Referring, Lending, and Reselling of Digital Items
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
- under control of one or more computers configured with specific executable instructions,tracking a lending transaction for a digital item in which a first user lends a digital item that is consumable on a first electronic device associated with the first user to a second user for consumption on a second device associated with the second user;
determining whether the second user submits a request to purchase the digital item following receipt of the digital item being lent by the first user; and
paying a referral fee to the first user in an event that the second user purchases the digital item.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Digital items may be referred, lent, or resold via a computing architecture that supports a secondary market for such items, as well as the economic models to support the secondary market. In one scenario, a lender may lend a digital item to another person, and if that person purchases the digital item following a trial period, the lender is given a referral fee. In another scenario, rights holders of one digital item are paid a referral fee for any sales of other digital items that arise due to purchasers acting on a reference contained in the digital item.
46 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
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under control of one or more computers configured with specific executable instructions, tracking a lending transaction for a digital item in which a first user lends a digital item that is consumable on a first electronic device associated with the first user to a second user for consumption on a second device associated with the second user; determining whether the second user submits a request to purchase the digital item following receipt of the digital item being lent by the first user; and paying a referral fee to the first user in an event that the second user purchases the digital item. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
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under control of one or more computers configured with specific executable instructions, maintaining a record of a digital item; receiving an indication that an owner of the digital item intends to resell the digital item; offering the digital item for resale at a sale price; upon purchase of the digital item by a purchaser, allocating proceeds from the resale to the owner and to one or more rights holders; and updating the record of the digital item to reflect the resale from the owner to the purchaser. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
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under control of one or more computers configured with specific executable instructions, providing a first digital item for consumption by a user, the first digital item containing a reference to a second digital item that is different than the first digital item; receiving an indication from the user to purchase the second digital item as a result of interacting with the first digital item; and upon purchase of the second digital item, paying a referral fee to one or more rights holders of the first digital item. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer-readable storage media storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed, instruct a processor to perform acts comprising:
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receiving a request to purchase a digital item from a purchaser, the request being generated as a result of the purchaser reviewing a loaned version of the digital item using an electronic device, the loaned version of the digital item being lent by a lender; and allocating a referral fee to the lender. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. A computer-readable storage media storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed, instruct a processor to perform acts comprising:
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accepting a resale price for a digital item being offered for resale by a reseller; allocating a portion of proceeds from the resale to both the reseller and one or more rights holders in the digital item.
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26. A computer-readable storage media storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed, instruct a processor to perform acts comprising:
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receiving a request for a referenced digital item, the request originating as a result of user interaction with an electronic book while using an electronic book reader device, the electronic book containing a reference to the referenced digital item; providing, for display on the electronic book reader device, information about the referenced digital item along with at least one of a purchase option to purchase the referenced digital item or a sample option to view a sample of the reference digital item; receiving from the electronic book reader device an indication to purchase the referenced digital item; and paying a referral fee to one or more rights holders of the electronic book. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A computing system for supporting a secondary market for digital items, the computing system comprising:
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one or more processors; memory accessible by the one or more processors; a lending system stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors to track lending of a digital item from a first user to a second user and to allocate a referral fee to the first user in an event that the second user purchases the digital item being lent; and a resale transaction module stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors to accept a resale price for a digital item being offered for resale by a reseller, the resale transaction module being configured to allocate a portion of proceeds from the resale to both the reseller and one or more rights holders in the digital item. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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Specification