Intermediary System for Feature-Level Service Entitlement Delegation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current digital services are rigidly tied to single subscriber accounts, limiting flexibility in sharing and personalization across users, as they do not allow feature-level delegation of entitlements, leading to isolated user experiences and lack of personalization in group settings.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that enables feature-level delegation of service entitlements among users in a group by using an intermediary system to store authorization data, allowing access to media services without sharing credentials, and managing user associations and entitlements through a multi-service gateway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If digital services are tied to a single subscriber account, then service security and account management are simplified, but service sharing and personalization among multiple users are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system positioned between service providers and user devices that manages entitlement delegation. This intermediary stores authorization data, determines user entitlements through stored associations, and accesses services on behalf of delegated users, thereby enabling service sharing without direct credential sharing while maintaining system security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments service access into feature-level entitlements rather than all-or-nothing account access. The intermediary system divides service entitlements into specific features that can be selectively delegated to different users, allowing granular control over what each user can access within a service.
2Ease of operation
If users share credentials to access services, then service sharing becomes possible, but security risks and credential management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates authorization data copies that represent service entitlements without exposing actual credentials. The intermediary system stores and manages these authorization data copies, allowing users to access services through delegated entitlements rather than sharing master account credentials, thus maintaining security while enabling convenient access.
3Adaptability or versatility
If digital services exist in isolated silos, then service security and management are simplified, but user personalization and cross-service functionality are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal intermediary system that can manage entitlement delegation across multiple different services and user devices. This single system provides multi-functional capabilities including storing authorization data for various services, managing user associations, determining entitlements, and accessing different services, thereby enabling personalization across service boundaries without requiring separate solutions for each service.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are provided for delegating entitlements to features of media services. The method includes storing, at an intermediary system operable between at least one service provider and a plurality of user devices, authorization data for a media service associated with a first user, the authorization data enabling the intermediary system to access one or more features of the media service from the service provider on behalf of the first user. The method also includes, after detecting a request to access the media service by a second user, using a set of stored associations to determine whether or not the second user has been delegated an entitlement to the features of the media service, by the first user. The method also includes, after determining that the second user has the entitlement to at least one of the features, using the authorization data to access the at least one feature on behalf of the second user, via a communication interface between the intermediary system and the service provider.