Method of permitting group access to electronically stored images and transaction card used in the method

• US 7,716,064 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2005
• Issued: 05/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Cooper, Andrew T., McIntyre, Dale F., Manico, Joseph A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vig; Naresh
• Application Number:
  US11/108,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20050187785A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,849 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/26
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/608 Secure printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

A method of storing and viewing a collection of digital images includes the steps of: providing a plurality of users with a unique user ID associated with a URL identifying a network photoservice provider; providing each one of the plurality of users with a separate password to the unique user ID; at least one of the plurality of users transferring a set of digital images to the unique user ID employing their separate passwords; and viewing the images located at the unique user ID using the separate password.

Claims

1. A method of providing photofinishing services for any one or more of a collection of digital images, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a plurality of users with a URL identifying a network server of a network photoservice provider and with a user ID associated with the URL wherein the user ID is used by each of the plurality of users for accessing the web server;

b) providing each one of the plurality of users with a separate password each associated with the user ID;

c) at least one of the plurality of users transferring a set of digital images to the web server including entering the user ID and their separate passwords to access the web server, and including selecting at least one of the set of digital images to which access will be allowed by other ones of the plurality of users;

d) allowing access only to the at least one of the set of digital images located at the web server by any of said others of the plurality of users who enter the user ID and their separate password; and

e) providing to said others of the plurality of users a choice of photofinishing services for the at least one of the set of digital images.

2. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the photofinishing services include one or more services selected from the list of:

prints, poster prints, t-shirts, CD'"'"'s, floppy discs, album pages, greeting cards, digital file downloading, extended image storage, mugs, posting to a web page, postage stamps, masks, sticker prints, and trading cards.

3. A method of providing photofinishing services for any one or more of a collection of digital images, comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of users with a card having printed thereon a URL identifying a network server of a network photoservice provider and with a user ID associated with the URL wherein the user ID is used by each of the plurality of users for accessing the web server

providing each one of the plurality of users with a separate password each associated with the user ID;

a plurality of the users each transferring a different plurality of digital images to the web server including entering the user ID and their separate passwords to access the web server, and including the plurality of users that have transferred digital images each selecting at least one of their transferred digital images to which access will be allowed for others of the plurality of users;

allowing access only to the selected ones of the transferred digital images located at the web server by each of said others of the plurality of users who enter the user ID and their separate password; and

providing to said others of the plurality of users a choice of photofinishing services for the selected ones of the transferred digital images.