US Patent 10083160 Distribution of user-generated annotations associated with digital content

A metadata item may be generated that includes metadata content corresponding to a selected portion of digital content stored on a first device, the metadata item may be associated with a first user profile, and the metadata item may be distributed to a second user device storing the digital content such that the metadata item can be accessed via a second user profile and rendered on the second user device in association with the digital content. In this manner, metadata content corresponding to digital content may be shared across user profiles that access the digital content. In addition, a collaborative content item may be generated that includes collaborative content associated with a word or phrase in digital content and that is editable by multiple user profiles.