Smart book

• US 6,974,081 B1
• Filed: 10/06/2000
• Issued: 12/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kanevsky, Dimitri, Zlatsin, Alexander, Sabath, Mariusz, Sedivy, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US09/684,207
• Time in Patent Office: 1,894 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2, 707/101, 707/102, 705/59, 705/57, 705/52, 235/462.07, 235/462.01, 235/375, 235/383, 235/385
• US Class Current: 235/462.01
• 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 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

A method and system that permits the purchase of a license to make a limited number of copies of a book. At the time of purchase, the purchaser or user is given a key that contains the ability to obtain the limited number of copies on demand. The key contains a web address that can be used to obtain the authorized copies. In some embodiments, the key is a label in a machine readable form that is readable by a label reader, such as a bar code reader or a magnetic reader. In other embodiments, the key is merely a web address that the user may contact. At the point of sale, the key or record is formed, affixed to the book and also sent to copy tracker. The copy tracker then keeps track of the copies as made and processes each request to make a copy. If permitted, a database is enabled to send an electronic image of the requested copy to the user.

Claims

1. A method of authorizing one or more requested copies of all or part of a book comprising:

retrieving copy rights information for authorizing copies of all or part of said book, wherein said copy rights information is stored in a semiconductor device affixed to said book,

authorizing the requested copies if the retrieved copy rights information indicates that the requested copies are authorized; and

updating the copy rights information stored in said semiconductor device to reflect that the requested copies have been authorized.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said copy rights information comprises counts data specifying a number of copies that can be authorized, and wherein said updating comprises reducing said counts data in dependence on requested and authorized copies.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said counts data further specifies a number of copies of said book, and/or copies of pages in said book, and/or copies of graphics in said book that can be authorized.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said copy rights information further comprises a user or license identity.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said steps of retrieving, authorizing, and updating are performed by a program that is executed by said semiconductor device.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said authorizing step further comprises said semiconductor device communicating externally a signal authorizing the requested copies.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising making the requested copies in response to said externally communicated signal.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said steps of retrieving, authorizing, and updating are performed by a program that is executed by a system external to said semiconductor device.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said retrieving and updating step further comprise said semiconductor device fetching and storing, respectively, all or part of said copy rights information, and also communicating externally with said external system all or part of said copy rights information.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein said copy rights information further comprises a World Wide Web address of said external system.

11. A book comprising:

one or more pages having text and/or graphics, and

an affixed semiconductor device comprising;

an updateable storage area that stores copy rights information for authorizing copies of all or part of said book; and

a controller for communicating externally to said semiconductor device.

12. The book of claim 11 wherein said copy rights information comprises counts data specifying a number of copies that can be authorized.

13. The book of claim 12 wherein said counts data further specifies a number of copies of said book, and/or copies of pages in said book, and/or copies of graphics in said book that can be authorized.

14. The book of claim 11 wherein said copy rights information further comprises a user or license identity.

15. The book of claim 11 wherein an external system, in response to a request for one or more copies of part or all of said book,

communicates with said semiconductor device to retrieve all or part of said copy rights information stored in said semiconductor device,

authorizes the requested copies if the retrieved copy rights information indicates that the requested copies are authorized;

and

communicates with said semiconductor device to update said copy rights information stored in said semiconductor device to reflect that the requested copies have been authorized.

16. The book of claim 15 wherein said copy rights information comprises counts data specifying a number of copies that can be authorized, and wherein said updating comprises reducing said counts data in dependence on requested and authorized copies.

17. The book of claim 11 wherein said semiconductor device, in response to a request for one or more copies of all or part of said book, further

retrieves all or part of said stored copy rights information,

communicates externally to said semiconductor device a signal authorizing the requested copies if the retrieved copy rights information indicates that the requested copies are authorized;

and

updates said stored copy rights information to reflect that the requested copies have been authorized.

18. The book of claim 17 wherein said copy rights information comprises counts data specifying a number of copies that can be authorized, and wherein said updating comprises reducing said counts data in dependence on the requested and authorized copies.

19. The book of claim 17 wherein said semiconductor device further comprises a storage area for all or part of the content of said book, said content being communicated externally in response to an authorized copy request.

20. The book of claim 17 wherein an external copy station that, in response to a signal authorizing requested copies received from said semiconductor device,

retrieves the content of the requested copies, and

produces the requested copies from the retrieved content.

21. The book of claim 20 wherein said semiconductor device further comprises a storage area for all or part of the content of said book, said content being externally communicated to said copy station.

22. The book of claim 11 comprising a plurality of affixed semiconductor devices, each comprising an updateable storage area that stores copy rights information for a section of said book.

23. A book copying system comprising:

a book comprising;

one or more pages having text and/or graphics, and

an affixed semiconductor device comprising (i) an updateable storage area that stores copy rights information for authorizing copies of all or part of said book and (ii) a controller for communicating externally to said semiconductor device, and for, in response to a request for one or more copies of part or all of said book,

retrieving all or part of said stored copy rights information,

communicating externally to said semiconductor device a signal authorizing the requested copies if the retrieved copy rights information indicates that the requested copies are authorized, and

updating said stored copy rights information to reflect that the requested copies have been authorized; and

a copy station that can operatively communicate with said book for producing copies in response to said authorization signal.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein said semiconductor device further comprises a storage area for all or part of the content of said book, said content being externally communicated to said copy station.

25. The system of claim 23 wherein said copy rights information comprises counts data specifying a number of copies that can be authorized, and wherein said updating comprises reducing said counts data in dependence on the requested and authorized copies.

26. The system of claim 23 wherein said counts data further specifies a number of copies of said book, and/or copies of pages in said book, and/or copies of graphics in said book that can be authorized.

27. The system of claim 23 wherein said copy rights information further comprises a user or license identity.

28. A computer readable medium comprising instructions encoded thereon for causing a semiconductor device affixed to a book to perform a method of authorizing one or more requested copies of all or part of a book, said method comprising:

retrieving copy rights information for authorizing copies of all or part of said book, wherein said copy rights information is stored in a semiconductor device affixed to said book,

authorizing the requested copies if the retrieved copy rights information indicates that the requested copies are authorized; and

updating the copy rights information stored in said semiconductor device to reflect that the requested copies have been authorized.

29. A book comprising an affixed device comprising a computer readable storage area that stores copy rights information, said copy rights information comprising data specifying a number of copies of all or part of said book that can be authorized, and said storage area being updateable so that said data can be reduced in dependence on requested and authorized copies,

wherein said affixed device fetches and sends all or part of said stored copy rights information to an external system and receives and stores updated copy rights information from said external system, wherein said external system authorizes requested copies if the retrieved copy rights information indicates that the requested copies are authorized and updates said copy right information in dependence on requested and authorized copies.

30. A book comprising an affixed device comprising a computer readable storage area that stores copy rights information, said copy rights information comprising data specifying a number of copies of all or part of said book that can be authorized, and said storage area being updateable so that said data can be reduced in dependence on requested and authorized copies,

wherein said affixed device retrieves all or part of said stored copy rights information, communicates externally a signal authorizing one or more requested copies if the retrieved copy rights information indicates that the requested copies are authorized, and stores copy rights information updated in dependence on requested and authorized copies.