Seamless upload and ingest of release forms from a mobile device to a digital media system

1. A computer-implemented method for associating a release form with a media item in a media library, comprising:

enabling, by a mobile device, a contributor of media items to prepare a release form;

uploading, by the mobile device, the release form to a server computer that manages a media library, the media library comprising (1) a collection of media items, (2) a collection of release forms, and (3) a media database comprising a record for each media item, the record including metadata about the media item, said metadata including information about release forms associated with the media item;

providing, by the server computer, to a client computer different than said mobile device, an interactive contributor user interface that enables the contributor to:

select one or more media items from the media library; and

designate a release form, previously uploaded to the server computer, to associate with each of the selected one or more media items; and

for each of the selected one or more media items, associating, by the server computer, the respective media item with the designated release form by updating the media database record for the respective media item to indicate the associations;

receiving, by the server computer, a request from a customer computer on behalf of a customer, to license one of the selected media items; and

providing, by the server computer information to the customer computer about the availability for licensing of the selected media item based at least in part on information in the release form associated with the selected media item.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said preparing a release form includes enabling a person to sign said release form.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said enabling a person to sign said release form enables the person to sign by gesturing with their finger or with a stylus on a touch sensitive display of the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

sending a message by the mobile device to the server computer requesting authentication of the contributor;

authenticating the contributor by the server computer upon receipt of the authentication request message; and

sending a response message from the server computer to the mobile device, upon authentication, indicating whether the contributor was successfully authenticated.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said contributor user interface further enables the contributor to submit said one or more media items to a review process.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein said contributor user interface further enables the contributor to upload media items to the server computer for inclusion in the media library.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the release form is a model release form or a property release form that indicates a release of designated rights by the model or an owner of property, that is electronically signed using the mobile device.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said model release form or property release form includes a digital photo or digital video depicting the model or property.

9. A system for managing a media library, comprising:

a mobile device, for:

enabling a contributor of media items to the media library to prepare a release form; and

uploading the release form to a server computer;

a server computer for:

receiving media items from a client computer and storing them in a media library, the media library comprising (1) a collection of media items, (2) a collection of release forms, and (3) a media database comprising a record for each media item, the record including metadata about the media item, said metadata including information about release forms associated with the media item; and

receiving from a client computer different than said mobile device, a selection of one or more media items from the media library, and a designation of a release form;

for each of the selected one or more media items, associating the respective media item with the designated release form by updating the media database record for the respective media item to indicate the association;

receiving a request from a customer computer on behalf of a customer to license one of the selected media items;

providing information to the customer computer about the availability for licensing of the selected media item based at leat in part on information in the release form associated with the selected media item;

a contributor computer for:

uploading, by the contributor, media items to the sever computer to be stored in the media library; and

enabling the contributor to select one or more media items in the media library and to designate a release form to associate with each of the selected media items; and

a customer computer for issuing a request to the server computer on behalf of a customer to license one of the selected media items.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein said preparing a release form includes enabling a person to sign said release form.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said enabling a person to sign said release form enables the person to sign by gesturing with their finger or with a stylus on a touch sensitive display of the mobile device.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein:

said mobile device further sends a message to the server computer requesting authentication of the contributor; and

said server computer further:

receives the message requesting authentication;

authenticates the contributor upon receipt of the message requesting authentication; and

sends a response message to the mobile device, upon authentication, indicating whether the contributor was successfully authenticated.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein said contributor computer further enables the contributor to submit said one or more contributor media items to a review process.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein said contributor computer further enables the contributor to upload release forms to the server computer.

15. The system of claim 9 wherein the release form is a model release form or a property release form, for media items to which the model or an owner of the property has rights, that is electronically signed using the mobile device.

16. The system of claim 9 wherein said model release form or property release form includes a digital photo or digital video depicting the model or property.

17. A network device for associating a release form with a media item in a media library, comprising:

a transceiver to send and receive data over a network; and

a processor that is operative to perform actions, comprising:

receiving over the network from a mobile device a release form;

storing the release form in the media library, the media library comprising (1) a collection of media items, (2) a collection of release forms, and (3) a media database comprising a record for each media item, the record including metadata about the media item, said metadata including information about release forms associated with the media item;

receiving over the network from a client computer, different than the mobile device, media items from a contributor of media items to the media library;

storing the media items in the media library; and

receiving from the client computer a selection of one or more media items from the media library and the designation of a release form;

for each of the selected one or more media items, associating the respective media item with the designated release form by updating the media database record for the respective media item to indicate the association

receiving a request from a customer computer on behalf of a customer, to license one of the selected media items; and

providing information to the customer computer about the availability for licensing of the selected media item based at least in part on information in the release form associated with the selected media item.

18. The network device of claim 17 wherein the processor is configured to perform actions, further comprising:

receiving from the mobile device a message requesting authentication of the contributor;

authenticating the contributor; and

sending a response message to the mobile device, upon authentication, indicating whether the contributor was successfully authenticated.

19. The network device of claim 17 wherein the processor is configured to perform actions, further comprising receiving from the client device instructions from the contributor to submit said one or more contributor media items to a review process.

20. The network device of claim 17 wherein the release form is an electronically signed model release form or property release form that indicates a release of designated rights by a model or an owner of property.