International Business Machines Corporation

Level 3 Communications, LLC

Cesar Medina

Kenneth Louis Milsted

Marco M Hurtado

George Gregory Gruse

Edgar S Downs

Qing Gong

Marco Hurtado

Christopher Lehman

Jeffrey Lotspiech

Edgar Downs

Kenneth Milsted

A digital content preparation system that includes a metadata acquisition tool for acquiring metadata associated with the digital content, and a digital content processor for processing the digital content by performing at least one of watermarking, encoding, and encrypting. A work flow manager manages processings by the metadata acquisition tool and the digital content processor. In one preferred embodiment, the metadata acquisition tool includes an automatic metadata acquisition tool and a manual metadata acquisition tool, and the digital content processor includes an encoder and an encrypter. The present invention also provides a method for preparing digital content. According to the method, metadata associated with the digital content is acquired, and the digital content is processed by at least one of watermarking, encoding, and encrypting. Processings in the acquiring step and the processing step are managed. In a preferred method, the acquiring step includes automatically retrieving at least a portion of the metadata and allowing manual entry of at least a portion of the metadata, and the processing step includes encoding the digital content and encrypting the encoded digital content.

Digital content preparation system

A method of managing content data and associated metadata. According to the method, the content data and the associated metadata are generated. The content data is transferred to a content host, and the metadata and usage condition data for the associated content are transferred to an electronic store. The metadata and/or the usage condition data are altered in order to form promotional data, and the promotional data is transferred from the electronic store to a customer's system. In one preferred method, the content data is encrypted with a first encrypting key before being transferred to the content host. The first encrypting key is encrypted with a second encrypting key, and the encrypted first encrypting key is transferred along with the metadata and usage condition data to the electronic store. Additionally, the encrypted first encrypting key is transferred along with the promotional data to the customer's system.

Secure electronic content management system

Growing community of inventors

Boca Raton, FL, United States of America

Cesar Medina