DELIVERING ELECTRONIC CONTENT

• US 20030028608A1
• Filed: 01/15/1999
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digital Reg of Texas, LLC (DRM Technologies LLC)
• Original Assignee: DRM Technologies LLC
• Inventors: PATTERSON, PATRICK E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,127,515 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/207
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Delivering electronic content includes providing instructions that cause a computer to collect information including an e-mail address and transmitting the collected information to a receiving computer. The computer that receives the transmitted information selects electronic content based on the received information and e-mails the selected electronic content to the e-mail address included in the received information.

Claims

1. A method of delivering electronic content, comprising:

providing instructions that cause a first computer to collect information including an e-mail address, and transmit the collected information to a second computer; and

processing the transmitted information at the second computer by selecting electronic content for transmission to the e-mail address and e-mailing the selected electronic content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing instructions comprises providing web-page instructions.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein web-page instructions comprise HTML instructions.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the instructions comprise form instructions.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions that cause the first computer to collect information comprise instructions that query the first computer for information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions that cause the first computer to collect information comprise instructions that receive user input.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises demographic information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises system information.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the information comprises executing a script.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the script comprises a Common Gateway Interface script.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions remain present at the first computer during the processing.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic content comprises text.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic content comprises graphics.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic content comprises video information.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic content comprises audio information.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic content comprises executable instructions.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting electronic content comprises selecting electronic content based on the transmitted information.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises identification of the instructions that transmitted the information.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises identification of a computer that transmitted the information.

20. A method of delivering electronic content, comprising:

providing web-page form instructions that cause a first computer to interactively collect an e-mail address from a user and transmit information including the collected address information to a second computer; and

processing the transmitted information at the second computer by using the transmitted information to select electronic content and e-mailing the selected electronic content to the collected e-mail address.

21. A computer-implemented method of providing access to electronic content, comprising:

displaying in a browser a web-page that includes a link corresponding to electronic content;

in response to a user'"'"'s selection of the link, collecting information without modifying the web-page displayed in the browser, the collected information including an e-mail address;

transmitting the collected information to a remote server; and

sending electronic content from the remote server to the e-mail address based on the collected information.

22. A computer program, disposed on a computer readable medium, the computer program including instructions for causing a first computer'"'"'s processor to:

receive information collected by instructions at a second computer, the information including an e-mail address; and

based on the received information, select electronic content, and transmit the selected electronic content to the e-mail address included in the received information.

23. The computer program of claim 22, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to select electronic content comprise instructions that cause the processor to use a table that indicates electronic content corresponding to data included in the received information.