Abstract:
An arbitrator receives a request to use a plurality of content in an aggregation. The arbitrator determines whether there exist proper rights to use the plurality of content in the aggregation. The requestor is communicated whether permission is granted. The determination may include negotiating for extending right of use by an arbitrator. This negotiation may communicate with content hosting service(s) or the content author(s). The determining step retrieves, stores, and maintains rights information to and from an information store which is accessible by the rights management system.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of collaborative applications and more particularly to management of content applications over data communications networks. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Online data aggregators are known. Such online data aggregators may offer aggregation services on a standalone basis or in conjunction with other services, such as portfolio tracking and on-line bill payment provided as a website service. Many established companies with an Internet presence appear to recognize the need of offering an aggregation service to enhance other web-based services which can attract more visitors. Offering a data aggregation service to a website is attractive because of the potential that it will frequently draw users of the service to the hosting website. 
     Over time, the transfer of large amounts of account data from the account provider to the aggregator&#39;s server could develop into a comprehensive profile of a user. The user&#39;s profile may include: (i) their banking; (ii) credit card transactions and balances; (iii) securities transactions and portfolios; and (iv) travel history and travel preferences. As the sensitivity to data protection considerations grows, it is likely there will be a considerable focus on the extent to which data aggregators may seek to use data either for their own purposes or to share it on some basis. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present invention provide for a program product, system, and method in which an arbitrator of a rights management system receives a request to use a plurality of content in an aggregation. The arbitrator determines whether there exist proper rights to use the plurality of content in the aggregation. The requestor is communicated whether permission is granted. The determination may include negotiating for extending right of use by an arbitrator. This negotiation may communicate with content hosting service(s) or the content author(s). The determining step retrieves, stores, and maintains rights information to and from an information store which is accessible by the rights management system. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a distributed data processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  is a schematic view of a portion of the distributed data processing system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 2B  is a schematic view of a portion of the distributed data processing system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 2C  is a schematic view of a portion of the distributed data processing system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  depicts a flowchart illustrating steps followed within a distributed data processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a distributed data processing system and transactions according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 5  is an event diagram depicting operation of the distributed data processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable medium(s) having computer-readable program code/instructions embodied thereon. 
     Any combination of computer-readable media may be utilized. Computer-readable media may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of a computer-readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer-readable signal medium may be any computer-readable medium that is not a computer-readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java (note: the term(s) “Java” may be subject to trademark rights in various jurisdictions throughout the world and are used here only in reference to the products or services properly denominated by the marks to the extent that such trademark rights may exist), Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on a user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
     Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the Figures.  FIGS. 1 ,  2 A,  2 B, and  2 C collectively make up a functional block diagram illustrating various portions of distributed data processing system  100 , including: network  114 , arbitrator  102 , aggregators  104  and  106 , authors  108  and  110 , content hosting service  112 , and content consumer  113 ; arbitration service computer  200 ; aggregator computer  250 ; content author computer  290 ; communication units  202 ,  252 ,  253 ; processors  204 ,  254 ,  255 ; input/output (i/o) units  206 ,  256 ,  257 ; memory devices  208 ,  258 ,  259 ; persistent storage devices  210 ,  260 ,  261 ; display devices  212 ,  262 ,  263 ; external device sets  214 ,  264 ,  265 ; random access memory (RAM) devices  230 ,  270 ,  271 ; cache memory devices  232 ,  272 ,  273 ; modules (mods) arbitration service s/w (software)  240 , collection s/w  280 , aggregation s/w  282 , arbitration interface s/w  284  (3 locations), and content author s/w  286 . In particular, arbitrator  102  includes an arbitration service computer  200  of computer sub-system  201 , aggregators  104  and  106  each include an aggregator computer  250  of computer sub-system  251 , and authors  108  and  110  each include a content author computer  290  of computer sub-system  254 . 
     It should be appreciated that  FIGS. 1 ,  2 A,  2 B, and  2 C, taken together, provide only an illustration of one implementation (that is, system  100 ) and do not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made, especially with respect to current and anticipated future advances in cloud computing, distributed computing, smaller computing devices, network communications and the like. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2A , computer sub-system  201  is, in many respects, representative of the various computer sub-system(s) in the present invention. Accordingly, several portions of computer sub-system  201  will now be discussed in the following paragraphs. 
     Computer sub-system  201  may be a laptop computer, tablet computer, netbook computer, personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating in distributed data processing system  100  via network  114 . Arbitration service s/w  240  is a representative software module, and is a collection of machine readable instructions and data that is used to create, manage and control certain software functions that will be discussed in detail below. 
     Computer sub-system  201  is capable of communicating with other computer sub-systems via network  114  (see  FIG. 1 ), such as computer sub-systems  251  and  254 , for example. Network  114  can be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, and can include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network  114  can be any combination of connections and protocols that will support communications between systems. 
     As further shown in  FIG. 2A , computer sub-system  201  is shown as a block diagram with many double arrows. These double arrows (no separate reference numerals) represent a communications fabric, which provides communications between various components of sub-system  201 . This communications fabric can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within a system. For example, the communications fabric can be implemented, at least in part, with one or more buses. 
     Memory  208  and persistent storage  210  are computer-readable storage media. In general, memory  208  can include any suitable volatile or non-volatile computer-readable storage media. It is further noted that, now and/or in the near future: (i) external device(s)  214  may be able to supply, some or all, memory for sub-system  201 ; and/or (ii) devices external to sub-system  201  may be able to provide memory for sub-system  201 . 
     Arbitration service s/w  240  is in many respects representative of the various software modules of the present invention and is stored in persistent storage  210  for access and/or execution by one or more of the respective computer processors  204 , usually through one or more memories of memory  208 . Persistent storage  210  is at least more persistent than a signal in transit is, but the persistent storage may, of course, be substantially less persistent than permanent storage. Arbitration service s/w  240  may include both machine readable and performable instructions and/or substantive data (e.g., the type of data stored in a database, etc.). In this particular embodiment, persistent storage  210  includes a magnetic hard disk drive. To name some possible variations, persistent storage  210  may include a solid state drive, a semiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, or any other computer-readable storage media that is capable of storing program instructions or digital information. 
     The media used by persistent storage  210  may also be removable. For example, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage  210 . Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, and smart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto another computer-readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage  210 . 
     Communications unit  202 , in these examples, provides for communications with other data processing systems or devices external to sub-system  201  via network  114 . In these examples, communications unit  202  includes one or more network interface cards. Communications unit  202  may provide communications through the use of either or both physical and wireless communications links. Any software modules discussed herein may be downloaded to a persistent storage device (such as persistent storage device  210 ) through a communications unit (such as communications unit  202 ). 
     I/O interface(s)  206  allows for input and output of data with other devices that may be connected locally in data communication with arbitration service computer  200 . For example, I/O interface  206  provides a connection to external devices  214 . External devices  214  will typically include devices such as a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable input device. External devices  214  can also include portable computer-readable storage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention, for example, arbitration service s/w  240 , can be stored on such portable computer-readable storage media. In these embodiments the relevant software may (or may not) be loaded, in whole or in part, onto persistent storage device  210  via I/O interface  206 . I/O interface  206  also connects in data communication with display  212 . 
     Display  212  provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be, for example, a computer monitor or a smart phone display screen. 
     The programs described herein are identified based upon the application for which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a flowchart illustrating process  300  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The various steps of process  300  will now be discussed in turn. 
     The content creation step S 301  identifies the creation of on-line content, such as for the Internet. The amount of content that is available on the Internet is voluminous. The content has all been created by entities, such as one or both of authors  108  and  110 . A few examples of entities include, but are not limited to: (i) a person; (ii) a group of people; (iii) a computer algorithm(s); (iv) a legal entity, such as a corporation; or (v) a governmental unit. The authors  108  and  110  have a computer such as content author computer  290  of computer sub-system  254 , as shown in  FIG. 2   c . Content author s/w (software)  286 , which creates on-line content, includes, but is not limited to: (i) word processors; (ii) spreadsheet editors; (iii) browser page editors; (iv) video and still photo editors; and so on and so forth. After authors  108  and  110  create content, the content may be hosted on, for example, content hosting service  112 . 
     Once content is hosted on content hosting service  112 , the content may be available for aggregation. In most contexts, an aggregator, such as one or both of aggregators  104  and  106 , refers to a website or computer software that aggregates a specific type of information from multiple online sources, such as content hosting service  112 . Examples of aggregators  104  include: (i) data aggregator, an organization involved in assembling information from detailed databases on individuals and selling that information to others; (ii) news aggregator, a computer software or website that aggregates news from other news sources; (iii) poll aggregator, a website that aggregates polling data for upcoming elections; (iv) review aggregator, a website that aggregates reviews of movies or other products or services; (v) search aggregator, software that runs on a user&#39;s computer and fetches, filters, and organizes a specific search from various search engines; (vi) social network aggregation, the collection of content from multiple social network services; or (vii) a video aggregator, a website that collects and organizes online video sources. The two basic steps to assemble content, aggregator search S 302  and aggregator assembles content S 303 , are accomplished via collection s/w  280  and aggregation s/w  282 . 
     There are many aggregators that combine heterogeneous data in an attempt to form a complete story—such as CNN.com or CNBC.com (each of which can perform the functions of both aggregator  104  and content author  108 ). For instance, if a news aggregator wants to run a story about a United States political election, the news aggregator would assemble pertinent information in the United States and international mainstream media about election-related politics, political candidates, and current events, as well as, links to columnists concerning the subject. Some aggregators exclusively use computers to search and obtain their content, while others rely on personnel, and still others utilize a hybrid approach. Regardless of the aggregation subject matter or assembly method, there exists a content author and a content rights holder for the aggregated content. Generally, only the content owner has the ability to grant rights to the material. The rights might have been transferred, either manually or automatically, to another entity. To name one automatic assignment, many companies have agreements with employees such that any material created by them while in the employment of the company is the property of the company. Some companies extend this agreement to include a number of years after the employee-employer relationship has ended. In various embodiments the content author and the content rights holder may be, or may not be, the same entity; however, hereinafter for the purpose of discussion they are considered to be one in the same. 
     After the process of content assembly in aggregator search S 302  and aggregator assembles content S 303 , the question arises as to whether the aggregator  104  has permission to use the content, as characterized by aggregator determines rights unknown S 304 . The permissions (the rights associated with the content) are varied and may be complex. A few examples of rights include, but are not limited to: (i) reuse-as-is; (ii) reuse-freely; (iii) reuse-with-permission; (iv) reuse-with-privacy; (v) reuse per-service; (vi) no-reuse; (vii) reuse-as-is-with-identification; (viii) reuse-with-modification-identification; and (ix) unknown. 
     Sophisticated aggregation software can present information in ways that were previously difficult, if not impossible. In order to accommodate new ways of presentation, rights need to be extendable as production software programs become even richer in displaying content formation and style. Rights may be agreed upon, ad hoc, between parties, as aggregator  104  develops novel and meaningful online presentations. For example, suppose the author  108 ,  FIG. 1 , is willing to allow reuse, as long as his website is linked to from the location where the reuse occurs, e.g., aggregator  104 . In other words, the content can be reused as long as there is attribution to the author and the author&#39;s content is not modified (i.e. extract a summary out of an article and insert new hyperlinks inside the text). Consequently, an extended right from reuse-as-is would be reuse-as-is-with-attribution-link. This extended right can be negotiated between, for example, author  108  and arbitrator  102  to facilitate use of the content at aggregator  104 . 
     The spectrum of content rights varies from reuse-freely to no-reuse. Although, the permissions within the scale of reuse-freely to no-reuse appear clear and definite, they can be ambiguous and questionable. For instance, reuse-with-privacy may signify: (i) the content can be reused as-long-as the author becomes anonymous; (ii) any identification of individuals referred within the content is expunged, as in blurring out faces; (iii) the information is only used within an organization; (iv) or any combination of the above. Another example of a right that is thought of as unequivocal, but is actually extendable, is when the right is no-reuse. For example, the owner  108  might consider allowing an aggregator  104  to use the content in a group with other similar content, thus, no-reuse, in this instance, should be replaced by an extended version that is adapted to new situations and that can be negotiated by arbitrator  102 . On the other side of the spectrum, the right to reuse-freely may cause unanticipated issues with the author  108 . For instance, an aggregator  104  may reveal the most common periods of activity for an author  108 , which may cause problems with that author&#39;s employer or relatives. Many different kinds of information can be serendipitously revealed in an aggregation with reuse-freely rights. It is common for an aggregator  104  to summarize and represent content in diverse ways that were not originally envisioned by the content hosting services  112 , and also differently than originally authorized by the authors  108  of the content. This ambiguity leads to hesitation and indecisiveness on the part of the aggregator  104  and deficient aggregation of content. Therefore, aggregators  104  need content that is clear of ambiguous rights. Nevertheless, relying on aggregators  104  to aggregate data in all of the possible interesting and relevant ways, and then determine permission, places a considerable burden on the development agility of such organizations, which in some cases may significantly delay or even prevent the creation of channels that would benefit the original authors  108  in ways they did not anticipate. 
     After determining that the rights for at least some of the content assembled in step aggregator assembles content S 303  are unknown in step aggregator determines rights unknown S 304 , processing proceeds to step aggregator asks arbitrator S 305 ,  FIG. 3 . This step involves the aggregator  104 ,  FIG. 1 , asking arbitrator  102  whether the assembled content is allowed to be used in a certain manner or usage. For instance, using a former example, an aggregator  104  may ask arbitrator  102  if it is permissible to reveal the most common periods of activity for an author  108 . The arbitrator  102  would address the issue as to whether the usage of content that would reveal the most common periods of activity for an author  108  is allowable. This embodiment of the present invention provides a service that is focused on discovering if the rights associated with the content in question are determinate for a particular use of such content. In other words, aggregator  104  can request authorization to reuse content from other services and consult about the current authorization terms of content with the arbitrator  102 . Further, aggregator  104  can ask arbitrator  102  about any kind of extended rights for assembled content. 
     The arbitration service s/w  240  contains the code for maintaining, storing, and accessing information in an information store, and the methods necessary to provide arbitrator  102 . There is no need for all aggregators  104  to keep track of rights for today&#39;s large number of content hosting services  112  and content authors  108  and  110 , because of the centralizing features of arbitrator  102  as discussed herein. The information store includes, but not limited to: (i) author&#39;s identification information, such as name, address, email, etc.; (ii) copies of content; (iii) rights associated with the content; (iv) extended rights, such as how original rights need to be modified; (v) date of entry; (vi) active flag, rather than replacing complete information records could be made inactive as newer records take precedence. The arbitration service s/w  240  may refer to an information store in the form of a: (i) database; (ii) flat file; (iii) or any structure that would facilitate access to the information. The information within the information store is obtainable through methods, whether custom or off-the-shelf, that facilitate access by authorized users. For example, such methods include, but are not limited to, a structured query language (SQL) interface. 
     As shown on  FIG. 3 , step aggregator asks arbitrator S 305  is the first stage of determining whether the extended rights exist to use the plurality of content in the aggregation. In particular, aggregator  104  may communicate with arbitrator  102  via the arbitration interface s/w  284 , which is the means to communicate among the computer sub-system  201 ,  FIG. 2   a , the computer sub-system  251 ,  FIG. 2   b , and the computer sub-system  254 ,  FIG. 2   c . The arbitration interface s/w  284  of the arbitrator  102  may vary considerably in its interface method among aggregators  104  and authors  108 . The methods include, but are not limited to: (i) human interaction, such as a telephone conversion; (ii) interaction using a fax machine; (iii) communication over a network: such as emailing requests and responses, or off-the-shelf or custom-developed applications that allow data transferring; and (iv) using computer browsers for the inquiries and responses. For instance, using a browser an aggregator  104  can submit a freeform question along with contact information. If the arbitrator  102  includes a previous customer record for the aggregator  104 , the aggregator  104  might simply supply a customer identification along with the freeform question. The freeform question may also include certain pre-determined checkboxes that would assist the arbitrator  102  in determining the exact rights required. The aggregator  104  can also supply any mock pages, or example pages from previous aggregations, that would facilitate the rights determination. 
     The aggregator  104  is not the only entity that utilizes the arbitrator  102 . Authors  108  and  110 , content hosting services  112 , and even content consumers  113 , may utilize the information store of arbitrator  102 . For instance, author  110  might be curious as to how his content rights are listed with the arbitrator  102 . In a similar inquiry, content consumers  113 , whom might be considering becoming authors, could check with the arbitrator  102  on how similar content, that he is contemplating creating, is used in aggregations and its associated rights. 
     Step aggregator asks arbitrator S 305  may occur in parallel with steps S 304  and S 303 , or afterward. For example, in one embodiment aggregator  104  assembles content from content hosting services  112 , while checking with arbitrator  102  whether the content is pre-authorized in terms of license by the owner for the intended use by aggregation service  104 . The actual time period when the checking with the arbitrator  102  occurs may vary considerably among aggregators  104 . The time period includes, but is not limited to: (i) simultaneously; (ii) near simultaneously; (iii) in an agreed upon time-of-day (perhaps at noon Eastern Standard Time); (iv) and once-a-day (perhaps a dump of all requests once a day). 
     After step aggregator asks arbitrator S 305 , processing proceeds on to step arbitrator finds rights S 306 . When content is not cleared for usage in the arbitrator  102 , e.g., because arbitrator  102  does not include a record of any rights, or any extended rights, for the queried content, then the arbitrator  102  contacts the content hosting service  112  to check whether the license terms around the content allow for its usage in the intended manner (e.g. “can the content be used for statistic analysis in aggregate?” or “can the content be republished without modification and with attribution?”). During step arbitrator finds rights S 306  arbitrator  102  can also attempt to negotiate new extended rights with content hosting service  112 . 
     Proceeding to step arbitrator determines extended rights S 307 ,  FIG. 3 . If the content hosting service  112  indicates to arbitrator  102  that the answer is contingent on author approval, the arbitrator  102  initiates contact with the author (e.g., author  108  or  110 ) to request approval for that intended usage, and to negotiate extended rights, at the same time informing the aggregator  104  that approval is pending. The outcomes to this inquiry include, but are not limited to: (i) the author  108  or  110  may grant the use based upon pre-existing rights; (ii) the author  108  or  110  may grant extended rights based upon an extension of previous rights (such as in the former example of reuse-as-is-with-attribution-link); (iii) the author  108  or  110  may deny the use of the content; and (iv) the author  108  or  110  does not respond. Notwithstanding the results of the inquiry, the arbitrator transmits the results, such as permitting the use of the plurality of content in the aggregation. 
     After step arbitrator determines extended rights S 307 , processing proceeds on to content is aggregated with appropriate rights S 308 . Based upon the response from the arbitrator  102  the aggregator  104  may include the content in an aggregation, or leave the content out of an aggregation. The aggregator  104  may eliminate the content from the aggregated content for each author  108  or  110  who has declined to grant the rights. 
     Now that the embodiment(s) of  FIGS. 1 to 3  have been fully discussed, some additional discussion and/or embodiments of the present invention will be discussed in the following paragraphs. 
       FIG. 4  will now be discussed in detail. As shown in  FIG. 4 , diagram  400 , as another embodiment of the present invention, includes: author  110 ; arbitrator  102 ; aggregator  104 ; content hosting service  112 ; and content consumer  113 . Diagram  400  depicts several transactions including: authorizes  435 ; use  440 ; read  445 ; read  490 ; read  455 ; and publishes  430 . 
     Diagram  400  shows the interactions among the different entities. Content author  110  publishes  430  content to the content hosting service  112 . Content consumer  113  reads  455  content from a content hosting service  112  and reads  490  from aggregator  104 . Aggregator  104  also reads  445  from the content hosting service  112  in order to assemble content. Aggregator  104  asks the arbitrator  102  about the rights of the content the aggregator  104  wants to use via use  440 . The arbitrator  102  asks the content author  110  about granting the use of the content via authorizes  435 . 
     Rather than placing the burden on aggregators  104  the invention addresses the enablement of a syndication model that orchestrates the requirements from sources of content and content hosting services  112  in ways that allows authors  110  to retain control of their content without stifling the creation of new services. The arbitrator  102  is responsible for reaching out to the aggregator  104  and/or author  110  to explain how the data will be utilized and whether the aggregator  104  or author  110  approves of that usage. 
     The arbitrator  102  is responsible for hosting information on permissible usages of entries by a given author  110  and service. As examples, an aggregator  104  may consult the arbitrator  102  on whether the content of a content hosting service  112  can be reused in aggregate or whether an individual entry can be reused in a way that it can be traced to an author  108  or  110 . 
     An aggregator  104  is a derivative service that exposes the data from a content hosting service  112  in different ways, enabling different visualizations or different operations against some representation of the original data. 
     A content hosting service  112  can be an online magazine or social bookmarking website providing a public data retrieval API (Application Programming Interface) of some sort, such as Atom or RSS (Really Simple Syndication). 
     An author  110  is a person who authors original content, such as tagging a bookmark in a social bookmarking tool, authoring a blog entry on a blog service, commenting to an article on an online magazine, etc. The author  110  explicitly authorizes the usage of his content through the lifecycle of the content. In some countries, the author  110  retains exclusive copyright-style rights over the content, in other cases content hosting services  112  may require that the user authorizes public availability of the work as a condition of publication. 
     A content consumer  113  is a person who reads, views, listens to, or otherwise experiences the content provided by either a content hosting service  112  or by an aggregator  104 . 
       FIG. 5  will now be discussed in detail.  FIG. 5  is an event diagram depicting the order of interactions among the online participants. As shown in  FIG. 5 , diagram  500  includes: aggregator  104 ; content hosting service  112 ; arbitrator  102 ; author  110 ; multiple timing blocks  502 ; read-articles interface  505 ; read-articles interface  510 ; request-permission-policy interface  515 ; request-usage-policy-for-entry interface  520 ; request-user-policy-for-entry interface  525 ; request-permission-policy interface  530 ; request-permission-for-intended usage interface  535 ; usage approved  540 ; request-permission-for-intended usage interface  545 ; request-permission-for-intended usage interface  550 ; notify-aggregator-of-approval  555 ; and grant-permission interface  560 . At request-permission-for-intended-usage interface  550 , the response will indicate all approved usages and signal that a request for broader usage has been sent to the content author or content author could not be located. Further, after notify-aggregator-of-approval  555 , the aggregation service is cleared to reuse the original content for the intended purpose. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the foregoing Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.