Patent ID: 7984097

Claim:
A method comprising transmitting in a streaming session from a server first streaming data to a data storage medium of a device having a multimedia player, the first streaming data comprising a first advertising-sponsored content portion and an associated first obligatory advertising portion, the first streaming data having a play sequence with the first obligatory advertising portion designated to precede the first advertising-sponsored content portion, upon the server detecting that the playing of all or part of the first obligatory advertising portion is attempting to be avoided by the multimedia player, the server sends to the device a message with data storage medium control information for the purpose of inhibiting the first advertising-sponsored content portion stored in the data storage medium from being played by the multimedia player; wherein the server maintains a time variable whose value is responsive to multimedia player navigation messages received in the server, the time variable capable of assuming a first value associated with a start time of the first obligatory advertising portion and a second value associated with an end time of the first obligatory advertising portion, the time variable being used by the server to determine when all or a part of the first obligatory advertising portion is attempting to be avoided by the multimedia player; wherein the server determines that all or a part of the obligatory advertising portion is attempting to be avoided by the multimedia player upon receiving a fast-forward, skip, or like navigation message from the multimedia player when the time variable has a value between the first value and the second value; and wherein the server inhibits the first advertising-sponsored content portion stored in the data storage medium from being played by the multimedia player by sending a message to the multimedia player indicating that the first advertising-sponsored content portion has expired.