Continuous content identification of broadcast content

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9703932-B2
Application number	US-201213460684-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 30, 2012
Priority date	Apr 30, 2012
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

The present disclosure provides identification and continuous monitoring of content, such as broadcast content, in real time, using a hierarchical, distributed approach to content identification. Identification, synchronization and verification are provided. Identification may be performed by an identification server using a reference database of fingerprints. The same or another computing device may be used perform synchronization, such that at least some portion of each fingerprint generated by client devices that form a verification group are synchronized for verification. Verification used to determine whether a client device continues to receive the same content identified during identification compares at least a portion of each fingerprint generated by each client device of a verification group. If a mismatch occurs, identification may be repeated to identify the new content being received by a client device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving, by an identification computing device and from a client computing device, a request for a content identification operation to identify content being received by the client computing device, the request comprising a fingerprint generated from the content to be identified;
searching, by the identification computing device, a fingerprint database for a reference fingerprint matching the received fingerprint to identify the content being received by the client computing device;
where a matching reference fingerprint is found, transmitting, by the identification computing device and to the client computing device, a response to the request, the response comprising information identifying a verification computing device to which the client computing device is assigned based on at least a portion of the fingerprint received with the request, the verification computing device is one of a plurality of verification computing devices and is other than the identification computing device, the verification computing device is to be used to perform a content verification operation, subsequent to the content identification operation performed by the identification computing device and in response to receipt by the verification computing device of a second fingerprint from the client computing device that generates the second fingerprint, to determine whether or not the client computing device continues to receive the content identified by the identification computing device in the content identification operation.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
assigning, by the identification computing device, the client computing device to one verification group of a plurality of verification groups, the verification computing device providing content verification for a plurality of client computing devices assigned to the verification group to which the client computing device is assigned, each client computing device of the plurality having been identified as receiving the content identified in the content identification operation for the client computing device.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
synchronizing, by the identification computing device, generation of fingerprints by each of the client computing devices assigned to the verification group.

4. A method comprising:
receiving, by a verification computing device and from a client computing device, a request to perform a content verification operation to determine whether or not the client computing device assigned to a verification group comprising a number of client computing devices continues to receive identified content, the verification computing device being identified for the client computing device from a plurality of verification computing devices using a first fingerprint generated by the client computing device, the number of client computing devices being assigned to the verification group based on the identified content, the request comprising a second fingerprint generated by the client computing device from content being received by the client computing device;
comparing, by the verification computing device, the received second fingerprint with one or more reference fingerprints identified in connection with the verification group to determine whether or not the content being received by the client computing device is the identified content;
where the received second fingerprint is determined not to match the one or more reference fingerprints, initiating, by the verification computing device, a content identification operation to identify the content being received by the client computing device and to assign the client computing device to another verification computing device based on the content identification operation's outcome, the initiating comprising the verification computing device causing a content identification request to perform the content identification operation to be transmitted to an identification computing device.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
synchronizing, by the verification computing device, generation of subsequent fingerprints by each of the client computing devices assigned to the verification group.

6. The method of claim 4 , the method further comprising:
performing, by the verification computing device, the content identification operation by determining whether or not the received second fingerprint matches fingerprints received in connection with any one of multiple verification groups serviced by the verification computing device, each verification group comprising client computing devices identified as receiving the same content;
assigning, by the verification computing device, the client computing device to a new verification group selected from the multiple verification groups where the received second fingerprint matches fingerprints received in connection with the new verification group; and
transmitting, by the verification computing device to an identification computing device, a request to perform the content identification operation where the received second fingerprint does not match fingerprints received in connection with any of the multiple verification groups.

7. The method of claim 4 , the client computing device is assigned to a verification group serviced by the verification computing device, the verification group comprising a plurality of client computing devices including the client computing device, and the verification computing device is one of the plurality of client computing devices.

8. The method of claim 4 , the method further comprising:
synchronizing, by the verification computing device, generation of subsequent fingerprints by each client computing device of a plurality of client computing devices assigned to the verification group serviced by the verification computing device.

9. The method of claim 4 , the method further comprising:
receiving, by the verification computing device, a fingerprint from one or more other client computing devices of a verification group to which the client computing device is assigned, the verification group is serviced by the verification computing device; and
the comparing further comprising comparing the one or more other client computing devices' fingerprints as the one or more reference fingerprints to the received second fingerprint to determine whether or not the client computing device continues to receive the identified content.

10. The method of claim 4 , wherein the one or more reference fingerprints are stored in a reference fingerprint database.

11. A method comprising:
receiving, by a client computing device, a content stream;
generating, by the client computing device, a first fingerprint from content of the content stream;
transmitting, by the client computing device, a request for an identification operation, the request comprising the first fingerprint;
receiving, by the client computing device, a response to the request for a content identification operation, the response comprising information identifying a verification computing device of a plurality of verification computing devices, the verification computing device identified in the response and to which the client computing device is assigned based on at least a portion of the fingerprint transmitted with the request is to be used to perform a content verification operation, subsequent to the content identification operation, to determine whether or not the client computing device continues to receive the content identified in the identification operation;
generating, by the client computing device, a second fingerprint from the content of the content stream; and

Assignees

• Bilobrov Sergiy
• Schafhauser Andres Hernandez
• Excalibur Ip Llc

Inventors

• Bilobrov Sergiy
• Schafhauser Andres Hernandez

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