U.S. patent application number 14/293305 was filed with the patent office on 2015-12-03 for systems and methods for controlling media distribution.
This patent application is currently assigned to Atlanta DTH Inc. The applicant listed for this patent is Atlanta DTH Inc. Invention is credited to Michael Day.
Application Number | 20150349952 14/293305 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54609369 |
Filed Date | 2015-12-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150349952 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Day; Michael |
December 3, 2015 |
Systems and Methods for Controlling Media Distribution
Abstract
Media file distribution is be controlled by encrypting the media
file by an application executed on a mobile device of the media
file owner. The media file is encrypted using a media file
encryption key. The media file encryption key is then separately
encrypted using a public key of each intended recipient, and the
encrypted media file encryption key is appended to the encrypted
media file. Accordingly, only intended recipients will have the
complementary private key to allow decryption of the encrypted
media file encryption key, which once decrypted can be used to
decrypt the encrypted media file itself.
Inventors: |
Day; Michael; (Norcross,
GA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Atlanta DTH Inc |
Norcross |
GA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Atlanta DTH Inc
Norcross
GA
|
Family ID: |
54609369 |
Appl. No.: |
14/293305 |
Filed: |
June 2, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
713/171 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 63/045 20130101;
H04W 12/08 20130101; H04L 9/0825 20130101; H04L 63/061 20130101;
G06F 21/606 20130101; H04W 12/0013 20190101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 9/08 20060101
H04L009/08 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising: receiving, by an application executed on a
first mobile device, a selection of a media file, wherein the media
file is a picture or video, wherein the first mobile device is
associated with an owner of the media file; receiving, by the
application, an intended recipient of the selected media file;
encrypting, by the application, the media file using a media file
encryption key to produce an encrypted media file; encrypting, by
the application, the media file encryption key using a public key
of the intended recipient; attaching the encrypted media file
encryption key to the encrypted media file; transmitting, by the
application, the encrypted media file and attached encrypted media
file encryption key to the intended recipient; receiving, by a
second application on a second mobile device associated with the
intended recipient, the encrypted media file; decrypting, by the
second application, the encrypted media file key using a private
key of the intended recipient to produce the media file encryption
key; determining, by the second application, whether the received
encrypted media file includes distribution restrictions indicating
whether the encrypted media file can be redistributed by the
recipient, wherein when the distribution restrictions indicate that
the encrypted media file can be redistributed, the method further
comprises receiving, by the second application, a further intended
recipient of the decrypted media file; encrypting, by the second
application, the media file encryption key using a public key of
the further intended recipient; attaching the media file encryption
key encrypted using the public key of the further intended
recipient to the encrypted media file; and transmitting, by second
application, the encrypted media file with the attached media file
encryption key encrypted using the public key of the further
intended recipient to the further intended recipient.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: decrypting, by the
second application, the encrypted media file using the media file
encryption key; and reproducing, by the second application, the
decrypted media file on a screen of the second mobile device.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the decrypted media file is
reproduced with a watermark on the screen of the second mobile
device.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the watermark includes an
identification of the owner of the media file and the intended
recipient.
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, by the
application executed on the first mobile device, the distribution
restrictions for the selected media file; and adding, by the
application executed on the first mobile device, the distribution
restrictions to the encrypted media file.
6. A method, comprising: receiving, by an application executed on a
first mobile device, a selection of a media file, wherein the media
file is a picture or video, wherein the first mobile device is
associated with an owner of the media file; receiving, by the
application, an intended recipient of the selected media file;
encrypting, by the application, the media file using a media file
encryption key to produce an encrypted media file; encrypting, by
the application, the media file encryption key using a public key
of the intended recipient; attaching the encrypted media file
encryption key to the encrypted media file; transmitting, by the
application, the encrypted media file and attached encrypted media
file encryption key to the intended recipient; receiving, by a
second application on a second mobile device associated with the
intended recipient, the encrypted media file; decrypting, by the
second application, the encrypted media file key using a private
key of the intended recipient to produce the media file encryption
key; decrypting, by the second application, the encrypted media
file using the media file encryption key; and reproducing, by the
second application, the decrypted media file on a screen of the
second mobile device. receiving, by the application executed on the
first mobile device, distribution restrictions for the selected
media file; and adding, by the application executed on the first
mobile device, the distribution restrictions to the encrypted media
file, wherein the distribution restrictions indicate whether the
encrypted media file can be redistributed by the recipient, wherein
when the distribution restrictions indicate that the encrypted
media file can be redistributed, the method further comprises
receiving, by the second application, a further intended recipient
of the decrypted media file; encrypting, by the second application,
the media file encryption key using a public key of the further
intended recipient; attaching the media file encryption key
encrypted using the public key of the further intended recipient to
the encrypted media file; and transmitting, by second application,
the encrypted media file with the attached media file encryption
key encrypted using the public key of the further intended
recipient to the further intended recipient.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the distribution restrictions
indicate a number of possible redistributions of the encrypted
media file and a current number of distributions of the encrypted
media file.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second application increments
the current number of distributions and includes the number of
possible distributions and the incremented current number of
distributions in the further encrypted file.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the
application, an identification of the intended recipient;
transmitting, by the application to a server, the identification of
the intended recipient; and receiving, by the application from the
server, the public key of the intended recipient.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: storing, by the
application, the identification of the intended recipient and the
public key of the intended recipient; receiving, by the
application, a recipient group for the intended recipient; and
displaying, by the application, the intended recipient in the
recipient group on a screen of the first mobile device.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission of the
encrypted media file is by electronic mail or instant
messaging.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission of the
encrypted media file is by posting the encrypted media file on a
website.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein when the application executed on
the first mobile device receives a selection of a plurality of
intended recipients of the selected media file, the application
separately encrypts the media file key using a public key of each
of the selected plurality of intended recipients and attaches each
of the separately encrypted media file keys to the encrypted media
file prior to transmitting the encrypted media file.
14-18. (canceled)
19. The method of claim 1, wherein the distribution restrictions
indicate a number of possible redistributions of the encrypted
media file and a current number of distributions of the encrypted
media file.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the second application
increments the current number of distributions and includes the
number of possible distributions and the incremented current number
of distributions in the further encrypted file.
21. A method, comprising: receiving, by a second application
executed on a second mobile device from a first application
executed on a first mobile device, an encrypted media file, wherein
the first mobile device is associated with an owner of the media
file, the second mobile device is associated with an intended
recipient of the encrypted media file, the media file is encrypted
using a media file encryption key, the media file encryption key is
encrypted using a public key of intended recipient, and the
encrypted media file encryption key is attached to the received
encrypted media file; decrypting, by the second application, the
encrypted media file key using a private key of the intended
recipient to produce the media file encryption key; determining, by
the second application, whether the received encrypted media file
includes distribution restrictions indicating whether the encrypted
media file can be redistributed by the recipient, wherein when the
distribution restrictions indicate that the encrypted media file
can be redistributed, the method further comprises receiving, by
the second application, a further intended recipient of the
decrypted media file; encrypting, by the second application, the
media file encryption key using a public key of the further
intended recipient; attaching the media file encryption key
encrypted using the public key of the further intended recipient to
the encrypted media file; and transmitting, by second application,
the encrypted media file with the attached media file encryption
key encrypted using the public key of the further intended
recipient to the further intended recipient.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the distribution restrictions
indicate a number of possible redistributions of the encrypted
media file and a current number of distributions of the encrypted
media file.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the second application
increments the current number of distributions and includes the
number of possible distributions and the incremented current number
of distributions in the further encrypted file.
Description
BACKGROUND THE INVENTION
[0001] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to
systems and methods for controlling the distribution of media
files.
[0002] Mobile devices, such as smart phones, tablets, and the like,
are commonly used to capture pictures and videos, store them as
media files, and distribute the stored media files to others.
Because mobile devices provide a relatively easy way to distribute
of media files, media files may be distributed beyond the intended
recipient(s). For example, if Bob shares a media file with Cathy by
e-mail or instant messaging, then Cathy can simply forward the
media file to whomever she wishes. Bob's only way to control the
further distribution of the media file is to ask Cathy not to
further distribute it. Relying upon the trust of others to control
distribution of media files is less than ideal because even if Bob
currently has a very strong relationship with Cathy, this
relationship may change and he may not trust her to control the
distribution of the media file in view of the changed
relationship.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to
systems and methods for controlling the distribution of media
files. In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present
invention, media file distribution can be controlled by encrypting
the media file by an application executed on a mobile device of the
media file owner. The media file is encrypted using a media file
encryption key. The media file encryption key is then separately
encrypted using a public key of each intended recipient, and the
encrypted media file encryption key is appended to the encrypted
media file. Accordingly, only intended recipients will have the
complementary private key to allow decryption of the encrypted
media file encryption key, which once decrypted can be used to
decrypt the encrypted media file itself.
[0004] The encrypted media file can also include a header with
distribution restrictions, which control whether the encrypted
media file can be redistributed by an intended recipient. If the
distribution restrictions allow redistribution, the intended
recipient can encrypt the media file encryption key using a further
intended recipient's public key, so that the further intended
recipient can use its private key to obtain the media file
encryption key, which can then be used to decrypt the encrypted
media file.
[0005] By encrypting the media file encryption key using an
intended recipient's public key and including distribution
restrictions along with the encrypted media file, the owner of the
media file has more control over the extent of distribution of any
of the owner's media files. Further, the load on the server storing
the keys is reduced because each intended recipient is able to
obtain the media file encryption key using their own private key,
and thus the recipients do not need to separately obtain the media
file encryption key from the server.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
transmitting encrypted media files in accordance with exemplary
embodiments of the present invention;
[0007] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system
in accordance with the present invention;
[0008] FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams of displays for
registration in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the
present invention;
[0009] FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic diagrams of displays for
selecting images and videos, respectively, in accordance with
exemplary embodiments of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a method for
encrypting media files in accordance with exemplary embodiments of
the present invention
[0011] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a display of contact groups
in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present
invention;
[0012] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a display of contacts in
accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a display for adding a
contact in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present
invention;
[0014] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a display for adding
authorization for decrypting media files in accordance with
exemplary embodiments of the present invention;
[0015] FIGS. 12 and 13 are schematic diagrams of displays for
encrypting images and videos, respectively, in accordance with
exemplary embodiments of the present invention;
[0016] FIGS. 14 and 15 are schematic diagrams of displays for
controlling the distribution of media files in accordance with
exemplary embodiments of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
receiving encrypted media files in accordance with exemplary
embodiments of the present invention; and
[0018] FIGS. 17 and 18 are schematic diagrams of displays of
watermarked, decrypted media files in accordance with exemplary
embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] The description that follows describes an application
executed by a mobile device to perform various functions. Those
skilled in the art will recognize that mobile devices typically
include one or more processors (e.g., a microprocessor, field
programmable gate array (FPGA), application specific integrated
circuit (ASIC)) and one or more memories to execute applications
and perform the functions required by the applications.
Accordingly, further details of the operations of such processors
and memories are omitted in the description below for the sake of
clarity.
[0020] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for the owner
of a media file to encrypt the media file and transmit the
encrypted media file in accordance with exemplary embodiments of
the present invention. As used herein, the owner of the media file
is the person that performs the initial encryption of the media
file. Thus, for example, a person who encrypts a non-copyrighted
picture or video that was obtained elsewhere would still be
considered the media file owner in the context of the present
invention even though that person does not own the media file from
a copyright perspective. Initially, the application of the present
invention is installed on the owner's mobile device (step 105).
When the application is executed for the first time the owner is
prompted to register with a server and the application receives a
unique identifier, herein referred to as a track address (step
110). Specifically, the mobile device displays the screen
illustrated in FIG. 3, which prompts the user of the mobile device
to provide an e-mail address and password. As illustrated in FIG.
2, the e-mail address and password are sent in registration
messages from mobile devices 210-220 to server 205. If the
registration is successful the mobile device is provided with the
track address and the mobile device displays the screen illustrated
in FIG. 4 confirming that the registration is successful and
displaying the assigned track address. The registration process
also generates a complementary pair of public and private keys for
the owner, the public key being stored in the server 205 and the
private key being stored in the mobile device of the registered
user.
[0021] Once registration is complete and a track address is
obtained, the user can use the application to select a media file,
which is one of a picture and video (step 115). Exemplary screens
allowing a user of the mobile device to select a picture and video
are respectively illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. As illustrated in
these figures, the user can select individual pictures or videos,
select all pictures or videos, unselect some of the pictures or
videos, add pictures or videos, and cancel this operation.
[0022] The selected media file is then encrypted with a media file
encryption key (step 120). For example, referring to FIG. 7, Bob
has selected the media file Original Flower.jpg, and the
application on Bob's phone 210 encrypts the image Flower.jpg using
the key K.sub.aes.sub.--.sub.flower using the AES256 encryption
method to produce the encrypted picture encrypted Flower.jpg. The
encryption key used to initially encrypt the picture can be
generated by the mobile device or the mobile device can obtain it
from the server. It should be recognized that any type of
encryption technique can be used with the present invention. As
will be described in more detail below, the media file encryption
key K.sub.aes.sub.--.sub.flower is separately encrypted with each
intended recipient's public encryption key and appended to the end
of the media file so that each intended recipient can obtain the
media file decryption key K.sub.aes.sub.--.sub.flower using the
recipients private key.
[0023] The user of the mobile device then selects one or more
intended recipients for the media file (step 125). This selection
can be performed using the exemplary screens illustrated in FIGS.
8-11. Specifically, FIG. 8 illustrates a screen where contacts are
organized into different groups, and accordingly the sender can
select an entire group as the intended recipient or can select a
group to access one or more intended recipients within a group.
FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary screen where the contacts are not
grouped. As illustrated in FIG. 9, each contact includes a contact
name and a track address. Accordingly, if a contact is not current
stored in the contact list of the application, the user can add a
contact by entering the contact's name and track address, as well
as a designated group (if desired), which is illustrated in FIG.
10. Finally, FIG. 11 illustrates the selection of the contacts in
the "Family" group as well as particular contacts in the "Friend"
group as intended recipients.
[0024] Once one or more intended recipients are selected (step
125), the application determines whether a public key is stored
locally within the device for each of the selected intended
recipients (step 130). The public key would be locally stored if,
for example, an encrypted media file was previously sent to the
selected intended recipients. If the public key is not locally
stored for at least one of the intended recipients ("No" path out
of decision step 130), then the public key is obtained from a
server (step 135). Specifically, referring again to FIG. 7,
assuming that Bob wanted to send an encrypted media file to Cathy
and his device did not already contain Cathy's public key, Bob's
phone 210 would send a request to server 205, where the request
includes Cathy's track address. The server would then provide Bob's
phone 210 with Cathy's public key.
[0025] If the intended recipient's public key is already stored
locally within the sender's device ("Yes" path out of decision step
130) or after the public key is obtained from the server (step
135), the media file key is encrypted with the intended recipient's
public key (step 140). For example, referring again to FIG. 7, the
application on Bob's phone 210 encrypts the media file key
K.sub.aes.sub.--.sub.flower using Cathy's public key
K.sub.pub.sub.--.sub.cathy, which is then appended at the end of
the encrypted media file.
[0026] Once the media file key is encrypted (step 140), then a
header is generated, which includes encrypted data and publish
control information (herein referred to as distribution
restrictions) (step 145). The encrypted data is generated by
applying Bob's public key K.sub.pub.sub.--.sub.bob to the media
file encryption key K.sub.aes.sub.--.sub.flower. Because Bob's
phone 210 is the only phone that has his private key
K.sub.pri.sub.--.sub.bob, only Bob's phone 210 would be able to
decrypt the encrypted information in the header
T.sub.head.sub.--.sub.flower.
[0027] The distribution restrictions can indicate whether the
intended recipient is allowed to redistribute the encrypted media
file. For example, referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the sender can
select an encrypted picture (FIG. 12) or an encrypted video (FIG.
13) and select "Add Authorization" to indicate whether additional
recipients are authorized. To determine the current distribution
restrictions the sender (or any recipient) can select
"Information", which would provide the screen illustrated in FIG.
14. The exemplary screen in FIG. 14 identifies the owner of the
media file using the track identification, the number of times the
encrypted media file can be redistributed (i.e., the Publish level)
and the current distribution level of the encrypted media file
(i.e., the Current level). In the example illustrated in FIG. 14
the Publish level of "2" indicates that the encrypted media file
can be redistributed only by recipients that have received the
encrypted media file from the owner of the media file. The Current
level of 1 indicates that the encrypted media file has not yet been
distributed by the owner. Thus, as described below, the application
on each intended recipient's device increments the Current level
before the encrypted media file is redistributed, assuming that
such redistribution is allowed.
[0028] The application is designed so that only the media file
owner is able to modify the distribution restrictions. This control
is achieved by the application requiring that a mobile device first
be able to decrypt the encrypted K.sub.aes.sub.--.sub.flower in the
header T.sub.head.sub.--.sub.flower prior to allowing any changes
to the distribution restrictions.
[0029] If the owner of the media file wants to modify the
distribution restrictions by selecting "Add Authorization", the
exemplary screen illustrated in FIG. 15 is presented to the owner.
Thus, if desired, the media file owner can increase the Publish
level to allow further distribution of the encrypted media file,
which in the example illustrated in FIG. 15 would be to change the
distribution from Publish level 1 (which allows only the media file
owner to distribute it and does not allow any redistribution by
recipients), to Publish level 3 (which allows redistribution by an
initial recipient of the media file from the media file owner, as
well as redistribution from anyone that received the redistribution
from the initial recipient). It should be noted that although the
Publish level controls the number of redistributions it does not
control the number of recipients. Thus, for example, if Cathy
received an encrypted media file from Bob (the file owner) that
includes a Publish level 2 and a Current level 1, Cathy can
redistribute the encrypted media file to a single further recipient
or many further recipients.
[0030] Finally, the header T.sub.head.sub.--.sub.flower also
includes an H.sub.mac message, which is a type of checksum
generated using the distribution restrictions and which allows a
device to determine whether there has been any inappropriate
tampering with the distribution restrictions. Thus, if Bob's phone
210 modifies the distribution restrictions, the application would
also modify the H.sub.mac message.
[0031] Once the header is generated (step 145), the owner transmits
the encrypted media file to the intended recipients (step 150).
This transmission function can be integrated into the application
or can be performed by a separate application, such as an
electronic mail or instant messaging application. The transmission
function can also include posting to a website, such as a social
media website, a media file sharing website, a blog, etc. Because
the media file is encrypted, the website can be
publically-accessible because only an authorized recipient will be
able to decrypt the media file in the manner described below. In
other words, although an unauthorized recipient can download the
encrypted media file from the website to which it was posted, the
unauthorized recipient would not be able to view the media file
because the unauthorized recipient would not be able to decrypt
it.
[0032] FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
receiving encrypted media files in accordance with exemplary
embodiments of the present invention. Initially, a recipient must
install the application (step 1605) and register with the server to
obtain a track address (step 1610). These steps can be performed at
any time but must be performed prior to the sending of an encrypted
media file because otherwise the sender would not have a track
address to address the encrypted media file. Once a user is
registered and receives a track address the user can receive
encrypted media files (step 1615). The encrypted media files can be
received in any manner, including as an attachment to an e-mail, in
a text or chat message, or downloading from a website.
[0033] When the encrypted media file has been received (step 1615)
and that user wishes to view the encrypted media file, the user
launches the application of the present invention on his/her mobile
device, selects the encrypted media file using the application, and
the application attempts to decrypt the encrypted media file key
that is at the end of the encrypted media file using the
recipient's private key (step 1620). It will be recognized that a
particular person's public key and private key are complementary
keys and that encryption with a particular person's public key
means the encrypted media file can only be decrypted using that
particular person's private key. For example, referring again to
FIG. 7, Cathy's phone is able to obtain the media file encryption
key from T.sub.ent.sub.--.sub.cathy because it was encrypted with
Cathy's public key and her phone includes the complementary private
key. If Cathy's phone 215 simply forwarded the same message that
was received by her phone 215 to David's phone 220, David's phone
220 could not decrypt the encrypted media file because David's
phone 220 could not decrypt the encrypted media file encryption
key, as David's phone 220 does not have Cathy's private key.
[0034] If the media file key was not encrypted with the recipient's
public key then the decryption attempt will be unsuccessful ("No"
path out of decision step 1625) and the recipient is informed of
the unauthorized decryption attempt (step 1630). The application
can also inform the server of the unsuccessful decryption attempt
and the server can notify the media file owner. If, however, the
media file key was encrypted with the recipient's public key then
the decryption is successful ("Yes" path out of decision step 1625)
and the encrypted media file is decrypted using the media file key
and is displayed on the recipient's mobile device (step 1635). In
accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the
displayed media file can include a watermark with the track address
of the owner and the recipient, an example of which is illustrated
in FIG. 17.
[0035] If the recipient decides to redistribute the decrypted media
file to a further recipient (step 1640), the application on the
recipient's mobile device reviews the distribution restrictions in
the media file to determine whether further distribution is allowed
(step 1645). If the distribution restrictions indicate that further
distribution is not allowed ("No" path out of decision step 1645),
then the recipient is informed that the media file may not be
further distributed without authorization from the owner (step
1650).
[0036] If, however, the distribution restrictions indicate that
further distribution is allowed ("Yes" path out of decision step
1645), then the media file key is encrypted with the further
recipient's public key and transmit the encrypted media file to the
further recipient (step 1655). For example, referring again to FIG.
7, if Cathy wanted to redistribute the media file to David, the
application on Cathy's phone 215 would provide David's track
address to the server 205, which would then return David's public
key K.sub.pub.sub.--.sub.david. The application on Cathy's phone
215 would then take the decrypted media file key
K.sub.aes.sub.--.sub.flower and encrypt it using David's public key
K.sub.pub.sub.--.sub.david, add the encrypted media file key to the
end of the media file T.sub.ent.sub.--.sub.david, and transmit the
encrypted media file to David's phone 220. David's phone 220 would
then use David's private key K.sub.pri.sub.--.sub.david to decrypt
the media file key, use the decrypted media file key
K.sub.aes.sub.--.sub.flower to decrypt the encrypted image, and, as
illustrate in FIG. 18, the displayed media file would include a
watermark with the track addresses of the owner Bob, the first
intended recipient Cathy, and David.
[0037] The decrypted media file and the decrypted media file key
are accessible only within the application of the present invention
and is not otherwise available on the recipient's mobile device.
This ensures that a recipient cannot simply forward the decrypted
media file because the decrypted file is only available to the
application, which prevents unauthorized redistribution.
[0038] It should be recognized that the methods of FIGS. 1 and 16
were described above in connection with the exemplary serial
distribution scenario illustrated in FIG. 7. It should be
recognized that the media file owner can initially include a number
of encrypted media file encryption keys at the end of the encrypted
media file and then send this to multiple initial intended
recipients. Similarly, to the extent allowed by the distribution
restrictions, an intended recipient could include a number of
encrypted media file encryption keys at the end of the encrypted
media file and then send this to multiple further intended
recipients.
[0039] The description above uses examples of mobile devices that
are referred to as phones. It will be recognized that this is
merely exemplary and that the present invention can be employed
with any type of mobile device, including mobile telephones,
tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and the like.
[0040] The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to
illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since
modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit
and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the
art, the invention should be construed to include everything within
the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
* * * * *