, whether to inhibit the media content item from being provided to other users of the content sharing service.

12. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the action taken on the media content item based on the determined policy comprises determining whether the media content item is eligible for monetization based on the determined policy.

13. 13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: in response to determining that the at least one license is not available for acquisition from the partner corresponding to the media asset, generating one or more recommendations for replacing the media asset included within the media content item.

14. receiving a selection of a purchased license associated with the media asset; activating the purchased license to apply the purchased license to the media content item; The method of claim 1, further comprising:

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a licensing strategy to be associated with the media asset.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the licensing strategy indicates a free license to be associated with the media asset.

17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the free license is associated with a usage limit period, a territory usage period, a time usage period, and a license usage period, and the free license is specified by the partner to one or more content creators using a user identifier.

18. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting the media asset to the content creator for temporary insertion within the media content item.

19. 1. A scaled content licensing system, comprising: A server that contains a hardware processor wherein the hardware processor comprises: receiving a request from a content creator to upload a media content item to a content sharing service; determining that the media content item incorporates a media asset that is at least partially owned by a partner, the media asset being associated with a claim for which at least one license is available; determining whether a licensed use is associated with the media content item corresponding to the media asset; generating a claims bundle including the claims associated with the partner and the licensed usage associated with the content creator; determining a policy based on the generated claim bundle; performing an action on the media content item based on the determined policy; and A scaled content licensing system configured to:

20. 1. A computer-readable storage medium containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for providing scaled content licensing, the method comprising: receiving a request from a content creator to upload a media content item to a content sharing service; determining that the media content item incorporates a media asset that is at least partially owned by a partner, the media asset being associated with a claim for which at least one license is available; determining whether a licensed use is associated with the media content item corresponding to the media asset; generating a claims bundle including the claims associated with the partner and the licensed usage associated with the content creator; determining a policy based on the generated claim bundle; performing an action on the media content item based on the determined policy; 23. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:

Images