U.S. patent application number 10/087274 was filed with the patent office on 2002-10-24 for audio ownership system.
Invention is credited to Hunter, Bryan, Vilcauskas, Andy.
Application Number | 20020152874 10/087274 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 23043318 |
Filed Date | 2002-10-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020152874 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Vilcauskas, Andy ; et
al. |
October 24, 2002 |
Audio ownership system
Abstract
System for providing music to users.
Inventors: |
Vilcauskas, Andy; (Tualatin,
OR) ; Hunter, Bryan; (Portland, OR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Kevin L. Russell
Suite 1600
601 SW Second Ave.
Portland
OR
97204-3157
US
|
Family ID: |
23043318 |
Appl. No.: |
10/087274 |
Filed: |
March 1, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60273290 |
Mar 1, 2001 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
84/600 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20130101;
H04L 67/104 20130101; G06F 21/10 20130101; G11B 20/00086 20130101;
H04L 9/40 20220501; G06F 16/683 20190101; H04L 67/01 20220501; H04L
69/329 20130101; H04L 67/1063 20130101; G06F 16/68 20190101; G06F
16/60 20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
84/600 |
International
Class: |
G10H 001/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A music system comprising: (a) a server containing a plurality
of digital songs; and (b) a user obtaining a plurality of different
songs from said server, wherein said obtaining is not in the nature
of a rental, a lease, or a lending.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a system for providing
music to users.
[0002] The traditional technique for selecting music involves
listening to the radio and remembering which artists are most
appealing to the listener. The listener then may go to the store to
purchase a compact disc, tape, or album containing that music.
Unfortunately, the compact disk frequently contains numerous songs
that the listener does not like. Accordingly, often the listener
obtains a compact disk with one, and possibly two, songs which are
enjoyable. Further, an artist releases a new compact disc which the
listener becomes aware of. Without listening to the songs the
listener purchases the compact disc with the expectation that the
music will be enjoyable. Unfortunately, the compact disk will
periodically be completely devoid of any enjoyable songs. After
obtaining a compact disc that is no longer wanted, the user
typically sells the compact disk on the secondary market at a
substantial discount.
[0003] Internet based music retailers, such as www.amazon.com sell
compact disks to potential customers. To increase sales and to
partially alleviate the unknown quality of the songs for their
customers, Internet based music retailers may provide samples of
selected songs. This permits the potential customer to make a more
informed decision regarding whether to purchase a particular
compact disk by listening to the songs prior to purchasing the
compact disk. While this is an improvement, the samples of the
songs may be misleading as to the nature of the complete song and
many songs on the compact disk do not include a sample. In
addition, many compact discs do not include any samples at all.
Moreover, the customer may have to wait several days for the
compact disk to arrive. Further, after purchasing a compact disc
that the listener does not like, the purchaser either relegates the
compact disk to the drawer or otherwise sells the disk on the
secondary market at a substantial discount. Accordingly, the
customer may be unsatisfied with his purchase.
[0004] Other online retailers provide individual compressed digital
audio music files for downloading and purchase by customers. While
permitting the downloading of desirable songs without purchasing
the entire album, the customer is unable to return the digital
audio file for return of the purchase price nor is able to lawfully
transfer the digital audio file to others.
[0005] Other Internet based services provide peer-to-peer music
sharing service. One such service is www.napster.com (as it existed
Jan. 1, 2001). Users of the music service sample the music on their
compact disks thereby creating compressed music files, such as a
motion picture experts group audio layer 3 files, typically
referred to as MP3 files. The audio compression from an
"uncompressed" compact disk is typically performed by an audio
"ripping" program. After compression, the files are typically
stored on the user's hard drive. Upon signing into the music
sharing service, the compressed audio files on each user's hard
drive are made available to all of the other users. In this manner,
different users may listen to different music by downloading and
listening to the songs available from other users. This provides a
convenient technique for sampling different music that the listener
may not have otherwise listened to. Unfortunately, the music that
is being downloaded may be compressed at different sampling rates,
which results in the audio having different qualities. In addition,
re-compressing the compressed audio at another sampling rate does
not result in as high of recording quality as if the song was
originally sampled at the desired sampling rate. Because the system
is a peer-to-peer file transfer system, with the server merely
providing the network address of the audio files, the actual
quality of the compressed audio is unknown. In addition, frequently
the compressed audio files do not include the entire song. Further,
the download speeds of the compressed audio are limited by the data
transfer rate of the network connection of the other user, which is
not within the control of the user downloading the compressed
audio. Accordingly, it may take substantial time to download the
desired audio files. The user may likewise be unable to locate a
desired song because it is currently unavailable from other users.
Moreover, peer-to-peer audio file servers may require suitable
licenses to comply with the current United States Copyright
Laws.
[0006] What is desired, therefore, is a convenient system for
permitting users to listen to selected audio files.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a network based audio file system.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an audio file
system.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment of an audio
file system.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another embodiment of an audio
file system.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of another embodiment of an audio
file system.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of another embodiment of an audio
file system.
[0013] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of monitoring software for use
with the audio file system.
[0014] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of exchange limitations for use
with the audio file system.
[0015] FIG. 9A is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an
audio file system.
[0016] FIG. 9B is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an
audio file system.
[0017] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an
audio file system.
[0018] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an
audio file system.
[0019] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an
audio file system.
[0020] FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an
audio file system.
[0021] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an
audio file system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0022] After considering the limitations of selecting music and the
inherent file quality and quality of service limitations, the
present inventors came to the realization that a different paradigm
should be developed. The current paradigm of providing songs based
on peer-to-peer connections of user's downloading and storing the
audio files on their hard drives should be modified to a paradigm
based upon providing server based content, where the quality of the
audio files and the service are more closely controlled. The
current paradigm should likewise be modified to a paradigm based
upon ownership of the music so that all the artists are properly
compensated for their work. However providing audio files with
ownership rights of selected songs, or otherwise one or more
compact disks, would typically require sending the compact disk to
the user and electronically transferring the selected audio files.
After listening to the compact disk the user may then resell the
compact disk at a discount. In addition, providing the compact disk
to the user typically uses the postal service which is
prohibitively expensive, and returning the compact disk to an
Internet based buyer likewise typically uses the postal service
which is prohibitively expensive. In a similar way, it is time
consuming to travel to a music store to purchase a compact disc and
thereafter travel back to a used music store to sell the compact
disc for typically less than one-half of what the customer paid for
it.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, a server 20 stores compressed audio
files 22 and is interconnected to the Internet 24. It is to be
understood that the Internet may be any type of computer network
which permits communication between multiple computing devices,
such as computers. The audio files 22 are preferably obtained from
a compact disk, record, tape, or other medium 21 at a first
sampling rate or as an analog audio signal. The songs from the
compact disk or otherwise are compressed to a size smaller than
they would have been had the file not been compressed. In other
words, typically the songs are sampled at a lower sampling rate
than they were originally sampled at when stored on the compact
disk. For analog music signals the songs are sampled at the desired
sampling rate. Multiple users 26, 28, 30, and 32 may be
interconnected to the Internet 24 to facilitate communication with
the server 20. For each of the audio files 22 stored on the server
20 a corresponding copy of the compact disk or other medium is
owned, or otherwise a license to the content is obtained, by the
system provider 34 (e.g., an entity that provides the audio files
for the user). In essence, for each set of songs from a single
album or compact disk, the provider 34 has purchased the rights to
that copy of the songs and the corresponding digital copy of those
songs that are stored on the server 20 as the audio files 22.
[0024] Referring also to FIG. 2, the user may initially sign into
the server 20 to listen to and download desirable audio files 22 at
block 40. The user may search the audio files 22 on the server 20
at block 42 by any suitable technique, such as for example, artist,
name of album, name of song, name of composer, name of producer,
genre, etc. After locating a suitable song(s), album, or file the
user may initiate the downloading or listening process at block 44
for the desired song file 22 from the server 20. Initially the
server 20 determines if that song, other songs, or other files from
the album are currently downloaded or in use by another user at
block 46. If the song or other songs from the album are currently
downloaded, in use, or being downloaded by the same or another
user, then the system determines if a sufficient number of copies
or licenses are owned by the provider 34 to permit another
download. In this manner, for each copy of a song, or a song on a
particular album or compact disc, a corresponding copy of the
compact disk, license, or otherwise, is verified as being owned by
the provider 34. It is to be understood that when reference is made
to a particular album, compact disc, digital media, digital rights,
tape, license, group of associated songs, group of audio files for
which a license to use has been obtained, or otherwise ownership is
obtained or otherwise established, that it is referring
collectively to the entire group, even if not explicitly stated.
The song and/or album is determined to be available or not
available at block 46. If the song or album is determined to be
available at block 46, while a copy of the song or multiple songs
from the same album are being downloaded by a particular user, the
corresponding copy of the compact disk or license is "locked out"
or otherwise made unavailable to other users at block 50, if no
further ownership rights are available. In this manner, the owners
of any copyrights in the audio content are compensated for their
contribution because only one digital copy, albeit compressed, of
that content which was obtained by the provider 34 is provided to
any user at any particular time. If a copy of the song or any songs
on the corresponding album are not downloaded, not being downloaded
by others, and/or otherwise the service provider 34 has a license
or ownership interest in another copy of (or the only copy of) the
content, then the user is permitted to download a copy of the
content at block 52. Upon downloading the content and/or otherwise
selecting content to be downloaded or streamed, the corresponding
compact disk or otherwise is indicated as "unavailable." In this
manner, audio content is made available to users in a convenient
manner where quality may be maintained. The provider 34 may "rip"
or otherwise obtain the digital audio files 22 with a desired
sampling rate where the completeness of the audio files are
guaranteed. The provider 34 may maintain physical control over the
media 21 and may or may not provide the physical media 21 to the
user, if desired.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 3, (a further embodiment) after the user
has completed downloading the song, any other songs on the same
album, or licensed songs, the user may desire to search for other
songs on different albums. Prior to downloading or streaming a song
or digital file from a different album, the user may delete, if
desired, the copy of the previous song(s) downloaded from the
server 20 at block 56. Upon deleting the previously downloaded
song(s)/files, that corresponding compact disk (license or other
media) that was "locked out" is then made available to other users
at block 58. After deleting the previously downloaded audio files,
and preferably acknowledging the deletion of the audio files at
block 60, the user may start downloading or streaming additional
song(s)/files from a different album. In this manner, digital
copies of songs may be provided to a user without violation of the
copyright owner's interest in the content because only a single
copy of a particular song or album, for which a legitimate
ownership interest has been obtained, is downloaded/streamed or
otherwise the ownership interest has been transferred, at any
particular time, albeit preferably in a compressed digital form. In
the event that there is sufficient bandwidth, the digital files do
not need to be compressed.
[0026] After consideration of the process by which the audio files
are made available to the user, the present inventors realized that
by rearranging the order of the processes may result in a decrease
in the number of compact discs (i.e., media) or licenses for which
ownership rights need to be obtained. Referring again to FIG. 3, if
the corresponding disk is blocked out at block 50 and permitted to
be downloaded at block 52, there exists the possibility that
considerable time may elapse before the user actually acknowledges
the deletion of the previously downloaded song(s)/album at block
56. Referring to FIG. 4, it is preferable that the deletion at
block 56, the acknowledgment at block 60 (if provided), and the
make available at block 58 are performed prior to permitting
downloading of the newly selected audio files at block 52. In this
manner there is a reduced likelihood of multiple audio files from
different albums being "locked out" for a significant period of
time.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 5, the system may include a membership or
fee based subscription service. Prior to signing into the server at
block 40 (see FIG. 2), the user purchases a compact disk (or other
media/digital rights) at block 80, such as for example, from the
service provider 34 or other source. The purchase price may include
for example, the retail price of the compact disk, and an account
setup fee. In this manner, the ownership rights of a particular
compact disk (or other media/digital rights) are attributed to a
particular user, while the service provider 34 maintains physical
control over the compact disk or license on behalf of the user.
Since the transaction may be considered a sale or otherwise a
purchase, the system may provide the option for providing the
compact disk to the user at block 82. In this manner, the compact
disk is available to the user, if desired. If the compact disk or
license is stored by the service provider 34, then the
corresponding compact disk or license is "locked out" or otherwise
made unavailable from being purchased by other users at block 84.
Accordingly, ownership of a compact disk is established for a user
at block 86 by their purchase thereof. Alternatively, the rights to
the audio content may be purchased or otherwise established in any
other manner. For example, a license may be obtained without the
purchase of the compact disk itself, a compact disk, digital file,
digital rights, or otherwise may be provided to the service
provider 34 to establish ownership rights of the content, a compact
disk may be inserted into a computer to establish the ownership of
the installed compact disk, or otherwise establish an ownership
interest in the media. Preferably, the ownership interest is
sufficient to transfer the ownership interest to others by a gift,
sale, transfer, or otherwise.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 6, ownership of a compact disk (or
otherwise the medium) for a user is established at block 100 in any
manner. The user may relinquish ownership of the compact disk to
the service provider 34 at block 102. This relinquishment may be
performed, for example, by selling the compact disk back to the
service provider 102 and crediting the user's account. In the case
of digital audio files, and the desire to fully transfer effective
ownership to those audio files and corresponding compact disk, if
any, the user preferably deletes the digital audio files that the
user received corresponding to the compact disk that the user had
an ownership right to at block 104. The user may acknowledge the
deletion of the song(s)/album at block 106. It is to be understood
that any other technique may be used to effectuate the "deletion"
of a file, such as for example, using technology that results in
the file being non-functional after an event such as listening to
the file or an elapse of a period of time, removing the header
portion from the file, or encoding the file so that it is no longer
usable. The service provider 34 may then make the deleted
song(s)/album, acknowledged if desired, available to other users at
block 108. The user may search the audio files on the server 110 to
locate desirable audio files. The system determines if the
song(s)/album is available by having an available compact disk or
otherwise rights to the media at block 112. If the song(s)/album is
available at block 112 a transaction transferring ownership in the
content between the user and the system is performed at block 114.
The ownership transfer of the compact disk other otherwise may be
performed by the user, such as for example, using a credit existing
in his account, the user paying for the compact disk, the user
exchanging the previously owned compact disk established at 100 for
the compact disk selected at block 112, or otherwise. In essence,
the system effectuates a transfer of the ownership of a compact
disk (or otherwise) from the service provider 102 to the user, or
it may effectuate a transfer of the ownership of a compact disk (or
otherwise) from a user to another user. This transfer is preferably
not in the nature of a rental, a lease, lending, or by any other
act or practice in the nature of rental, lease, or lending. In that
way an effective transfer of ownership, or otherwise a sale, of the
content is accomplished at block 114. The corresponding compact
disk (or otherwise) for the selected audio content is blocked out
at block 116. With the effective transfer at block 1 14 and the
blocking out of the compact disk (or otherwise) at block 116, the
download of the song(s)/album/or otherwise may be effectively
performed at block 118, without impinging on any prohibition
against a transfer that is in the nature of a rental, a lease,
lending, or the like, prohibited under the Copyright Act, 2001.
After downloading the content obtained at block 118, the digital
audio may be exchanged again, in any manner, as desired.
[0029] In the preferred embodiment, the user is permitted to
download audio files originating from a single compact disk, album,
or otherwise, for which a corresponding compact disk or otherwise
is "locked out" from being provided to another user. If the user
desires to simultaneously download or otherwise maintain copies of
audio files from multiple compact disks or otherwise then the
service provider 34 would "lock out" multiple compact disks or
otherwise, namely, one or more compact disks or otherwise that
collectively contain all of the audio files that are currently
selected, downloaded, or being downloaded by the user. In this
manner, the artists rights in this music is protected from
unauthorized downloading or otherwise misappropriation of their
works without proper compensation.
[0030] It is to be understood that the user may purchase or
otherwise establish ownership for multiple compact disks or
otherwise, if desired. In that manner, the user does not need to
delete all of the downloaded audio files, but only the portion
corresponding to the compact disk or otherwise that the user is
transferring ownership back to the service provider 34 or the user
is transferring ownership to another user. This permits the user
more flexibility in the selection of audio content without deletion
of any files that has been lawfully obtained.
[0031] The digital audio content may be provided to the user in any
suitable format desired. For example, some of the existing file
formats include, MP3, Liquid Audio, Real Player, MPEG 1, MPEG 2,
and wav files. In addition, the digital audio content may be
provided as "streaming" media which is listened to as the media is
being provided to the user.
[0032] Referring to FIG. 7, the system may include monitoring
software 130 installed, otherwise operating on the user's computer,
or available to the user through a networked connection, to assist
in the selection of suitable songs. The monitoring software 130 may
include an interface that permits the searching for and selection
of songs by artist, genre, lyrics, year, decade, title of album,
title of song, or any other suitable search criteria. If desired,
the monitoring software 130 may track the downloading of songs for
one or more albums obtained from the server 20 and where the
corresponding digital files are stored by the user. Thereafter,
when the user desires to download additional audio files from other
compact disks, the system may automatically delete the previously
downloaded audio content so that the corresponding compact disk may
be made available to other users.
[0033] The exchange of audio files using the server may be further
limited or otherwise modified by other criteria. Referring to FIG.
8, the criteria may include a limited time during which the user is
permitted to listen to the audio content at block 150. In this
manner, the purchase, transfer of the ownership, or otherwise will
only be valid for a limited time duration, such as 2 hours. This
likewise permits the service provider 34 to maintain a smaller
collection of compact disks because the corresponding audio content
is not "checked out" to a particular user for an extended period of
time. The time limitation may be based upon, the user's voluntary
agreement to delete the songs after a time duration, the monitoring
software 130 deleting the songs, a time indication provided with
the audio file indicating the time during which the file may
listened to and other times the file being rendered inoperable, or
otherwise any suitable technique.
[0034] It may be observed that this system of exchanging or
otherwise transferring ownership rights to digital audio files
corresponding to compact disks, or otherwise media rights, results
in a system that permits users to listen to a wide selection of
different songs. In this manner, the system may be free from the
necessity to purchase or otherwise obtain licenses from the
copyright holders apart from the license that comes with the
purchase of the media.
[0035] The criteria may include a comparison between the value of
the compact disk currently purchased or otherwise attributed to the
user, and the value of the compact disk or otherwise from which
songs are desired, at block 152. This permits the system provider
34 to avoid situations in which the user purchases a relatively
inexpensive compact disk and exchanges that compact disk with a
relatively expensive compact disk, thereby depriving the service
provider 34 or another user of adequate compensation. Likewise, if
the user purchases a relatively expensive compact disk and
exchanges that compact disk with an relatively inexpensive compact
disk, the user's account may be credited or the user reimbursed in
some suitable manner.
[0036] The criteria may include limitations based on the sign up
fee paid by the user. In general, different number of albums,
files, or otherwise may be provided, more extensive selections, and
greater flexibility if the user pays a relatively higher fee at
block 154.
[0037] The criteria may include limitations based upon the type of
the media at block 156, such as for example, analog tape, 8-track,
laser disc, compact disk, album, super audio compact disk, digital
audio disc, etc. In this manner, the system may compensate for the
expense of purchasing the corresponding media, with compact disks
tending to be more expensive than tapes. In one example, the
trading for some users may be limited to audio tapes.
[0038] The criteria may include the genre of the music being
listened to at block 158. The popular music in some genres, such a
rock, tend to be transitory in nature so that the album is in high
demand for a limited period of time therefore resulting in the
service provider 34 purchasing of many copies of the corresponding
media. However, after a limited period of time, the album will tend
to be relatively unpopular after which the service provider 34 will
have a large collection of corresponding media without any
corresponding demand. After this occurrence, the service provider
34 may sell the corresponding media at a considerable loss. In
contrast, genres that have a stable demand will not result in such
temporary over purchasing of corresponding media and therefore will
tend to be less expensive for the service provider 34.
[0039] The criteria may include user preferences at block 160 by
which the user selects exchange and usage limitations. The user
preferences may be used as the basis for determining the fee
criteria for the exchanging of audio files or otherwise.
[0040] The criteria may include the length of the audio files,
number of audio files exchanged or otherwise downloaded, or
otherwise the number of audio files on a particular compact disk(s)
at block 162. Similarly, this criteria may permit the service
provider 34 to adjust the fee schedule based upon the bandwidth for
file transfer that the user will be using to download the
songs.
[0041] The present inventors determined that there may be copyright
ownership considerations relating to the simultaneous storing of
compressed digital audio files, such as MP3 files, on the server,
transferring the ownership of the compact disk or otherwise to the
user, permitting downloading or streaming of the digital audio
files to the user, still maintaining the digital audio files on the
server after the transfer has occurred without another copy of the
compact disk being owned by the service provider 34 or other users,
and maintaining backups of the digital audio files. In essence, the
service provider 34 may have transferred ownership of the compact
disk or otherwise and the corresponding digital files or otherwise
but might retain a copy of the digital files on the server.
Referring to FIG. 9A, the service provider 34 may store one or more
of the compact disks in a compact disk jukebox 200 or other system
that makes the physical compact disk available on demand. In the
event that the downloading of the digital audio files and the
corresponding digital audio files represent the only remaining copy
of the corresponding compact disk owned by the service provider 34
(block 202), then the service provider 34 may delete the digital
audio file after transferring the digital audio file to the user at
block 204. In this manner, only one single copy of the digital
audio file and possibly a backup of that digital audio file will be
maintained corresponding to a single compact disk. After the user
exchanges the compact disk at block 206 the digital audio files may
be "ripped" from the compact disk at block 208 to the server or
possibly retrieved from a backup copy to replace the digital audio
files previously deleted. In addition, the user could likewise
retransfer the digital audio files back to the server, if desired.
However, for each compact disk where the service provider 34 has
multiple copies of the same disk, the service provider 34 may only
need to "rip" one set of digital files, which could result in
substantial time and cost savings. Moreover, with the "ripping" of
the digital audio files being performed by the service provider 34
the quality and completeness of the digital audio files may be
maintained.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 9B, the service provider 34 stores or
otherwise has ownership rights in an assortment of compact disks at
block 220. The service provider 34 likewise may store digital audio
files corresponding to the compact disks at block 222. Further, the
service provider 220 may likewise have internal backups of the
digital audio files at block 224. The user may download the digital
audio files from the provider 34 at block 226. In the event that an
insufficient number of a particular compact disk is not "locked
out" or otherwise available to other users, such as the last copy
of the compact disk is provided to a user at block 226, then the
service provider 34 may be considered to be storing a backup copy
of the digital audio files on the server 20 on behalf of the user.
In this manner, when the user exchanges the particular compact disk
the server 20 may use the previously stored backup of the digital
audio files for other users. Accordingly, the system may permit the
last compact disk to be "locked out" while retaining a backup copy
of the digital audio files on the server 20 to alleviate the need
to "rip" another set of digital audio files from the compact
disk.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 10, the service provider 34 may provide an
annual or other periodic subscription model for operating the
service business. For example, the user may initially purchase a
compact disk or other, and pay an account setup fee and/or renewal
fee at block 300 and/or other fees. The purchase of the compact
disk may be at a retail price or other suitable price. The fee for
the compact disk may likewise vary based on the price of the
compact disk selected. The account setup fee, may be for example, a
one time fee for creating an account on the system. The renewal fee
may be a periodic fee, such as monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.,
for access or otherwise using to the system. After a period of
time, such as an annual time, the system may consider the purchased
compact disk as a "used" compact disk, even though the actual
compact disk may not have been actually removed from its packaging
or otherwise used in the traditional sense at block 302. The
compact disk assigned a "used" value may be the disk the user has
currently exchanged for, the compact disk or other purchased when
setting up the account, or otherwise any suitable disk or media
right. A value may be attributed to the "used" compact disk at
block 304. The user may have the option of having the "used"
compact disk forwarded to them, with the addition of shipping and
handling charges, if desired at block 306. If the user does not
desire to have the compact disk forwarded, such as at the end of a
renewal period, then the "used" value of the compact disk may be
credited to his account by selling the compact disk to the service
provider 34 or another user at block 308. The user may then select
another compact disk for the next period of time, such as an annual
time, at block 310. The service provider 34 may charge the user a
fee for the renewal, which may include for example, a renewal fee
and the price of the new disc minus the "value" of the "used"
compact disk, at block 312. In this manner, the user has the option
of selling the "used" compact disk, if desired. In addition, the
user may have the option of crediting the sale of the "used"
compact disk toward the purchase of a new compact disk for the next
time period. In other words, this effectuates a sale of the compact
disk or otherwise being stored by the service provider 34 and
likewise permits the user to purchase another compact disk or
otherwise from the service provider 34 or another user.
[0044] Referring to FIG. 11, another option for termination of the
annual subscription is to provide for forfeiture of the compact
disk or otherwise. The forfeiture may be automatic, in the event
that the user can not be contacted, or in the event that the user
does not renew or otherwise agree to pay for the shipping and
handling. In this manner, the compact disk or otherwise may become
property of the service provider 34 and the agreement with the user
will be terminated.
[0045] Referring to FIG. 12, the service provider 34 may sign up
its own artists and act in the capacity of a record label itself.
In this manner, the service provider 34 may be the owner of all of
the copyright rights in the music, to the extent possible under
current Copyright Laws of the particular jurisdiction. The service
provider 34 artists may likewise include artists where the service
provider 34 is alleviated from having to pay the normal royalties
owed the copyright owners if the music was provided in a typical
manner, such as by radio or other broadcast. In general, the
artists provided by the service provider 34 will incur less
royalties than would have normally otherwise because of contractual
relationships with the artists or other copyright holders. The
service provider 34 may provide the option to users of sampling its
own artists at block 350. The user may select one of the service
provider 34 artists at block 352. The user may, after downloading
(e.g., purchasing) songs on non-service provider 34 compact disks
at block 360, select to exchange the currently downloaded audio
files for one of the service provider 34 artists at block 350
before signing off the service. In this manner, the time between
uses of the system by the user during which the user may be
"parked" on expensive compact disks or other expensive audio files
is minimized. This may reduce the expense of the available digital
files for the service provider 34. This frees up additional audio
files for other users and reduces the inventory required by the
service provider 34 to provide a full selection.
[0046] The preferred embodiments envision that the audio files may
be transferred by some type of file transfer or streaming media. In
addition, the audio files may be free from encryption that limits
their use, copyright water marking, proprietary formats for a
particular system, a file encryption that inhibits copying of the
file, a file encryption that inhibits or otherwise limits the
number of copies that may be made, time limited durations, etc. In
this manner, the audio files are freely transferable from one
system to another, while operating properly. In addition, the
system may use streaming audio content where instead of
transferring digital audio files the audio content is streamed in a
continuous fashion to the user's computer, while the user
simultaneously listens to the content as it is being streamed or
otherwise listens to the content at later time. Moreover, the
server 20 may simultaneously stream and download the file to the
user. In addition, the audio files may be provided to the user in a
manner that requires modification of the audio file after
downloading prior to listening to the file. In this manner, the
distribution of the audio files may be more readily controlled, if
desired. If desired, the audio files may be directly provided via
an e-mail or likewise to the user or otherwise made available for
downloading from the server. The server may make the audio files
available in an "in box" or other user account that resides on the
server. In this manner, the audio files are made available and the
user may selectively download the desirable audio files. After the
audio files are exchanged, transferred, sold, or otherwise
relinquished or transfer ownership thereof, the server may simply
remove access to the audio files from the user's "in box" or the
user's account.
[0047] Referring to FIG. 13, the user may select audio content at
block 380. If the system determines that less than a selected
number of copies of the compact disk are available, such as zero,
one, two, etc., then the system at block 382 may desire to obtain
additional copies or otherwise rights to more audio files. While
ordering additional compact disks or digital rights through the
mail is possible, it is prohibitively time consuming when a
customer desires the audio files at that time. To overcome this
limitation, a computer networked based automatic purchasing agent
may be used to purchase an additional compact disk or other rights
at block 384. In the event that there were no additional copies or
otherwise rights to audio files available from the server (or less
than the desired number), the audio files are permitted to be
downloaded or otherwise purchased at block 386 after the automated
purchasing agent has secured the rights to additional copies of the
compact disks or ownership rights.
[0048] The system may track the exchange of audio files for
particular users. In this manner valuable statistical data is
obtained that may be used for any suitable purpose, including the
selection of additional audio files. The data may include, for
example, popularity of particular compact disks, popularity of
particular songs on particular compact disks, popularity of
songs/compact disks as a function of the time of day, groups of
albums that are likely desirable by the same user by monitoring
user's exchanges, popularity of songs/compact disks as a function
of the region of the country, popularity of songs/compact disks as
a function of the age of the user, popularity of songs/compact
disks as a function of the sex of the user, popularity of
songs/compact disks as a function of the demographics of the user,
popularity of songs/compact disks as a function of the income of
the user, popularity of songs/compact disks as a function of the
duration the audio files were purchased by the user, popularity of
songs/compact disks as a function of whether the corresponding
compact disk or single was purchased, popularity of songs/compact
disks as a function of the artist, popularity of songs/compact
disks as a function of the genre, popularity of songs/compact disks
as a function of the year, popularity of songs/compact disks as a
function of the decade/year the compact disk was released, and
popularity of songs/compact disks as a function of the decade/year
the compact disk was recorded.
[0049] Referring to FIG. 14, in another embodiment the system may
be used in a peer-to-peer environment where different users 400,
402, 404, and 406 sign into the server 410. The users preferably
provide a list of available audio files to the server 410 or to
all, or a selected set of, the other users which can be exchanged
with other users. The users may then search the server to locate
other users that have desirable audio files for downloading from
the other user. In this manner the server 410 acts as a clearing
house for available audio files for transfer between users. In
addition, the server 410 likewise preferably tracks which files
each of the users has ownership rights in. In addition, the sever
410 may be implemented in the manner of a distributed server
residing on one or more of the user's computers. When a user
desires to obtain ownership rights to another compact disk or
otherwise, the server 410 or otherwise distributed server "locks"
out a corresponding compact disk or otherwise makes available audio
ownership rights for the user transferring a copy of the audio
files from the other user. In this manner, the server 410 acts as
an ownership clearing house for the audio ownership rights. In a
similar manner, user's may transfer ownership rights of audio files
back to the server 410, or others users, and obtain new audio files
from other users, while the server 410 or other user provides the
user downloading the file with the proper ownership rights to the
media. In this manner, the server 410 (or other users) acts as a
clearing house for audio files while the actual files are being
transferred from other users, as opposed to the server itself.
[0050] The system shown in FIG. 14, may be extended to eliminate
the server, where the user's perform the exchange between
themselves. In this manner, the user's will transfer the digital
audio files between themselves while likewise providing the compact
disk or otherwise to the other user. Alternatively, the user may
store the compact disk on behalf of the user obtaining the digital
audio files. Further, the user providing the digital audio files
preferably deletes any copies of the files that he has after
transfer.
[0051] In addition to audio files, the system may be used to
transfer other types of digital files. Such digital files may
include digital video content, computer software, or any other type
of digital content.
[0052] The user may likewise purchase a compact disk from the
service provider 34 which is shipped to the user, and the
corresponding digital audio files are provided to the user with the
compact disk or otherwise provided to the user through a computer
network.
* * * * *
References