Sponsor-Initiated Content Delivery via Segmented Guest Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users with access to content delivery services face challenges in sharing content with friends without granting full access, especially when third-party Identity Providers are involved, and content delivery services may not offer free trials, limiting the ability to promote proprietary content.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for automating sponsor-initiated content delivery, where a sponsor can provide limited access to content through an authentication token or link, allowing guests to access specific content without full account access, while maintaining control over access scope and duration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a subscribing user shares their subscriber credentials with a non-subscribing friend, then the friend can access the content, but the user loses control over access scope and may inadvertently grant full access to third-party accounts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments access rights by creating a separate guest account with limited permissions distinct from the sponsor's main account. The guest account receives only specific content access rights through an authentication token, while the sponsor retains full control over their primary account and third-party Identity Provider connections. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling content sharing without compromising account security or access control complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary authentication token that mediates between the sponsor's account and the guest's access rights. This token acts as a controlled bridge, allowing the guest to access specific content without directly connecting to the sponsor's main account or third-party Identity Providers. The intermediary mechanism enables easy content sharing while maintaining secure access control boundaries.
2Productivity
If a content delivery service offers free trial subscriptions, then non-subscribers can access content to promote proprietary content, but the service cannot control usage limits and abuse risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic access control where the guest account's permissions and content access rights are adjustable by the sponsor in real-time. The authentication token can be configured with specific content scopes, time limits, and usage restrictions that can be modified without creating new accounts. This dynamic control enables effective content promotion while preventing abuse through flexible, enforceable usage limits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of access control by introducing configurable authentication tokens with specific content scopes, time validity periods, and usage limits. Instead of offering uniform free trial access, the system allows sponsors to define precise access parameters for each guest account. This parameter-based control promotes content effectively while maintaining reliability through enforceable restrictions on usage scope and duration.
3Ease of operation
If third-party Identity Providers are used to authenticate the subscribing user, then authentication is simplified, but enabling access to the subscriber account may undesirably include providing full access to those third-party accounts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the authentication functionality from the sponsor's main account by creating a separate guest account with its own authentication credentials. The guest account uses a dedicated authentication token that does not rely on the sponsor's third-party Identity Provider connections. This extraction eliminates the security risk of exposing third-party account access while maintaining simplified authentication for content sharing purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary authentication token that mediates between the guest and the content delivery service without requiring direct access to the sponsor's third-party Identity Provider accounts. This intermediary mechanism enables simplified authentication for guests while protecting the sponsor's third-party account security by creating an isolated authentication pathway that does not expose sensitive credentials.
Data Source
AI summary
A content delivery system includes a computing platform having processing hardware and a system memory storing software code, a user account database, and a content database. The processing hardware executes the software code to receive, from a user device utilized by a user, a request for access to a first content of a plurality of contents, the request including an identifier of a sponsor of the request, to verify, using the identifier, an authorization status of the sponsor, and transmit to the user device, based on verification of the authorization status of the sponsor, content access data enabling access to the first content by the user. The processing further executes the software code to detect that the user is accessing the first content, and to offer, in response to detecting that access, an opportunity to the user to obtain access to the plurality of contents.