Linked User Accounts for Shared Content Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing online media store systems do not allow seamless sharing of purchased content items between user accounts while maintaining individual user profiles and purchase data, leading to issues like polluted user profiles and inability to transfer content items to separate accounts.
Innovation Solution
A system that allows users to link multiple user accounts into a group, enabling shared access to content items while retaining individual account ownership and preferences, with options for managing content item visibility and purchase rules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single user account is shared by multiple family members, then content item access is enabled for all members, but user profile accuracy deteriorates due to polluted purchase data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the user account into separate accounts for each family member while maintaining a linkage between them. Each account maintains its own purchase history and profile data, preventing pollution. The linkage mechanism allows content sharing without merging profiles, thus resolving the contradiction between shared access and profile accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a linkage mechanism as an intermediary between separate user accounts. This intermediary enables content items purchased by one account to be accessible by linked accounts without actually merging the accounts or their purchase data. The linkage acts as a mediator that provides shared access while preserving individual profile integrity.
2Ease of manufacture
If a single user account is shared by multiple family members, then content item purchasing is simplified, but account transferability deteriorates when members need separate accounts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic account linkage system that can be created, modified, and terminated according to user needs. Family members can link their accounts to share content, and can unlink when separation is needed (such as when a child goes to college). This dynamic capability provides both the simplicity of shared purchasing and the flexibility of account separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains separate, independent user accounts for each family member while adding optional linkage. This segmentation allows each member to have their own account for purchasing and profile management, while the linkage provides optional content sharing. When separation is needed, accounts can be unlinked without data loss, providing adaptability.
3Measurement precision
If user accounts are kept separate, then user profile integrity is maintained, but content sharing capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses account linkage as an intermediary mechanism that enables content sharing between separate accounts. The linkage does not merge the accounts or their profiles, maintaining integrity, but it provides a pathway for content items to be shared and accessed by linked accounts, thus resolving the contradiction between separation and sharing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes separate user accounts universally accessible to linked accounts. Content items purchased by one account become accessible to all linked accounts, providing multi-functionality. This allows separate accounts to maintain their integrity while simultaneously enabling broad content sharing capability through the linkage mechanism.
4Device complexity
If purchase data is aggregated at the account level, then content recommendations are simplified, but recommendation accuracy deteriorates for individual users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments purchase data by maintaining separate purchase histories for each user account. This segmentation allows the recommendation system to access individual user preferences and generate accurate recommendations for each user. The linkage mechanism enables sharing without aggregating data, thus maintaining both simplicity and accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
Separate user accounts can be linked into a group of linked user accounts so that content items assigned to each of the user accounts can be accessed by each user account in the group. Linking user accounts in this way allows the individual user accounts to share content items while also retaining their individual properties such as username, password, preference data, etc. Linking user accounts allows each user account to retain the content items assigned to the user account when the user account is unlinked from the group. Linking user accounts can be restricted according to linking rules that dictate how many user accounts can be included in a group, when a user account can be added or removed from a group, etc. A master user account can set parameters restricting content items accessible to the user accounts in the group, as well as money spent be each user account.