System and method for distributing electronic information

• US 20050004808A1
• Filed: 07/02/2003
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Paper LLC
• Original Assignee: Red Paper LLC
• Inventors: Gaynor, Michael G., Waterbury, Scott
• Granted Patent: US 7,246,106 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A system and method for distributing a plurality of electronic articles is provided. Articles are received from a plurality of users and stored retrievably in memory. A request is received for the purchase of an article from one of a plurality of users. An electronic funding account associated with the one of a plurality of users is debited, and the article is transmitted to the one of the plurality of users.

Claims

1. A method for distributing a plurality of electronic articles utilizing micro-pricing, comprising the steps of:

providing for receiving the articles from a plurality of users;

providing for storing the articles in a memory, the articles being retrievable from the memory;

providing for receiving a request for the purchase of an article from one of a plurality of users,

providing for debiting funding from an electronic funding account associated with the one of the plurality of users; and

,

providing for transmitting the article to the one of the plurality of users.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing for establishing the electronic funding account associated with the one of the plurality of users.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing for crediting the electronic funding account associated with the one of the plurality of users.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing for establishing a user account for one of the plurality of users.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises an index of the articles stored in the memory.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of:

providing for searching the index to locate an article based on one of at least type, subject matter, author name, submitter name, title, date, and rating.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing for receiving a revised version of an article from one of the plurality of users.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the articles from the plurality of users comprises the step of:

providing for receiving a summary of the article from one of the plurality of users.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing for generating a summary of one of the articles from the one of the articles.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing for classifying one of the articles received from the plurality of users based on one of at least type, subject matter, submitter name, title, author name, date, and rating.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of classifying comprises:

providing for determining the type of the one of the articles.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of:

providing for transmitting summaries of the articles to one of the plurality of users, the summaries sorted by one of at least type, subject matter, submitter name, title, author name, date, and rating.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of:

providing for establishing the price of one of the articles.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of providing for establishing the price of one of the articles comprises the step of:

providing for receiving the price of the article from the submitter of the article.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of:

providing for limiting the submitter of the article to a predefined micro-price range.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of providing for establishing the price of one of the articles comprises the step of:

providing for determining the price based on at least one of length, date, author, subject matter, and type.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing for preventing the purchase of one of the articles by one of the plurality of users if the one of the plurality of users does not have an established electronic funding account.

18. The method claim 1, wherein the step of providing for transmitting the article to the one of the plurality of users comprises providing for at least one of displaying the article on a Web site, electronically mailing the article, and providing the article for download.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing for notifying the submitter of the article that the article has been purchased.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of providing for notifying the submitter of the article that the article has been purchased comprises providing for at least one of displaying purchase information on a Web site and electronically mailing purchase information to the first user.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the articles has at least one of a type, a subject matter, an author name, a submitter name, a title, and a date, further comprising the step of:

providing for ranking the plurality of articles for at least one of type, subject matter, author name, submitter name, title, and date.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of ranking comprises:

providing for calculating an article rating of one of the plurality of articles based on the number of times the one of the plurality of articles has been purchased.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of ranking comprises:

providing for calculating a combined rating of one of the plurality of articles based on at least one user rating received from at least one of the plurality of users.

24. A system for distributing a plurality of electronic articles utilizing micro-pricing, comprising:

a processor for executing an application; and

,

a memory in communication with the processor;

wherein the application comprises;

a first code segment for receiving the articles from a plurality of users;

a second code segment for storing the articles in the memory, the articles being retrievable from the memory;

a third code segment for receiving a request for the purchase of an article from one of a plurality of users;

a fourth code segment for debiting funding from an electronic funding account associated with one of the plurality of users; and

,

a fifth code segment for transmitting the article to the one of the plurality of users.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for establishing the electronic funding account associated with the one of the plurality of users.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for crediting the electronic funding account associated with the one of the plurality of users.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for establishing a user account for one of the plurality of users.

28. The system of claim 24, wherein the memory comprises an index of the articles stored in the memory.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for searching the index to locate an article based on one of at least type, subject matter, author name, submitter name, title, date, and rating.

30. The system of claim 24, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for receiving a revised version of an article from one of the plurality of users.

31. The system of claim 24, wherein the first code segment further comprises:

a sixth code segment for receiving a summary of the article from one of the plurality of users.

32. The system of claim 24, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for generating a summary of one of the articles from the one of the articles.

33. The system of claim 24, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for classifying one of the articles received from the plurality of users based on one of at least type, subject matter, submitter name, title, author name, date, and rating.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for determining the type of the one of the articles.

35. The system of claim 33, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for transmitting summaries of the articles to one of the plurality of users, the summaries sorted by one of at least type, subject matter, submitter name, title, author name, date, and rating.

36. The system of claim 33, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for establishing the price of one of the articles.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the application further comprises:

an eighth code segment for receiving the price of the article from the submitter of the article.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the application further comprises:

a ninth code segment for limiting the submitter of the article to a predefined micro-price range.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein the price of the article is determined based on at least one of length, date, author, subject matter, and type.

40. The system of claim 24, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for preventing the purchase of one of the articles by one of the plurality of users if the one of the plurality of users does not have an established electronic funding account.

41. The system of claim 24, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for at least one of displaying the article on a Web site, electronically mailing the article, and providing the article for download.

42. The system of claim 24, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for notifying the submitter of the article that the article has been purchased.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for at least one of displaying purchase information on a Web site and electronically mailing purchase information to the first user.

44. The system of claim 24, wherein each of the articles has at least one of a type, a subject matter, an author name, a submitter name, a title, and a date, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for ranking the plurality of articles for at least one of type, subject matter, author name, submitter name, title, and date.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for calculating an article rating of one of the plurality of articles based on the number of times the one of the plurality of articles has been purchased.

46. The system of claim 44, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for calculating a combined rating of one of the plurality of articles based on at least one user rating received from at least one of the plurality of users.

47. A method for distributing a plurality of electronic articles, wherein each article has at least one of type, subject matter, author name, submitter name, title, and date, comprising the steps of:

providing for receiving the articles from a plurality of users;

providing for storing the articles in a memory, the articles being retrievable from the memory;

providing for ranking the plurality of articles for at least one of type, subject matter, author name, submitter name, title, and date;

providing for receiving a request for the purchase of an article from one of a plurality of users; and

,

providing for transmitting the article to the one of the plurality of users.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the step of ranking comprises:

providing for calculating an article rating of one of the plurality of articles based on the number of times the one of the plurality of articles has been purchased.

49. The method of claim 47, wherein the step of ranking comprises:

providing for calculating a combined rating of one of the plurality of articles based on at least one user rating received from at least one of the plurality of users.

50. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of:

providing for establishing an electronic funding account associated with one of the plurality of users.

51. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of:

providing for debiting funding from an electronic funding account associated with the one of the plurality of users.

52. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of:

providing for crediting an electronic funding account associated with one of the plurality of users.

53. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of:

providing for establishing a user account for one of the plurality of users.

54. The method of claim 47, wherein the memory comprises an index of the articles stored in the memory.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising the step of:

providing for searching the index to locate an article based on one of at least type, subject matter, author name, submitter name, title, date, and rating.

56. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of:

providing for receiving a revised version of an article from one of the plurality of users.

57. The method of claim 47, wherein the step of receiving the articles from the plurality of users comprises the step of:

providing for receiving a summary of the article from one of the plurality of users.

58. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of:

providing for generating a summary of one of the articles from the one of the articles.

59. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of:

providing for classifying one of the articles received from the plurality of users based on one of at least type, subject matter, submitter name, title, author name, date, and rating.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein the step of classifying comprises:

providing for determining the type of the one of the articles.

61. The method of claim 59, further comprising the step of:

providing for transmitting summaries of the articles to one of the plurality of users, the summaries sorted by one of at least type, subject matter, submitter name, title, author name, date, and rating.

62. The method of claim 59, further comprising the step of:

providing for establishing the price of one of the articles.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the step of providing for establishing the price of one of the articles comprises the step of:

providing for receiving the price of the article from the submitter of the article.

64. The method of claim 63, further comprising the step of:

providing for limiting the submitter of the article to a predefined micro-price range.

65. The method of claim 59, wherein the step of providing for establishing the price of one of the articles comprises the step of:

providing for determining the price based on at least one of length, date, author, subject matter, and type.

66. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of:

providing for preventing the purchase of one of the articles by one of the plurality of users if the one of the plurality of users does not have an established electronic funding account.

67. The method claim 47, wherein the step of providing for transmitting the article to the one of the plurality of users comprises providing for at least one of displaying the article on a Web site, electronically mailing the article, and providing the article for download.

68. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of:

providing for generating a Web page for one of the plurality of users based on the ranking of the plurality of articles.

69. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of:

providing for notifying the submitter of the article that the article has been purchased.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the step of providing for notifying the submitter of the article that the article has been purchased comprises providing for at least one of displaying purchase information on a Web site and electronically mailing purchase information to the first user.

71. A system for distributing a plurality of electronic articles, wherein each article has at least one of type, subject matter, author name, submitter name, title, and date, comprising:

a processor executing an application; and

,

a memory in communication with the processor;

wherein the application comprises;

a first code segment for receiving the articles from a plurality of users;

a second code segment for storing the articles in a memory, the articles being retrievable from the memory;

a third code segment for ranking the plurality of articles for at least one of type, subject matter, author name, submitter name, title, and date;

a fourth code segment for receiving a request for the purchase of an article from one of a plurality of users; and

,

a fifth code segment for transmitting the article to the one of the plurality of users.

72. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for calculating an article rating of one of the plurality of articles based on the number of times the one of the plurality of articles has been purchased.

73. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for calculating a combined rating of one of the plurality of articles based on at least one user rating received from at least one of the plurality of users.

74. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for establishing an electronic funding account associated with one of the plurality of users.

75. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for debiting funding from an electronic funding account associated with the one of the plurality of users.

76. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for crediting an electronic funding account associated with one of the plurality of users.

77. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for establishing a user account for one of the plurality of users.

78. The system of claim 71, wherein the memory comprises an index of the articles stored in the memory.

79. The system of claim 78, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for searching the index to locate an article based on one of at least type, subject matter, author name, submitter name, title, date, and rating.

80. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for receiving a revised version of an article from one of the plurality of users.

81. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for receiving a summary of the article from one of the plurality of users.

82. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for generating a summary of one of the articles from the one of the articles.

83. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for classifying one of the articles received from the plurality of users based on one of at least type, subject matter, submitter name, title, author name, date, and rating.

84. The system of claim 83, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for determining the type of the one of the articles.

85. The system of claim 83, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for transmitting summaries of the articles to one of the plurality of users, the summaries sorted by one of at least type, subject matter, submitter name, title, author name, date, and rating.

86. The system of claim 83, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for establishing the price of one of the articles.

87. The system of claim 86, wherein the application further comprises:

an eighth code segment for receiving the price of the article from the submitter of the article.

88. The system of claim 87, wherein the application further comprises:

a ninth code segment for limiting the submitter of the article to a predefined micro-price range.

89. The system of claim 83, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for determining the price based on at least one of length, date, author, subject matter, and type.

90. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for preventing the purchase of one of the articles by one of the plurality of users if the one of the plurality of users does not have an established electronic funding account.

91. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for at least one of displaying the article on a Web site, electronically mailing the article, and providing the article for download.

92. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for notifying the submitter of the article that the article has been purchased.

93. The system of claim 92, wherein the application further comprises:

a seventh code segment for at least one of displaying purchase information on a Web site and electronically mailing purchase information to the first user.

94. The system of claim 71, wherein the application further comprises:

a sixth code segment for generating a web page for one of the plurality of users based on the ranking of the plurality of articles.