Method and system for increasing sales of digital product modules

• US 20070208673A1
• Filed: 02/28/2006
• Published: 09/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Aladdin Knowledge Systems Limited (Thales SA)
• Original Assignee: Aladdin Knowledge Systems Limited (Thales SA)
• Inventors: Margalit, Dany, Margalit, Yank, Maggor, Amos
• Application Number:
  US11/363,059
• Publication Number:
  US 20070208673A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/404
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A method for selling a digital product (software, multimedia object, and so forth) having a plurality of modules to a customer, the method comprising the steps of: upon closing a deal with the customer where a first group of the modules have been purchased by the customer and a second group of the modules have not been purchased by the customer: installing the first group of the modules at the customer'"'"'s site; installing the second group of the modules at the customer'"'"'s site such that at least one of the modules of the second group is protected by a protection mechanism; monitoring the use of each of the protected modules for indicating the modules as valuable to the customer; upon indicating a module as valuable to the customer: employing an automatic salesman for selling the valued module to the customer.

Claims

1. A method for selling a digital product having a plurality of modules to a customer, the method comprising the steps of:

upon closing a deal with said customer where a first group of said modules have been purchased by said customer and a second group of said modules have not been purchased by said customer;

installing said first group of said modules at said customer'"'"'s site;

installing said second group of said modules at said customer'"'"'s site such that at least one of the modules of said second group is protected by a protection mechanism;

monitoring the use of each of the protected modules for indicating said modules as valuable to said customer;

upon indicating one of said modules as valuable to said customer;

employing an automatic salesman for selling said one module to said customer.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said protection mechanism performs at least one operation selected from the group comprising:

preventing unauthorized use of said protected modules, slowing down the operation speed of said protected modules, slowing down the operation speed of said protected modules as the time passes, slowing down the operation speed of said protected modules as the use thereof increases, increasing the amount of pop-up messages per time period, preventing the protected modules from saving work that has been done therewith, terminating the operation of an protected module. 1670

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein said protection mechanism is selected from the group comprising:

software, hardware, a protection dongle.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein said indicating said one module as valuable to said customer is carried out by the steps of:

predefining a threshold to at least one monitored parameters;

monitoring the value of said at least one parameter; and

upon the value of said at least one parameter exceeding said threshold, indicating said one module as valuable to said customer.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein said installing of said second group of said modules at said customer'"'"'s site is effected such that at least one of the modules of said second group is protected by a protection mechanism is agreed between said salesman and said user.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein said customer is selected from a group comprising:

an organization.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein said customer is selected from a group comprising:

an individual.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein said selling said module to said customer by said automatic salesman comprises restricting the functionality of said module in order to temp said customer to buy said module.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the restricting is progressive.

14. A method according to claim 12, wherein the progressive restricting is by a method selected from a group comprising:

slowing down the speed operation of said module as the time passes, slowing down the speed operation of said module as the use of said module increases, increasing the amount of pop-up messages per time period, preventing the module from saving a snapshot of work that has been done therewith.

15. A method according to claim 12, wherein said restricting is carried out using means selected from a group comprising:

hardware means, software means, a protection dongle, product activation.

16. A method according to claim 12, wherein said digital product is selected from the group comprising:

software, a data file.

4. A method according to claim 4, wherein said monitoring the use comprises monitoring the value of one or more parameters that have relevance to the use.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein said one or more parameters is selected from the group comprising:

a number of times each said protected module has been activated during a time period, the time a said protected module has been in use during a time period, the number of hits on a user interface of a said protected module per time period.

6. A method according to claim 4, wherein at least one of said parameters has direct connection with said use.

7. A method according to claim 4, wherein at least one of said parameters has indirect connection with said use.