Content metadata directory services

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9275157-B2
Application number	US-61492106-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2006
Priority date	Dec 21, 2005
Publication date	Mar 1, 2016
Grant date	Mar 1, 2016

Abstract

The content metadata directory system connects consumers of identified content to managed metadata databases and other digital resources. The system manages links between identifiers in content objects and metadata sources. It supports a variety of different type of content identifiers and allows for overlap among different content identification schemes. One method of associating a content object with metadata uses a combination of a content identifier and a bounding identifier to enable handling of disparate sets of content identifiers for content objects with potentially conflicting content identifiers. The method receives a content identifier for a content object from among a set of content identifiers and provides a unique bounding identifier for the set of content identifiers. This unique bounding identifier is used in combination with the content identifier to form a globally unique identifier for the content object. This globally unique identifier is associated with a metadata source, which enables routing of a user to the metadata source.

First claim

I claim:

1. A method of associating a content object with metadata comprising:
using one or more programmed computers to perform the acts of:
receiving a content identifier for a content object from among a set of content identifiers;
providing a unique bounding identifier for the set of content identifiers;
using a combination of the content identifier and the unique bounding identifier to form a globally unique identifier for the content object; and
associating the globally unique identifier with a metadata source to enable routing of an entity that supplies the globally unique identifier to the metadata source.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein associating the globally unique identifier with the metadata source comprises storing a metadata source identifier that identifies the metadata source located at another network location.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the metadata source identifier comprises a URL of the metadata source.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the set of content identifiers is pre-assigned by an ID provider and registered with a directory by providing the unique bounding identifier to the set of content identifiers.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein a directory assigns both the content identifier for the content object and the unique bounding identifier for the ID provider and provides the content identifier to an ID provider for inserting the content identifier in the content object.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the directory utilizes the unique bounding identifier to determine the content identifier.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein a first set of content identifiers is pre-assigned by a first ID provider and registered with a directory by providing a first unique bounding identifier to the first set of content identifiers, and wherein the directory assigns a second set of content identifiers for a second ID provider, which in turn, inserts the second set of content identifiers in corresponding content objects.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the unique bounding identifier comprises an ID provider identifier.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the unique bounding identifier further comprises an ID version.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the combination of the content identifier and the unique bounding identifier are provided by a user to a directory, which in turn, routes the user to the metadata source associated with the globally unique identifier for the content object.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the metadata source is provided by the content provider of the content object and is represented as at least a first link to metadata of the content provider and at least a second link to metadata of another participant.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the metadata of another participant includes a link to an online commerce transaction opportunity relating to the content object.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the content provider is a content owner of the content object.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein said content object is associated with a second, different metadata source, the method comprising:
receiving a second content identifier for said content object from among a second set of content identifiers;
providing a second unique bounding identifier for the second set of content identifiers;
using a second combination of the second content identifier and the second unique bounding identifier to form a second globally unique identifier for said content object; and
associating the second globally unique identifier with a metadata source to enable routing of an entity that supplies the globally unique identifier to the metadata source.

15. The method of claim 1 , including:
receiving a content signal in a fingerprint reader;
in the fingerprint reader, calculating sub-fingerprints of the content signal;
receiving in a server the sub-fingerprints and matching the sub-fingerprints to a set of sub-fingerprints in a database that are linked to the content identifier; and
providing the content identifier to a router system, which combines the content identifier with the unique bounding identifier to form the globally unique identifier for the content object.

16. The method of claim 15 , including:
receiving at least a portion of the content signal in a digital watermark reader;
in the digital watermark reader, extracting a second content identifier;
providing the second content identifier to the router system, which combines the second content identifier with a second unique bounding identifier to form a second globally unique identifier for the content object; and
using the second globally unique identifier to identify a second metadata source for the content object.

17. The method of claim 1 comprising:
providing first digital watermark readers, the first digital watermark readers being executed to extract content identifiers in the set of content identifiers from content objects identified by the set of content identifiers;
providing second digital watermark readers, the second digital watermark readers being executed to extract content identifiers in a second set of content identifiers from content objects identified by the second set of content identifiers;
providing a second unique bounding identifier for the second set of content identifiers;
using a combination of a content identifier from the second set and the second unique bounding identifier to form a second globally unique identifier for a content object;
and associating the second globally unique identifier with a second metadata source to enable routing of a metadata request from a device with one of the second digital watermark readers to the second metadata source.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the first and second digital watermark readers are executed to extract content identifiers from images captured of physical objects.

19. One or more non-transitory computer readable media on which is stored instructions, which when executed by one or more processors, perform acts of associating a content object with metadata, including:
receiving a content identifier for a content object from among a set of content identifiers;
providing a unique bounding identifier for the set of content identifiers;
using a combination of the content identifier and the unique bounding identifier to form a globally unique identifier for the content object; and
associating the globally unique identifier with a metadata source to enable routing of an entity that supplies the globally unique identifier to the metadata source.

20. A system for associating a content object with metadata comprising:
a registration interface of a registration system comprising one or more processors, the registration interface for receiving a content identifier for a content object from among a set of content identifiers, and for providing a unique bounding identifier for the set of content identifiers; and
a database system comprising one or more processors, the database system operable to use a combination of the content identifier and the unique bounding identifier to form a globally unique identifier for the content object, and to associate the globally unique identifier with a metadata source to enable routing of an entity that supplies the globally unique identifier to the metadata source.

21. The system of claim 20 further including a router operable to receive a content identifier, and in response to use the bounding identifier in combination with the content identifier to look up

Assignees

• Levy Kenneth L
• Digimarc Corp

Inventors

• Levy Kenneth L

Classifications

• G06F21/10 Primary

  Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material (protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16) {; Digital rights management [DRM]} · CPC title

• G06Q10/06

  Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling · CPC title

• G06F17/30289

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/3002

  Physics · mapped topic

• H04L65/4084

  Electricity · mapped topic