Dynamic indicator for context sensitive real-time communications

• US 8,156,041 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2004
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digital River Incorporated (Danube Private Holdings II, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Digital River Incorporated (Danube Private Holdings II, LLC)
• Inventors: Jun, Gyuchang, Huang, Kurt H., Graves, Matthew C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Akintola, Olabode
• Application Number:
  US10/881,981
• Publication Number:
  US 20050044224A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,842 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/39, 705/41, 705/26, 705/27, 705/14
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

A method and apparatus in which a Spender may spend money to buy an item, spend money on a donation, etc. A Spender (sometimes called a buyer) will typically use client software to access content, where the client is typically a computing device that includes a display, which facilitates the transaction between a Spender and an Earner. An “Earner” (sometimes called a seller) is someone who provides items or content within the system for sale, trade, or acquisition in return for credit or money earned. In the described embodiments, an Earner'"'"'s server may be anything, which serves content and/or includes an Earner gateway, which facilitates trusted third party interaction frequently used in the system, and may also be used to describe several servers or a server farm. In some embodiments, the Earner'"'"'s server is included as a part of the server controlling content access.

Claims

1. A method of allowing access to web-based content, comprising:

allowing a potential spender to prepay money into an account stored in a database where, at a time such prepayment into the account is made, the prepayment is not associated with a particular sales transaction for web-based content;

receiving from the potential spender an indication that the potential spender desires to initiate the particular sales transaction for the web-based content;

receiving a purchase price cost for access to the web-based content; and

authenticating that the potential spender is currently logged into the account and obtaining a threshold value for a purchase price limit set by the potential spender;

providing an indication to the potential spender, prior to initiating the particular sales transaction, that access to the web-based content will be granted when the potential spender has been authenticated as currently logged into the account and the threshold value for a purchase price limit set by the potential spender is greater than or equal to the purchase price cost of the web-based content.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step receiving information from a potential earner about the web-based content, including one of the following:

an access duration, a license, an image, a revisit threshold, and an expiration date.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the web-based content comprises content selected from a group consisting of:

animation, film, business information, comics, educational materials, games, game components, mobile telephone ringtones, music, photographs, prose, eBook content, Internet news feeds, and software.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising steps of (i) registering the potential spender by creating the prepay account and (ii) receiving a payment for deposit in the account.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the registering the spender further comprises receiving a user-defined delay rate that can be used to give the potential spender a chance to cancel a transaction within a time period set by the delay rate.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing step comprises displaying to the potential spender an icon associated with the web-based content, the icon indicating whether the potential spender has enough money in the account to afford the web-based content.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing step further comprises providing an indication to the potential spender that access to the web-based content will not be granted when the purchase price cost of the web-based content is more than the amount of money in the account.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing step further comprises providing the indication to the potential spender that access to the web-based content will not be granted only when the purchase price cost of the web-based content is more than or equal to a purchase price limit set by the potential spender.

9. A method of allowing access to web-based content, comprising:

allowing a potential spender to prepay money into an account stored in a database where, at a time such prepayment into the account is made, the prepayment is not associated with a particular sales transaction for web-based content;

receiving from the potential spender an indication that the potential spender desires to initiate the particular sales transaction for the web-based content;

receiving a purchase price cost for access to the web-based content; and

authenticating that the potential spender is currently logged into the account and obtaining a threshold value for a purchase price limit set by the potential spender;

initiating the particular sales transaction to grant the potential spender access to the web-based content without further confirmation from the potential spender when the potential spender has been authenticated as currently logged into the account and the threshold value for a purchase price limit set by the potential spender is greater than or equal to the purchase price cost of the web-based content.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising a step of deducting from a balance of the prepay account the purchase price cost of the web-based content in response to initiation of the particular sales transaction.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising a step receiving information from a potential earner about the web-based content, including one of the following:

an access duration, a license, an image, a revisit threshold, and an expiration date.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the web-based content comprises content selected from a group consisting of:

animation, film, business information, comics, educational materials, games, game components, mobile telephone ringtones, music, photographs, prose, eBook content, Internet news feeds, and software.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising steps of (i) registering the potential spender by creating the prepay account and (ii) receiving a payment for deposit in the account.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the registering step comprises sending the potential spender a user name and a password.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the registering step comprises receiving the threshold value for a purchase price limit.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the registering the spender further comprises receiving a user-defined delay rate that can be used to give the potential spender a chance to cancel a transaction within a time period set by the delay rate.

17. The method of claim 9 further comprising a step of providing an indication to the potential spender, prior to initiating the particular sales transaction, that access to the web-based content will be granted when an amount of money in the account is greater than or equal to the purchase price cost of the web-based content.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the providing step further comprises providing an indication to the potential spender that access to the web-based content will not be granted when the purchase price cost of the web-based content is more than the threshold value.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the providing step comprises displaying to the potential spender an icon associated with the web-based content, the icon indicating that the purchase price cost of the web-based content is less than or equal to the threshold value.

20. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of deducting from a balance of the prepay account the purchase price cost of the web-based content in response to initiation of the particular sales transaction.