Open, neutral electronic distribution system for digital content providing distribution channel support to publishers and retailers and abstract fulfillment for publishers

• US 7,882,037 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2007
• Issued: 02/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 12, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Arvato Digital Services Canada, Inc. (Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA)
• Inventors: Hirsch, Karl
• Primary Examiner(s): Elisca, Pierre Eddy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kamal, Shahid
• Application Number:
  US11/976,432
• Publication Number:
  US 20080162307A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,196 Days
• Field of Search: 705 51- 67, 705/26, 380/4, 380/5, 380/281, 380/284, 709/219
• US Class Current: 705/67
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management

Abstract

An online service and system are provided through which digital content publishers can package, protect, market and sell their content through on-line retailers, and through which on-line retailers can both build a unique inventory of digital content with all associated marketing metadata to sell through their on-line stores and seamlessly integrate the digital content into their on-line shopping cart. The system provides publishers with abstract fulfillment such that they only.

Claims

1. A method of retailer electronic distribution (RED) of digital content for building a digital inventory of products offered by publishers to retailers to sell comprising:

uploading content from publishers to a RED server to offer as products for retailers to sell;

enrolling the content via the RED server by storing publisher marketing metadata comprising any merchandizing and product information that is to be offered to consumers via retailers;

providing a catalog feed from the RED server to retailers comprising a list of the enrolled content;

receiving at the RED server retailer selection of at least one item of content from the catalog feed;

storing retailer information specific to that retailer via the RED server to facilitate rebranding the at least one item of content; and

performing abstract fulfillment with respect to publishers by dynamically rebranding via the RED server the at least one item of content when selected by a consumer from that retailer using the retailer-specific information corresponding to that retailer, the publisher only having to unload the content for that product one time.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request to download at least one item of content from the retailer in response to a consumer request for that content;

performing at least one of authentication and activation of the at least one item of content;

rebranding via the RED server the at least one item of content with an identifier of the retailer; and

transmitting a link to the consumer with which to download the rebranded item.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

performing third party verification of a transaction between the consumer and the retailer to acquire the rebranded item.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

providing the publisher with at least a portion of the transaction amount collected by the retailer.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retailer information comprises that retailers online brand, and further comprising rebranding the at least one item of content using the retailers online brand for display to a consumer to enable the consumer to perceive the at least one item of content as originating from the retailer and not the corresponding one of the publishers.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retailer-specific information comprises branding options for catalog products that retailer selects to sell, and further comprising:

performing abstract fulfillment with respect to publishers by dynamically rebranding via the RED server online catalog products selected by at least one consumer from that retailer using the retailer-specific information corresponding to that retailer, the publisher only having to upload the content for that product one time.

5. A method of integrated electronic distribution and commerce for providing license transactions, product activation and distribution channel support among content providers or publishers, retailers or resellers, and consumers to facilitate electronic distribution of digital content comprising:

generating at least one publisher interface screen via a retailer electronic distribution (RED) server to assist a publisher in selection of at least one retailer to electronically sell a product of the publisher to consumers, the publisher interface screen comprising at least one offer screen requesting entry of selected offer management information by the publisher, the offer management information comprising selection of at least one retailer from a list of retailers, and product information identifying the product the publisher wishes the selected retailer to offer to consumers;

adding the product to a stored catalog via the RED server using the offer management information entered by the publisher in response to the publisher interface screen, the catalog providing a list of a plurality of products offered by different publishers to retailers to sell to consumers;

providing an online catalog feed to retailers via the RED server that allows retailers to select from among the plurality of product offers therein from different publishers to build an inventory;

generating at least one retailer interface screen via the RED server that lists products from the catalog to assist a retailer in selecting at least one of the products from the catalog to place in an inventory offered to consumers;

generating at least one retailer interface screen via the RED server that requests a retailer to provide retailer information;

storing via the RED server the retailer information for online catalog products which that retailer selects to sell; and

dynamically rebranding via the RED server an online catalog product selected by a consumer from that retailer using the retailer information corresponding to that retailer, the publisher only having to upload the product one time.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising providing the stored catalog with publisher metadata associated with marketing.

7. A method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising each retailer maintaining its merchant of record to allow purchase and fulfillment of requested products from the catalog via the retailers shopping cart.

8. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the offer management information further comprises selection of at least one category to which the product belongs from a list of different categories of products offered by publishers to assist retailers in locating different products to sell.

9. A method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a retailer refusing to sell a product from a publisher that has selected that retailer via the publisher interface screen.

13. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the retailer information comprises the retailers rebranding preferences and retailer-specific product merchandizing and catalog metadata that is customized for that retailer transparently to a publisher.

11. A system for retailer electronic distribution of digital content comprising:

a memory; and

a processing device configured for building a digital inventory of products offered by publishers to retailers to sell, the processing device being programmed to

upload, to the memory, content from publishers to offer as products for retailers to sell,

enroll the content by storing, in the memory, publisher marketing metadata comprising any merchandizing and product information that is to be offered to consumers via retailers,

generate and transmit a catalog feed to retailers comprising a list of the enrolled content,

receive retailer selection of at least one item of content from the catalog feed, and

store, in the memory, retailer information specific to that retailer to facilitate rebranding the at least one item of content; and

perform abstract fulfillment with respect to publishers by dynamically rebranding the at least one time of content when selected by a consumer from that retailer using the retailer-specific information corresponding to that retailer, the publisher only having to upload the content for that product one time.

14. A system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the retailer-specific information comprises branding options for catalog products which that retailer selects to sell, and the processing device is further programmed to perform abstract fulfillment with respect to publishers by dynamically rebranding online catalog products selected by at least one consumer from that retailer using the retailer-specific information corresponding to that retailer, the publisher only having to upload the content for that product one time.