Audience Rule Enforcement for Multi-Device Content Authorization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multiple system operators (MSOs) face challenges in efficiently controlling and restricting content delivery across diverse devices used by households, as existing technologies struggle to accurately determine and deauthorize devices that violate content restrictions specified by content providers, especially when various types of devices are used within the same household.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that determine an audience rule based on device properties, content properties, and digital rights management (DRM) properties to manage content authorization, allowing for the creation of device groups and applying rules to alter authorization settings, ensuring content restrictions are enforced across heterogeneous devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional set top boxes are used to deliver content, then content delivery is simple and controlled, but device versatility and multi-device access are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authorization management by creating device groups with distinct group IDs, where each group can have independent authorization rules. This allows the system to manage multiple device types (smartphones, tablets, PCs, TVs) separately while maintaining overall system control, resolving the contradiction between device versatility and system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal authorization framework that works across multiple device types and platforms. The device group authorization mechanism provides a common interface for managing content access on diverse devices (smartphones, tablets, PCs, set-top boxes), enabling multi-device access while maintaining centralized control through the head-end system.
2Reliability
If content providers want to restrict content on specific device types, then content protection is improved, but the ability to efficiently identify and control devices is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining device groups with specific characteristics (e.g., mobile devices, tablets, PCs) and assigning group IDs to devices before content delivery. When content protection rules are needed, the head-end system can immediately identify affected devices by querying their group memberships, eliminating the need to analyze individual device properties at authorization time and thus maintaining both content protection and operational efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces device groups as an intermediary layer between individual devices and content protection rules. Instead of directly managing authorization for each device type, the system uses device groups as mediators that aggregate devices with similar characteristics. This intermediary structure simplifies the identification process while ensuring reliable content protection through group-level rule application.
3Measurement precision
If the MSO tries to track and control each individual device, then precise content control is achieved, but system complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges devices with similar authorization requirements into device groups, combining multiple individual device management tasks into a single group-level operation. The head-end system maintains precise control by tracking which devices belong to which groups and applying rules at the group level, reducing system complexity while preserving the ability to precisely control content access for specific device types.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a method determines an audience rule to be applied for delivering content. The audience rule specifies an audience that is defined based on a combination of device properties, content properties, and digital rights management (DRM) properties. A device group associated with a group of devices is determined where devices in the device group are associated with content authorization properties, device properties, and digital rights management (DRM) properties. The method then applies the audience rule to the device group to determine any devices in the group of devices in which a content authorization for a device should be altered based on analyzing the content authorization properties, device properties, and digital rights management (DRM) properties of the device group and the combination of device properties, content properties, and digital rights management (DRM) properties of the audience rule.