Patent ID: 8655926

Claim:
A method implemented by a server device, the method comprising: maintaining a global media catalog of global metadata for media assets that are accessible by client devices that are registered to a user, the global metadata corresponding to one or more instances of the media assets that are located remotely from at least one of the client devices; registering a client device to the user based on a user identifier associated with the global media catalog, the global media catalog being maintained remotely from the client device; aggregating, in response to said registering, local metadata for local media assets that are stored on the client device with the global metadata in the global media catalog, said aggregating including omitting from the global metadata in the global media catalog all metadata for a particular media asset that is stored on the client device based on digital rights management information indicating that the particular media asset is not to be performed on another device; and communicating the global metadata from the global media catalog for receipt by the client devices that are registered to the user, the global metadata from the global media catalog indicating media assets that are requestable by the client device and enabling the client device to initiate a request for a media asset that is identified by the global metadata and stored on a different one of the client devices such that when requested via the client device, the media asset is provided from the different one of the client devices to the client device.