Method and System for Internet Access

• US 20070117584A1
• Filed: 05/09/2006
• Published: 05/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Davis, Bruce, Hein, William
• Granted Patent: US 8,417,793 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/550.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0293 for accessing web services by means of a binding identification of the management service or element
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/72 using reservation actions during connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Abstract

Costs associated with accessing the internet from a public terminal are borne by one or more sponsors. The terminal thus sponsored may, in exchange, be limited in the internet domains it is capable of browsing. If a user wishes to browse beyond the sponsored domains, a usage charge may be assessed. In other arrangements, web cards (like pre-paid phone cards) may be sold at retail establishments (or issued by libraries), to permit web browsing from compliant terminals. A variety of other arrangements are also detailed.

Claims

1. In a method of providing network services, an improvement comprising:

using a cell phone equipped with a sensor, detecting machine readable data from an object; and

determining, by reference to said machine-readable data, restrictions related to services available to said user.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said object comprises a driver'"'"'s license.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said restrictions relate to web sites available for browsing by said user.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said restrictions relate to web sites that can be browsed without charge, versus other web sites for which browsing incurs a fee to be paid by the user.

5. A method comprising:

a first party providing a service to a first user, said service comprising facilitating user access to a computer resource over a network; and

said first party billing a charge connected with said service to a second, sponsoring party;

wherein the first party does not receive a fee for said service from said first user.

6. The method of claim 5 that includes providing said service for free only to a first subset of users, and charging a fee therefor to a second subset of users.

7. The method of claim 5 that includes:

providing said service to a first user who presents an object from a certain class of objects; and

to a second user who does not present such an object, providing said service in exchange for a fee.

8. The method of claim 5 that includes providing said service to the first user in response to said user presenting a physical object of a certain class.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein the computer resource serves to promote a product or service offered by said second party.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein said service comprises linking to a computer resource identified by reference to machine readable data sensed from a printed object.

11. A method of providing network services, comprising:

sensing a credential presented by a user;

determining, by reference to said credential, restrictions related to web site browsing by said user; and

for a juvenile user, compiling a report of web sites browsed by said user, and delivering said report to a parent of said user.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said credential comprises a card that is steganographically encoded with digital watermark data.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said credential comprises a driver'"'"'s license.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein said restrictions relate to web sites available for browsing by said user.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein said restrictions relate to web sites that can be browsed without charge, versus other web sites for which browsing incurs a fee to be paid by the user.

16. A method of providing network services to members of the public, in an area open to the public, the method comprising:

delivering network services to first and second users in said area open to the public;

in connection with the first user, who presents a first credential, charging to a third party a fee associated with said user'"'"'s access; and

in connection with a second user, who does not present a first credential, charging said user a fee associated with said user'"'"'s access.

17. In a method of providing network services, an improvement comprising, at different times, operating in a first mode in which a fee is charged to a user for providing access to said content, and operating in a second mode in which a user is provided content without charge.

18. The method of claim 17 that includes determining whether to operate in the second mode based on an affinity credential presented by said user.

19. The method of claim 17 that includes determining whether to operate in the first mode based on whether said content is of a first class.

20. The method of claim 17 that includes determining whether to operate in the second mode based on whether said content is of a second class.

21. The method of claim 20 that includes operating in the first mode if said content is not of said second class.

22. The method of claim 17 in which said providing comprises providing electronic content over a network to a user.

23. In a method of providing network services, an improvement comprising providing services without charge in a first circumstance, and providing services for a charge in a second circumstance.

24. The method of claim 23 in which said first circumstance comprises detection of an affinity credential demonstrating a user'"'"'s membership in an organization, and wherein said organization provides consideration that helps defer costs of said provided network services.

25. The method of claim 23 in which said first circumstances comprises user interaction with one of plural predetermined network domains.

26. The method of claim 23 in which said first circumstances comprises user interaction with a sponsored network domain.

27. The method of claim 23 in which said first circumstance comprises sensing of a machine-readable code from a physical object.

28. The method of claim 27 in which said physical object comprises product packaging.

29. The method of claim 27 in which said physical object comprises a magazine.

30. A method comprising:

sensing data from a physical object presented by a user; and

providing a service to said user, said service comprising facilitating user access to a computer resource over a network, wherein terms of said service are determined by reference to said data sensed from the physical object.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein said physical object comprises a driver'"'"'s license.

32. The method of claim 30 in which said service comprises providing access to networked web sites, and said terms of service relate to content-based restrictions on web sites that can be freely accessed.

33. The method of claim 30 in which said service comprises providing access to networked web sites, and said terms of service relate to restrictions on web sites that can be freely accessed based on corporate affiliation.