Automatic broker tools and techniques

• US 6,343,738 B1
• Filed: 04/18/2000
• Issued: 02/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Resource Consortium Limited, LLC
• Original Assignee: John W.L. Ogilvie
• Inventors: Ogilvie, John W. L.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, THIEN MINH
• Application Number:
  US09/552,341
• Time in Patent Office: 658 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/381, 235/494, 235/480, 235/375, 235/382, 235/382.5, 235/454, 235/371, 705/26, 705/1, 705/27, 705/37, 705/75, 705/77, 705/80, 705/2, 705/7, 902/1, 902/8, 902/30, 902/41, 379/144, 379/112, 379/113
• US Class Current: 235/381
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• 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 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

The invention provides sampling, escrowing, and other tools and techniques for facilitating transactions that involve digital goods. Transactions may be of the goods-for-payment type, or they may be barter transactions that exchange goods for goods. Digital goods may be escrowed with an automatic broker. The broker may also create and distribute samples of the goods, which are created by techniques such as distorting or burdening part or all of a copy of the goods. In some cases the broker may accept and act on approval or disapproval notices from the parties to a transaction, to cancel or complete a transaction. In other cases, the broker'"'"'s participation is limited to providing and/or authenticating samples.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating transactions involving digital content, the digital content provided by a seller, the method comprising the steps of:

the seller making a copy of the digital content for a transaction accessible to an automatic broker tool; and

the automatic broker tool creating a sample of the digital content, the sample characterized in that its content is not predicted by the seller, whereby the sample contains useful information about the digital content without containing a complete and accurate copy of the digital content, thereby preventing an unauthorized use of the digital content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the broker creates the sample by distorting at least a portion of the digital content.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the broker creates the sample by burdening at least a portion of the digital content with spurious data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the broker creates the sample by extracting a portion of the digital content and thereby omitting the remaining portion of the digital content.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of placing the sample in a catalog of the seller.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of the automatic broker tool providing the sample to the seller.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of the automatic broker tool providing the sample to a buyer for inspection.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of the automatic broker tool completing a transaction, the completing step comprising releasing a copy of the digital content to at least one of the buyer and an agent for the buyer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the automatic broker tool also releases a payment from the buyer to at least one of the seller and an agent for the seller while completing the transaction.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the automatic broker tool also releases digital content from the buyer to the seller while completing the transaction.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of creating a sample comprises placing authentication information in the sample, thereby permitting authentication which verifies that the automatic broker tool is the source of the sample.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatic broker tool creates a sample using at least one technique which is selected by the automatic broker tool in response to identifying a data type of the digital content.

13. An automatic broker tool for facilitating transactions involving digital content, the tool comprising:

a goods store for storing digital goods escrowed with the automatic broker tool;

a sampling means for creating a sample of digital goods; and

a processor operable in connection with a configured memory to provide samples created by the sampling means and to escrow digital goods in the goods store.

14. The automatic broker tool of claim 13, wherein the processor is also operable in connection with the configured memory to complete transactions by releasing escrowed digital goods to a first party and releasing a corresponding payment to a second party.

15. The automatic broker tool of claim 13, wherein the processor is also operable in connection with the configured memory to complete transactions by releasing escrowed digital goods of a first party to a second party and releasing escrowed digital goods of the second party to the first party.

16. An automatic broker tool for facilitating barter transactions involving digital content, the tool comprising:

a goods store for storing digital goods to be escrowed, the digital goods provided to the automatic broker tool by at least two parties; and

a processor operable in connection with a configured memory to automatically escrow digital goods for the parties in the goods store, to receive goods release approvals from the parties, and in response to those release approvals to automatically complete a barter transaction by releasing escrowed goods to parties other than the parties that provided them to be escrowed.

17. The automatic broker tool of claim 16, further comprising a distorting sampling means for creating a sample by distorting a copy of at least a portion of the digital goods.

18. The automatic broker tool of claim 17, wherein the distorting sampling means changes the order of data in the digital content.

19. The automatic broker tool of claim 16, further comprising a burdening sampling means for creating a sample by adding data to a copy of at least a portion of the digital goods.

20. The automatic broker tool of claim 19, wherein the burdening sampling means adds steganographic data to a copy of at least a portion of the digital goods.

21. The automatic broker tool of claim 19, wherein the burdening sampling means adds spurious data to a copy of at least a portion of the digital goods.

22. A sample of digital content produced by a process for facilitating a transaction involving digital content possessed by a party, the process comprising the steps of:

the party making a copy of the digital content for a transaction accessible to an automatic broker tool; and

the automatic broker tool creating a sample of the digital content, the sample characterized in that its content is not predicted by the party, whereby the sample contains useful information about the digital content without containing a complete and accurate copy of the digital content, thereby preventing an unauthorized use of the digital content.

23. A configured computer storage medium which will cause at least a portion of a computer system to perform method steps for facilitating transactions involving digital content, the digital content provided by a party, the method comprising the steps of:

the party making a copy of the digital content for a transaction accessible to an automatic broker tool; and

the automatic broker tool creating a sample of the digital content, the sample characterized in that its content is not predicted by the party, whereby the sample contains useful information about the digital content without containing a complete and accurate copy of the digital content, thereby preventing an unauthorized use of the digital content.

24. The configured computer storage medium of claim 23, wherein the method further comprises the step of the party escrowing the digital content with the automatic broker tool.

25. The configured computer storage medium of claim 23, wherein the broker creates the sample by distorting at least a portion of the digital content.

26. The configured computer storage medium of claim 23, wherein the broker creates the sample by burdening at least a portion of the digital content with spurious data.

27. A configured computer storage medium which will cause at least a portion of a computer system to perform method steps for facilitating barter transactions involving digital content, the digital content provided by at least two parties, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

receiving from a first party a copy of first digital content and escrowing that first digital content;

receiving from a second party a copy of second digital content and escrowing that second digital content;

determining an approval exists to release the first digital content to the second party;

determining an approval exists to release the second digital content to the first party;

releasing the first digital content to the second party; and

releasing the second digital content to the first party.

28. The configured computer storage medium of claim 27, wherein at least one of the determining steps comprises receiving an approval from the party that provided the digital content being approved for release.

29. The configured computer storage medium of claim 27, wherein at least one of the determining steps comprises timing out after no cancellation is received from the party that provided the digital content being approved for release.

30. The configured computer storage medium of claim 27, wherein the method further comprises the steps of creating a sample of digital content;

and sending the sample to at least one of the parties prior to at least one of the determining steps.

31. The configured computer storage medium of claim 27, wherein the digital content includes an image and the step of creating a sample creates a thumbnail of the image.

32. A configured computer storage medium which will cause at least a portion of a computer system to perform method steps for facilitating transactions involving digital content, the digital content provided by a seller, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving from the seller a copy of digital content and escrowing that digital content; and

creating a sample of the digital content, including at least one of distorting a copy of at least a portion of the digital content and adding spurious data to a copy of at least a portion of the digital content.

33. The configured computer storage medium of claim 32, wherein the sample creating step further comprises placing authentication information in the sample, thereby permitting authentication which verifies the source of the sample.

34. A method for facilitating barter transactions involving digital content using an automatic broker tool for facilitating barter transactions involving digital content, the tool comprising a goods store for storing digital goods to be escrowed, the digital goods provided to the automatic broker tool by at least two parties, the tool further comprising a processor operable in connection with a configured memory to escrow digital goods for the parties in the goods store, to receive goods release approvals from the parties, and in response to those release approvals to release escrowed goods to parties other than the parties that provided them to be escrowed, the method comprising the steps of obtaining a description of the automatic broker tool and employing the description by advertising at least one of the automatic broker tool and a barter transaction service which uses the automated broker tool.

35. A method for facilitating transactions involving digital content, the method comprising the steps of obtaining a description of a configured computer storage medium and employing the description by advertising at least one of a configured computer storage medium and a service which uses the configured computer storage medium, the computer storage medium configured to cause at least a portion of a computer system to perform steps in a process, the digital content provided by a party, the process comprising the party making a copy of the digital content for a transaction accessible to an automatic broker tool, the process further comprising the automatic broker tool creating a sample of the digital content, the sample characterized in that its content is not predicted by the party, whereby the sample contains useful information about the digital content without containing a complete and accurate copy of the digital content, thereby preventing an unauthorized use of the digital content.