(12) Unlted States Patent
`(10) Patent No.:
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`Jones et al.
`(45) Date of Patent:
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`USOO7686215B2
`
`(54) TECHNIQUES AND SYSTEMS FOR
`SUPPORTING PODCASTING
`
`)
`
`75
`
`(
`
`.
`~
`.
`Inventors éfiglii‘s’lgaimegflgnmlfieCéAaéJSg).
`Jeffrey RobbinysLos All; CA (US) ’
`Mike Wiese, Cflpemnoa C}, (US);
`’
`Stephen Davis, Los Gatos, CA (US)
`.
`.
`(73) ASSlgne‘” APPle Inc., Cupertino, CA (Us)
`
`7,020,704 B1
`2003/0105589 A1
`2003/0149574 A1
`2003/0163823 A1
`2003/0182139 A1
`2004/0088328 A1
`2005/0065912 A1
`2005/0071780 A1
`2006/0190616 A1 *
`
`3/2006 Lipscomb et al.
`6/2003 Liu et a1.
`8/2003 Rudman
`8/2003 Logan et a1.
`9/2003 Harris et 31.
`5/2004 Cook et 31.
`3/2005 Cafrelli et al.
`3/2005 Muller et al.
`8/2006 Mayerhofer et 31.
`
`2006/0248209 A1
`
`11/2006 Chiu et 31'
`
`........ 709/231
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 723 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 11/166,331
`-
`.
`(22) Filed.
`(65)
`
`Jun. 25, 2005
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2006/0265503 A1
`
`Nov. 23, 2006
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Partial International Search Report from PCT/US2006/017957 dated
`Oct. 20,2006.
`Written Opinion from PCT/USZOO6/017957 dated Dec. 19, 2006.
`Partial International Search Report from PCT/US2006/017955 dated
`Sep. 18,2006.
`
`(60)
`
`Related US. Application Data
`Prov151onal application No. 60/683,056, filed on May
`21, 2005, prov151onal application No. 60/693,641,
`filed on Jun. 25, 2005.
`
`(Continued)
`Primary ExamineriKarl D. Frech
`.
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or FirmiBeyer Law Group LLP
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`G06K 5/00
`(2006.01)
`(2:) Eli-dc: CI"""_'fi"""_"""S""""h""" 23.5380323355237755
`(
`)
`1e
`0
`as51 catlon earc
`"""""""235/380 382’
`See a
`lication file for com lete search histo
`’
`pp
`p
`ry.
`References Cited
`
`(56)
`
`U-S- PATENT DOCUMENTS
`4 883 340 A
`11/1989 Dominguez
`5’5 17,3 58 A
`5/ 1996 Dominguez
`5,793,980 A
`8/ 1998 Glaser et 31
`6,465,725 B1
`10/2002 Shibata etal
`6,597,891 B2
`7/2003 Tantawy et al.
`6,782,552 B1
`8/2004 Stiegler et al.
`6,928,433 B2
`8/2005 Goodman et a1.
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Improved podcasts and techniques that facilitate their use are
`disclosed. The improved techniques can pertain to creating,
`publishing, hosting, accessing, subscribing, managing, trans-
`ferring, and/or playing podcasts. According to one aspect, a
`client application can subscribe to podcasts and then auto-
`matically monitor the podcasts for updates to be downloaded.
`In the event that user interest in a podcast becomes inad-
`equate, downloading of further updates can be restricted.
`According to another aspect, a podcast can be subscribed to
`through use of a portable subscription file. According to still
`another aspect, podcast feeds can be enhanced to include
`segment elements and other metadata.
`
`39 Claims, 23 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`
`
`\‘ 3‘“
`
`START
`
`RECEIVE NETWORKADDRESS
`
`To PODCAST
`
`ACCESS PODcAsT FEED TO
`ACOUIRE PDDCAST FEED MEIADATA
`
`OBTAIN BASIC PODCAS'I METADATA
`FRCM THE PoDCAST FEED METADATA
`
`CREATE PoDcAsT PREVIEW PAGE
`AND REQUESTING ADDITIONAL PODCAST
`USING THE BASIC PODCAST METADATA \ we
`METADATA
`
`SEND THE PODCAST PREVIEW PAGE
`To CLIENT
`312
` FINAL
`PODCAST
`
`
`METADATA
`7
`SUBMISSION
`"0
`
`
`STORE PUBLISHED PODCAST INFORMATION
`
`INCLUDING THE NETWORK ADDRESS AND
`N314
`THE FINAL PODCAST METADATA
`
`
`
`INDEX THE PUBLISHED PODCAST
`INFORMATION FOR SEARCH/BROWSE N 316
`CAPABILITV AT MEDIA STORE
`
`
`RENDER THE PUBLISHED FODCAST
`AVAILABLE ON THE MEDIA STORE N 315
`
`
`
` END
`
`
`
`Apple Exhibit 4230
`
`Apple v. SightSound Technologies
`CBM2013-00020
`
`Page 00001
`
`Apple Exhibit 4230
`Apple v. SightSound Technologies
`CBM2013-00020
`Page 00001
`
`

`

`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`Page 2
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`“Armangil’s podcatcher” Retrieved from the Internet on Aug. 31,
`2006 at URL http://podcatcher.rubyforge.org, pp. 1-4.
`Sandler et al., “FeedTree: Sharing Web Micronews with Peer-to-Peer
`Event Notification,” Peer-to -Peer Systems IV 4” International Work-
`shop, IPTPS 2005, Feb. 25, 2005, pp. 141-151.
`International Search Report from PCT/US2006/017955 dated Dec.
`19, 2006.
`Written Opinion from PCT/US2006/017955 dated Dec. 19, 2006.
`Partial International Search Report from PCT/US2006/017768 dated
`Oct. 20, 2006.
`International Search Report from PCT/US2006/017768 dated Dec.
`19, 2006.
`Office Action dated Nov. 22, 2006 from US. Appl. No. 11/166,333.
`Office Action dated Dec. 10, 2007 from US. Appl. No. 11/166,333.
`“What is iPodder ” [Online] Oct. 31, 2004, pp. 1-2 XP002401120;
`Internet
`retrieved, URL:http//Web.archive.org/Ww/20041031000;
`450/http://ipdderx.com/; Whole document.
`Chorianopoulos, K. et al., “Cross Media Digital Rights Management
`for Online Music Stores”; First International Conference on Florence
`Italy; Nov. 30, 2002;, 2005, Piscataway, NJ, USA, IEEE, pp. 257-
`260, XPO 10892461.
`
`“iPodderiThe cross platform Podcast Receiver” [Online]; May 19,
`2005, pp. 1-3 XP002409911; Internet, URL:http://Web.archive.org/
`web/20050520011817/http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.
`php?group,id:l18306&package,id:13103 8&
`release:id:328481.
`1-34,
`Anonymous: “iPod User’s Guide” [Online] 2002, pp.
`XP002401535; Internet Retrieved: url:http: // manuals.info.apple.
`com/iPod, [retrieved on Oct. 29, 2006] p. 2.
`Anonymous: “PodcatcheriA podcast download tool”, Internet,
`May 7, 2005, XP002397123 the Whole document.
`International Search Report; PCT/US2006/017768; Dec. 19, 2006.
`International Search Report; PCT/US2006/017957; Dec. 21, 2006.
`International Search Report; PCT/CN2004/000957; Mar. 28, 2004.
`Office Action May 3, 2007; US. Appl. No. 11/166,333.
`Office Action dated Jan. 11, 2008 from US. Appl. No. 11/166,332.
`Examination Report dated Mar. 14, 2008 from EP Application No. 06
`759 342.6.
`Hammersley, Ben, “Content Syndication with RSS,” O’Reilly, Mar.
`2003.
`Examination Report dated Mar. 14, 2008 from EP Application No. 06
`759 421.8.
`Office Action dated Aug. 1, 2008 from US. Appl. No. 11/166,332.
`Office Action dated Nov. 25, 2008 in US. Appl. No. 11/166,332.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Page 00002
`
`Page 00002
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Diar.30,2010
`
`Sheet],of23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`oor
`
`£Qm§
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`
`
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`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 2 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`200
`
`CREATE PODCAST
`
`202
`
`204
`
` REQUEST
`PUBLICATION
`
`
`?
`
`
`NO
`
`
`
`YES
`
`RECEIVE NETWORK ADDRESS TO
`PODCAST
`
`SEND THE NETWORK ADDRESS TO
`PODCAST
`
`206
`
`208
`
`210
`
`
`
`
` RECEIVE
`
`PODCAST
`
`NO
`
`PREVIEW
`
`
`
`
`PAG E
`
`?
`
`YES
`
`DISPLAY THE PODCAST PREVIEW PAGE
`HAVING PODCAST METADATA
`
`212
`
`FIG. 2A
`
`Page 00004
`
`Page 00004
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 3 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`ALTER PODCAST
`
`METADATA
`
`
`
`
`
`216
`
`218
`
`
`
`SUBMIT FINAL PODCAST METADATA
`
`
`
`220
`
`FIG. 28
`
`Page 00005
`
`Page 00005
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 4 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`300
`
`RECEIVE NETWORK ADDRESS
`
`TO PODCAST
`
`ACCESS PODCAST FEED TO
`
`ACQUIRE PODCAST FEED METADATA
`
`OBTAIN BASIC PODCAST METADATA
`
`FROM THE PODCAST FEED METADATA
`
`CREATE PODCAST PREVIEW PAGE
`
`
`
`USING THE BASIC PODCAST METADATA
`
`AND REQUESTING ADDITIONAL PODCAST
`
`METADATA
`
`302
`
`304
`
`306
`
`308
`
`SEND THE PODCAST PREVIEW PAGE
`TO CLIENT
`
`310
`
`312
`
`
` FINAL
`PODCAST
`
`
`M ETADATA
` NO
`SUBMISSION
`
`
`?
`
`
`
`YES
`
`STORE PUBLISHED PODCAST INFORMATION
`INCLUDING THE NETWORK ADDRESS AND
`
`THE FINAL PODCAST METADATA
`
`314
`
`FIG. 3A
`
`Page 00006
`
`Page 00006
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 5 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`INDEX THE PUBLISHED PODCAST
`
`
`
`INFORMATION FOR SEARCH/BROWSE
`
`CAPABILITY AT MEDIA STORE
`
`
`
`
`RENDER THE PUBLISHED PODCAST
`
`AVAILABLE ON THE MEDIA STORE
`
`FIG. 3B
`
`316
`
`318
`
`Page 00007
`
`Page 00007
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 6 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`® /
`
`400
`
`DETERMINE EMAIL ADDRESS OF
`AUTHORIZED USER
`
`CREATE PUBLICATION MESSAGE
`
`HAVING LINK TO THE PODCAST
`
`
`
`PREVIEW PAGE
`
`402
`
`404
`
`SEND THE PUBLICATION MESSAGE
`TO THE DETERMINED EMAIL ADDRESS
`
`406
`
`408
`
`
` REQUEST
`
`
`
`
`
`TO CONTINUE
`
`PUBLICATION
`
`NO
`
`PROCESS
`
`YES
`
`SEND THE PODCAST PREVIEW
`PAGE TO CLIENT
`
`410
`
`FIG. 4
`
`Page 00008
`
`Page 00008
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 7 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
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`Page 00009
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 8 of 23
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`US 7,686,215 B2
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 9 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`600
`
`ACCESS MEDIA STORE
`
`602
`
`NAVIGATE TO PODCAST OF INTEREST
`
`604
`
`RENDER PODCAST PAGE FOR THE
`PODCAST OF INTEREST
`
`606
`
`608
`
`
`
`
`
`SUBSCRIBE
` SELECTION
`YES
`SUBSCRIBE
`
`
`PROCESS
`
`e10
`
`
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`SELECTION
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`
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`
`Page 00011
`
`Page 00011
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 10 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`® /
`
`700
`
`DISCOVER PODCAST OF INTEREST
`
`702
`
`SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
`
`704
`
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`RECENT EPISODE OF THE PODCAST
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`
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`708 N
`SYNC.
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`
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`
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`EPISODE DATA
`TO MEDIA DEVICE
`
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`CONFIGURE TO UPDATE
`FOR NEW EPISODE(S)
`
`712
`
`FIG. 7
`
`Page 00012
`
`Page 00012
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 11 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`800
`
`® /
`
`
`
`
`PODCAST
`
`UPDATE
`
`?
`
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`
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`IDENTIFY EXISTING PODCAST SUBSCRIPTION(S)
`
`
`
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`SELECT FIRST (NEXT) PODCAST
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`
`
`
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`OF THE PODCAST
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`806
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`808
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`Page 00013
`
`Page 00013
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Mar. 30, 2010
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`U.S. Patent
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`Mar. 30, 2010
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 15 of 23
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`
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`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 16 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
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`
`Page 00018
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 17 of 23
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`9US7
`
`686,215 B2
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`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 18 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`900
`
`
`
`CREATE PORTABLE PODCAST
`SUBSCRIPTION FILE (PPSF)
`
`MAKE THE PORTABLE PRODUCT
`
`
`
`
`SUBSCRIPTION FILE
`
`AVAILABLE TO OTHERS
`
`FIG. 9
`
`902
`
`904
`
`Page 00020
`
`Page 00020
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 19 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`1000
`
`
`
`OBTAIN A PORTABLE PODCAST
`SUBSCRIPTION FILE (PPSF)
`
`1002
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`
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`TO OPEN
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`
`
`7
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` LEAST A FEED URL TO THE
`
`ASSOCIATED PODCAST
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`1010
`
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`
`PODCAST
`
`1012
`
`FIG. 10
`
`Page 00021
`
`Page 00021
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 20 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`
`
`DATA
`
`NEHNORK
`
`
`
`PODCAST
`
`HOST
`
`SERVER
`
`PODCAST
`
`
`
`
`
`I
`
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`
`1116
`
`1114
`
`1112
`
`CUENT
`
`
`
`DEVEE
`B
`
`
`1104
`
`FIG. 11
`
`Page00022
`
`Page 00022
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 21 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`1200
`/
`
`1202
`
`
`
`
`PODCAST
`U PDATE
`?
`
`ACCESS RSS FEED TO ACQUIRE
`EPISODE INFORMATION FOR
`THE PODCAST
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`DETERMINE NEW EPISODES
`
`BASED ON THE ACQUIRED
`EPISODE INFORMATION
`
`
`
`1204
`
`1206
`
` NEW
`
`EPISODES
`
`TO
`
`DOWN LOAD
`
`?
`
`DETERMINE WHETHER PODCAST
`IS INACTIVE
`
`
`1212
`
`
`
`PODCAST
`
`INACTIVE
`?
`
`DOWNLOAD THE NEW EPISODES
`
`FIG. 12
`
`Page 00023
`
`Page 00023
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 22 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`
`
`1300
`
`/
`
`1302
`
`
`
`
`IS
`EPISODE
`
`
`DOWNLOAD
`
`
`COUNT
`
`
`MORE
`THAN
`
`
`M DAYS
`
`SINCE DATE
`
`
`OF INITIAL
`
`EPISODE
`
`DOWN LOAD
`
`
`
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`
`
`
`
` CLIENT
`ACTIVE
`
`
`SINCE DATE
`
`
`OF INITIAL
`
`EPISODE
`
`
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`?
`
`RENDER PODCAST ACTIVE
`
`
`RENDER PODCAST INACTIVE
`
`
`
`
`Page 00024
`
`Page 00024
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 30, 2010
`
`Sheet 23 of 23
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`
`
`CONDITION
`
`RESET
`
`?
`
`
`
`RESET EPISODE DOWNLOAD COUNT
`
`RESET DATE OF INITIAL EPISODE
`
`DOWNLOAD
`
`
`
`
`
`
`FIG. 14
`
`1400
`
`/
`
`1404
`
`1406
`
`
`
`
`Page 00025
`
`Page 00025
`
`

`

`1
`TECHNIQUES AND SYSTEMS FOR
`SUPPORTING PODCASTING
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`US 7,686,215 B2
`
`2
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`5
`
`The present invention relates to podcasts and, more par-
`ticularly, to acquiring and playing podcasts on a portable
`media device.
`
`This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 1 19 (e) to
`(i) US. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/683,056, filed
`May 21, 2005, and entitled “TECHNIQUES AND SYS-
`TEMS FOR SUPPORTING PODCASTING”and (ii) US.
`Provisional Patent Application No. 60/693,641, filed Jun. 25,
`2005, and entitled “TECHNIQUES AND SYSTEMS FOR
`SUPPORTING PODCASTING” each being incorporated by
`reference herein for all purposes in their entireties.
`This application is related to: (i) US. patent application
`Ser. No. 1 1/166,333, filed concurrently herewith, and entitled
`“UTILIZATION OF PODCASTS ON PORTABLE MEDIA
`
`DEVICES”, which is hereby incorporated herein by refer-
`ence; (ii) US. patent application Ser. No. 11/166,332, filed
`concurrently herewith, and entitled “ACQUISITION, MAN-
`AGEMENT AND SYNCHRONIZATION OF
`POD-
`
`CASTS”, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein;
`(iii) US. patent application Ser. No. 11/114,914, filed Apr.
`25, 2005, and entitled “PUBLISHING, BROWSING, RAT-
`ING AND PURCHASING OF GROUPS OF MEDIA
`
`ITEMS”, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference;
`(iv) US. patent application Ser. No. 11/115,090, filedApr. 25,
`2005, and entitled “PUBLISHING, BROWSING AND PUR-
`CHASING OF GROUPS OF MEDIA ITEMS”, which is
`hereby incorporated herein by reference;
`(V) US. patent
`application Ser. No. 11/097,034, filed Apr. 1, 2005, and
`entitled “PERSISTENT GROUP OF MEDIA ITEMS FORA
`
`MEDIA DEVICE”, which is hereby incorporated herein by
`reference; (Vi) US. patent application Ser. No. 11/078,583,
`filed Mar. 11, 2005, and entitled “AUTOMATED CRE-
`ATION OF MEDIA ASSET ILLUSTRATION COLLAGE”;
`(Vii) US. patent application Ser. No. 10/833,399, filed Apr.
`27, 2004, and entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR
`CONFIGURABLE AUTOMATIC MEDIA SELECTION”,
`which is hereby incorporated by reference herein; (viii) US.
`patent application Ser. No. 10/832,984, filed Apr. 26, 2004,
`and entitled “GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR
`BROWSING, SEARCHING AND PRESENTING MEDIA
`ITEMS”;
`(ix) US. Provisional Patent Application No.
`60/622,280, filed Oct. 25, 2004, and entitled “ON-LINE
`PURCHASE OF DIGITAL MEDIA BUNDLES”; (X) US.
`Provisional Patent Application No. 60/620,223, filed Oct. 18,
`2004, and entitled “NETWORK-BASED PURCHASE AND
`DISTRIBUTION OF DIGITAL MEDIA ITEMS”, all of
`which are hereby incorporated by reference herein; (xi) US.
`patent application Ser. No. 10/833,879, filed Apr. 27, 2004,
`and entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SHARING
`
`PLAYLISTS”, which is hereby incorporated by reference
`herein; (xii) US. patent application Ser. No. 10/832,812, filed
`Apr. 26, 2004, and entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR
`SECURE NETWORK-BASED DISTRIBUTION OF CON-
`
`TENT”; (xiii) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/833,267,
`filed Apr. 26, 2004, and entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM
`FOR NETWORK-BASED PURCHASE AND DISTRIBU-
`
`TION OF MEDIA”; (xiv) US. patent application Ser. No.
`10/277,418, filed Oct. 21, 2002, and entitled “INTELLI-
`GENT INTERACTION BETWEEN MEDIA PLAYER
`
`AND HOST COMPUTER”, which is hereby incorporated
`herein by reference; and (xv) US. patent application Ser. No.
`10/198,639, filed Jul. 16, 2002, and entitled “METHOD AND
`SYSTEM FOR UPDATING PLAYLISTS”, which is hereby
`incorporated by reference herein.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2. Description of the Related Art
`A media player stores media assets, such as audio tracks,
`that can be played or displayed on the media player. One
`example of a portable media player is the iPod® media player,
`which is available from Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino,
`Calif. Often, a media player acquires its media assets from a
`host computer that serves to enable a user to manage media
`assets. In managing media assets, a user can create playlists
`for audio tracks. These playlists can be created at the host
`computer. Media assets within the playlists can then be cop-
`ied to the media player. As an example, the host computer can
`execute a media management application to create and man-
`age media assets. One example ofa media management appli-
`cation is iTunes® produced by Apple Computer, Inc.
`Podcasts are typically used to share content from websites.
`Podcasts are associated with Really Simple Syndication
`(RSS) feeds which use a lightweight XML format. A podcast
`can be organized into episodes much like a radio or television
`program. An interested person can subscribe to receive pod-
`cast episodes that are subsequently published. This is
`achieved by the interested person using their computer to
`access a podcast website that hosts the RSS feed. The inter-
`ested person can then subscribe the RSS feed such that their
`computer occasionally re-visits the podcast website to check
`for any new podcast episodes. Typically, if a new podcast
`episode is available, it is downloaded to the computer. There-
`after, the interested user can play the podcast episode at their
`computer in the same manner as other audio files (e. g., MP3
`files). A utility program can be used to download the audio
`files to a portable media player (e.g., MP3 player). One
`example of such a conventional utility program is “iPodder”
`which is a small program that runs on one’s computer to
`download audio files to one’s portable media player.
`Unfortunately, podcasts are conventionally not easily man-
`aged on host computer. Podcasts often dynamically change as
`new episodes are released. Management of such dynamic
`media assets is complicated. Additionally, to the extent that
`the host computer desires to support a portable media player,
`the host computer needs to manage the transfer of podcast
`data to the portable media player.
`Thus, there is a need for techniques to manage and use
`podcasts on computers.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The invention pertains to improved podcasts and tech-
`niques that facilitate their use. The improved techniques can
`pertain to creating, publishing, hosting, accessing, subscrib-
`ing, managing, transferring, and/or playing podcasts.
`According to one aspect, a client application can subscribe
`to podcasts and then automatically monitor the podcasts for
`updates. When updates to the podcasts are available (e. g., new
`episodes), the updates can be downloaded to the client appli-
`cation. However, in the event that user interest in a podcast
`becomes inadequate, downloading of further updates can be
`restricted. According to another aspect, a podcast can be
`subscribed to through use of a portable subscription file. The
`portable subscription files are portable and transferable
`across networks,
`thereby providing a convenient way to
`facilitate subscription to podcasts. According to still another
`aspect, podcast feeds can be enhanced to include segment
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`US 7,686,215 B2
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`3
`elements and other metadata. The segment links and time
`indications can be provided for each of the segments. A client
`application that present a podcast to a user can provide an
`improved graphical user interface through use ofthe segment
`elements and other metadata.
`
`The invention can be implemented in numerous ways,
`including as a method, system, device, apparatus (including
`graphical user interface), or computer readable medium. Sev-
`eral embodiments of the invention are discussed below.
`
`As a method for subscribing to a podcast, one embodiment
`of the invention includes at least the acts of: receiving a
`portable subscription file that is used to facilitate subscribing
`to the podcast; accessing the portable subscription file to
`obtain podcast information; and subscribing to the podcast
`using the podcast information.
`As a computer readable medium including at least com-
`puter program code for subscribing to a podcast, one embodi-
`ment of the invention includes at least: computer program
`code for receiving a user selection of a portable subscription
`file that is used to facilitate subscribing to the podcast; com-
`puter program code for launching a media management appli-
`cation in response to the user selection; computer program
`code for parsing the portable subscription file to obtain pod-
`cast information; and computer program code for subscribing
`to the podcast via the media management application using
`the podcast information.
`As a portable subscription file, one embodiment of the
`includes at least: an application identifier; and a network
`address for a podcast feed.
`As a method for acquiring podcast information at a client
`application, the podcast information being acquired from a
`podcast hosting server via a network, one embodiment of the
`invention includes at least the acts of: accessing a podcast
`feed from the podcast hosting server via the network to
`acquire episode information for the podcast; determining one
`or more new episodes based on the acquired episode infor-
`mation; determining whether the podcast is still active at the
`client application; and receiving, at the client application, the
`one or more new episodes from the podcast hosting server
`over the network so long as it is determined that the podcast is
`still active at the client application.
`As a computer readable medium including at least com-
`puter program code for acquiring digital multimedia asset
`information at a client application, the digital multimedia
`asset information being acquired from a digital multimedia
`asset hosting server via a network, one embodiment of the
`invention includes at
`least: computer program code for
`accessing a digital multimedia asset feed from the digital
`multimedia asset hosting server via the network to acquire
`episode information for the digital multimedia asset; com-
`puter program code for determining one or more new epi-
`sodes based on the acquired episode information; computer
`program code for determining whether the client application
`or a user thereof has shown adequate interest in the digital
`multimedia asset; and computer program code for receiving,
`at the client application, the one or more new episodes from
`the digital multimedia asset hosting server over the network
`so long as it is determined that the client application or a user
`thereof has shown adequate interest in the digital multimedia
`asset.
`
`As a podcast feed, one embodiment of the invention
`includes a plurality of segment elements, each ofthe segment
`elements including a segment link for a multimedia element
`and a time indication associated with the segment elements.
`Other aspects and advantages ofthe invention will become
`apparent from the following detailed description taken in
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`conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illus-
`trate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The invention will be readily understood by the following
`detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying
`drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like
`structural elements, and in which:
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a media system according to
`one embodiment of the invention.
`
`FIGS. 2A and 2B are flow diagrams of a podcast submis-
`sion process according to one embodiment of the invention.
`FIGS. 3A and 3B are flow diagrams of a podcast publica-
`tion process according to one embodiment of the invention.
`FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an authentication process
`according to one embodiment of the invention.
`FIG. 5A is a screenshot of a network address submission
`
`page according to one exemplary embodiment.
`FIG. 5B is a screenshot of a podcast preview page accord-
`ing to one exemplary embodiment.
`FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a media store podcast interac-
`tion process according to one embodiment of the invention.
`FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an integrated podcast acquisi-
`tion process according to one embodiment of the invention.
`FIG. 8A is a flow diagram a podcast update process accord-
`ing to one embodiment of the invention.
`FIG. 8B is a screenshot of a podcast base page according to
`one exemplary embodiment of the invention.
`FIG. 8C is a screenshot of a podcast page according to one
`exemplary embodiment of the invention.
`FIG. 8D is a screenshot of the podcast page having a
`subscribe confirmation dialog according to one exemplary
`embodiment of the invention.
`
`FIG. SE is a screenshot of a podcast availability page
`according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention.
`FIG. 8F is a screenshot of a podcast availability page
`according to another exemplary embodiment ofthe invention.
`FIG. 8G is a screenshot of a podcast availability page
`according to another exemplary embodiment ofthe invention.
`FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a podcast subscription file
`creation process according to one embodiment of the inven-
`tion.
`
`FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a podcast subscription file
`usage process according to one embodiment of the invention.
`FIG. 11 is a podcast subscription system according to one
`embodiment of the invention.
`
`FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of a podcast update process
`according to one embodime