Patents Examined by Mamon Obeid
  • Patent number: 9137480
    Abstract: An embodiment of a method for secure escrow and recovery of media device content keys includes generating, with a first processor of a media device, an escrow key for encrypting a plurality of content keys, the content keys for encrypting instances of media content. The first processor of the media device encrypts the escrow key with a public key of a key clearinghouse. The escrow key, encrypted with the public key of the key clearinghouse, is stored in a storage location outside of the first processor of the media device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: John M. Schlarb, Kinney C. Bacon
  • Patent number: 9075958
    Abstract: A method for selectively allowing participation in an auction, implemented at one or more servers, includes steps for receiving a request to participate in the auction, receiving machine fingerprint data related to the request to participate in the auction, saving the machine fingerprint data in a memory, comparing the machine fingerprint data with previously stored machine fingerprint data, and determining, using the machine fingerprint data, whether to allow the participation in the auction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: Uniloc Luxembourg S.A.
    Inventor: Craig Stephen Etchegoyen
  • Patent number: 9070149
    Abstract: Various techniques are provided for the gifting between multiple electronic devices of media content provided by an online digital media provider. An offer and acceptance of a selected gift file is accomplished between a gifter device and a receiving giftee device using a near-field communication (NFC) connection. If a connection to the online provider is available, the gifter device may transmit a gift request by which the gifter's account is charged for the gift file. Thereafter, a gift file created using DRM keys associated with the giftee's account may be downloaded to the giftee device. If a network connection is unavailable, the giftee device may transfer a locked gift file and a corresponding gift license to the giftee device using a peer-to-peer connection. The giftee device may authenticate the license and unlock the gift file once a connection to the online provider is available.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Gloria Lin, Amir Mahmood Mikhak, Taido Lantz Nakajima, Sean Anthony Mayo, Michael Rosenblatt, Andrew Hodge
  • Patent number: 9049468
    Abstract: A computing device executing a server engine receives a digital fingerprint created from a segment of a work, the work being a single rendering, the segment being less than an entirety of the work, and the digital fingerprint being based on perceptual features of the segment. The computing device compares the digital fingerprint to a plurality of digital fingerprints from a plurality of known works to identify a known work of the plurality of known works that corresponds to the work. The computing device transmits content-related data associated with the known work to a client device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: AUDIBLE MAGIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Vance E. Ikezoye, James B. Schrempp
  • Patent number: 8983874
    Abstract: A micropayment system and method is presented for a payor U to establish payment to payee M for a transaction T, which typically has a very low value TV. The micropayment scheme minimizes the bank's processing costs, while at the same time eliminating the need for users and merchants to interact in order to determine whether a given micropayment should be selected for payment. In one embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes time constraints, which require that an electronic check C for the transaction T be presented to a bank B for payment within a predetermined time/date interval. In another embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes a selective deposit protocol, which guarantees that a user is never charged in excess of what he actually spends, even within a probabilistic framework. In another embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes a deferred selection protocol, which provides the bank with control and flexibility over the payment selection process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Silvio Micali, Ronald L. Rivest
  • Patent number: 8965811
    Abstract: Pursuant to some embodiments, methods, systems, apparatus, computer program code and means for conducting an online transaction by a user operating a computer are provided which include identifying, at the computer, that the user has selected a secure payment option during a transaction with a merchant. The computer is caused to enter a private session. During the private session, payment card data from a physical payment card held by the user is received, and the payment card data is forwarded to a payment provider to cause the payment provider to provide substitute payment card details to the merchant to complete the transaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: MasterCard International Incorporated
    Inventor: John R. Wankmueller
  • Patent number: 8924307
    Abstract: Embodiments of authenticating an electronic document are disclosed. A document authentication system is operatively connected with a professional system, a license management system and a certification authority system, for authenticating an electronic document of a client response to a request from a client system. An authentication unit included in the document authentication system receives the electronic document from the client system for review and seal thereof, transmits the electronic document to receive the electronic document with the electronic signature implemented and transmits the electronic signature to the license management system to verify license validity of the professional based on the electronic signature. Further, the authentication unit transmits the electronic document to the client system with the electronic signature including a seal imprint image of the professional if the license of the professional is valid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Inventors: Shocky Han, Pon Chun Ku
  • Patent number: 8886570
    Abstract: Methods of and systems for securely monitoring a balance of a payment account include storing, in a first database, ledger data and storing, in a second database, wallet data. Wallet data includes a wallet balance value for the payment account. When a transaction is initiated using the payment account, an access operation is performed on the wallet table. Illicit or improper modifications can be detected by deriving a ledger comparison value from the ledger data and comparing the derived ledger comparison value to a wallet comparison value from the wallet data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Quisk, Inc.
    Inventor: Praveen Amancherla
  • Patent number: 8868463
    Abstract: A method of managing digital rights is disclosed that includes recording media content at one or more servers supporting a multimedia content distribution service. The one or more servers are configured to transmit multimedia data to multiple customer premises equipment (CPE) devices. The method further includes determining recorded media content at the one or more servers that is associated with a content source and providing a graphical user interface (GUI) accessible to a content manager at the content source to manage digital rights. The GUI includes a list of the recorded media content and at least one selectable element associated with each item of the list accessible to select media content and to configure digital rights associated with the selected media content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventor: Michael Grannan
  • Patent number: 8843413
    Abstract: The present invention provides for a digital rights management system with a centralized domain service capable of creating and managing membership criteria for joining a domain in accordance with business rules defined by a content owner. A domain identification is created that allows a content provider to uniquely bind content licenses to a domain. The content licenses include usage rights that define how content associated with the licenses may be consumed by one or more members of the domain. The centralized domain service can enforce digital rights by validating membership criteria including at least one of a domain proximity check for validating that a requestor is in close proximity to the domain, a total number of requestors, or the frequency that the requests have been made by various requestors to join the domain and unjoin from the domain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Arnaud Robert, James M. Alkove, Chadd B. Knowlton
  • Patent number: 8768845
    Abstract: A system for removing an electronic wallet application from a mobile electronic device is provided. The system comprises a first server executing an authentication, authorization, and accounting application and a second server executing a trusted service manager application. The first server grants data network access to the mobile electronic device when a special pass has been provisioned to the first server, wherein the special pass is associated with the mobile electronic device. The second server sends the special pass associated with the mobile electronic device to the first server in response to a triggering event, establishes a data communication session with the mobile electronic device, and sends instructions to the mobile electronic device to remove the electronic wallet application from the mobile electronic device, wherein the establishment of the data communication session is mediated by the authentication, authorization, and accounting application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Sprint Communications Company L.P.
    Inventors: Sarah A. V. Persson, Kevin Zhu, Lei Zhu
  • Patent number: 8732086
    Abstract: A method is described for managing rights for digital music, including registering music players, from among a plurality of music players, with digital archives that store songs, from among a plurality of digital archives, wherein songs can be copied from digital archives to music players, and from music players to digital archives, permitting a music player to copy a song from a digital archive for which it is registered, permitting a digital archive to copy a song from a music player that is registered with the digital archive, restricting a music player from copying a song from a digital archive for which it is not registered, and restricting a digital archive from copying a song from a music player that is not registered with the digital archive. A system and a computer-readable storage medium are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Catch Media, Inc.
    Inventors: Yaacov Ben-Yaacov, Boaz Ben-Yaacov
  • Patent number: 8725645
    Abstract: A non-invasive metering system enables on-demand, metered usage licensing of software applications. A packaging module generates a secure application package for an original, unmodified application authored by a software publisher. The software publisher need not directly modify the code of the original application. Rather, the packaging module includes, within the secure application package but separate from the code of the application itself, a shell application that controls runtime aspects of the application, such as metering of the application. The secure application package is made available to users wishing to use the application on a metered basis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Cetrus LLC
    Inventors: Cory A. Montini, Uri Eliahu, David E. Lieberman, Christopher Gabel
  • Patent number: 8725650
    Abstract: Methods and systems for licensing a document template are provided herein. The method includes obtaining, within a computing device, a license for a document template from a marketplace service. The method also includes downloading the document template to the computing device. The method includes providing a functional experience of a document derived from the document template to a licensed user. The method further includes sharing a license-restricted document with an unlicensed user in response to an input from the licensed user, wherein the license-restricted document provides a reduced-functionality experience of the document derived from the document template to the unlicensed user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: David Mowatt, Terry Farrell
  • Patent number: 8682717
    Abstract: A payment device, method, and apparatus configured to parse customer exclusive data from a payment device or financial transaction data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Visa U.S.A. Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Maw, Ayman Hammad
  • Patent number: 8660965
    Abstract: A method for transmitting an order from a mobile device to a physical location of a merchant involves receiving, by the mobile device, the order while the mobile device is outside a predetermined distance from the physical location, storing the order to a storage device, and determining, by the mobile device and after storing the order, that the mobile device is within the predetermined distance from the physical location. The method further involves receiving, by the mobile device, a request from the user to submit the order after determining the mobile device is within the predetermined distance from the physical location, retrieving the order from the storage device in response to the request, and transmitting the order to the merchant after retrieving the order when the mobile device is within the predetermined distance of the physical location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: Intuit Inc.
    Inventor: Ryan M. Bickerstaff
  • Patent number: 8646097
    Abstract: The aim of the present invention is to limit the impact of security breaches, which are the emulators of the security module. This aim is reached by a processing unit of audio/video digital conditional access data, encrypted by control words, responsible for processing security messages containing at least one cryptogram relative to a control word and one instruction relative to the control word, characterized in that it includes means to receive at least two micro programs by security messages, executable by the security module, said security module comprising means to store at least two micro programs and means to receive an instruction contained in the security message, for selecting the micro program indicated by the instruction, for executing the said micro program with at least the cryptogram as a parameter of execution, this execution allowing the calculation of the control word to be sent back to the audio/video processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Nagravision, S.A.
    Inventors: Joel Conus, Luca Gradassi, Rached Ksontini, Henri Kudelski
  • Patent number: 8645277
    Abstract: Online sale of software product use licenses through a data network by offering software products (SOFT) through vendor sites, purchasing a license on-line on one of said vendor sites, and activating said license on-line by a different licensing site. A specific component (COMP) is provided with the software product (SOFT) and identifying data (IDV) of the vendor site are transmitted during the download of the software product (SOFT). When the component (COMP) is executed in an equipment, the component (COMP) locally accesses said data (IDV) and identifying data (IDL) of the licensing site and activates the license by setting up an on-line communication with the licensing site.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Media Patents, S.L.
    Inventor: Alvaro Fernández Gutiérrez
  • Patent number: 8645280
    Abstract: A method for verifying permission to use a payment system such as an electronic credit card, using a hand held communication device such as a smart phone, where the customer presents the communication device to a merchant who extracts account information from the hand held device, and the hand held device generates a transaction code that is shared with the merchant and sent by both to a financial institution. The financial institution sends a new random code to the user and the merchant, which can be compared to verify the user's account and the financial institution's approval of the transaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Inventor: Craig McKenzie
  • Patent number: 8645278
    Abstract: Online sale of software product use licenses through a data network by offering software products (SOFT) through vendor sites, purchasing a license on-line on one of said vendor sites, and activating said license on-line by a different licensing site. A specific component (COMP) is provided with the software product (SOFT) and identifying data (IDV) of the vendor site are transmitted during the download of the software product (SOFT). When the component (COMP) is executed in an equipment, the component (COMP) locally accesses said data (IDV) and identifying data (IDL) of the licensing site and activates the license by setting up an on-line communication with the licensing site.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Media Patents, S.L.
    Inventor: Alvaro Fernández Gutiérez