U.S. patent application number 13/204248 was filed with the patent office on 2011-11-24 for blocking of unlicensed audio content in video files on a video hosting website.
This patent application is currently assigned to GOOGLE INC.. Invention is credited to Franck Chastagnol, Vijay Karunamurthy, Matthew Liu, Christopher Maxcy.
Application Number | 20110289598 13/204248 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40676834 |
Filed Date | 2011-11-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110289598 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chastagnol; Franck ; et
al. |
November 24, 2011 |
Blocking of Unlicensed Audio Content in Video Files on a Video
Hosting Website
Abstract
A system, method and various software tools enable a video
hosting website to automatically identified unlicensed audio
content in video files uploaded by users, and initiate a process by
which the user can replace the unlicensed content with licensed
audio content. An audio replacement tool is provided that enables
the user to permanently mute the original, unlicensed audio content
of a video file, or select a licensed audio file from a collection
of licensed audio, and insert the selected in place of the original
audio. Where a video file includes unlicensed audio, the video
hosting website provides access to video files to a client device,
along with an indication to the client device to mute the audio
during playback of the video.
Inventors: |
Chastagnol; Franck; (Palo
Alto, CA) ; Karunamurthy; Vijay; (San Francisco,
CA) ; Liu; Matthew; (Fremont, CA) ; Maxcy;
Christopher; (Menlo Park, CA) |
Assignee: |
GOOGLE INC.
Mountain View
CA
|
Family ID: |
40676834 |
Appl. No.: |
13/204248 |
Filed: |
August 5, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12712940 |
Feb 25, 2010 |
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13204248 |
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11674638 |
Feb 13, 2007 |
7707224 |
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12712940 |
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60856501 |
Nov 3, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
726/28 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/8545 20130101;
G06F 2221/0713 20130101; G06F 16/64 20190101; G06F 3/04842
20130101; G06Q 30/06 20130101; Y10S 707/944 20130101; G06F 21/6218
20130101; G06F 16/7867 20190101; G06F 3/0482 20130101; Y10S 707/916
20130101; G06F 16/433 20190101; G06F 16/686 20190101; G06F 21/105
20130101; H04N 21/4542 20130101; G06F 16/00 20190101; H04N 21/233
20130101; Y10S 707/914 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
726/28 |
International
Class: |
G06F 21/00 20060101
G06F021/00 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method for storing video files on a video
hosting website, the video files containing audio content, the
method executed by a computer and comprising: receiving a video
file uploaded from a user at a video hosting website, the video
file including audio content; determining whether the audio content
included in the video file is an unlicensed audio content owned by
a content owner other than the user that uploaded the video file;
responsive to the audio content being an unlicensed audio content,
determining the content owner's unlicensed use policy; and
responsive to the unlicensed use policy, storing the video file
with an indication to implement the unlicensed use policy upon
playback.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the unlicensed use policy
describes muting the audio of the video upon playback.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the unlicensed use policy
describes sharing revenue associated with the playback with the
content owner.
4. A video hosting website, comprising: an ingest server computer
system configured to receive an uploaded video file from a client
device of a user, the video file containing audio content; a rights
management computer system configured to: receive the uploaded
video file; determine whether the audio content included in the
video file is an unlicensed audio content belonging to a content
owner other than the user that uploaded the video file; determine
the content owner's unlicensed use policy; and store the video file
with an indication to implement the unlicensed use policy upon
playback.
5. The video hosting website of claim 4, wherein the unlicensed
policy describes muting the audio of the video file upon
playback.
6. The video hosting website of claim 4, wherein the unlicensed
policy describes sharing revenue with the content owner.
7. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory
computer-readable storage medium comprising executable code, the
code when executed by a computer processor performs operations
comprising: receiving a video file uploaded from a user at a video
hosting website, the video file including audio content;
determining whether the audio content included in the video file is
an unlicensed audio content owned by a content owner other than the
user that uploaded the video file; responsive to the audio content
being an unlicensed audio content, determining the content owner's
unlicensed use policy; responsive to the unlicensed use policy,
storing the video file with an indication to implement the
unlicensed use policy upon playback.
8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the unlicensed
use policy describes muting the audio of the video upon
playback.
9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the unlicensed
use policy describes sharing revenue with the content owner
associated with the playback.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 12,712,940 filed Feb. 25, 2011 which is a continuation of U.S.
application Ser. No. 11/674,638 filed Feb. 13, 2007 which issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 7,707,224 on Apr. 27, 2010, which claims the benefit
of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/856,501 filed Nov. 3, 2006,
each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates generally to web-based video
display and specifically to software tools and methods for managing
audio and other content in an online content distribution system,
in relationship to the content owner's copyrights.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The sharing of video content on websites has developed in a
worldwide phenomenon, supported by dozens of websites. On average,
over 100,000 videos are posted every day to various video hosting
websites, and this number is increasing, as the tools and
opportunities for capturing video become easy to use and more
widespread. In some cases, the individuals who post videos are
unaware that others may have rights in the video content, audio
content, or both or a particular video. For example, it is
relatively simple to find copies of music videos by well known
artists, as well as homemade video that include audio soundtracks
from copyrighted music works.
[0004] When a video is posted that contains audio content that is
owned by a copyright holder such as music label or music publisher,
or individual, that content owner has the right under current
copyright law, particularly the Digital Millennium Copyright Act,
to issue a "takedown" notice to the hosting website, requesting
that it remove the identified video. Currently in the United
States, the website must then remove the identified video and
provide an opportunity for the user who posted the video to
challenge the notice. The handling of takedown notices results in
increased overhead in terms of mechanisms to handle the notices and
user responses in order to ensure legal compliance. In addition,
the removal of posted videos is disruptive of the overall user
experience on the website.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0005] Various systems, methods and software tools enable users who
post videos on a video hosting website to manage the audio content
of the videos, including replacing ("swapping") audio content of a
video, permanently muting the audio content, or entirely removing
the video file from the site. An audio replacement software tool is
interoperative with the video hosting website to enable the user to
replace unlicensed audio content, which would otherwise be subject
to a takedown notice, for example, with either licensed audio
content or license-free content. The video hosting website can
thereby proactively avoid takedown notices from being issued, and
thereby reduce the costs and complications associated with the
compliance with the takedown notices. In addition, by enabling
users to swap unlicensed content for licensed content, the site can
establish revenue sharing arrangements with the content owners of
the licensed content. The content owners benefit from increased
distribution of their audio content, and in some cases receive
appropriate compensation for its use.
[0006] Another aspect of the system is the integration of the audio
replacement tool and system support with a rights claiming
management system. The rights claiming management system includes a
content identification system, which is adapted to process uploaded
video content and identify whether the audio content thereof is
owned by a third party, such as a music label or publisher. When
the audio content is identified as belonging to a third party that
has not licensed its use on the video hosting site, the user who
uploaded the content is notified of a possible copyright
infringement, and directed to use an audio editing tool provided by
the video hosting website to manage the audio content of the file.
The content owner may also be notified of the presence of the
unlicensed content at this time or subsequently; a content claim
record is created in a content claim database. This record can be
used to track claims for content ownership and revenue sharing.
[0007] The video file with the unlicensed content can be managed at
the video hosting site in a number of different ways. First, the
video can be posted for general access, but with a file setting
(e.g., a "mute flag") that indicates to a video player to mute the
audio content during playback; in addition a message is displayed
on the playback page (or in the player) indicating that the audio
content is being blocked. This allows other users to know why the
audio is not being played, instead of assuming that there is a
problem with the player or their computer. Alternatively, the video
content can be withheld from general access until the posting user
corrects the problem with the unlicensed audio content.
[0008] As noted above, the audio replacement tool provides the user
with the capability to replace the unlicensed audio content with
licensed content, to remove the video from the site, or to
permanently mute the audio content during playback. Where the user
uses the replacement tool to select and replace the unlicensed
content with licensed content, the existing unlicensed audio file
is removed from the video file, and the selected licensed audio
content is mapped to the video file. The claim record that
indicated the presence of the unlicensed content, can be closed,
and a new claim record instantiated to indicate that an instance of
licensed content, along with an indicator of a revenue sharing
policy that is associated with the audio content (alternatively,
the existing claim record can simply be updated to show the current
license status). Once the licensed content is associated with the
video file, the mute flag can be removed, and licensed audio
content played back with the video when needed; the associated
blocking message is also removed.
[0009] The audio replacement tool may be configured by the video
hosting site to be closed so that it can only access a restricted
library of licensed content, or can be configured to be open, so
that it can access any content available to the user via his
computer (e.g., locally stored audio files). The former
configuration is useful to ensure that only licensed content is
used to replace unlicensed content, so that the content providers
benefit from guaranteed use of their content (and potential revenue
share). The latter configuration is useful to afford maximum
flexibility and artist freedom to the posting users. The audio
replacement tool can further be variably configured (e.g., open for
some users, closed for others) depending on other criteria (e.g.,
payments, user status, promotions, etc.).
[0010] The audio replacement tool can be provided in a number of
different ways. One embodiment provides the audio replacement tool
as a browser-based tool (application) hosted by the video hosting
website. Another embodiment provides the audio replacement tool as
a standalone application executing on the user's computer, and
preferably pre-configured to access the libraries of licensed
content on the video hosting site.
[0011] In some of the described embodiments, the audio replacement
tool is used in conjunction with the rights management system and
the content identification system, following identification of
unlicensed audio content therein when the user posts a video file.
In another embodiment, the audio replacement tool can be used
independently of the content identification system. Here, the user
first uploads a video file (which may have either licensed audio
content, unlicensed audio content, user created audio content, or
no audio content) and accesses the audio replacement tool to add
(or replace) audio content to the video file. The user can select
an audio file from a library of licensed audio content. The
selected audio file is then combined with the video file to produce
a final video file. The final file is then posted for general
access. The content owner of the selected audio file is provided
with the appropriate revenue share for the use of the licensed
content.
[0012] The features and advantages described in this summary and
the following detailed description are not all-inclusive. Many
additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of
ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification,
and claims hereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system architecture for
providing audio replacement for uploaded video content.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a process flow for an automatic takedown
process
[0015] FIG. 3 is an illustration of the audio replacement tool.
[0016] FIG. 4 is an illustration of a web page showing the
messaging associated provided with the audio content of a video
file is blocked.
[0017] The figures depict various embodiments of the present
invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art
will readily recognize from the following discussion that
alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated
herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the
invention described herein.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0018] It is to be understood that the Figures and descriptions of
the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements
that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present
invention, while eliminating, for the purpose of clarity, many
other elements found in typical communication system and method of
using the same. Those of ordinary skill in the art may recognize
that other elements and/or steps are desirable and/or required in
implementing the present invention. However, because such elements
and steps are well known in the art, and because they do not
facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a
discussion of such elements and steps is not provided herein. The
disclosure herein is directed to all such variations and
modifications to such elements and methods known to those skilled
in the art.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system architecture in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown
in FIG. 1, a video hosting website 100 includes a front end server
140, a rights management system 130, an audio replacement tool 120,
a video server 110, an ingest server 115, and various databases,
including a user database 150, a licensed content database 200, a
video database 190. Many conventional features, such firewalls,
load balancers, application servers, failover servers, site
management tools, and so forth are not shown so as not obscure the
features of the system. A suitable website 100 for implementation
of the system is the YOUTUBE.TM. website, found at www.youtube.com;
other video hosting site are known as well, and can be adapted to
operate according the teaching disclosed herein. It will be
understood that the term "web site" represents any method of
uploading and downloading content and is not intended to be limited
to content uploaded or downloaded via the Internet or the HTTP
protocol. The various servers can be implemented as a single piece
of software or hardware or as multiple pieces of software or
hardware. In general, functions described in one embodiment as
being performed on the server side can also be performed on the
client side in other embodiments if appropriate. In addition, the
functionality attributed to a particular component can be performed
by different or multiple components operating together.
[0020] A client 170 executes a browser 171, and can connect to the
front end server 140 via a network 180, which is typically the
Internet, but may also be any network, including but not limited to
a LAN, a MAN, a WAN, a mobile, wired or wireless network, a private
network, or a virtual private network. While only a single client
170 and browser 171 are shown, it is understood that very large
numbers (e.g., millions) of clients are supported and can be in
communication with the website 100 at any time. The browser 171
include a video player (e.g., Flash.TM. from Adobe Systems, Inc.),
or any other player adapted for the video file formats used in the
site 100. A user can access a video from the site 100 by browsing a
catalog of videos, conducting searches on keywords, reviewing
playlists from other users or the system administrator (e.g.,
collections of videos forming channels), or viewing videos
associated with particular user group (e.g., communities). A
browser 171 can also access a video file indirectly, via an
embedded video 177 that is accessed via an embedded hyperlink in a
third party website 175.
[0021] Users of the clients 170 and browser 171 can upload content
(which can include, for example, video, audio, or a combination of
video and audio) to site 100 via network 180. The uploaded content
is processed by an ingest server 115, which processes the video for
storage in the video database 190. This processing can include
format conversion, compression, metadata tagging, and other data
processing. An uploaded content file is associated with the
uploading user, and so the user's account record is updated in the
user database 150 as needed.
[0022] For purposes of convenience and the description of one
embodiment, the uploaded content will be referred to a "videos" or
"video files", but no limitation on the types of content that can
be uploaded are intended by this terminology. Each uploaded video
is assigned a video identifier (id) when it is processed by the
ingest server 115. The ingest server 115 communicates with the
rights management system 130 to determine whether the uploaded
video is subject to rights of content owners other than the user
who uploaded the video.
[0023] The video database 190 is used to store the ingested videos.
The licensed content database 200 stores encoded audio files and
associated metadata, provided by their respective content owners.
The audio files are can be encoded at .mp3 files at 64 kbps, mono,
22.1 KHz, or better quality (e.g., 128 kbps, stereo, 44.2 KHz). The
metadata for each audio files includes an ISRC (or custom
identifier), artist, song title, album, label, genre, time length,
and optionally geo-restrictions that can be used for data
collection or content blocking on a geographic basis.
[0024] The rights management system is one means for processing the
video file to determine whether the audio content of the video file
is an unauthorized use of a content owner's licensed content. In
one embodiment, the rights management system 130 uses two types of
identification processes to make this determination. First, the
rights management system 130 generates a hash (e.g., MD5, SHA-n,
etc.) of the video file itself, to produce a file signature. This
signature (or hash code) is compared with an existing collection of
file signature of known licensed content. In this embodiment, the
licensed content would be audio files from music labels, publishes,
independent artists, or the like. The file signature can correspond
to any licensed content, including content that is available on the
site 100 as well as content that is not available on the site, but
only through other channels. This feature allows the system 130 to
identify unlicensed audio content, regardless of its availability
within the site 100. If the file signature matches the signature of
a licensed content file, then is it is determined that audio
content is unlicensed, and hence an infringement of the content
owner's rights in the licensed content file. In this case, the
content owner is determined for the licensed content, and the
owner's policy for revenue sharing or block is retrieved from the
claim database 134. If the policy is to block the content, then the
video file is marked as restricted, and thus not enabled for
general access in the video database 190; alternatively the file is
not loaded into the database 190 and is discarded. If the policy
indicates revenue sharing, then a claim record is established in
the claim database 134, indicating the particular video ID content,
content owner, and policy. A subsequent accounting process is run
periodically to allocate revenue to the content owner for the use
of the audio content. The parameters for allocation of revenue are
stored in association with the content owner's policy record in the
licensed content database 200.
[0025] If there is no match for the file signature, and the second
level of identification is provided by the content identification
system 131. The content identification system 131 employs an audio
fingerprint on the audio portion of the video file. The audio
fingerprint is based on analysis of spectral content of the audio
file (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.). A suitable content
identification system for processing audio fingerprints is
available from Audible Magic Corporation, of Los Gatos, Calif. A
fingerprint database 132 is maintained that contains the
fingerprints of licensed content from known content providers. The
fingerprint database 132 can contain fingerprints provided by
directly by the content owners, generated by the provider of the
content identification, or generated internally by the video
hosting website 100 using the appropriate analysis tools. The
fingerprints in the database 132 can correspond to any licensed
content, including content that is available on the site 100 as
well as content that is not available on the site, but only through
other channels. This feature allows the content identification
system 131 to identify unlicensed audio content, regardless of its
availability within the site 100. A more detailed description of
the file signature and fingerprint matching process is described in
the above referenced related application.
[0026] If the fingerprint of the audio content of the video file
does not match a known fingerprint, then is determined that the
audio content is not an unauthorized copy of a licensed content.
The video file is then enabled in the video database 190 for
general access by browsers. The video server 110 can access the
stored file and provide it to a requesting browser. If the
fingerprint of the audio content of the video file does match a
known fingerprint, then the automatic audio replacement process is
initiated.
[0027] FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of the automatic audio
replacement process, which can be executed by the rights management
system 130, or both other software components, as desired by the
system administrator. For the purposes of this explanation, FIG. 2
begins in response to the positive identification 202 of either a
file signature or the audio fingerprint. Having identified the
licensed content from the file signature or fingerprint, the rights
management system 130 has information that identifies the owner of
the content, and so retrieves 205 the owner's policy information
for handling instances of unlicensed content. Generally, the policy
will indicate whether to block the audio file from playback
entirely, or allow a revenue share for the audio content.
Optionally, the content owner can also be notified 207, for
example, by an email; alternatively, the content owner can be
notified in a batch process, either periodically (e.g., once daily,
weekly, monthly), or after a preset number of matching fingerprints
(e.g., each 100 matches), or the content owner can be given access
to the claim database 134 by which they can inspect and determine
which content has been identified for claims.
[0028] If the policy for the content owner is indicated to be
revenue sharing, then the video file and its audio is allowed to be
posted and accessed without restriction. A claim record is
established 209 in the claim database 134, indicating the
particular audio content, content owner, and policy.
[0029] Where the content owner's policy is to block the audio
content, then a different set of operations is engaged to create an
automatic takedown of the identified audio content. An email is
automatically generated and sent 204 to the uploading user,
identifying the uploaded file, the identified audio content (e.g.,
song name, artist, date, publisher, etc.) and informing the user
that the uploaded content has been found to match a known work of
licensed content, and that it infringes the content owner's
copyright in such content. The email instructs the user to login to
the site 100 and correct the problem through various alternative
options. The user is given a period of time (e.g., 15 days or even
0 days) by which to take action to correct the problem. (The number
of days for action can be varied, depending on considerations such
as follow of identification, user feedback, or the like). The email
also includes links to various copyright information pages 194
(FIG. 1), which further explains the issues pertaining to copyright
law and the unauthorized use and distribution of audio content. The
user accesses this email through an email client 206. The rights
management system 130 also sets a flag in the user's account that
there is an outstanding block on an uploaded video file. If the
does not undertake one of the editing action (mute audio, replace
audio, remove file) within a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 10
days), then video file is retrieved from the database 190, the
audio content is automatically removed from the video file, and the
modified video file is stored back to the database 190. The mute
flag can then be removed since the video will now play without any
audio at all; this approach is beneficial to prevent a malicious
user from removing the mute flag or modifying a video play to
ignore it. Alternatively, instead of providing the user a limited
amount of time to act, the audio file is immediately removed, and
the user is notified and offered the option to replace the audio as
described below.
[0030] In one embodiment, an infringe notice 210 is set on the
appropriate pages. In addition, the video file is updated in the
video database 190 with the mute flag (or other suitable signal)
set to indicate to a compatible video player to mute the audio upon
playback. When a user accesses the video, the page 216 for that
video includes a message that indicates that the audio is muted due
to it being an unauthorized use of the content. FIG. 4 illustrates
an example page 400 with such a message 402. The message can also
appear in the video playback area 404 as video, text or graphics,
in conjunction with (e.g., prior to or during) the playback of the
video. Optionally, an audio notification file with a recorded
message indicating that audio content of the video has been muted,
can be played during (or before) the video file is played; this
feature is particularly beneficial for video files that are
embedded in third party pages. When a user (any user) makes a
request for the video file, the video server 110 begins streaming
the video file to the user's browser 171 (which executes a video
player). The video player detects the mute flag, and thus mutes the
audio while playing back the video file. Another alternative
approach is to process the audio content either before or during
playback to render it no longer recognizable, for example by
scrambling, garbling, or otherwise distorting the audio content;
this can be done either through manipulate of the encoded audio
data packets, or through processing of the audio content in the
frequency domain. An appropriate message 402 can likewise be
provided in this instance to alert the viewer. Another alternative
approach is to replace the unlicensed audio with a computer
generated melody that matches a musical characteristic of the audio
content, such as its tempo (but preferably does not use samples,
voices, or pitches). This replacement is done generally after the
unlicensed audio content has been detected, and prior to the video
being edited by the uploading user. This provides the viewing user
with a limited audio experience without resulting in an
impermissible use of the licensed audio content.
[0031] As indicated above, in some instances a video file is
embedded in a page on a third party website, and plays in that
page, via a hyperlink to the file. In these cases, since the video
is playing in the third party page, the message that is otherwise
present on the host site 100 indicating that the audio is being
blocked and would not be available. Accordingly, for these embedded
video files, in one embodiment, the entire video is blocked from
playback; alternatively a video file containing a message can be
played first indicating that the audio portion of the file is being
muted, or with the audio notification mentioned above. In an
alternative embodiment, the infringe notice is embedded 218 in the
page on the third party website.
[0032] The user who uploaded the video file subsequently logs in
208 to the video hosting website 100. Upon login the site 100
checks the user's account, and determines that there is outstanding
block on the upload. The site thus loads for the user the copyright
infringement notice page 220 which describes to the options for
resolving the blocked audio content. The user can dispute 222 the
claim that the content is unauthorized (i.e., infringes the content
owner's copyright in the audio), in which case the user is taken
through a series of pages 224, 226 describing the dispute process
in which the user can file a counter-notification under the DMCA.
The user is required to confirm that he has read and accepted the
information on each page, in order to reduce the number of
instances of false disputes.
[0033] If the user decided to proceed to a dispute, the user is
presented with an online form in which he must input the following
information: [0034] a physical or electronic signature of the
subscriber (e.g., typing the user's full name into a signature
box); [0035] identification of the audio content that has been
removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at
which the content appeared before it was removed or access to it
was disabled; this is the video ID of the video; [0036] a statement
under penalty of perjury that the user has a good faith belief that
the audio content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or
misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; here
is checkbox is provided for the user to check indicating
acknowledgement of the statement; [0037] The user's name, address,
and telephone number, and a statement that the user consents to the
jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in
which the address is located, or if the user's address is outside
of the United States, for any judicial district in which the
service provider may be found, and that the user will accept
service of process from the person who provided notification or an
agent of such person; here the user enters their personal
information.
[0038] Once the user submits the above information in the
counter-notification form, the site 100 checks that the video ID
input by the user corresponds to a video owned by the user. The
site 100 also checks that the video ID has not been filed in
previous counter-notification, thereby avoiding duplicate claims.
The site 100 further checks that content owner of the audio content
for the video ID has a policy which blocks the use of the content.
If all of these checks are passed, then a confirmation page 228 is
presented to the user to confirm that the counter-notification has
been made. If any of these last checks fail, the user is provided
with an appropriate error message.
[0039] Once a counter-notification is filed, the site 100 marks the
user's video to withhold it from general access and playback for
predetermined period of time (e.g., 15 days). An email is then sent
230 to the content owner which includes the information in the
counter-notification (and/or the completed counter-notification
form itself), so that the content owner is informed that the user
is disputing the content owner's claim of infringement; the content
owner is given the predetermined period of time in which in which
take further action under the DMCA, and send notification of such
action to the site 100. If the content owner fails to act with the
prescribed time period, then the counter-notification is considered
valid, the video is released from its hold, and can be accessed
without restriction. The site 100 sends an email to the user in
this instance advising him that the video has been released. If the
content owner takes legal action, then the user is likewise
notified by an email from the site 100. In this circumstance, the
site 100 removes the video from the system to prevent its further
playback.
[0040] In most cases, the user will not proceed to a
counter-notification, and instead will act to edit the video. The
user has several different editing actions that they can apply to
the video file, including removing 232 the video file so that it is
no longer available, muting 236 the audio content, or editing 234
the audio content to select a licensed audio content for the file.
Should the user decide to remove 232 the audio content, a
confirmation page 238 is provided to the user; after confirmation,
the video is removed from the video database 190. The user is
directed to their "My Videos" page 240, which contains a listing of
their posted video. A message is presented on this page 240
indicating that the posted video has been removed.
[0041] Should the user decide to mute 236 the audio content,
another confirmation page 242 is presented to confirm the user's
decision. The website 100 invokes a utility tool which then removes
the unlicensed audio content from the video file, which has the
same effect as permanently muting the audio. This action is
irreversible. Alternatively, the unlicensed audio content can be
left in the video file, with the audio mute flag set to mute the
audio playback. The user is directed 244 to their My Videos page,
and a message is provided there stated that the audio content for
the video has been permanently blocked. In one embodiment, the user
can later use the audio replacement tool 120 to insert licensed
audio content into the video file.
[0042] Should the user decide to edit 234 the audio content, the
audio replacement tool 120 is loaded (for example, as part of the
Javascript of a page) or invoked (as standalone application or
browser plugin) depending on the implementation. The audio
replacement tool 120 is one means for enabling the user to replace
the audio content of a video with audio content from other sources
including a library of licensed audio content. Referring to FIG. 3
there is shown one embodiment of an audio replacement tool 120 as
it would appear to the user. The audio replacement tool 120
includes a video display window 302, which is one means by which
the user can view the video (below the video display area 302 are
playback control, a timer, a volume control, and size controls).
The user provided title 300 of the video is indicated above the
video display window 302. Also listed below the video display
window 302 is the name 310 of the identified, unlicensed audio
content, its length 312, and the length 314 of the user's video. To
the right thereof is a control 316 for permanently muting the
audio, should the user decide at this time to mute the audio;
selection of this option is one means that operates to remove the
unlicensed audio content from the video file, as described above.
On the right side of the tool 120 there is shown a listing 304 of
available licensed audio content, and is one example of a means by
which the user can select a file to replace the unlicensed audio
content; the listing 304 will generally include licensed content
that is available from the licensed content database 200. The
listing may also include a list of freely available audio, such as
audio in the public domain or available through a Creative Commons
license or other open or free license; this option is beneficial to
artists who are seeking further exposure to their music. The
listing 304 includes the name 318 of the artist, the title 320 of
the audio content, and its length 322. Also provided is audio
preview control 306 that allows the user to playback a portion (or
all) of the selected file; this feature allows the user to hear the
selected content and decide if it is appropriate for their video. A
control button 308, "Use Song" is provided by which the user
selects which audio content to use for replacement.
[0043] The illustrated embodiment of the audio replacement tool 120
in FIG. 3 is only one example of the audio replacement tool 120. In
another embodiment, the content listing 304 includes a search tool,
which is one means for searching for audio content by artist name,
song name, album name, year, or genre. In addition, the listing 304
can be made part of a category browser, which is one means that
allows the user to browse a library of audio content by any of the
foregoing attributes.
[0044] When the user selects a particular licensed audio file for
replacement, that audio content is mapped to the video file for
playback. It should be noted that the user is only allowed to
select audio for playback with (and only with) the video file as
the video is played back in a streaming manner; the user cannot
select licensed audio content for playback without any video, nor
can the user enable the audio content to be independently
downloaded by other users at a later time. The user can preview the
edited video file, with the selected audio, to determine if it
acceptable, via the preview button 324. This causes the video
portion of the user's video to be played back in conjunction with
the selected audio content; the original audio content that was
part of the video file is muted.
[0045] If the selected audio content is acceptable to the user, the
user then publishes the completed video file via the publish button
326. The original audio content of the file is then stripped, and
the selected audio is stored into the video file, as required for
the file format. In one embodiment, the file is "flattened" into a
single Flash FLV file in which the video and audio are merged.
Depending on the configuration of the audio replacement tool 120,
this can be done either internally by appropriate video and audio
encoder in the audio replacement tool 120, or by providing to the
video hosting site 100 an identifier of the selected audio content,
which is then processed in conjunction with the video file by the
appropriate video and audio encoder at the site 100; either
mechanism provides a suitable means for replacing the unlicensed
audio content with selected audio content. The updated video file
is then stored back to the video database 190. Playback of the
edited video file appears like other video content in the database
190.
[0046] The audio replacement tool 120 can be configured to provide
various levels of user control as to the mapping. The audio
replacement tool 120 can be configured to simply map the audio
content to the video file from the beginning thereof, so that both
the audio and video portions have the same starting point. If the
audio file is shorter in duration then the video file (e.g., the
audio is 2:00 minutes and the video is 3:00 minutes), then when the
audio file is ended, the remainder of the video is silent. If the
audio file is longer than the video file, then the audio file is
truncated to the same length of as the video file. Alternatively
the audio replacement tool 120 can be configured to offset the
start the audio file to any point in the video file. In one
embodiment, no further audio editing tools are provided to the
user. This restriction is beneficial to the content owners as it
ensures the integrity of the audio file.
[0047] In another embodiment, one or more various editing tools and
effects can be provided to the user in the audio replacement tool
120. First, the audio replacement tool 120 can include a loop
setting, by which the audio file can be set to loop for the
duration of the video file. Other audio editing tools or effects
can be provided as well, such as equalization controls, volume
control, pitch change, reverb, limiters, and the like.
[0048] Another aspect of this embodiment is to only allow a
limited, predetermined number licensed audio files to be inserted
into a video file, regardless of the length of the video file. In
one embodiment, the audio replacement tool 120 is restricted to
allow only a single audio file to be inserted. This feature is
beneficial to the content owners so as to ease the administration
of the revenue sharing payments that come from the playback of the
video. Accordingly, in an embodiment allowing only a single audio
file, the audio replacement tool 120 is configured so that if the
user first selects one audio file from the listing 304, and then
selects a second file, the first file is removed (i.e., not used)
and the second file is used instead. In addition, the audio
replacement tool 120 is configured so that the user cannot save or
download a licensed audio content to their local client 170. This
prevents the user from obtaining an unauthorized copy of the audio
content. The audio replacement tool 120 may be configured by the
video hosting site 100 to be closed so that it can only access the
audio content in the licensed content 200, which then appears in
listing 304. Alternatively, the audio replacement tool 120 can be
configured to be open, so that it can access any content available
to the user via his computer (e.g., locally stored audio files). In
this embodiment, the audio replacement tool 120 is configured to
allow users to replace or mix the licensed audio in the video with
the audio of any other videos that any other user has uploaded to
the site. The audio replacement tool 120 can be further configured
to allow users to dynamically choose between multiple audio tracks
when playing back the same video, for example French or Spanish
versions of the same movie clip, or playing back a politician's
speech with a comedic audio track. Finally, the audio replacement
tool 120 can further be configured to allow the user to record
audio "comments" or karaoke by means of a microphone attached to
their client device and appropriate sound card.
[0049] Referring again to FIG. 2, after the user has removed the
video file or muted the audio the rights management system 130
updates 250 the claims database 134. This can be done by removing
the previous claim record, or updating the claim record to indicate
the user's action, and thereby provide an audit trail. Where the
user has selected to use licensed content, a new claim record is
instantiated, indicating the content owner, the licensed content
and the revenue share policy flag.
[0050] Once the user has included the licensed audio content in the
video file with the audio replacement tool 120, they are directed
back to a video playback page 246 for watching the video file. This
page is updated to include attribution information for the artist
of the audio content, including the artist's name, album, song
name, and song information. Additionally, hyperlinks are provided
on the page to a music commerce site where the user can purchase
the audio content for separate downloads. This video playback page
246 and its information and links are displayed to any user who
accesses the video file, not just the user who uploaded it.
[0051] The above described process of detecting unlicensed audio
content is invoked when a user uploads a video file. A similar
process of identification of unlicensed audio can be engaged for
videos that are already uploaded into the video database 190. Here,
a selection of videos that are in the video database 190 are
processed by the content identification system 131 for fingerprint
matches to licensed audio content. Video files that having a
matching fingerprint at flagged and the process described for FIG.
2 is initiated. For these existing video, there may be legacy
information, such as comments, view counts, ratings, tags, and
other information associated with the video. This legacy
information is maintained when the video is either muted or it has
its audio content replaced.
[0052] The audio replacement tool 120 can be configured as well for
use any time a user uploads a video file and would like to add
licensed audio content to it directly, instead of using whatever
audio content is in the video file, whether their own audio content
or other licensed content. In this embodiment, after the user
uploads a video file, he can invoke the audio replacement tool 120,
and then select a licensed audio content for inclusion in the video
file. This selected audio file can be used to replace any existing
audio for the video file, or mixed in with it as an overdub. For
example, the user can replace an existing licensed audio content
with other licensed audio content. As before, a new claim record is
then created in the claim database 134, so that the content owner
of the licensed audio content receives the appropriate revenue
share from its use. As a further extension of this embodiment, the
audio replacement tool 120 can be configured to be open, so that
the user can also select from audio tracks available on their
computer or other network locations. In this configuration, the
selected audio file is processed by the content identification
system 131 to determine if it is licensed content. If the audio
file is determined to be licensed content, then the owner of the
licensed content is identified from the fingerprint information,
and the revenue sharing policy is determined. Where the policy
indicates that the content owner allows for revenue sharing, then
the audio content is included in the user's video. If the policy
indicates that the content should be blocked, then the user is
immediately notified that they cannot use the selected content, and
given the option to select other content.
[0053] Reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or to "an
embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or
characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is
included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The
appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in
the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same
embodiment.
[0054] Some portions of the above are presented in terms of methods
and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a
computer memory. These descriptions and representations are the
means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most
effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in
the art. A method is here, and generally, conceived to be a
self-consistent sequence of steps (instructions) leading to a
desired result. The steps are those requiring physical
manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not
necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical, magnetic
or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined,
compared and otherwise manipulated. It is convenient at times,
principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals
as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or
the like. Furthermore, it is also convenient at times, to refer to
certain arrangements of steps requiring physical manipulations of
physical quantities as modules or code devices, without loss of
generality.
[0055] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and
similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical
quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these
quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from
the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the
description, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing" or
"computing" or "calculating" or "determining" or "displaying" or
"determining" or the like, refer to the action and processes of a
computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that
manipulates and transforms data represented as physical
(electronic) quantities within the computer system memories or
registers or other such information storage, transmission or
display devices.
[0056] Certain aspects of the present invention include process
steps and instructions described herein in the form of a method. It
should be noted that the process steps and instructions of the
present invention can be embodied in software, firmware or
hardware, and when embodied in software, can be downloaded to
reside on and be operated from different platforms used by a
variety of operating systems.
[0057] The present invention also relates to an apparatus for
performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially
constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a
general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a
computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program
may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but
is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical
disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs),
random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical
cards, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any
type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and
each coupled to a computer system bus. Furthermore, the computers
referred to in the specification may include a single processor or
may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for
increased computing capability.
[0058] The methods and displays presented herein are not inherently
related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various
general-purpose systems may also be used with programs in
accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to
construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method
steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will
appear from the description below. In addition, the present
invention is not described with reference to any particular
programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of
programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the
present invention as described herein, and any references below to
specific languages are provided for disclosure of enablement and
best mode of the present invention.
[0059] While the invention has been particularly shown and
described with reference to a preferred embodiment and several
alternate embodiments, it will be understood by persons skilled in
the relevant art that various changes in form and details can be
made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention.
[0060] Finally, it should be noted that the language used in the
specification has been principally selected for readability and
instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate
or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the
disclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative,
but not limiting, of the scope of the invention.
* * * * *
References