System and method for generating revenue for publishers of multimedia content over a network

• US 20080109363A1
• Filed: 11/02/2006
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Oath Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fassett, Ethan
• Application Number:
  US11/591,948
• Publication Number:
  US 20080109363A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/127 Shopping or accessing services according to a time-limitation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders

Abstract

A system and method for compensating publishers of content items, such as a video, graphics, songs, movies, images, advertisements, or any other type of content, in response to, or as a precondition to, viewing of a given content item by others at a host website. For example, multimedia content publishers upload their respective content items to a host website. The uploaded content items may be integrated into a video search engine, which is a feature of the host website. A given user wishing to view a given content item remunerates the publisher of the content item with payment through a third party payment provider, which may be a donation or minimal payment. Payment may be effected via a third party payment system such as PayPal™ of San Jose, Calif.

Claims

1. A method for compensating publishers of user-generated content (UGC), the method comprising:

uploading one or more user-generated content items to a host website from one or more respective content providers;

determining a respective payment level for accessing a given user generated content item; and

remunerating, though a third party payment provider, a content provider of a given user generated content item in response to viewing by a user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the payment level is determined by the respective content provider of the given user generated content item.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the payment level is selected from the set of payment levels including:

a solicitation for a donation, a fixed price and a donation with a set floor.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising identifying, by the content provider, a third party payment service for performing the remuneration.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising integrating the one or more user-generated content items into a search index managed by the host website.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

selecting the given user-generated content item at the host website;

directing a client device of the user to the third party payment provider to provide payment directly to the content provider in accordance with the payment level; and

re-directing the client device back from the third party payment provider to the host website.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising:

determining at the host website, subsequent to said re-directing step, whether the third party payment provider provides an indication that said payment has been provided from the user to the content provider of the user-generated content item; and

recording, in a profile of the user, an indication that the user successfully paid to access the user-generated content item.

8. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

9. A system for remunerating content providers for content uploaded to a host website, the system comprising:

a processor;

a memory connected to the processor and storing instructions for operating the processor to perform the steps of;

uploading one or more user-generated content items to a host website from one or more respective content providers;

determining a respective payment level for accessing a given user generated content item; and

remunerating, though a third party payment provider, a content provider of a given user generated content item in response to viewing by a user.

10. The system of claim 9, comprising a user profile database operative to store user profile data.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the system is managed by one of:

a web portal provider, a content provider, a web hosting service provider, an Internet service provider.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the memory stores instructions for operating the processor to perform the step of identifying a payment service for performing the remuneration.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the memory stores instructions for operating the processor to perform the step of integrating the uploaded user-generated content into a search index managed by the host website.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the memory stores instructions for operating the processor to perform the step of:

selecting the given user-generated content item at the host website;

directing a client device of the user to the third party payment provider to provide payment directly to the content provider in accordance with the payment level; and

re-directing the client device back from the third party payment provider to the host website.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the memory stores instructions for operating the processor to perform the step of identifying the third party payment service for performing the remuneration.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the user generated content item is an item of multimedia content.

17. A system for remunerating content providers for content uploaded to a host website, the system comprising:

means for uploading one or more user-generated content items to a host website from one or more respective content providers;

means for determining a respective payment level for accessing a given user generated content item; and

means for remunerating, though a third party payment provider, a content provider of a given user generated content item in response to viewing by a user.