Method for facilitating a transaction for purchasable content over an electronic network

• US 7,043,447 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2001
• Issued: 05/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.), Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Music Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hughes, David A., Smith, Allen J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jeffrey A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gart, Matthew S
• Application Number:
  US09/836,094
• Publication Number:
  US 20020023013A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,848 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/59, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/27.1
• 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: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A transaction for purchasable content is facilitated over an electronic network, wherein the purchasable content includes downloadable digital data. A first presence is maintained on the electronic network to which a consumer may connect. A first page is transmitted from the first presence to the consumer over the electronic network, such that the first page includes information concerning the purchasable content. A command is received from the consumer over the electronic network indicating that the consumer wishes the transaction for the purchasable content. The consumer is automatically linked to a second presence on the electronic network in response to the command such that the consumer may interact with the second presence over the electronic network to complete the transaction for the purchasable content.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating a transaction for purchasable musical content over an electronic network, the method comprising:

maintaining a first network server that hosts a first web page on the electronic network to which a consumer may connect;

transmitting the first web page from the first network server to the consumer over the electronic network, the first web page including a listing of purchasable musical content, the purchasable musical content including two types, the first type comprising downioadable digital musical data and the second type comprising physical musical media, wherein the first network server is enabled to allow the consumer to complete a purchase transaction for the physical musical media, but is not enabled to allow the consumer to complete a purchase transaction for the downloadable digital musical data;

allowing the consumer to browse the listing of purchasable musical content at the first web page on the electronic network;

receiving a command at the first network server from the consumer over the electronic network indicating that the consumer has selected certain of the purchasable musical content to purchase;

determining by the first network server based on the received command if the selected purchasable musical content is either the first type being downloadable digital musical data or the second type being physical musical media;

executing a computer program stored in the first network server, the computer program comprising instructions for receiving the determination, and if the selected purchasable musical content is determined by the first network server to be the first type of purchasable musical content, the computer program automatically linking the consumer to a second network server which maintains custody of the selected downloadable digital musical data and hosts a second web page on the electronic network, the second web server;

transmitting the second web page to the consumer over the electronic network;

allowing the consumer to complete a purchase transaction at the second web page for the selected purchasable content, wherein the consumer enters transaction information at the second web page, and after the purchase transaction is complete, the second server transferring custody of the downloadable digital musical data from the second network server through the electronic network to the consumer;

executing a computer program stored in the first network server, the computer program comprising instructions for receiving the determination, and if the selected purchasable musical content is determined by the first network server to be the second type of purchasable music content, the first web server;

allowing the consumer to complete a purchase transaction at the first web page for the selected purchasable content, wherein the consumer enters transaction information at the first web page, the transaction information including at least the consumer'"'"'s mailing address, and after the purchase transaction is complete, the first server causing the physical musical media to be physically mailed to the mailing address entered by the consumer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the first web page in a first window and the second page in a second window.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second windows are displayed simultaneously on a monitor display.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first window is branded by a first entity and the second window is branded by a second entity.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the second window is activated when the second web page is received by the consumer over the electronic network and the first window is not active when the second window is activated.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical musical media include at least one of optically readable media, magnetically readable media, and mechanically readable media.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second web page includes at least one of:

(i) registration inputs for registering the consumer;

(ii) login inputs for permitting the consumer access to further portions of the second page;

(iii) summary information including at least one of a list of the purchasable content selected by the consumer, and remittance information for the purchasable content selected by the consumer; and

(iv) billing inputs for receiving information from the consumer concerning a remittance method.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the summary information and the billing inputs are included on the further portions of the second web page.