US 7,562,392 · Granted 2009-07-14

Methods of interacting with audio and ambient music

The present invention relates generally to interacting with audio and ambient music, e.g., as obtained by a handheld device such as a cell phone. One combination includes: receiving electronic signals representing ambient music captured with a microphone in a user device; transferring the electronic signals representing the ambient music to a processor; receiving from the processor data derived from the electronic signals; using said data to obtain information from a database, said information relating to the ambient music; and providing at least textual information to a user about the ambient music, said provided textual information being based at least in part on information obtained from the database. This combination may also provide to the user a pointer to an online site, the online site including third-party reviews of content. A related combination may provide to the user a pointer to an online site that provides streaming media content associated with the ambient music. Still another related combination may provide to the user a pointer to dynamic user metadata associated with the ambient music. Of course, other combinations are provided and claimed as well.

Fig. 1. Illustration of networked computers exchanging data. Not this patent’s official drawing.

Patent details

Publication number
US 7,562,392
Filing date
1999-12-30
Grant date
2009-07-14
Assignee
Digimarc Corporation
Inventor(s)
RHOADS GEOFFREY B., CONWELL WILLIAM Y.
CPC class
B42D25/29

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