Program distribution system, method of program distribution, transmitter and receiver
First Claim
1. A program distribution system comprising:
- a receiver; and
a transmitter including a distribution controller;
said receiver being operable to accept a user request for a desired program, the user request being in a free style text format, to convert the user request into a distribution request e-mail message that includes the user request and that is addressed to said distribution controller of said transmitter, and to send the distribution request e-mail message to said transmitter;
said transmitter including;
a distributable program storing unit operable to store a plurality of distributable programs,said distribution controller being operable to receive the distribution request e-mail message addressed to said distribution controller, to determine whether the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, to transmit an answer e-mail message to said receiver in response to the distribution request e-mail message, the answer e-mail message including a notice of correspondence and including supplemental information when the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, the supplemental information including cryptanalytic information for decrypting the program, and to read out the requested program from said distributable program storing unit when the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, anda distributor operable to distribute the requested program to said receiver.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A program distribution system enabling a user to easily buy a program includes a video server for storing a plurality of distributable programs, and a video on demand controller which receives a request for the distribution of a distributable program from an integrated receiver decoder. The distribution request is formed in a free-style text format described in the arbitrary style of the user of the receiver decoder. The controller compares a word described in the distribution request with each title of the distributable programs stored in the video server, and if a title that corresponds to the word described in the distribution request is found, the controller reads out the corresponding distributing program from the video server and distributes it to the receiver decoder.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A program distribution system comprising:
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a receiver; and a transmitter including a distribution controller; said receiver being operable to accept a user request for a desired program, the user request being in a free style text format, to convert the user request into a distribution request e-mail message that includes the user request and that is addressed to said distribution controller of said transmitter, and to send the distribution request e-mail message to said transmitter; said transmitter including; a distributable program storing unit operable to store a plurality of distributable programs, said distribution controller being operable to receive the distribution request e-mail message addressed to said distribution controller, to determine whether the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, to transmit an answer e-mail message to said receiver in response to the distribution request e-mail message, the answer e-mail message including a notice of correspondence and including supplemental information when the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, the supplemental information including cryptanalytic information for decrypting the program, and to read out the requested program from said distributable program storing unit when the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, and a distributor operable to distribute the requested program to said receiver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 33, 34)
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9. A method of distributing programs, said method comprising:
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receiving, at a transmitter, a distribution request e-mail message from a receiver, the distribution request e-mail message being addressed to a distribution controller of the transmitter and including a user request for a desired program, the user request being in a free style text format; determining whether the requested program is one of a stored plurality of distributable programs; transmitting an answer e-mail message to the receiver in response to the distribution request e-mail message, the answer e-mail message including a notice of correspondence and including supplemental information when the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, the supplemental information including cryptanalytic information for decrypting the program; reading out the requested program when the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs; and distributing the requested program to the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 35, 36)
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17. A transmitter, comprising:
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a distributable program storing unit operable to store a plurality of distributable programs; a distribution controller operable to receive a distribution request e-mail message addressed to said distribution controller from a receiver, the distribution request e-mail message including a user request for a desired program, the user request being in a free style text format, to determine whether the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, to transmit an answer e-mail message to the receiver in response to the distribution request e-mail message, the answer e-mail message including a notice of correspondence and including supplemental information when the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, the supplemental information including cryptanalytic information for decrypting the program, and to read out the requested program from said distributable program storing unit when the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs; and a distributor operable to distribute the requested program to the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 37, 38)
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25. A receiver, comprising:
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a controller operable to accept a user request for a desired program, the user request being in a free style text format, to convert the user request into a distribution request e-mail message that includes the user request and that is addressed to a distribution controller of a predetermined distribution unit, and to send the distribution request e-mail message to the predetermined distribution unit; and a front end operable to receive an answer e-mail message sent by the predetermined distribution unit in response to the distribution request e-mail message, the answer e-mail message including a notice of correspondence and including supplemental information when the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, the supplemental information including cryptanalytic information for decrypting the program, and to receive the requested program from the predetermined distribution unit when the requested program is available from the predetermined distribution unit. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 39)
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29. A method of receiving programs, said method comprising:
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accepting a user request for a desired program, the user request being in a free style text format; converting the user request into a distribution request e-mail message that includes the user request and that is addressed to a distribution controller of a predefined distribution unit; sending the distribution request e-mail message to the predetermined distribution unit; receiving an answer e-mail message from the predetermined distribution unit in response to the distribution request e-mail message, the answer e-mail message including a notice of correspondence and including supplemental information when the requested program is one of the stored plurality of distributable programs, the supplemental information including cryptanalytic information for decrypting the program; and receiving the requested program from the predetermined distribution unit when the requested program is available from the predetermined distribution unit. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 40)
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Specification