System and method for providing access to electronic works
First Claim
1. A method of providing electronic works, comprising the steps of:
- offering electronic works to a user over a network, receiving a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
verifying the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work; and
providing the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is a system and method for providing access to electronic works over a network. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention offers a user access to electronic copies of works, such as songs, albums, movies, or music videos, over a network. The user responds to the offer by requesting to access to a particular work. Before such a request is granted, the present invention may verify that the user is authorized to access to the work. In one embodiment, the user verifies that they are authorized to access an electronic copy of the work by demonstrating that they possess a physical copy of the work. In another embodiment, the user verifies that they are authorized to access an electronic copy of the work by demonstrating that they ordered or purchased a copy of the work. If a user'"'"'s authorization is verified, the user may then be provided with access to an electronic copy of the work by such techniques as downloading or streaming.
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Citations
99 Claims
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1. A method of providing electronic works, comprising the steps of:
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offering electronic works to a user over a network, receiving a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
verifying the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work; and
providing the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A method of acquiring an electronic version of a work, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining a physical work;
creating an electronic work from the physical work;
extracting samples of data from the physical work;
identifying an electronic work in an encoding queue;
retrieving the electronic work identified in the encoding queue; and
transferring the retrieved electronic work to storage. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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58. The method of claim, further comprising the steps of:
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labeling the electronic work; and
using the label of the electronic work as a unique identifier for accounting purposes.
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66. A method of delivering electronic works, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request for access to an electronic work and a form of user identification from a device;
identifying characteristics of the requesting device;
verifying the form of user identification against stored information;
storing frequently requested items locally in memory; and
providing the device with access to the electronic work. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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74. A method of acquiring an electronic work, comprising the steps of:
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logging into a service offering access to at least one electronic work;
sending a request to access at least one electronic work and a form of identification;
demonstrating authorization to receive the requested electronic work; and
obtaining access to the requested electronic work. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78)
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79. A method of authorizing electronic works, comprising the steps of:
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accepting an order for an electronic work from a user;
sending a message including a unique identifier of the work to a distributor, wherein the message instructs the distributor to provide the user with access to an electronic work; and
receiving a confirmation from the distributor that the user was given access to an electronic work.
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80. An apparatus for providing electronic works, comprising:
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means for offering electronic works to a user over a network;
means for storing at least one of the offered electronic works;
means for receiving a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
means for verifying the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work wherein the means for verifying includes;
means for receiving data corresponding to at least one track offset of a physical work, and means for comparing the at least one track offset of the physical work to a corresponding track offset on at least one stored electronic work; and
means for providing the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network. - View Dependent Claims (81)
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82. An apparatus for providing electronic works, comprising:
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means for offering electronic works to a user over a network;
means for storing at least one of the offered electronic works;
means for receiving a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
means for verifying the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work wherein the means for verifying includes;
means for sending a request to obtain data corresponding to at least a portion of a physical work, means for receiving data corresponding to the at least a portion of the physical work, and means for comparing the at least a portion of the physical work with a corresponding portion of at least one electronic work to determine whether to grant the request; and
means for providing the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network.
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83. An apparatus for acquiring an electronic version of a work, comprising:
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means for obtaining a physical work;
means for creating an electronic work from the physical work;
means for extracting samples of data from the physical work;
means for identifying an electronic work in an encoding queue;
means for retrieving the electronic work identified in the encoding queue; and
means for transferring the retrieved electronic work to storage.
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84. The apparatus for delivering electronic works, comprising:
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means for receiving a request for access to an electronic work and a form of user identification from a device;
means for identifying characteristics of the requesting device;
means for verifying the form of user identification against stored information;
means for storing frequently requested items locally in memory; and
means for providing the device with access to the electronic work.
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85. An apparatus for providing electronic works, comprising:
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a server for offering electronic works to a user over a network, wherein the server stores at least one of the offered electronic works, wherein the server receives a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
wherein the server verifies the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work by receiving data corresponding to at least one track offset of a physical work, and comparing the at least one track offset of the physical work to a corresponding track offset on at least one stored electronic work; and
wherein the server provides the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network. - View Dependent Claims (86)
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87. An apparatus for providing electronic works, comprising:
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a server for offering electronic works to a user over a network, storing the offered electronic works, and receiving a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
wherein the server also verifies the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work by sending a request to obtain data corresponding to at least a portion of a physical work, receiving data corresponding to the at least a portion of the physical work, and comparing the at least a portion of the physical work with a corresponding portion of at least one electronic work to determine whether to grant the request; and
wherein the server also provides the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network.
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88. An apparatus for acquiring an electronic version of a work, comprising:
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two rippers for extracting data from a physical work;
two encoders, wherein each ripper is connected to each encoder, wherein the two encoders include dual processors, a database, wherein the database stores a queue of extracted data ready for delivery to the at least two encoders, wherein the extracted data from the physical work is distributed to more than one encoder, and wherein the encoders encode the extracted data; and
a storage device, wherein the storage device stores the encoded data from the encoders. - View Dependent Claims (89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96)
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97. The apparatus for delivering electronic works, comprising:
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a server for receiving a request for access to an electronic work, user identification, and information identifying a type of device;
a translation module, wherein the translation module identifies the requested electronic work from the request;
a validation module, wherein the validation module validates the user is entitled to receive the electronic work, wherein the validating is done by comparing information acquired from a previous request to information from a current request, and wherein the server provides the user with access to the requested electronic work. - View Dependent Claims (98, 99)
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Specification