Patents by Inventor Darren Levi Malek

Darren Levi Malek has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10515399
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides computer-implemented systems and processes for augmenting user ratings of items, such as a rating of a song playing on a user device, by analyzing contextual information, such as user and/or device activity data associated with the device. The contextual information may be used to determine an associated intensity of the rating or feedback. The determined intensity levels can be used to weigh the associated rating events and improve the quality of item recommendations that are based on such ratings. Contextual information may indicate whether the user transitioned from another application to rate an item, device status information, and so on. In one embodiment, contextual information can be used to assess how intensely the user feels about a music item and to provide improved music recommendations, such as songs to provide in a playlist or radio station, based on the intensity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2019
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brandon Scott Durham, Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Darren Levi Malek, Christopher Lon McGilliard
  • Patent number: 10311361
    Abstract: A technology for propagating themes is provided. In one example, a method may include identifying media having a content feature contained in a presentation of the media. The method may include extracting the content feature of the media as a continuous variable and discretizing the continuous variable into a bucket representing a discrete value. A theme label may be applied to the media and may be propagated to other media with continuous variables discretized into the subset of buckets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brandon Scott Durham, Haowei Lu, Christopher Lon McGilliard, Darren Levi Malek, Joshua Fredrick Lutes, Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer
  • Patent number: 10083232
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides computer-implemented systems and processes for augmenting user ratings of items, such as a rating of a song playing on a user device, by analyzing contextual information, such as user and/or device activity data associated with the device. The contextual information may be used to determine an associated intensity of the rating or feedback. The determined intensity levels can be used to weigh the associated rating events and improve the quality of item recommendations that are based on such ratings. Contextual information may indicate whether the user transitioned from another application to rate an item, device status information, and so on. In one embodiment, contextual information can be used to assess how intensely the user feels about a music item and to provide improved music recommendations, such as songs to provide in a playlist or radio station, based on the intensity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brandon Scott Durham, Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Darren Levi Malek, Christopher Lon McGilliard
  • Patent number: 9977584
    Abstract: A computing device can periodically acquire a current track time for a media content item being played. The device can periodically compare the current track time with a respective start time and a respective end time for each line (or segment) in a plurality of lines of text (or segments of text) associated with the media content item. If the device determines that the current track time is between start and end times for a given line of text, then the device can display the given line of text. A user of the device can scroll through the lines of text associated with the media content item. If the user selects a particular line of text, the device can identify a start time for the selected line of text. The device can then play the media content item at the identified start time of the selected line of text.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Jonathan Beech, Hari Gangadharan, Gabriela Ahern, Brandon Scott Durham, Darren Levi Malek, Ralph Cameron Harvey, Benjamin Lee Shepherd, Jason Christopher Hall, Andrew Powell McGoogan, Robert Richard Morse
  • Patent number: 9685175
    Abstract: A technology for synchronizing text with audio includes analyzing the audio to identify voice segments in the audio where a human voice is present and to identify non-voice segments in proximity to the voice segments. Segmented text associated with the audio, having text segments, may be identified and synchronized to the voice segments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brandon Scott Durham, Darren Levi Malek, Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Abhishek Mishra, Jason Christopher Hall
  • Patent number: 9305530
    Abstract: A technology for synchronizing text with audio includes analyzing the audio to identify voice segments in the audio where a human voice is present and to identify non-voice segments in proximity to the voice segments. Segmented text associated with the audio, having text segments, may be identified and synchronized to the voice segments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brandon Scott Durham, Darren Levi Malek, Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Abhishek Mishra, Jason Christopher Hall
  • Patent number: 9299331
    Abstract: Techniques are described for automatically selecting musical content for playback based on an initial “seed” of music selected by a user in a way that seamlessly extends the user's listening experience. The initially selected seed music might be, for example, an album or a playlist. Music that follows the seed music is algorithmically selected to match the music selected by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brandon Scott Durham, Sarvesh Chandra Regmi, Vladimir Lazebny, Joshua Fredrick Lutes, Darren Levi Malek, Haowei Lu, Christopher Woolf Phillips, Kintan Dilipkumar Brahmbhatt, Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Gabriela Ahern, William Jarred Leslie, Xinjie Di, Benjamin Lee Shepherd
  • Publication number: 20160011761
    Abstract: A computing device can periodically acquire a current track time for a media content item being played. The device can periodically compare the current track time with a respective start time and a respective end time for each line (or segment) in a plurality of lines of text (or segments of text) associated with the media content item. If the device determines that the current track time is between start and end times for a given line of text, then the device can display the given line of text. A user of the device can scroll through the lines of text associated with the media content item. If the user selects a particular line of text, the device can identify a start time for the selected line of text. The device can then play the media content item at the identified start time of the selected line of text.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Publication date: January 14, 2016
    Inventors: TOBY RAY LATIN-STOERMER, JONATHAN BEECH, HARI GANGADHARAN, GABRIELA AHERN, BRANDON SCOTT DURHAM, DARREN LEVI MALEK, RALPH CAMERON HARVEY, BENJAMIN LEE SHEPHERD, JASON CHRISTOPHER HALL, ANDREW POWELL MCGOOGAN, ROBERT RICHARD MORSE
  • Patent number: 9176658
    Abstract: A computing device can periodically acquire a current track time for a media content item being played. The device can periodically compare the current track time with a respective start time and a respective end time for each line (or segment) in a plurality of lines of text (or segments of text) associated with the media content item. If the device determines that the current track time is between start and end times for a given line of text, then the device can display the given line of text. A user of the device can scroll through the lines of text associated with the media content item. If the user selects a particular line of text, the device can identify a start time for the selected line of text. The device can then play the media content item at the identified start time of the selected line of text.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Jonathan Beech, Hari Gangadharan, Gabriela Ahern, Brandon Scott Durham, Darren Levi Malek, Ralph Cameron Harvey, Benjamin Lee Shepherd, Jason Christopher Hall, Andrew Powell McGoogan, Robert Richard Morse