Apple files patent for ‘online purchase of digital media bundles’
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Apr 27, 2006 at 10:00am
On April 27, the US Patent & Trademark Office revealed an Apple patent titled “Online purchase of digital media bundles,” originally filled in May 2005. According to the patent, it appears that Motion Pictures and e-books are coming to Apple’s iTunes Music Store, as noted in this report.
Patent FIG. 4B is a block diagram of a media asset bundle according to one embodiment of the invention.
Apple’s abstract
Techniques for interacting with an online media store to obtain a media asset bundle, such as a digital boxset, are disclosed. These techniques involve, for instance, browsing for a media asset bundle that includes at least one non-playable media asset, purchasing the media asset bundle, obtaining the media assets contained in the media asset bundle, determining if a presentation request has been made for a media asset in the media asset bundle, and presenting the requested media asset. Further, these techniques involve playing the media assets in a media asset bundle by selecting a media asset in the media asset bundle, determining whether the media asset is playable or non-playable, presenting the media asset using an appropriate media asset viewer if it is playable, not playing (skipping) the media asset if it is non-playable, and selecting/playing other media assets in the media asset bundle until no more media assets are available to be played.
Excerpts of “Summary of the invention”
The invention pertains to techniques for purchasing media asset bundles. These techniques can allow a user of a client computer to identify, preview, and purchase media asset bundles. In the context of this application, a media asset bundle is a group of disparate media assets, including at least one non-playable media asset.
The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a method, system, device, apparatus, graphical user interface, or computer readable medium. Several embodiments of the invention are discussed below.
In one embodiment of the invention, a user browses for a media asset bundle that includes at least one non-playable media asset. Next, the user purchases the media asset bundle and obtains the media assets contained in the media asset bundle. Next, it is determined if a request has been made for a media asset in the media asset bundle and, if so, the requested media asset is presented to the user. In some embodiments of the invention, the presenting of the requested media asset further involves determining whether the requested media asset is a playable or non-playable media asset and presenting the viewing the media asset in a media asset viewer appropriate for that particular media asset (i.e., a non-playable media asset viewer or a playable media asset viewer). Non-playable media assets include portable document format (PDF) files, graphics files, multi-media files, and text files. Playable media assets include audio files and video files. Further, both playable and non-playable media asset files can contain digital rights management (DRM) information in some embodiments. Non-playable media asset viewers include web browser applications, text editors, PDF viewers, and e-book readers. Playable media asset viewers include media management applications and media players.
Excerpts from “Detailed description of the invention”
The invention pertains to techniques for purchasing media asset bundles. These techniques can allow a user of a client computer to identify, preview, and purchase media asset bundles. In the context of this invention, a media asset bundle is a group of disparate media assets, including at least one non-playable media asset (e.g., text or graphics).
Media assets are digital media items, for example audio, video, text, graphics, or multimedia files. The term media asset includes, but is not limited to, a wide variety of digital media items of various types, including songs or other audio files (e.g., MP3, MPEG4, MC, WMA), music videos (e.g., QuickTime, AVI), e-books, graphics (e.g., bitmap, JPEG, TIFF), portable document files (PDFs), digital slide presentations (e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint presentations), or interactive multimedia presentations (e.g., presented using a multimedia application such as QuickTime or Macromedia Flash.). Further, media assets can be divided into two sub-types: playable media assets and non-playable media assets. Playable media assets include video and audio files, i.e., files that are typically presented or “played” in media players. Examples of playable media assets include, but are not limited to, music, music videos, audio books, promotional films, concert footage, artist interviews, and motion pictures.
Non-playable media assets include text and graphic files that are typically presented or “viewed” in browser or viewer applications (e.g., non-playable media asset viewers). As an example, a non-playable media asset could be a PDF file, viewed with a non-playable media asset viewer, in this case Adobe Acrobat. Reader, which is typically used to view PDF files. Both playable and non-playable media assets may be protected by digital rights management DRM protection (e.g., Apple Computer’s Fair Play DRM) to limit access to the media assets to the purchaser of those media assets (see, for example, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/832,812.) Examples of non-playable media assets include photographs, logos, drawings, pamphlets, and e-books.
Randomly selected “Claims” for review
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the non-playable media asset is selected from the group consisting of a portable document format (PDF) file, a graphics file, a multi-media file and a text file.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the non-playable media asset file contains digital rights management information.
14. The method of claim 5, wherein the non-playable media asset viewer is selected from the group consisting of a PDF viewer, a text editor, a web browser, an e-book reader, and an XML browser.
28. The method of claim 26, wherein the playable media assets are selected from the group consisting of songs, music videos, and e-books.
37. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 32, wherein the playable media asset is selected from the group consisting of a music file, a music video, and an e-book.
46. The method of claim 44, wherein video files comprise media content selected from the group consisting of videos and motion pictures.
Note that e-books are not audio books as patent point number 12 is presented with “audio books” in contrast with patent points 14, 28 & 37: “The method of claim 8, wherein the playable media assets are selected from the group consisting of songs, music videos, and audio books.”
Notice
Macsimum News 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. Please refer to Apple patent 20060089949.
Inventors listed: Jeffrey L. Robbin, David Heller, Mike Wiese, Patrice Gautier, and Ellis M. Verosub.
If you have an opinion on this patent report, email me at neo@macsimumnews.com
Reference reports on Apple & e-Books
“Will Apple challenge Sony’s upcoming ebook due this summer?”
“More on Apple’s touch sensitive display for iTunes, iPhoto & ebook”
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Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
