Methods for augmenting subscription services with pay-per-use services

• US 20060031899A1
• Filed: 08/05/2005
• Published: 02/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Prepaid Content Incorporated (Euronet Worldwide Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Prepaid Content Incorporated (Euronet Worldwide Incorporated)
• Inventors: Rabin, Michael, Greenberg, Benjamin E., Bruder, Erwin, Pessel, David, Kusner, Peter
• Application Number:
  US11/198,678
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031899A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4185 for payment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for augmenting subscription services with pay-per-use services. One embodiment of the invention is a method comprising the following steps: providing content on a subscription basis; and providing content on a pay-per-use basis comprising: accepting a token having a unique indicia and a monetary value; providing subscription content; and, reducing the monetary value of the token based upon the value of the provided subscription content.

Claims

1. A method for augmenting subscription content information service services with pay-per-use services, comprising the steps of:

providing content to a first user on a subscription basis; and

providing content to a second user on a pay-per-use basis by;

accepting a user token from the second user, the token having a unique indicia and a monetary value;

providing content to the second user responsive to the token unique indicia and monetary value; and

reducing the monetary value of the token based upon a value of the content provided to the second user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing subscription content responsive to the token unique indicia and monetary value further comprises the steps of:

associating the unique indicia with the monetary value;

determining whether or not the unique indicia is valid;

if the unique indicia is not valid then denying the second user access to subscription content;

if the unique indicia is valid then determining a monetary value amount; and

denying or granting access to the second user to the subscription content responsive to the monetary value amount.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of denying or granting access responsive to the monetary value amount comprises the steps of:

if the monetary value amount is greater than zero is greater than zero then providing subscription content to the second user responsive to the token unique indicia and monetary value;

if the monetary value is not greater than zero, then prompting the second user access to input a credit card number to increase the monetary value of the token.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of determining whether or not the unique indicia is valid further comprises the step of determining an additional restriction parameter chosen from the group consisting of user age and user geographic location.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of providing subscription content further comprises the steps of:

presenting at least one per-use payment basis option chosen from the group consisting of a per-minute basis, per-day basis, per-week basis, per-month basis, and per-transaction basis; and

the user selecting at least one of the at least one per-use payment basis option.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing premium subscription content to the second user on a pay-per-use basis, said premium subscription content not accessible responsive to the token unique indicia;

providing premium subscription content access requirements to the second user;

the second user agreeing to the premium subscription content access requirements and receiving premium token indicia;

providing premium subscription content to the second user responsive to the premium token indicia and the monetary value; and

reducing the monetary value of the token based upon a premium value of the premium subscription content provided to the second user.

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

providing a purchase interface to the second user;

selling one of the group consisting of additional monetary value and premium token indicia to the user;

associating the sold one of the group consisting of additional monetary value and premium token indicia with the token.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing content to a second user on the pay-per-use basis comprises providing content by an internet browser interface, further comprising the steps of:

placing an intermediary token entity link on an area of a subscription content website;

redirecting the second user to the intermediary token entity responsive to the second user engaging the intermediary token entity link;

the intermediary token entity providing the user token having the unique indicia and monetary value to the second user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing content to a second user on the pay-per-use basis comprises providing content by an internet browser interface, further comprising the steps of:

associating a domain lookup process with access of a subscription content website by the second user;

redirecting the second user to an intermediary token entity website through the domain lookup process responsive to the second user engaging the subscription content website;

the intermediary token entity providing the user token having the unique indicia and monetary value to the second user responsive to interaction of the second user with the intermediary token entity website.