Telephone-based selection, ordering, and billing of digital content delivered via a network
First Claim
1. A content delivery system for delivering digital multimedia content to a premise appliance of a user via a digital data network, comprising:
- an intelligent voice response (IVR) unit responsive via a public switched telephone network to a premise telephone of said user, wherein said IVR unit presents a predetermined menu for selecting a transaction using said premise telephone to receive said digital multimedia content using said premise appliance, and wherein said IVR unit obtains an identification of said user;
a content server coupled to said IVR unit and to said digital data network for transferring said digital multimedia content to said premise appliance via said digital data network separate from said public switched telephone network and said premise telephone;
a telephone billing system coupled to at least one of said IVR unit and said content server, said telephone billing system creating a call record corresponding to said selected transaction and to a telephone billing account corresponding to said user identification, said call record containing usage information for said transaction;
wherein said content server signals said billing system in the event of an incomplete transmission for adjusting said call record.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A content delivery system for delivering digital multimedia content to a premise appliance of a user comprises an intelligent voice response (IVR) unit which is responsive via a public switched telephone network to a premise telephone of the user. The IVR unit presents a predetermined menu for selecting a transaction to receive the digital multimedia content. The IVR unit also obtains an identification of the user (such as the user'"'"'s telephone number via automatic number identification or caller ID). A content server is coupled to the IVR unit for transferring the digital multimedia content to the premise appliance. A telephone billing system is coupled to the IVR unit or the content server. The telephone billing system creates a call record corresponding to the selected transaction and to a telephone billing account corresponding to the user identification. The call record contains usage information for the transaction which can later be used by the billing system to determine a charge for the transaction. The content server signals the billing system in the event of an incomplete transmission for adjusting the call record.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A content delivery system for delivering digital multimedia content to a premise appliance of a user via a digital data network, comprising:
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an intelligent voice response (IVR) unit responsive via a public switched telephone network to a premise telephone of said user, wherein said IVR unit presents a predetermined menu for selecting a transaction using said premise telephone to receive said digital multimedia content using said premise appliance, and wherein said IVR unit obtains an identification of said user; a content server coupled to said IVR unit and to said digital data network for transferring said digital multimedia content to said premise appliance via said digital data network separate from said public switched telephone network and said premise telephone; a telephone billing system coupled to at least one of said IVR unit and said content server, said telephone billing system creating a call record corresponding to said selected transaction and to a telephone billing account corresponding to said user identification, said call record containing usage information for said transaction; wherein said content server signals said billing system in the event of an incomplete transmission for adjusting said call record. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for delivering digital multimedia content to a premise appliance of a user, comprising the steps of:
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an intelligent voice response (IVR) unit receiving a telephone call from a premise telephone of a user via a public switched telephone network; said IVR unit presenting a predetermined menu for said user to select a transaction to receive said digital multimedia content; said user selecting a transaction using said premise telephone; said IVR unit obtaining an identification of said user; a content server coupled to said IVR unit transferring said digital multimedia content to said premise appliance via a digital data network; said user receiving said digital multimedia content using said premise appliance separate from said public switched telephone network; creating a call record in a telephone billing system, said call record corresponding to said selected transaction and to a telephone billing account corresponding to said user identification, said call record containing predetermined usage information for said transaction; said content server detecting if an incomplete transmission of said digital multimedia content occurs and signaling said billing system of such an occurrence; and said billing system adjusting said call record in response to an incomplete transmission so that said user is not charged for said selected transaction. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification