APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR REMOTE MEDIA OWNERSHIP MANAGEMENT

• US 20070244794A1
• Filed: 12/07/2006
• Published: 10/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: John Fenley
• Original Assignee: John Fenley
• Inventors: Fenley, John
• Application Number:
  US11/608,165
• Publication Number:
  US 20070244794A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for managing remote media ownership, where the media involve physical media units (PMUs). The system includes a physical media storage facility that stores the PMUs, and a PMU transfer facility that receives PMUs from users and delivers PMUs to users. The system includes a controller that reads an ownership database to determine the PMUs owned by a user. The controller accepts a username and password to authenticate a user, and allows the user to access the content of the PMUs owned by the user upon authentication. The controller may further allow the user to buy PMUs, to sell owned PMUs, and to request delivery of owned PMUs once the user is authenticated.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium including a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

interpret an ownership register comprising a plurality of users, a plurality of media owners, each media owner corresponding to one of the plurality of users, and a plurality of physical media units (PMUs), each PMU corresponding to one of the media owners;

interpret access input from a current user comprising one of the plurality of users, and authenticate the current user as the media owner for a set of current PMUs according to the access input and the ownership register; and

manage ownership rights regarding the set of current PMUs for the current user, wherein ownership rights include one or more of a right to use, to dispose of, and to possess the current PMUs.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising accepting a seller-bid of a seller-specified PMU from a first user comprising an authenticated media owner of the seller-specified PMU, accepting a buyer-bid of a buyer-specified PMU from a second user, and executing a PMU trade in response to the seller-specified PMU matching the buyer-specified PMU.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the seller-bid and the buyer-bid each comprise a member selected from the group consisting of a market order, a stop order, and a limit order.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the access input comprises a username and a login password, the login password comprising one of an access password and an ownership password, and wherein the method further comprises limiting ownership rights to the right to use PMUs from the set of PMUs in response to the login password matching the access password.

5. An apparatus for managing media ownership, the apparatus comprising:

an ownership database comprising a plurality of users, a plurality of media owners, each media owner corresponding to one of the plurality of users, and a plurality of physical media units (PMUs), each PMU corresponding to one of the media owners;

a remote access system comprising;

an authentication module configured to interpret authentication information and to authenticate a current user as the media owner for a set of current PMUs according to the authentication information and the ownership register;

a content control module configured to interpret access request information from the current user, the access request information comprising one of a content delivery request and a physical delivery request for one of the current PMUs, and to manage ownership rights regarding the set of current PMUs for the current user according to the access request information, wherein ownership rights include at least one of a right to use and to possess the current PMUs; and

a trading module configured to interpret a buy option allowing the current user to place buyer-bids on any PMUs, and to interpret a sell option allowing the current user to place seller-bids on a PMU from the set of current PMUs.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the ownership database comprises an access authentication information and an ownership authentication information for each of the plurality of users, wherein the authentication module allows access to the content of the current PMUs in response to the current user entering the access authentication information, and allows access to the content of the current PMUs, to place seller-bids, and to place buyer-bids in response to the current user entering the ownership authentication information.

7. The apparatus of claim 6:

wherein the ownership database further comprises a set of inventory records, each inventory record comprising a PMU designation, an inventory target, a buying price target, and a selling price target, wherein each inventory record is associated with one of the plurality of users;

wherein the remote access system further comprises;

an inventory module configured to interpret an inventory PMU designation, an inventory target input, a buying price target input, and a selling price target input from the current user;

the inventory module further configured to place a buyer-bid based on the buying price target input for the inventory-designated PMU in response to a current inventory level of the inventory-designated PMU being lower than the inventory target, and to place a seller-bid based on the selling price target input for the inventory-designated PMU in response to the current inventory level of the inventory-designated PMU being at least one PMU.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the ownership database further comprises a physical address record corresponding to each of the plurality of users, and wherein the content control module is further configured to initiate delivery of one of the current PMUs to the physical address record corresponding to the current user in response to a physical delivery request.

9. A system for managing media ownership, the system comprising:

a physical media storage facility configured to store a plurality of physical media units (PMUs);

an ownership register comprising a media owner corresponding to each of the plurality of PMUs, wherein each media owner comprises one of a plurality of users, each user comprising a legal entity;

a PMU transfer facility configured to receive an incoming PMU and ownership information corresponding to the incoming PMU, to store the incoming PMU in the physical media storage facility, and to update the ownership register according to the incoming PMU and the ownership information;

a controller comprising;

a registration module configured to interpret the ownership register;

an authentication module configured to interpret a username input and a password input from a current user, and to authenticate the current user as the media owner for a set of current PMUs according to the username input, the password input, and the ownership register; and

a content control module configured to manage ownership rights regarding the set of current PMUs for the current user, wherein ownership rights include one or more of a right to use, to dispose of, and to possess the current PMUs.

10. The system of claim 9, the controller further comprising:

a selling module configured to accept a seller-bid comprising a seller-specified PMU from the set of current PMUs;

a buying module configured to accept a buyer-bid comprising a buyer-specified PMU;

a trading module configured to execute a PMU trade in response to the seller-specified PMU matching the buyer-specified PMU, and to update the ownership register based on the PMU trade.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the seller-bid further comprises a seller trigger price, wherein the trading module is further configured to execute the PMU trade only after a trigger PMU sale of greater than the seller trigger price, wherein the trigger PMU sale comprises a PMU matching the seller-specified PMU.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the buyer-bid further comprises a buyer trigger price, wherein the trading module is further configured to execute the PMU trade only after a trigger PMU sale of less than the buyer trigger price, wherein the trigger PMU sale comprises a PMU matching the buyer-specified PMU.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the seller-bid further comprises a seller limit price, wherein the trading module is further configured to execute the PMU trade only when an available buyer-bid allows the PMU trade to occur at a price of at least the seller limit price.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the buyer-bid further comprises a buyer limit price, wherein the trading module is further configured to execute the PMU trade only when an available seller-bid allows the PMU trade to occur at a price no greater than the buyer limit price.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller further comprises a fiscal module configured to deduct a trade price from a first user account corresponding to a first user associated with the buyer-bid, and to add the trade price to a second user account corresponding to a second user associated with the seller-bid.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the fiscal module is further configured to deduct at least one commission from at least one of the first user account and the second user account.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the fiscal module is further configured to collect taxes from at least one of the first user account and the second user account.

18. The system of claim 9, wherein the controller further comprises a fiscal module configured to estimate a collateral value of PMUs corresponding to a media owner based on the ownership register, and to extend credit to a user account corresponding to the media owner based on the collateral value.

19. The system of claim 9, wherein the controller further comprises a fiscal module configured to track a plurality of user accounts corresponding to the plurality of users, the fiscal module further configured to deduct a PMU storage fee from a user account corresponding to one of the media owners based on the ownership register.

20. The system of claim 10, wherein the password input comprises one of an access password and an ownership password, and wherein the authentication module is further configured:

to allow the current user access to content of the current PMUs in response to the current user entering the access password; and

to allow the current user access to content of the current PMUs, to enter seller-bids, and to enter buyer-bids in response to the current user entering the ownership password.

21. The system of claim 9, wherein the right to use the current PMUs comprises access to a digital media equivalent of at least a portion of the content of the current PMUs.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the incoming PMU comprises a damaged PMU, the system further comprising a media verification module configured to identify the damaged PMU as an acceptable representation of ownership of the content of the PMU, wherein the PMU transfer facility is further configured to add the damaged PMU to the ownership register, wherein the current PMUs comprise the damaged PMU, and wherein the digital media equivalent of at least a portion of the content of the damaged PMU comprises a digital media equivalent of the undamaged content of the damaged PMU.

23. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller further comprises an inventory module configured to:

accept an inventory target, a buying price target, a selling price target, and a PMU designation from the current user;

interpret an inventory level of the designated PMU for the current user based on the ownership register;

enter at least one seller-bid for the designated PMU according to the selling price target whenever the inventory level of the designated PMU is at least one unit; and

enter at least one buyer-bid for the designated PMU according to the buying price target whenever the inventory level of the designated PMU is lower than the inventory target.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the password input comprises an inventory password, and wherein the authentication module is further configured to allow the current user to enter an inventory target, a buying price target, a selling price target, and a PMU designation in response to the current user entering the inventory password.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the inventory module is further configured to accept a pending buyer-bids target, wherein the inventory module is further configured to maintain a number of buyer-bids for the designated PMU no greater than the pending buyer-bids target.

26. The system of claim 9, wherein the content control module is further configured to accept a delivery order from the current user, and to initiate a delivery of at least one of the current PMUs in response to the delivery order.

27. The system of claim 9, wherein each PMU comprises a member selected from the group consisting of a medium for audio content, a medium for video content, a medium for digital game content, and a medium for multimedia content.

28. The system of claim 9, wherein each PMU comprises a member selected from the group consisting of printed media, a vinyl audio record, a magnetic tape, a picture, and a painting, wherein the right to use the current PMUs comprises access to a digital representation of each PMU.