The present invention relates generally to digital copy protection, digital rights management, and conditional access, and more particularly but not exclusively to enabling transferable entitlements using Entitlement Management Messages (EMMs) for providing content to different network devices.
Today a consumer can readily purchase an entitlement to content such as a ticket to the opera, a sports event, movie, or the like. Often, the purchased ticket can be redeemed at some later stage and location. Similarly a consumer may purchase an airline ticket and redeem it for an airplane flight. However, there is a difference of transferability between these two ticket transactions. For various reasons, of both pricing and security, airline tickets represent non-transferable entitlements, where only the named recipient of the entitlement may redeem it, whereas movie tickets, or the like, are typically transferable.
Transferability is an attribute of the entitlement granted by an original owner to the recipient. It means that the recipient may be free to resell or transfer title to the entitlement prior to its redemption. It also typically means that the owner or its distributors agree to honor the redemption of the entitlement from whoever presents the entitlement. Thus, in some situations, a transferable entitlement may become an object of trade.
However, in today's realm of content, such as in the Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) domain, or the like, entitlements do not readily support transferability. If a recipient were to purchase an entitlement on one set top box (STB) there presently is no mechanism to enable the transfer of that entitlement to another set top box or other network device for redemption. Transfer of entitlements between devices on the same or different networks may open a wealth of opportunity for consumers and for content providers.
Moreover, IPTV, and the like, may be currently served in discrete networks—so-called ‘walled-garden’ networks. These networks typically ensure a level of quality of service and security. However the walls often impose a barrier to a market of consumers inside the wall. The broader commercial motivation of this invention therefore includes allowing third-party content providers outside the walls to gain access to this market. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made