New pending patent applications are published on Thursdays by the USPTO. Today's Spotlight Applications continue the theme of blockchains (smart contracts, distributed ledgers) and rights management broadly construed. Assigned to HPE, the first application discloses techniques for controlling access to common devices using smart contract deployed on a distributed ledger network. Assigned to Scenarex, the second application discloses techniques for providing limited distribution of a digital media file.
20200382509, "Controlling access to common devices using smart contract deployed on a distributed ledger network," assigned to Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Abstract
Some implementations of the disclosure are directed to receiving authentication data from a user attempting to access a common device on a network; determining, using at least the authentication data, if the user is a local user of the network; responsive to the user not being a local user of the network: querying a smart contract on a distributed ledger network to determine whether or not to grant the user access to the common device, wherein the query comprises the authentication data of the user; and controlling the user's access to the common device based on an output received from the smart contract in response to the query.
20200380090, "Method of and system for providing limited distribution of a digital media file," assigned to Scenarex Inc.
Abstract
A computer-implemented method of providing limited distribution of a digital media file, the method being executable at a server connected to a network, the server comprising memory. The method includes receiving the digital media file to be distributed; encrypting the digital media file to create an encrypted digital media file; creating a plurality of copies of the encrypted digital media file; creating a plurality of rights tokens, a quantity of the rights tokens being equal to a quantity of copies of the encrypted digital media file, each rights token containing: a key for decrypting a corresponding one of the plurality of copies of the encrypted digital media file, and identifying information related to access rights for the digital media file; and recording the rights tokens to a rights blockchain representative of actions related to distribution of the plurality of copies of the encrypted the digital media file.
