Abstract:
Subscribers to a television-delivery service can send and receive messages within a television-viewing environment. A subscriber can create a message, attach content from the television environment, and send the message to a friend, all without leaving the television environment. A television producer controls its rights to the content by allowing subscribers to select and send some content while preventing other content from being incorporated in a message. Rights can be checked at the sender site, at the recipient site, and in between by a message-transport service. In some situations, the recipient may not have sufficient rights to view the entire message. Specifically, the recipient&#39;s subscription level may not allow access to some of the message content that was pulled from the sender&#39;s television-delivery service. In this case, the recipient may take corrective action or may view the message with the restricted content replaced with alternative content.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention is related generally to television-content delivery systems and, more particularly, to creating and sending messages using those systems. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    People are quickly adopting new communications modes that are enabled by new digital technologies. E-mail, SMS, and “tweeting” are replacing traditional paper cards and letters for personal (and business) communications. Many people are using the new modes to instantly share photographs, video clips, and other media content with their friends. 
         [0003]    Much of the media content that users wish to share originates in a television environment. Television, in some ways a long established media technology, is changing to support more interactivity and user choice. 
         [0004]    However, some barriers still separate one communication technology from another. For example, a user may watch a television show, become enamored of a particular scene, and wish to share that scene with his friends. To do so, he may have to leave the television-viewing environment and search online to see if anyone has posted a copy of that scene on a web site. If he finds such a posting, he can then send an e-mail with a link to the post. It is clumsy and inconvenient for the user to move from one communications environment (television) to another (web and e-mail) to share the scene. 
         [0005]    This crossing of communications barriers to share a television scene with friends can also be of dubious legality. If, for example, the producer of the television content did not surrender rights to have that content posted on the web, then the posting person as well as anyone who copies or views the posting may be violating the producer&#39;s copyright. 
         [0006]    The business of media production is based strongly on user-subscription fees (and advertising), and media producers are very interested in new technologies that protect their revenue streams by limiting unauthorized distribution of their content. While the producers&#39; concerns are legitimate and perfectly understandable, they create conflicts with their subscribers who have become used to freely sharing media content with one another. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The above considerations, and others, are addressed by the present invention, which can be understood by referring to the specification, drawings, and claims. The present invention allows subscribers to a television-delivery service to send and receive messages within a television-viewing environment. A subscriber can create a message, attach content from the television environment (e.g., a still or a clip from a current television show), and send the message to a friend, all without leaving the television environment. 
         [0008]    When the message sender and the intended recipient of the message both have subscriptions to television-content delivery services, the subscription providers can control the content allowed to be sent in the message. A television producer controls its rights to the content by allowing subscribers to select and send some content while preventing other content from being incorporated in a message. Rights can be checked at the sender site, at the recipient site, and in between by a message-transport service. 
         [0009]    In some embodiments, the addresses of the sender and recipient are defined only within the television-delivery environment, thus preventing content from “leaking” out of this environment to possibly unauthorized viewers. In other embodiments, the television producer may allow at least some content to be sent to addresses outside of the television subscription world (e.g., to a standard e-mail address). 
         [0010]    The sender can include other content in the message and can attach delivery criteria to the message. Generally, all of the content in the message is delivered to the recipient once the delivery criteria are satisfied. In some situations, however, the recipient may not have sufficient rights to view the entire message. Specifically, the recipient&#39;s subscription level may not allow access to some of the message content that was pulled from the sender&#39;s television-delivery service. In this case, some embodiments allow the recipient to take corrective action, such as subscribing to a more inclusive television-delivery package that would permit the recipient to view the restricted content. The recipient may also be given the option of viewing the message with the restricted content replaced with alternative content (e.g., a lower-resolution version of a selected scene or a still instead of a video clip). 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    While the appended claims set forth the features of the present invention with particularity, the invention, together with its objects and advantages, may be best understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is an overview of a representational environment in which the present invention may be practiced; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a generalized schematic of some of the devices shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a representative method for sending a message in the environment of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a representative method for receiving a message in the environment of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a representative method for transporting a message in the environment of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    Turning to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, the invention is illustrated as being implemented in a suitable environment. The following description is based on embodiments of the invention and should not be taken as limiting the invention with regard to alternative embodiments that are not explicitly described herein. 
         [0018]    Aspects of the present invention may be practiced in the representative communications environment  100  of  FIG. 1 . Connected together via any or all of various known networking technologies  102  are servers such as television-channel providers  104  and message-transporter servers  106 . For ease of illustration, only one of each type of server  104 ,  106  is shown, but multiples of each can exist and can work together, as discussed below. 
         [0019]    The channel providers  104  provide, via the networking technologies  102 , subscription television content-delivery services to end-user devices. Traditional end-user devices are supported by “wireline” network technologies (e.g., fiber, wire, and cable)  108   a ,  108   b . For example, a set-top box  110  generally receives television programming from various channel providers  104  and provides a user interface (e.g., an interactive program guide) for selecting and viewing content from the cable provider. A digital video recorder (not shown) can store programming for later viewing. Video content may be viewed on a television monitor  112 . In some situations, a laptop computer  116  can access both television content and web-based services either wirelessly or via the wireline network  108   b . A home gateway, kiosk, digital sign, or media-restreaming device (not shown) are other possible end-user devices. 
         [0020]    (A media-restreaming device transfers content between disparate types of networks. For example, it receives content from a cable system  108   a  and then transmits that content over a local radio link such as WiFi to the cellular telephone  114 . The media-restreaming device usually operates in both directions to carry messages between the networks. In some embodiments, aspects of the present invention are practiced by a media-restreaming device.) 
         [0021]    As indicated above, television programming can also be delivered to non-traditional subscriber devices such as the cellular telephone  114 . This telephone  114  communicates wirelessly to a wireless base station (not shown but known in the art) to access the public switched telephone network, the Internet, or other networks to access web-based services as well as the television-delivery services provided by the channel servers  104 . 
         [0022]    To illustrate aspects of the present invention, consider a user watching a television program on the television monitor  112 . The programming is delivered to the set-top box  110  by the cable system  108   a  from one or more channel providers  104 . The user sees a scene on the program that he would like to share with a friend. An application running on the set-top box  110  embodying aspects of the present invention allows him to create a message addressed to his friend and to include in the message the scene (or a pointer to that scene). (For the sake of simplicity, the present discussion assumes that the message-creation application is fully embodied on the set-top box  110 , but in other embodiments this application can reside at least partially within the head-end of a cable provider, on web servers, on an end-user device such as the cellular telephone  114 , or on some combination of these.) 
         [0023]    The message is carried, possibly through the message transporter  106 , to the delivery address of the friend. In this case, the message is delivered to the friend&#39;s laptop  116  which he uses to access a subscription television service delivered via the cable  108   b  from one or more channel providers  104 . The friend is alerted to the presence of the message. When he opens the message, he can view the content shared by the sender. 
         [0024]    In this example, the sender and receiver could be served by different television-subscription services. Even so, the producer&#39;s rights to the content are protected. In some embodiments, these rights are protected by restricting the pool of potential recipients, that is, of delivery addresses, so that protected content does not “leak out” of the television-subscription environment which is fenced in and strongly protected by the content providers. Other embodiments employ sophisticated security measures to allow the content be safely sent to devices beyond the direct control of the content providers. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  shows the major components of a representative channel provider  104 , message transporter  106 , or end-user device  110 ,  114 ,  116 . Network interfaces (also called transceivers)  200  send and receive media presentations and messages. A processor  202  controls the operations of the device and, in particular, supports aspects of the present invention as illustrated in  FIGS. 3 through 5 , discussed below. The user interface  204  supports a user&#39;s (or administrator&#39;s) interactions with the device. Specific uses of these components by specific devices are discussed as appropriate below. 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  presents one method for sending a message in the environment of  FIG. 1 . In step  300 , a user interface assists the user in creating a message. The user interface can be presented, for example, by the set-top box  110  on the television monitor  112 . (Other devices can use other means for presenting a user interface.) In any case, the interface allow the user to specify the programming content that he wants to include in the message. 
         [0027]    In some embodiments, this user interface is tied to an electronic program guide provided as part of the television-content delivery service. This allows the user to browse through content offerings, including, potentially, video-on-demand. Thus, the user is not restricted to only that content that happens to be showing when he chooses to create the message. 
         [0028]    However, the provider of the television content may impose restrictions on the content that can be included in the message. For example, the provider may allow only still images or video clips shorter than, say, 15 seconds to be included in the message. Another restriction could prevent premium content from being selected. The reasons for these restrictions is that the content provider makes money by providing content and does not want that content to become too freely available. In some embodiments, the message-creation application can communicate with the television-content provider while the message is being created to ensure that only allowable content is included in the message. In other embodiments, content restrictions are enforced later, when the message is sent or when it is delivered. 
         [0029]    Note that the message need not be a greeting from one friend to another. A commercial entity could create and send a message, such as an advertisement. The television provider could itself send a message to its subscribers to, for example, notify them of a new service offering or of billing matters. In some embodiments, a public entity could send a public-service message to everyone currently watching television. 
         [0030]    In step  302 , the sender can choose to add other content to the message, such as a text message. 
         [0031]    The sender may add delivery criteria to the message in step  304 . If, for example, the message is a birthday greeting, then the sender can specify that the message not be available to the recipient until the recipient&#39;s birthday, even if the message is delivered to the recipient&#39;s device before that day. The sender can specify authentication criteria so that only the intended recipient can open the message. 
         [0032]    Some delivery criteria are unique to the television-content delivery environment. The sender can state the message only be delivered when the recipient is watching a particular television program or any program on a particular channel. Some delivery criteria may be more suitable to a commercial entity sending an advertisement than to a person sending a personal greeting to a friend. 
         [0033]    The sender chooses the recipient for the message in step  306 . In some embodiments, the recipient must be a subscriber device (e.g., the laptop  116 ) associated with the same television-content delivery service to which the message sender is subscribed. That restriction makes it easy for the content producer to protect his rights to limit the distribution of content. If the recipient device  116  is not associated with the sender&#39;s subscription provider, then the content allowed in the message may be restricted in some fashion. 
         [0034]    Other embodiments allow the recipient to be associated with a different subscription provider than that of the sender. Business arrangements can be made between the subscription providers to allow for some cross-subscription transmission of content. 
         [0035]    In the most open embodiments, the recipient address need not be within the television-delivery environment at all. The address could be, for example, a standard e-mail address. The content provider may allow only old content to be sent to such an address. 
         [0036]    The recipient address may even specify a person or a group of persons instead of a physical device  116 . In that case, the delivery of the message is more complicated but more flexible. 
         [0037]    The message, containing either the selected content itself or metadata referring to the content, is sent to the recipient address in step  308 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 4  presents a method for a recipient end-user device  116  to follow. In step  400 , the recipient  116  receives the message with the media content. The message may also contain other content (step  402 ). If the message includes only metadata describing the media content rather than the content itself, then the recipient end-user device  116  requests that its channel provider  104  download the actual content to it. This would be a convenient time for the channel provider  104  to check if the message complies with the digital-rights policies of the content provider. If the message violates those rights, then the recipient device  116  may alert a local user to the existence of the message (step  406 ) without delivering the media content in the message. 
         [0039]    If the message is associated with delivery criteria, such as “do not deliver before,” then the recipient device  116  waits until those criteria are satisfied (step  404 ) before proceeding to the next step. 
         [0040]    In step  406 , a local user is alerted about the existence of the message, and the message is delivered in step  408 . In some embodiments, these steps are implemented via a user interface to a messaging application that presents a pop-up alert on the screen that the local user is currently watching. 
         [0041]    The local user receiving the message can perform actions on the message in step  410 . The user may, for example, delete the message, acknowledge it, or forward it to yet another recipient. In the last case, the rights of the content providers are again checked and safeguarded. 
         [0042]      FIG. 5  presents a method for a message-transporter server  106 . Steps  500 ,  502 , and  508  are very straightforward: The message server  106  receives a message, interprets the delivery address, and forwards the message on. 
         [0043]    Before sending on the message in step  508 , the message server  106  can, in step  504 , check the message contents for digital-rights compliance. Because the message server  106  can have access to the content providers of both the sender and receiver, it is in a good position to review any rights policies and to enforce any rights. It is therefore expected that the message server  106  will be a more secure rights enforcer than the end-user devices  110 ,  116 . 
         [0044]    If the message server  106  discovers a digital-rights problem, then it can take corrective action in step  506 . If there is insufficient authorization to transfer the media content contained in the message from the sender to the recipient, then the message server  106  can alter the message by removing the message content and including a proposal to the recipient to upgrade his service so that he can view such transferred content. In some situations, the message server  106  can replace problematic content with allowable content. If, for example, the transfer of premium content is not allowed, then the message server  106  may be able to find suitable non-premium content as a substitute. Or the message server  106  can replace a video clip with a still from the clip. 
         [0045]    In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the present invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the embodiments described herein with respect to the drawing figures are meant to be illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. For example, aspects of the present invention can be used with any type of television-content delivery system (e.g., broadcast television, cable television, broadcast radio, private radio, a satellite-provided channel, an Internet-provided channel, a local programming-storage device). Therefore, the invention as described herein contemplates all such embodiments as may come within the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.