Method and system for providing content items to users
First Claim
1. A method of providing a content item to a plurality of users, comprising:
- defining a collective earning threshold;
receiving a total collective payment from the plurality of users, wherein the total collective payment includes a plurality of individual user payments that are each contributed by a respective one of the plurality of users;
transmitting the content item at a premium quality level when the total collective payment is greater than or equal to the collective earning threshold; and
transmitting the content item at an impaired quality level when the total collective payment is less than the collective earning threshold.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for accumulating a collective payment for content and services from end-users include each end-user contributing to a total collective payment through one or more individual payments. A content provider receives this total collective payment. When the total collective payment is greater than or equal to a collective earning threshold, the content provider transmits the content item at a premium quality level. However, when the total collective payment is less than the collective earning threshold, the content provider transmits the content item at an impaired quality level. The content item may be transmitted at an impaired quality level in any number of ways. For instance, the content provider may reduce the size of one or more images included in the content item. Also, the content provider may increase the distortion of audio signals included in the content item. Alternatively, the content provider may even interrupt transmission of the content item to produce this impaired quality level.
32 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of providing a content item to a plurality of users, comprising:
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defining a collective earning threshold;
receiving a total collective payment from the plurality of users, wherein the total collective payment includes a plurality of individual user payments that are each contributed by a respective one of the plurality of users;
transmitting the content item at a premium quality level when the total collective payment is greater than or equal to the collective earning threshold; and
transmitting the content item at an impaired quality level when the total collective payment is less than the collective earning threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for providing a content item to a plurality of users, comprising:
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means for defining a collective earning threshold;
means for receiving a total collective payment from the plurality of users, wherein the total collective payment includes a plurality of individual user payments that are each contributed by a respective one of the plurality of users;
means for transmitting the content item at a premium quality level when the total collective payment is greater than or equal to the collective earning threshold; and
means for transmitting the content item at an impaired quality level when the total collective payment is less than the collective earning threshold. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for enabling a processor in a computer system to provide a content item over a network to a plurality of users, the computer program logic comprising:
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program code for enabling the processor to receive one or more individual user payments;
program code for enabling the processor to compare a sum of the individual user payments to a collective earning threshold;
program code for enabling the processor to transmit the content item at a premium quality level when the total collective payment is greater than or equal to the collective earning threshold; and
program code for enabling the processor to transmit the content item at an impaired quality level when the total collective payment is less than the collective earning threshold.
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22. A method of providing a content item to a plurality of users, comprising:
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defining a collective earning threshold;
receiving a total collective payment from the plurality of users, wherein the total collective payment includes a plurality of individual user payments that are each contributed by a respective one of the plurality of users; and
scheduling the content item for transmission when the total collective payment is greater than or equal to the collective earning threshold. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. A system for providing a content item to a plurality of users, comprising:
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means for defining a collective earning threshold;
means for receiving a total collective payment from the plurality of users, wherein the total collective payment includes a plurality of individual user payments that are each contributed by a respective one of the plurality of users; and
means for scheduling the content item for transmission when the total collective payment is greater than or equal to the collective earning threshold.
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25. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for enabling a processor in a computer system to provide a content item over a network to a plurality of users, the computer program logic comprising:
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program code for enabling the processor to define a collective earning threshold;
program code for enabling the processor to receive a total collective payment from the plurality of users, wherein the total collective payment includes a plurality of individual user payments that are each contributed by a respective one of the plurality of users; and
program code for enabling the processor to schedule the content item for transmission when the total collective payment is greater than or equal to the collective earning threshold.
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26. A method of providing a content item to a plurality of users, comprising:
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defining a collective earning threshold;
receiving a total collective payment from the plurality of users, wherein the total collective payment includes a plurality of individual user payments that are each contributed by a respective one of the plurality of users; and
transmitting the content item in a manner that is based on a comparison between the total collective payment and the collective earning threshold.
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27. A wireless communications device for receiving a content item from a content provider, the wireless communications device comprising:
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means for selecting a content item from a list of content item offerings provided by the content provider;
means for sending an individual user payment for the selected content item to the content provider;
means for receiving a revenue indicator from the content provider, the revenue indicator indicating a comparison between a total collective payment and a collective earning threshold, wherein the total collective payment includes the individual user payment and one or more payments from other wireless communications devices; and
means for receiving the selected content item from the content provider in a manner that is determined by the comparison between the total collective payment and the collective earning threshold.
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Specification