Distributing Content Data

• US 20080046577A1
• Filed: 12/18/2003
• Published: 02/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kit Temple, Mark Harrington
• Original Assignee: Kit Temple, Mark Harrington
• Inventors: Harrington, Mark, Temple, Kit
• Application Number:
  US10/541,090
• Publication Number:
  US 20080046577A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3255 using mobile network messaging services for payment, e.g. SMS
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3276 using a pictured code, e.g. barcode or QR-code, being read by the M-device
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 : Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/02 : Coin-freed or check-freed systems , e.g. mobile- or card-operated phones, public telephones or booths
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 : Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 : Involving wireless systems

Abstract

A system for distributing various content data to user terminals having at least one application for interpreting the content data and presenting it to a user, the system including a multiplicity of individual tokens, each token bearing an identity code, and having a user-removable obscuring means obscuring reading of the identity code; a content server connected to a communication network whereby it may communicate with the terminals, and including data storage means storing the content data, and for each of the identity codes an indication of an item of the content data with which that code is associated, and indicated on the or each token bearing that code, and arranged to, on receiving from a terminal an identity code of a token, retrieve from the data storage means the item of content data associated with that code and transmit it to that terminal.

Claims

1. A system for distributing various content data to user terminals having at least one application for interpreting the content data and presenting it to a user, the system comprising:

a multiplicity of individual tokens, each token bearing an identity code, and having a user-removable obscuring means obscuring reading of the identity code;

a content server connected to a communication network whereby it may communicate with the terminals, and comprising data storage means storing the content data, and for each of the identity codes an indication of an item of the content data with which that code is associated, and indicated on the or each token bearing that code, and arranged to, on receiving from a terminal an identity code of a token, retrieve from the data storage means the item of content data associated with that code and transmit it to that terminal.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each token is in the form of a card.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user-removable obscuring means is such as to be irreversibly removable.

4. A system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the user-removable obscuring means is a scratch-off coating.

5. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the content data includes software defining a game and/or attributes of a gaming entity.

6. A system as claimed in any preceding claim 1, wherein the content data includes Java software.

7. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each identity code is different from all the other identity codes, the content server stores for each identity code an indication of whether content associated with that code has been transmitted to a terminal, and the content server is arranged to on receiving from a terminal an identity code of a token, transmit to that terminal the item of content data associated with that code only if the indication stored for that code indicates that content associated with that code has not been transmitted to a terminal.

8. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each token is an individual vending item.

9. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least some of the terminals are wireless communication terminals.

10. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each token bears an indication of the content data associated with the code borne by the token.

11. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each token bears an indication of the retail price of the token.

12. A method for distributing various content data to user terminals having at least one application for interpreting the content data and presenting it to a user, the method comprising:

making available a multiplicity of individual tokens, each token bearing an identity code, and having a user-removable obscuring means obscuring reading of the identity code;

storing in data storage means of a content server connected to a communication network whereby it may communicate with the terminals the content data, and for each of the identity codes an indication of an item of the content data with which that code is associated; and

on receiving at the content server from a terminal an identity code of a token, retrieving from the data storage means the item of content data associated with that code and transmitting it to that terminal.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, comprising storing the transmitted content data at the terminal.

14. A method as claimed in claim 12, comprising interpreting the transmitted content data at the terminal and presenting it to a user of the terminal.

15. A method as claimed in claim 12, comprising selling the tokens individually so as to make them available.

16. A method as claimed in claim 12, comprising selling the tokens in packs of such tokens so as to make them available.

17. (canceled)

18. (canceled)