System and method for operating multiple rental domains within a single credit card domain

Abstract

A system and method for an all-inclusive, high speed and convenient delivery of digital content to a user is described. The system and method include software, firmware and communications technology for providing digital content to a user, monitoring and controlling an interface between the user and the system to provide for purchase or lease of digital content by the user as well as communicating and archiving all data necessary to accommodate accounting, billing and reporting functions. The system and method also provide for management of the assignment of digital rights management so as to allow rendering of the digital content on more than one device, and to allow the content to be rendered on a device that is not connected to a digital rights license management server.

1 - 7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . A method for providing transportable digital rights management licenses for providing for playback of licensed digital content on a plurality of content rendering devices in the absence of a connection to a network connecting the content rendering devices with a digital rights management license server, comprising:
 receiving credit card information from a customer;   retrieving information related to a group of rendering devices consisting of one or more rendering devices registered to the customer, each of the registered rendering devices having an associated unique device domain;   generating a hash of the credit card information;   generating a transaction domain by associating the hash of the credit card with the unique device domains of each of the rendering devices registered to the customer;   associating a digital rights management license with the transaction domain, the associated digital rights management license being linked to each of the unique device domains to allow rendering of licensed digital content on each of the registered devices; and   embedding the digital rights management license in an item of digital content to be delivered to the customer.   
     
     
         9 . A processor including a program of instructions undertaking method acts for creating a transportable digital rights management license, comprising:
 receiving credit card information from a customer;   retrieving information related to a group of rendering devices consisting of one or more rendering devices registered to the customer from a memory accessible by the processor, each of the registered rendering devices having an associated unique device domain;   generating a hash of the credit card information;   generating a transaction domain by associating the hash of the credit card with the unique device domains of each of the rendering devices registered to the customer;   associating a digital rights management license with the transaction domain, the associated digital rights management license being linked to each of the unique device domains to allow rendering of licensed digital content on each of the registered devices; and   embedding the digital rights management license in an item of digital content to be delivered to the customer.   
     
     
         10 . The processor of  claim 9 , the method acts further comprising:
 downloading the item of digital content with the embedded digital rights management license to the customer.