Apparatus and methods for incentivized superdistribution of content

• US 20070207780A1
• Filed: 02/23/2006
• Published: 09/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: McLean, Ivan
• Granted Patent: US 8,041,343 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for providing an incentive-based system for the superdistribution of content, which include one or more communications devices transmitting one or more referral messages relating to the content. Further, the apparatus and methods include the communications devices ordering content from across the network based on the referral messages, where a reward is generated for one or more referring devices based on the one or more referral messages. Additionally, the application of privacy and authentication mechanisms protects the privacy and verifies the identities of the parties involved in the transaction.

Claims

1. A method of content distribution, comprising:

generating a first referral message including a first referral identification, a content identification and a content link, wherein the first referral identification comprises a unique first device identifier associated with a first communications device generating the first referral message, wherein the content identification comprises a unique content identifier associated with a digital content having a license, and wherein the content link comprises a reference to a source operable to transmit at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content across a wireless network;

transmitting the first referral message to a second communications device; and

receiving a first reward based on the first referral message.

2. The method of claim 1, where the first referral message further comprises at least a portion of the digital content.

3. The method of claim 1, where the source is operable to provide live streaming of the digital content.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a privacy protection mechanism to the first referral identification in the first referral message.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an acknowledgement message, wherein the acknowledgement message confirms a receipt of at least a portion of the first referral message, and transmitting the acknowledgement message to an apparatus associated with generating the first reward, wherein receiving the first reward is further based on the acknowledgement message.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the acknowledgement message further comprises an authentication mechanism applied to at least a portion of the first referral message, wherein the authentication mechanism validates that the acknowledgement message was sent from a predetermined communications device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first reward based on the first referral message is further based on an order message from the second communications device or a subsequent communications device that receives a subsequent referral message based on the first referral message, wherein the order message references at least a portion of the first referral message or the subsequent referral message and comprises a request to purchase the digital content or the license to the digital content.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a second reward based on a subsequent referral message that references the first referral message.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second reward is different than the first reward.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the difference between the first reward and the second reward is based on a number of intervening referral messages between the first referral message and the subsequent referral message.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the order message comprises an authentication mechanism that validates that the order message was sent from the second communications device or the subsequent communications device and that the first referral message was transmitted by the first communications device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first reward based on the first referral message is further based on the first referral identification.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the first referral message further comprises transmitting the first referral message over the wireless network, wherein the first communications device and the second communications device comprise wireless devices.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first reward further comprises receiving a credit corresponding to the first reward in an account associated with the first referral identification.

15. A computer-readable medium embodying logic for content distribution, comprising:

at least one sequence of instructions, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor causes the processor to perform the acts of;

generating a first referral message including a first referral identification, a content identification and at least a portion of a content link, wherein the first referral identification comprises a unique first device identifier associated with a first communications device generating the first referral message, wherein the content identification comprises a unique content identifier associated with a digital content having a license, and wherein the content link comprises a reference to a source operable to transmit at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content across a wireless network;

transmitting the first referral message to a second communications device; and

receiving a first reward based on the first referral message.

16. A communications device, comprising:

a means for generating a first referral message including a first referral identification, a content identification and at least a portion of a content link, wherein the first referral identification comprises a unique first device identifier associated with a first communications device generating the first referral message, wherein the content identification comprises a unique content identifier associated with a digital content having a license, and wherein the content link comprises a reference to a source operable to transmit at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content across a wireless network;

a means for transmitting the first referral message to a second communications device; and

a means for receiving a first reward based on the first referral message.

17. A communications device, comprising:

a computer platform having a memory comprising a digital content having a license, a content link comprising a reference to a source operable to transmit at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content across a wireless network, a unique content identifier associated with the digital content, and a first unique device identifier; and

a content manager module having referral logic operable to generate and transmit a first referral message, the first referral message comprising a first referral identification, the content identification and the content link, wherein the first referral identification corresponds to the first unique device identifier;

wherein the first referral message is operable to cause a reward to be associated with the first referral identification when a purchase of the digital content or the license to the digital content is made based on the first referral message.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the first referral message further comprises at least a portion of the digital content.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the source is operable to provide live streaming of the digital content.

20. The device of claim 17, wherein the memory further comprises a privacy protection mechanism, and wherein the content manager module is operable to apply the privacy protection mechanism to the first referral identification in the first referral message.

21. The device of claim 17, wherein the content manager module is further operable to receive an acknowledgement message from a second communications device, wherein the acknowledgement message confirms a receipt of at least a portion of the first referral message, and wherein the content manager module is further operable to transmit the acknowledgement message across the wireless network to an apparatus associated with generating the first reward, wherein receiving the first reward is further based on the acknowledgement message.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein the acknowledgement message further comprises an authentication mechanism applied to at least a portion of the first referral message, wherein the authentication mechanism validates that the acknowledgement message was sent from the second communications device.

23. The device of claim 17, wherein the purchase is based on an order message generated by the second communications device, wherein the order message comprises a request to purchase the digital content or the license to the digital content, and wherein the order message references at least a portion of the first referral message.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the order message further comprises an authentication mechanism that validates that the order message was sent from the second communications device and that the portion of the first referral message was received from the first communications device.

25. The device of claim 17, wherein the reward is based on a subsequent referral message transmitted by a subsequent communications device, wherein the subsequent referral message is associated with the first referral message and comprises the first referral identification.

26. The device of claim 25, wherein the reward is selected from a plurality of potential rewards based on a number of intervening referral messages between the first referral message and the subsequent referral message.

27. The device of claim 17, wherein the communications device comprises a cellular telephone and wherein the network comprises a cellular telephone network.

28. A method of distributing content, comprising:

receiving a first referral message comprising a first referral identification, a content identification and a content link, wherein the first referral identification comprises a unique first device identifier associated with a first communications device, wherein the content identification comprises a unique content identifier associated with a digital content having a license, and wherein the content link comprises a reference to a source operable to transmit at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content across a wireless network;

generating an order message comprising purchasing information, the first referral identification and the content identification;

transmitting the order message across a network according to the content link; and

receiving from across the network at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content based on the order message.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the first referral message further comprises at least a portion of the digital content.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising receiving live streaming of the digital content.

31. The method of claim 28, further comprising applying an authentication mechanism to the order message, wherein the authentication mechanism validates that the order message was sent from a predetermined communications device and that the first referral identification is based on the first referral message initiated by the first communications device.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the first referral identification further comprises a privacy mechanism applied to the referral identification.

33. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

generating a second referral message including a second referral identification, the first referral identification, the content identification and the content link, wherein the second referral identification comprises a unique second device identifier associated with a second communications device; and

transmitting the second referral message across a network to a third communications device.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising applying privacy mechanism to at least the second referral identification portion of the second referral message.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising receiving a reward based on the second referral message.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising receiving an acknowledgement message from the third communications device, wherein the acknowledgement message confirms a receipt of the second referral message, and transmitting the acknowledgement message across the wireless network to an apparatus associated with generating the first reward, wherein receiving the first reward is further based on the acknowledgement message.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the reward is selected from a plurality of potential rewards based on a number of subsequent referral messages based on the second referral message.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein receiving the reward further comprises receiving a credit corresponding to the reward in an account associated with the second referral identification.

39. A computer-readable medium embodying logic for content distribution, comprising:

at least one sequence of instructions, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor causes the processor to perform the acts of;

receiving a first referral message comprising a first referral identification, a content identification and a content link, wherein the first referral identification comprises a unique first device identifier associated with a first communications device, wherein the content identification comprises a unique content identifier associated with a digital content having a license, and wherein the content link comprises a reference to a source operable to transmit at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content across a wireless network;

generating an order message comprising purchasing information, the first referral identification and the content identification;

transmitting the order message across a network according to the content link; and

receiving from across the network at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content based on the order message.

40. The computer readable media of claim 39, wherein execution of the instructions by the processor further causes the processor to perform the acts of:

generating a second referral message including a second referral identification, the first referral identification, the content identification and the content link, wherein the second referral identification comprises a unique second device identifier associated with a second communications device;

transmitting the second referral message across a network to a third communications device; and

receiving a reward based on the second referral message.

41. A communications device, comprising:

a means for receiving a first referral message comprising a first referral identification, a content identification and a content link, wherein the first referral identification comprises a unique first device identifier associated with a first communications device, wherein the content identification comprises a unique content identifier associated with a digital content having a license, and wherein the content link comprises a reference to a source operable to transmit at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content across a wireless network;

a means for generating an order message comprising purchasing information, the first referral identification and the content identification;

a means for transmitting the order message across a network according to the content link; and

a means for receiving from across the network at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content based on the order message.

42. The device of claim 41, further comprising:

a means for transmitting the second referral message across a network to a third communications device; and

a means for receiving a reward based on the second referral message.

43. A method of content distribution, comprising:

receiving an order message for purchasing at least one of a digital content and a license to the digital content, the order message comprising delivery information, a first referral identification and a content identification, wherein the delivery information comprises a destination on a network for receiving a transmission of the digital content and the license, wherein the first referral identification comprises a unique first device identifier associated with a first communications device, wherein the content identification comprises a unique content identifier associated with at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content;

determining a reward based on the order message; and

associating the reward with an entity based on the order message.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising transmitting at least one of the license and at least a portion of the digital content to the destination across the network.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein associating the reward with an entity based on the order message further comprises associating the reward with the first referral identification.

46. The method of claim 43, wherein the order message further comprises a second referral identification comprising a unique second device identifier associated with a second communications device, wherein determining the reward based on the order message further comprises determining a first reward and a second reward, and wherein associating the reward with an entity based on the order message further comprises associating the first reward with the first referral identification and associating the second reward with the second referral identification.

47. The method of claim 43, further comprising transmitting the reward to the first communications device based on the first referral identification.

48. The method of claim 43, wherein the first referral identification is hidden by a first privacy mechanism, and further comprising:

reversing the first privacy mechanism to reveal the first referral identification;

matching the first referral identification with a first subscriber identification; and

associating the reward with the first subscriber identification.

49. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

receiving an acknowledgement message comprising a reference to a referral message initiated by the first communications device;

matching the order message with the acknowledgement message; and

associating the reward with the first referral identification if there is a match between the order message and the acknowledgement message.

50. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

receiving an authentication mechanism applied to at least a portion of the order message, wherein the authentication mechanism validates that the order message was sent from a predetermined communications device and that the first referral identification is based on the first referral message initiated by the first communications device; and

verifying an identity associated with the authentication mechanism.

51. A computer-readable medium embodying logic for content distribution, comprising:

at least one sequence of instructions, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor causes the processor to perform the acts of;

receiving an order message for purchasing at least one of a digital content and a license to the digital content, the order message comprising delivery information, a first referral identification and a content identification, wherein the delivery information comprises a destination on a network for receiving a transmission of the digital content and the license, wherein the first referral identification comprises a unique first device identifier associated with a first communications device, wherein the content identification comprises a unique content identifier associated with at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content;

transmitting at least one of the license and at least a portion of the digital content to the destination across the network;

determining a reward based on the order message; and

associating the reward with an entity based on the order message.

52. An apparatus for distributing content, comprising:

a means for receiving an order message for purchasing at least one of a digital content and a license to the digital content, the order message comprising delivery information, a first referral identification and a content identification, wherein the delivery information comprises a destination on a network for receiving a transmission of the digital content and the license, wherein the first referral identification comprises a unique first device identifier associated with a first communications device, wherein the content identification comprises a unique content identifier associated with at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content;

a means for determining a reward based on the order message; and

a means for associating the reward with an entity based on the order message.

53. An apparatus for distributing content, comprising:

a communications module operable to receive an order message for purchasing at least one of a digital content and a license to the digital content from across a network, the order message comprising purchasing information, delivery information, a first referral identification and a content identification, wherein the purchasing information comprises payment information associated with a source of funds to purchase the digital content or the license to the content, wherein the delivery information comprises a destination on the network for receiving a transmission of the digital content and the license, wherein the first referral identification comprises a unique first device identifier associated with a first communications device, wherein the content identification comprises a unique content identifier associated with at least one of the digital content and the license to the digital content;

a reward module operable to determine a reward based on the order message and the first referral identification.

54. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising a matching module operable to determine a first subscriber identification based on the first referral identification, and wherein the reward module is further operable to associate the reward with the first subscriber identification.

55. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the first subscriber information is associated with the first communications device, and wherein the reward module is further operable to transmit the reward across the network to the first communications device.

56. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the matching module comprises a plurality of subscriber identifications, wherein the matching module is further operable to select the first subscriber identification from among the plurality of subscriber identifications based on the first referral identification.

57. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the order message further comprises a second referral identification comprising a unique second device identifier associated with a second communications device, wherein the reward comprises a first reward and a second reward, and wherein the reward module is further operable to determine the first reward and the second reward based on the order message, the first referral identification and the second referral identification, and wherein the reward module is further operable to associate the first reward with the first referral identification and the second reward with the second referral identification.

58. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising a clearinghouse module operable to verify the purchasing information and generate an approval notification, wherein the approval notification causes the reward module to determine the reward.

59. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising a billing module for generating a bill associated with the order message.

60. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising a licensing module having a plurality of licenses, wherein the licensing module is operable to transmit the license associated with the content identification to the destination.

61. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising a content module having a plurality of digital content, wherein the content module is operable to transmit at least a portion of the digital content associated with the content identification to the destination.