Patent ID: 8402484

Claim:
A method of controlling access to media content, the method comprising: receiving at a set-top box device located at a premises a viewing request to present media content at a display device connected to the set-top box; retrieving from a permission policy stored at the set-top box device rules for fulfilling the viewing request; transmitting a polling signal to a first mobile communication device of a plurality of mobile communication devices; measuring an elapsed time until receiving a response to the polling signal from the first mobile communication device to determine and distinguish a relative proximity to the set-top box for each of the plurality of mobile communication devices, wherein the relative proximity corresponds to being inside the premises but outside a room where the set-top box is located if the first mobile communication device is in a range of a wireless local area network of the set-top box but beyond a range of a class 2 Bluetooth communications link of the set-top box, being inside the room where the set-top box is located if the first mobile communication device is within a line of sight of the set-top box device, being in contact with the set-top box if the first mobile communication device is physically contacting the set-top box and is within a range of a class 3 Bluetooth communications link of the set-top box, and being outside the premises; determining and distinguishing a device type for each of the plurality of mobile communication devices; and fulfilling the viewing request according to the rules retrieved from the permission policy and the determined and distinguished device type and relative proximity to the set-top box for each of the plurality of mobile communication devices.