System and method for determining profits to be given back for network content data having advertisements

• US 7,761,330 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2001
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Uchiyama, Nobuyuki, Tsutsui, Mototsugu, Hanaya, Hiroyuki, Sueyoshi, Takahiko, Yoshimine, Takao, Nakamura, Toshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAMPAGNE, DONALD
• Application Number:
  US09/819,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20020046097A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,401 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/14.61, 705/14.49, 705/26
• US Class Current: 705/14.61
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0274 Split fees
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot

Abstract

A profit redistribution device, profit redistribution method, program storage medium, profit redistribution system, content providing device, content providing method, program storage media, and content providing system are disclosed. Profits redistribution processing is performed according to the accumulated points proportionate to the number of times the content with a commercial video is provided to a client PC 4. Thus, a fair profit redistribution can be easily performed. A preset content with a commercial video is provided to a user when requested from the client PC 4, and it is possible to surely provide advertisement information without the user being aware of the commercial.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

first receiving means for receiving from a personal computer via internet, user content data transmitted therefrom, and predetermined information transmitted separately from the user content data, including at least category information defining a genre of the user content data, the category information defining the genre of the user content data being received in response to a selection of a genre setup button on a graphical user interface displayed at the personal computer;

second receiving means for receiving a request from one or more client locations for selected content data, the request including information specifying content data to be transmitted;

managing means for referring to on-demand schedule control information based on the information specifying content data to be transmitted and retrieving the selected content data;

transmission means for transmitting, via a network, the selected content data to one or more client locations along with a commercial selected in accordance with the on-demand schedule control information; and

means for changing the information defining genre of the user content data transmitted by the personal computer to a different genre after receiving the predetermined information, said change to the information defining genre being implemented in response to another selection of the genre setup button on the graphical user interface displayed at the personal computer.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request from the one or more client locations includes an indication to include advertising data with the selected content data.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request from the one or more client locations includes an indication to exclude advertising data from the selected content data.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

calculating means for calculating an amount of money to be earned for the user content data by;

adding a connection fee of an Internet service provider and a service fee of an application service provider to determine a service user charges, the Internet service provider connecting the personal computer to the Internet and the application service provider storing the user content data,

retrieving data representing a number of times the user content data was accessed by users of the application service provider,

determining an amount of money that corresponds to the number of times the user content data was accessed by users of the application service provider, and

subtracting the amount of money that corresponds to the number of times the user content data was accessed by users of the application service provider from the service user charges.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a registering means for receiving information regarding the user of the personal computer,

wherein the registering means creates a user information database table based on the information regarding the user of the personal computer, matches a URL to a user ID of the user of the personal computer, stores the matching URL and the user ID of the user of the personal computer in the user information database table, stores data representing a number of times the user content data was accessed by users of the application service provider, stores a connection fee of an Internet service provider and a service fee of an application service provider, the Internet service provider connecting the personal computer to the Internet and the application service provider storing the user content data, supplies the personal computer with automatic upload software programmed to automatically connect to the URL matching the user ID and to store the user content data in an exclusive memory area in a server oriented to the URL.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined information includes data, provided from the personal computer, that indicates whether the commercial will be reproduced in conjunction with reproduction of the user content data.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

linking means for linking the user content data to a web page of a commercial sponsoring company in order to have the commercial reproduced in conjunction with the user content data.

8. A method comprising:

receiving from a personal computer via internet, user content data transmitted therefrom, and predetermined information transmitted separately from the user content data, including at least category information defining a genre of the user content data, the category information defining the genre of the user content data being received in response to a selection of a genre setup button on a graphical user interface displayed at the personal computer;

receiving a request from one or more client locations for selected content data, the request including information specifying content data to be transmitted;

referring to on-demand schedule control information based on the information specifying content data to be transmitted and retrieving the selected content data;

transmitting, via a network, the selected content data to one or more client locations along with a commercial selected in accordance with the on-demand schedule control information; and

changing the information defining genre of the user content data transmitted by the personal computer to a different genre after receiving the predetermined information, said change to the information defining genre being implemented in response to another selection of the genre setup button on the graphical user interface displayed at the personal computer.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the request from the one or more client locations includes an indication to include advertising data with the selected content data.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the request from the one or more client locations includes an indication to exclude advertising data from the selected content data.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

calculating an amount of money to be earned for the user content data, including sub-steps of;

adding a connection fee of an Internet service provider and a service fee of an application service provider to determine a service user charges, the Internet service provider connecting the personal computer to the Internet and the application service provider storing the user content data,

retrieving data representing a number of times the user content data was accessed by users of the application service provider,

determining an amount of money that corresponds to the number of times the user content data was accessed by users of the application service provider, and

subtracting the amount of money that corresponds to the number of times the user content data was accessed by users of the application service provider from the service user charges.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the predetermined information includes data, provided from the personal computer, that indicates whether the commercial will be reproduced in conjunction with reproduction of the user content data.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

linking the user content data to a web page of a commercial sponsoring company in order to have the commercial reproduced in conjunction with the user content data.

14. A computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions, which when executed by a computer causes the computer to implement a method comprising:

receiving from a personal computer via internet, user content data transmitted therefrom, and predetermined information transmitted separately from the user content data, including at least category information defining a genre of the user content data, the category information defining the genre of the user content data being received in response to a selection of a genre setup button on a graphical user interface displayed at the personal computer;

receiving a request from one or more client locations for selected content data, the request including information specifying content data to be transmitted;

referring to on-demand schedule control information based on the information specifying content data to be transmitted and retrieving the selected content data;

transmitting, via a network, the selected content data to one or more client locations along with a commercial selected in accordance with the on-demand schedule control information; and

changing the information defining genre of the user content data transmitted by the personal computer to a different genre after receiving the predetermined information, said change to the information defining genre being implemented in response to another selection of the genre setup button on the graphical user interface displayed at the personal computer.

15. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 14, wherein the request from the one or more client locations includes an indication to include advertising data with the selected content data.

16. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 14, wherein the request from the one or more client locations includes an indication to exclude advertising data from the selected content data.

17. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

calculating an amount of money to be earned by for the user content data, including sub-steps of;

adding a connection fee of an Internet service provider and a service fee of an application service provider to determine a service user charges, the Internet service provider connecting the personal computer to the Internet and the application service provider storing the user content data,

retrieving data representing a number of times the user content data was accessed by users of the application service provider,

determining an amount of money that corresponds to the number of times the user content data was accessed by users of the application service provider, and

subtracting the amount of money that corresponds to the number of times the user content data was accessed by users of the application service provider from the service user charges.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the predetermined information includes data, provided from the personal computer, that indicates whether the commercial will be reproduced in conjunction with reproduction of the user content data.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

linking the user content data to a web page of a commercial sponsoring company in order to have the commercial reproduced in conjunction with the user content data.

20. An apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit configured to receive from a personal computer via interne, user content data transmitted therefrom, and predetermined information transmitted separately from the user content data transmitted by the user of the personal computer, including at least category information defining a genre of the user content data, the category information defining genre of the user content data being received in response to a selection of a genre setup button on a graphical user interface displayed at the personal computer;

the receiving unit being configured to receive a request from one or more client locations for selected content data, the request including information for specifying content data to be transmitted;

a managing unit configured to refer to on-demand schedule control information based on the information for specifying content data to be transmitted;

a transmission unit configured to transmit, via a network, the selected content data to one or more client locations along with a commercial selected in accordance with the on-demand schedule control information; and

a modification unit configured to change the information indicating genre of the user content data transmitted after receiving the predetermined information, said change to the information defining genre being implemented in response to another selection of the genre setup button on the graphical user interface displayed at the personal computer.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the predetermined information includes data, provided from the personal computer, that indicates whether the commercial will be reproduced in conjunction with reproduction of the user content data.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:

a linking unit configured to link the user content data to a web page of a commercial sponsoring company in order to have the commercial reproduced in conjunction with the user content data.