`
`US008230099B2
`
`(12)
`
`United States Patent
`Weel
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 8,230,099 B2
`Jul. 24, 2012
`
`(54)
`
`(75)
`
`(73)
`
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SHARING
`PLAYLISTS
`
`Inventor: Martin Weel. Modjeska. CA (US)
`
`Assignee: Dryden Enterprises, LLC. Wilmington.
`DE (US)
`
`1*)
`
`Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer. the temt ofthis
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(1)) by 705 days.
`
`(21)
`
`App]. No.: 12/114,286
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`May 2, 2008
`
`(65)
`
`(62)
`
`(51)
`
`(52)
`(5-8)
`
`(56)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2008/0208379 A1
`
`Aug. 28. 2008
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`Division of application No. 10/840.110. filed on May
`5. 2004.
`
`Int. Cl.
`
`(2006.01)
`G06F 15/16
`709/231: 709/217; 709/218: 709/219
`US. Cl.
`Field of Classification Search .................. 709/231.
`709/2177219
`
`See application file for complete search history.
`
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`(Continued)
`
`Primaw Examiner 7 Mohamed Wasel
`(74) Attorney Agent. or Firm 7Wilhrow & Terranova.
`PLLC
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A system for sharing playlists utilizes a network. such as the
`Internet. A player device other than a general purpose com—
`puter. such as a dedicated media player or a remote control for
`a dedicated media player. is in communication with the server
`over the network. The player device is configured to receive a
`playlist. queue the playlist. display the playlist. and play a
`selection from the playlist. A user profile may be used to
`identify playlists that are likely to contain selections of inter—
`est to the user.
`
`12 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`17
`
`Page 1 of 15
`
`LG EXHIBIT 1001
`
`Page 1 of 15
`
`LG EXHIBIT 1001
`
`

`

`US 8,230,099 B2
`Page 2
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`US 8,230,099 B2
`Page 3
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`
`Page 3 0f 15
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`Page 3 of 15
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 24, 2012
`
`Sheet 1 of6
`
`US 8,230,099 B2
`
`SERVER
`
`12
`
`11
`
`CLIENT
`
`CLIENT
`
`CLIENT
`
`CLIENT
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`DEDICATED
`
`MEDIA PLAYER
`
`FIG. 1
`
`Page 4 of 15
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`Page 4 of 15
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 24, 2012
`
`Sheet 2 of6
`
`US 8,230,099 B2
`
`SERVER
`
`12
`
`11
`
`CLIENT
`
`CLIENT
`
`CLIENT
`
`CLIENT
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`18
`
`REMOTE
`CONTROL
`
`...............
`
`DEDICATED
`MEDIA PLAYER
`
`
`
`‘7
`
`FIG. 2
`
`Page 5 0f 15
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`Page 5 of 15
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`US. Patent
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`Jul. 24, 2012
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`Sheet 3 of6
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`US 8,230,099 B2
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`USER FILLS OUT A
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`QUESTIONNAIRE TO DEFINE A
`
`PROFILE
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`32
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`31
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`USERS DEVICE
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`USER'S PROFILE IS
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`COMMUNICATED TO A SERVER
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`USER'S PROFILE IS COMPARED
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`TO OTHER PROFILES STORED
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`IN THE SERVER
`
`ONE OR MORE PLAYLISTS,
`CORRESPONDING TO THOSE
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`PROFILES THAT BEST MATCH
`THE USER'S PROFILE, ARE
`COMMUNICATED TO THE
`
`FIG. 3
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`Page 6 0f 15
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 24, 2012
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`Sheet 4 of6
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`US 8,230,099 B2
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`42
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`CLIENT
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`CLIENT
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`CLIENT
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`CLIENT
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`43
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`44
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`45
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`46
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`47
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`DEDICATED
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`MEDIA PLAYER
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`FIG. 4
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`Page 7 0f 15
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`US. Patent
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`Jul. 24, 2012
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`Sheet 5 of6
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`US 8,230,099 B2
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`42
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`CLIENT
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`CLIENT
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`CLIENT
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`CLIENT
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`43
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`44
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`48
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`REMOTE
`CONTROL
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`...............
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`DEDICATED
`MEDIA PLAYER
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`FIG. 5
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`US. Patent
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`Jul. 24, 2012
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`Sheet 6 of6
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`US 8,230,099 B2
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`6‘
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`62
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`63
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`FIG. 6
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`USER'S PROFILE IS
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`USER FILLS OUT A
`
`QUESTIONNAIRE TO DEFINE A
`PROFILE
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`COMMUNICATED TO A PEER
`
`
`
`
`
`USER'S PROFILE IS COMPARED
`
`TO OTHER PROFILES STORED
`IN THE PEER
`
`
`
`
`ANOTHER PEER
`
`
`
`COMPUTER IS
`'3 AT LEAST
`IDENTIFIED
`ONE MATCH
`
`
`FOUND?
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`65
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`67
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`YES
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`ONE OR MORE PLAYLISTS.
`CORRESPONDING TO THOSE
`PROFILES THAT BEST MATCH
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`USERS DEVICE
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`THE USER'S PROFILE. ARE
`COMMUNICATED TO THE
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`US 8,230,099 B2
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`1
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SHARING
`PLAYLISTS
`
`RELATED APPLICATIONS
`
`This patent application is a Divisional ofU.S. patent appli-
`cation Ser. No. 10/840.110. filed May 5. 2004. entitled “Sys-
`tem and Method for Sharing Playlists.” which is hereby incor-
`porated herein by reference in its entirety. This patent
`application is also related to US. patent application Ser. No.
`10/840104. filed May 5. 2004. entitled “Hybrid Set-Top Box
`for Digital Entertainment Network": US. patent application
`Ser. No. 10/840109. filed May 5. 2004. entitled “Playlist
`Downloading for Digital Entertainment Network”; U.S.
`patent application Ser. No. 10/840108. filed May 5. 2004.
`entitled “Device Discovery for Digital Entertainment Net-
`work"; and US. patertt application Ser. No. 12/019.015_. filed
`Jan. 24. 2008. entitled “Device Discovery for Digital Enter-
`tainment Networ ”. which is a divisional of the above-refer-
`enced US. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,108, all of
`which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates generally to the sharing of
`playlists. The present invention relates more particularly to a
`system and method for sharing playlists wherein a dedicated
`media player is configured to receive. store. and display play-
`lists and to play selections from playlists.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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`Playlists for music and movies are well known. A playlist
`is a list ofa user’s favorite selections. Popular personal corn-
`puter (PC) media playing programs. such as Windows Media
`Player (a trademark of Microsoft Corporation). offer the
`capability for a user to compile a playlist. 'lhe user may
`subsequently select items to be played from the playlist and
`the media playing program then plays the selected items. The
`use ofsuch a playlist simplifies the selection process and thus
`makes listening to music or viewing movies easier and more
`enjoyable.
`Typically. such selection is accomplished by viewing a
`playlist within the media playing program and by designating
`which selection is to be played. The selection to be played
`may be designated by clicking on it with a mouse. for
`exzunple.
`Playlists also facilitate the playing of a plurality of selec-
`tions in a particular order. That is. the playlist may be corn-
`piled in an order in which the playing of selections therefrom
`is desired. The selections may then be automatically played
`sequentially from the playlist. Typically. selections may also
`be played randomly from a playlist.
`Playlists are typically compiled by reviewing a list of selec-
`tions available for play and then choosing those selections _‘
`that the user would like to have on the playlist. Thus. a user
`may review songs that are stored on a personal computer‘s
`hard drive and compile a playlist therefrom. for example.
`The playlist may subsequently be edited or updated as new
`selections become available and/or the user’s preferences
`change. Thus. a user‘s playlist may reflect a group of selec-
`tions that was compiled over an extended length oftime. such
`as several years.
`The sharing of playlists is also known. Popular file sharing
`programs. such as Kazaa (a trademark of Sharman Net-
`works). facilitate the sharing ofplaylists. Using such systems.
`it is possible for a user to download a list of songs or movies
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`that another individual has compiled. This list may then be
`used to make or modify a playlist for the user.
`Although such playlists and playlist sharing systems have
`proven generally suitable for their intended purposes. they
`possess inherent deficiencies. which detract from their overall
`ellbctiveness turd desirability. For exzunple. according to con-
`temporary methodology. playlists are only communicated to
`and used with general purpose computers. such as IBM com-
`patible personal computers (PCs) and Apple computers.
`Further. there is no contemporary system for easily identi-
`fying people who have similar interest. such that their playlist
`cart be downloaded. Rather. according to contemporary meth-
`odology. playlists are obtained by searching on keywords.
`such as the titles of selections contained within the playlists.
`However. the mere fact that the person’s playlist has a par-
`ticular selection in it does not necessarily mean that the play-
`list contains other selections that a user may enjoy.
`As such. although the prior art has recognized. to a limited
`extent. the problems of finding and using playlists. the pro-
`posed solutions have. to date. been ineffective in providing a
`satisfactory remedy. Therefore. it is desirable to provide a
`system and method for sharing playlists. wherein the playlists
`are communicated to. stored in. and displayed upon player
`devices other than general purpose computers. It is also desir-
`able to provide a method for identifying playlists that are
`likely to contain selections that will be enjoyed by a user.
`
`BRIEF SUMMARY 01“ THE INVENTION
`
`While the apparatus and method has or will be described
`for the sake of grammatical fluidity with functional explana-
`tions. it is to be expressly understood that the claims. tutless
`expressly fomiulated under 35 USC 112. are not to be cort—
`stmed as necessarily limited in any way by the construction of
`“means" or “steps“ limitations. but are to be accorded the full
`scope of the meaning and equivalents of the definition pro—
`vided by the claims under thejudicial doctrine ot‘equivalents.
`and in the case where the claims are expressly formulated
`under 35 USC 1 12 are to be accorded full statutory equiva—
`lents under 35 USC l 12.
`
`The present invention specifically addresses and alleviates
`the above mentioned deficiencies associated with the prior
`art. More particularly. according to one aspect the present
`invention comprises a system for sharing playlists. wherein
`the system comprises a dedicated media player that is con-
`figured to receive a playlist and to display the playlist. Selec-
`tions from the playlist may thus be chosen turd played. as
`desired.
`
`As used herein. a dedicated media player is defined as a
`media player other than a general purpose computer. Further
`details on the use of this term and examples of dedicated
`media players are provided below.
`According to eulother aspect. the present invention corn-
`prises a system for sharing playlists. wherein the system
`comprises a network and a player device. The player device
`typically comprises either a dedicated media player or a
`remote control for a dedicated media player.
`The player device is in communication with the network
`and the player device is configured to receive a playlist. store
`the playlist. display the playlist. and play a selection front the
`playlist.
`The network may comprise any desired type of network.
`Preferably.
`the network comprises a wide area network
`(WAN). such as the Internet. However. the network may
`alternatively comprise a local area network (LAN).
`Player devices include music players. video players. and
`remote controls for music players and video players. More
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`US 8,230,099 B2
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`specific examples of player devices include MP3 players.
`cellular telephones. set top boxes. a stereos. televisions. car
`stereos. video monitors. and video storage player devices. as
`well as remote controls for any ofthese devices. One example
`ot‘a video storage player device is TiV’o (a trademark ofTiVo.
`Inc.).
`The player device may be a portable player device that is
`configured to receive streaming audio. The player device may
`also be a non-portable player device that is configured to
`receive streaming audio and/or a remote control therefor.
`The player device may comprise a network adapter. such as
`an Ethernet card. to facilitate communication with a network.
`The player device may comprise either a wired or wireless
`network adapter. Examples of wireless network adapters
`include those that comply with the Bluetooth (a trademark of 15
`Bluetooth SIG, lnc.) standard and those that comply with the
`WiFi (a trademark of the WiFi Alliance) standard.
`The player device preferably comprises an LCD display for
`displaying the playlist. However, any other suitable type of
`display may similarly be utilized.
`The player device is preferably configured to facilitate
`searching for playlists. That is, the player device upon which
`the playlists are stored zuid displayed is preferably also
`capable oflocating. requesting and retrieving playlists. pref-
`erably by merely pushing a button.
`Alternatively. playlists may be located and requested via
`the use ofa general purpose computer or the like. Playlists do
`not have to be requested by the same device that receives the
`playlist. For example. a general purpose computer may be
`used to request playlists that are then communicated frotn
`other general purpose computers or other dedicated media
`players to the user‘s player device.
`According to one aspect. the present invention comprises a
`server upon which a plurality of playlists is stored and the
`player device is configured to receive playlists from the
`server. Thus. the player device may participate in the network
`as a client according to a client/server model of the network.
`According to anotheraspect. the present invention does not
`include a server. Rather. the present invention comprises a
`plurality ofother player devices and/or general purpose com-
`puters upon which a plurality of playlists are stored and the
`user’ 5 player device is configured to receive playlists from the
`other player devices and/or general purpose computers. Thus,
`the user‘s player device may participate in the network as a
`peer according to a peer-to-peer model of the network.
`Preferably, the player device is configured to store a plu-
`rality ol‘dil‘ferent playlists. Thus. the user may select a par-
`ticular playlist according to the user’s location. whom the
`user is with. the type ofplayer device the selection is to be
`played upon. or the preference of the user based upon any
`objective or subjective criteria or merely based upon a whim.
`According to another aspect. the present invention com-
`prises a player device defined by a dedicated media player
`and/or a remote control for the media player. wherein the
`player device comprises a receiving circuit forreceiving play-
`lists and a display for displaying the playlists.
`According to another aspect. the present invention com-
`prises a server within which is stored a plurality of playlists.
`The server is configured to communicate the playlist to a
`player device that is not a general purpose computer.
`According to another aspect. the present invention cont-
`prises a method for sharing playlists. wherein the method
`comprises communicating a playlist to a player device com-
`prising a dedicated media player and/or a remote control for
`the dedicated media player.
`According to another aspect. the present invention com-
`prises a method for sharing playlists. wherein the tnethod
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`comprises communicating a playlist to a player device that is
`not a general purpose computer.
`Preferably. the method comprises defininga user profile for
`a recipient of the playlist and matching that user profile to a
`user profile of another person. wherein the communicated
`playlist is the playlist of the other person.
`The profile preferably includes the type of music listened
`to. at least one artist. at
`least one selection. at least one
`instrument. at least one record company. a region. a country.
`a state. a city. a school. and/or an ethnicity. Thus. a user may
`enhance the likelihood of finding a playlist that contains
`selections enjoyed by another person living in the same city as
`the user and having the same ethnicity. for example.
`According to another aspect. the present invention cont-
`prises a method of defining a playlist. wherein the method
`comprises defining a user profile and the userprofile is used to
`determine selections that may be enjoyed by a user.
`The user profile is preferably compared to user profiles of
`others to detemiine a match. Then, a playlist of the other
`person forwhich a match was determined is communicated to
`the user and used to at least partially define a playlist for the
`user.
`
`Optionally. the user profile is used to define a statistical
`aggregate of other users and the playlist is detemiined by the
`statistical aggregate. Thus, the playlist represent an average
`of the selections enjoyed by a group of other people.
`Optionally. the user profile comprises a list of selections
`enjoyed by the user and a frequency ofwhich these selections
`are played. For example. the user profile may comprise a list
`of selections enjoyed by the userand a rating ofthe selections
`by the user.
`The method optionally cotnprises defining a period of time
`and using the period of time to determine which selections
`were popular then. The playlist comprises at least some of
`these selections.
`As one example. the method further comprises defining a
`playlist. which comprises at least some selections that were
`popular during approxintately the last week. As a further
`example. the method further comprises defining a playlist.
`which comprises at least sortie selections that were popular
`during approximately the last month. As yet a further
`example. the method further comprises defining a playlist.
`which comprises at least sortie selections that were popular
`during approximately the last year.
`Thus. a user may enhance the likelihood of finding a play-
`list
`that contains selections enjoyed by another person,
`wherein the selections were released within the last month.
`for example.
`The playlist may optionally be edited to add or remove
`selections therefrom.
`
`The user’s playlist may optionally be updated by adding
`selections that have been added to the playlist of another.
`Similarly. the user’s playlist may optionally be updated by
`removing selections that have been removed from the playlist
`ot‘another. Such updating may optionally be performed auto-
`matically.
`Optionally. selections may automatically be added to a
`playlist when those selections are played in excess of a pre-
`determined rate by the player. Similarly. selections may auto-
`matically be deleted from a playlist when those selections are
`played less than a predetermined rate by the player.
`Optionally. one or more selections on a playlist may be
`designated as private. Any selections on the playlist that are
`designated as private are not shared with others.
`Optionally. any selections on the playlist that are not com-
`patible with the player with which the playlist is associated
`are removed therefrom. Compatibility may be due to hard-
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`US 8,230,099 B2
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`5
`ware limitations of the player. For example. an MP3 player
`may not be able to play other formats ofaudio and may not be
`able to play the audio tracks ol‘a video selection (such as a
`movie). Therefore. if such material is included in a playlist. it
`may automatically be deleted therefrom. Optionally. such
`deletion may require user approval.
`Further. a music player may have limitations that the user
`desires to be taken into account when a playlist is made or
`updated. For example. a portable audio player may not be able
`to adequately reproduce bass sounds. Thus. a user may prefer
`that a playlist for that device not contain selections for which
`good base reproduction is considered to be desirable. There—
`fore. if such material is initially included in a playlist. it may
`automatically be deleted therefrom. Optionally. such deletion
`may require user approval.
`Further. the present invention may be configured so as to
`remove selections from a playlist that are not considered by
`the user to be compatible with the location. That is. some
`selections may not play well do to ambient acoustics. Further.
`seine selections may not be appropriate for a given location.
`For example, selections that contain material that is not con-
`sidered by the user to be suitable for minors may be omitted
`from a player that is located in a family area.
`Either individual selections or categories ofselectiens may
`be removed from a playlist in the above described manner.
`Thus. an entire genre may be removed from a playlist. if
`desired.
`
`Optionally. one or more selections on a playlist may be
`designated as preferred. so as to indicate that the selections
`are particularly enjoyable for the user. Indeed. a user’s play-
`list may contain only those selections that have been desig-
`nated as preferred on the playlists of others.
`According to the present invention. playlists may be made
`and used with a variety of different types of media players.
`For example. playlists comprising audio selections such as
`music. speeches. comedy routines. and the like may be made
`and used with audio players. Similarly. playlists comprising
`movies. filmstrips. videos. and the like may be made and used
`with video players.
`Indeed. audio playlist may contain video selections and
`vice-versa. As those skilled in the art will appreciate. in sortie
`instances it may be desirable to the play the audio tracks of a
`movie on an audio player and it may similarly be desirable to
`play songs (without any accompanying video) on a video
`player. For example.
`it may be desirable to play the
`soundtrack from a movie on an audio player.
`'lhe present invention is not limited to audio and video
`selection. According to the present invention. playlists of
`games. software applications. or any other desired items or
`information might similarly be made and used. For example.
`lists of nightclubs or restaurants that have been enjoyed by
`others may be obtained by using profiles according to the
`present invention.
`According to another aspect. the present invention C0111-
`prises a method for managing media content on a network.
`wherein the method comprises using information about a
`user’s previous playing to define a playlist and communicat-
`ing the playlist to a player device other than a general purpose
`computer with which the playlist can be stored. displayed,
`and selections made for playing therefrom.
`According to anothe