Cingular’s new Patent for a Wireless Streaming Service Suggests Working with Apple’s iTunes Store
An interesting patent application from Cingular has surfaced today in which it describes a two-prong marketing approach for providing music, TV and movie to cell phone users. Cingular describes both a wireless streaming based subscription-type service in addition to allowing users to access their content on internet services like Apple’s iTunes Music Store via Digital Licensed Keys. Whether or not Apple has agreed to this new wireless service format is unknown at this time – although the patent’s verbiage would suggest this may be the case.
Cingular’s patent background In-Part
Cingular’s background Statement in-part states that “recently, music players that use MPEG-1 Part 3 Layer 3 or ISO/IEC 11172-3 Layer 3 (mp3) technology, such as the various versions of Apple iPods offered by Apple Computers, Inc., have become extremely popular. The iPod music player has a relatively large amount of memory to enable a relatively large number of music selections (e.g., thousands of songs) to be stored in the device
One of the disadvantages of the iPod music player is that the user cannot download the selections wirelessly. Rather, the user must first download the selections to a hard disk of a computer from the Internet via an Internet connection and then upload the selections to the iPod music player using a USB interface. In addition, because copies of the songs are stored in the memory of the iPod music player, the user must purchase the songs.
Some wireless providers have begun offering mp3 playback capability in wireless telephones. This makes it possible to wirelessly download songs to the memory of the wireless telephone from the Internet or from a computer.
One disadvantage of current techniques of using wireless telephones with mp3 playback capability to download and play back music is that the songs are stored in memory inside of the wireless telephone. Because copies of the songs are made, the songs must be purchased by the user. In addition, because wireless telephones have relatively small memory capacity, only a small number of songs can be stored in the memory of the wireless telephone. Consequently, the use of wireless telephones to store and playback music selections is not seen as a competitive alternative to the iPod music player or similar types of mp3 music players.
A need exists for a method and apparatus that enable music selections to be wirelessly transmitted to a wireless device so that they can be played back by the wireless device without having to be stored in the wireless device.
Cingular’s New Streaming Service
The present invention provides a wireless device that is capable of playing back music selections in a manner similar to the manner in which mp3 music players, such as the Apple iPod, for example, play back music selections. However, unlike mp3 music players, which store music selections locally in the memory of the music player, the wireless device of the invention has functionality that enables it to request music selections that are stored in network storage, which will then be streamed to the wireless device by a network streaming server. As the wireless device receives the streaming audio music selection, the wireless device plays the selection. Preferably the wireless device never stores a copy of the music selection, although it may buffer bits of the audio stream as needed to enable playback of the selection.
One of the advantages of the invention is that play back of the music selection is ephemeral in that once it is played, it is gone, and thus cannot be copied or shared. Another advantage is that the wireless device does not need to have a large amount of memory in order to play back music selections. One of the reasons that wireless telephones have not been used to store music selections for play back is that wireless telephones typically do not have sufficient memory to store a large number of music selections. In accordance with the invention, a subscriber’s music selections are stored in a network storage element rather than locally in the memory element of the wireless device. Yet another advantage of the invention is that the user can select a music selection for playback on the user’s wireless device on the fly, i.e., without having to be tethered to a computer, as is the case with the aforementioned service provided by Yahoo!, Inc.
The wireless device of the invention includes logic that is configured to enable the subscriber to interact with the network via the user’s wireless device to set up a playlist that comprises music selections that the subscriber wants to listen to at some point in time. However, the selections are not downloaded to the subscriber’s wireless device. The selections are stored in network storage rather than in the local memory of the wireless device. After the subscriber has set up the playlist, the subscriber makes a selection on the user interface of the wireless device to cause the music selections on the playlist to be played. The music selections on the playlist are streamed to the wireless device from a streaming server of the network. The wireless device includes functionality that enables the wireless device to play back the music selections as they are streamed to the wireless device.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the user pays a subscription fee for the music service that allows the user to set up a playlist comprising one or more music selections, which are streamed from a streaming server of the network to the user’s wireless device. In accordance with this embodiment, it is unnecessary for the user to purchase the digital rights for the music selections to which the user desired to listen. The network simply checks a database to determine whether the user is authorized to use the service, i.e., whether the user has a paid subscription to the music service. An authorization algorithm makes this determination. If the authentication process is successful, the music selections on the user’s playlist are streamed to the user.
Alternate Digital License Key Methodology
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a user of a wireless device purchases digital license keys for music selections over a network, such as, for example, the Internet. Websites currently exist that allow users to purchase license keys for music selections. The license keys of the music selections are downloaded to the user’s wireless device where they are stored locally in the memory of the wireless device. The license keys that the user has purchased are also sent to a user storage database. The music selections themselves are not downloaded to the user’s wireless device. Rather, the music selections are stored in a media storage database of the network.
Subsequently, when the user’s wireless device sends the user’s playlist to the network to be played, an authorization algorithm is executed that determines whether the music selections on the playlist match the music selections stored in the user storage database for the user. Essentially, the playlist includes the license keys and the algorithm determines whether the license keys on the playlist have matches in the user storage database location associated with the user. If the algorithm determines that the license keys on the playlist match the license keys stored in the user storage database for the user, then the playlist and the identity of the wireless device to which the music selections are to be streamed are forwarded to a streaming server. The streaming server then streams the selections on the playlist to the wireless device associated with the playlist.
Various types of license keys can currently be purchased. One type of license key is used to unlock an audio stream. If this type of license key is used with the invention, then the music selections on the playlist that are streamed to the user’s wireless device will only be played back by the streaming player of the wireless device if the keys have previously been downloaded to the wireless device. Since the keys have previously been stored in the local memory of the wireless device, they will be available to unlock the stream received by the wireless device from the streaming server. However, using the license keys in this manner is not necessary since an authorization algorithm has already been performed prior to the streaming server streaming the music selections to the user’s wireless device. Using the license keys in this manner may eliminate the need to perform the authorization algorithm at the network level since it is essentially performed at the wireless device.
Works with Apple’s iTunes Music Store
In the case where the user rather than the music service provider purchases the digital rights, or license keys, to play music selections, the application server 20, upon receiving the user’s playlist from the wireless device 1, performs authentication by checking a user storage database to determine whether the user has purchased rights to play the selections that are listed on the playlist. If the application server 20 determines that the user has purchased rights to play the selections listed on the playlist, the application server 20 sends the playlist and the identity of the user’s wireless device to the streaming server 50. The streaming server 50 then retrieves the selections listed on the playlist, assembles them into a real-time data stream and streams them to the user’s wireless device 1.
The invention also provides the potential to leverage existing products and services offered by others. For example, currently, users are able to purchase music selections from online stores such as, for example, Apple Computer’s iTunes website on the Internet. With such online stores, a user purchases the digital rights to music selections, which are then downloaded to the user’s computer via an Internet connection.
The provider or owner of the system of the invention could have an arrangement with such an online music store that would allow users who have purchased and downloaded music selections from an online store to have them played back on another device belonging to the user, such as a wireless telephone. In this exemplary case, the authentication process described above would typically also include determining whether the user has purchased iTune rights to selections listed on the user’s playlist. If so, the corresponding selection would be streamed by the streaming server 50 to a wireless device designated by the user.
A similar feature could be provided for television programs and movies. Some companies currently provide customers with the ability to download television programs and movies or have them streamed over high-speed data networks to a computer or television at the user’s premises. The provider or owner of the system 10 could have an agreement with such a company that would allow a user who has purchased such rights or permissions to also stream the movies or television programs to a wireless device designated by the user. In this exemplary case, the authentication process described above would typically include determining whether the user has purchased rights or permission for the movie or television programs included on the user’s playlist. If so, the corresponding selection on the playlist would be streamed by the streaming server 50 to a wireless device designated by the user.
Bottom Line
On the surface, the only disturbing aspect of Cingular’s new patent is that cell users may not be able to wirelessly stream content which the user previously and privately purchased at a brick and mortar store. If you don’t have the related Digital Licensing Key for a tune or movie, then there’s no ability to access such content on Cingular’s service. That may be a great safeguard against pirating but a drawback for users who legitimately purchased content. Perhaps brick and mortar retailers will provide users with the appropriate keys at purchase in the future – if it hasn’t already begun. Yet for past purchases, you’re out of luck.
As for working with Apple, the keys may rest with this one statement: The provider or owner of the system of the invention could have an arrangement with such an online music store that would allow users who have purchased and downloaded music selections from an online store to have them played back on another device belonging to the user, such as a wireless telephone.
So the deal may rest more between Apple and their iTunes customers than on Cingular themselves. However, the patent verbiage above does in fact include the word “provider,” so there’s still hope for a new Apple-Cingular wireless service agreement for 2007. Only time will tell if the Apple-Cingular agreements will extend to wireless services in the future, especially if Apple’s mysterious iPhone ever surfaces.
NOTICE: MacNN presents only a brief summary of patents with associated graphic(s) for journalistic news purposes as each such patent application and/or grant is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trade Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any patent applications and/or grants should be read in its entirety for further details.
Written and researched by Neo.
Also see today’s other patent report titled Apple’s new cell phone/PDA sync patent.
