Systems and methods for accessing digital content using electronic tickets and ticket tokens

1. A user device, comprising:

a processor;

a network interface; and

memory configured to store:

an electronic ticket that includes a torn status indicating whether the electronic ticket has been associated with a user account by a DRM server, where the electronic ticket enables playback of digital content when the torn status is TORN as opposed to UNTORN; and

a ticket token;

wherein the processor is configured by an application to:

send a request for digital content to a merchant server;

receive a ticket token from a merchant server sent in response to the request for digital content, wherein the ticket token is generated by a DRM server that is not the merchant server and associated with an electronic ticket that enables playback of the requested digital content;

send the ticket token to a DRM server, where the DRM server is not the merchant server;

receive an electronic ticket from the DRM server sent in response to the ticket token, where the electronic ticket is initiated with an UNTORN status indicating that it is not yet associated with any particular user account and the electronic ticket enables playback of requested digital content;

change the torn status of the electronic ticket to TORN based upon a DRM server having associated the electronic ticket with a user account;

request the digital content associated with the electronic ticket; and

play back the requested digital content using the electronic ticket when the electronic ticket has a torn status of TORN.

2. The user device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic ticket is an XML file.

3. The user device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic ticket identifies the purchased digital content.

4. The user device of claim 3 , wherein the electronic ticket includes a characteristic of the purchased content selected from the group consisting of:

information identifying the content that was purchased, a license indicating how the content can be played back, a purchase price, a merchant transaction identifier, the identification of a customer who purchased the ticket, and the identification of a customer owning the ticket.

5. The user device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic ticket is associated with cryptographic data that can be used to access the digital content to which the electronic ticket refers.

6. The user device of claim 1 , wherein the ticket token references the electronic ticket, a customer, and the requested digital content.

7. The user device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive access information for the digital content.

8. The user device of claim 7 , wherein the access information includes at least one piece of information selected from the group consisting of:

a top level index of the digital content, an identifier for the digital content, and cryptographic data that can be used to access the digital content.

9. The user device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic ticket is embedded in the header of a multimedia file.

10. A method for enabling playback of digital content on a user device using an electronic ticket and a ticket token, the method comprising:

sending a request for digital content from a user device to a merchant server;

receiving by the user device a ticket token from the merchant server sent in response to the request for the digital content, wherein the ticket token is generated by a DRM server that is not the merchant server and associated with an electronic ticket that includes an torn status indicating whether the electronic ticket has been associated with a user account by a DRM server and that enables playback of the requested digital content when the torn status is TORN as opposed to UNTORN;

sending the ticket token to a DRM server using the user device, where the DRM server is not the merchant server;

receiving by the user device the DRM server sent in response to the ticket token, where the electronic ticket is initiated with an UNTORN status indicating that is not yet associated with any particular user account and the electronic ticket enables playback of requested digital content;

changing the torn status of the electronic ticket to TORN based upon a DRM server having associated the electronic ticket with a user account;

downloading the digital content associated with the electronic ticket from a content server using the user device; and

playing back the requested digital content when the electronic ticket has a torn status of TORN.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the electronic ticket is an XML file.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the electronic ticket identifies the purchased digital content.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the electronic ticket includes a characteristic of the purchased content selected from the group consisting of:

information identifying the content that was purchased, a license indicating how the content can be played back, a purchase price, a merchant transaction identifier, the identification of a customer who purchased the ticket, and the identification of a customer owning the ticket

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the electronic ticket is associated with cryptographic data that can be used to access the digital content to which the electronic ticket refers.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the ticket token references the electronic ticket, a customer, and the requested digital content.

16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising receiving access information for the digital content.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the access information includes at least one piece of information selected from the group consisting of:

a top level index of the digital content, an identifier for the digital content, and cryptographic data that can be used to access the content.

18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the electronic ticket is embedded in the header of a multimedia file.

19. A non-transitory machine readable medium containing processor instructions, where execution of the instructions by a processor causes the processor to perform a process comprising:

sending a request for digital content from a user device to a merchant server;

receiving by the user device a ticket token from the merchant server sent in response to the request for digital content, wherein the ticket token is generated by a DRM server that is not the merchant server and associated with an electronic ticket that includes an torn status indicating whether the electronic ticket has been associated with a user account by a DRM server and that enables playback of the requested digital content when the torn status is TORN as opposed to TORN;

sending the ticket token to a DRM server using the user device, where the DRM server is not the merchant server;

receiving by the user device the electronic ticket from the DRM server sent in response to the ticket token, where the electronic ticket is initiated with an UNTORN status indicating that it is not yet associated with any particular user account and the electronic ticket enables playback of requested digital content;

changing the torn status of the electronic ticket to TORN based upon a DRM server having associated the electronic ticket with a user account;

downloading the digital content associated with the electronic ticket from a content server using the user device; and

playing back the requested digital content when the electronic ticket has a torn status of TORN.

20. The user device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic ticket includes an identifier of a customer who purchased the ticket and an identifier of a customer owning the ticket.

21. The user device of claim 1 , wherein the processor being configured to change the torn status of the electronic ticket to TORN based upon a DRM server having associated the electronic ticket with a user account comprises the processor being configured to change the torn status of the electronic ticket to TORN based upon the DRM having granted access rights for playback of digital content associated with the electronic ticket.

22. The user device of claim 1 , wherein the UNTORN status also indicates that the electronic ticket may be transferred from its purchaser to any other user.