Apparatus and method for computation of a pricing index

• US 8,250,593 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2005
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hirayama, Tomoshi, Tomita, Hisashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Vital, Pierre
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mitiku, Berhanu
• Application Number:
  US11/177,382
• Publication Number:
  US 20050251484A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,598 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

An information processing apparatus is disclosed which comprises: a first acquiring element for acquiring the number of times information contents are downloaded over a network; a second acquiring element for acquiring the number of times the information contents are reproduced; and a computing element for computing a pricing index for the information contents based on the number of times the information contents have been downloaded as acquired by the first acquiring element and on the number of times the information contents have been reproduced as acquired by the second acquiring element.

Claims

1. An information processing method for a computing system, the information processing method comprising:

receiving, with a communication unit of the computing system, a download notification from a first information processing apparatus, the download notification indicating that of information contents have been transmitted by the first information processing apparatus, to a second information processing apparatus;

adjusting, with a computation unit of the computing system, a number of times the information contents have been transmitted, based on the download notification;

receiving a reproduction notification from the second information processing apparatus indicating that a reproduction of content data has based on the information contents has been detected;

adjusting a number of times the content data has been reproduced, based on the reproduction notification; and

updating computing a price of a subsequent transmission of the information contents, with a processor of the computing system, as a nonlinear function of the reproduction number of times the content data has been reproduced and the number of times the information contents have been transmitted;

wherein the price of the subsequent transmission of the information contents is based on a number of times the information contents have been downloaded for commercial use and a number of times the information contents have been downloaded for non-commercial use; and

wherein the price of the subsequent transmission of the information contents is based on a number of times the information contents have been downloaded in an urban area.

4. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the price of the subsequent transmission of the information contents is also updated based on a discretionary keyword corresponding to the information contents, the download notification including the discretionary keyword.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the price of the subsequent transmission of the information contents is based on a ratio of the number of times the content data has been reproduced to the number of times the information contents have been transmitted.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the nonlinear function is based on a linear function of the ratio of the number of times the content data has been reproduced to the number of times the information contents have been transmitted.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the price of the subsequent transmission of the information contents is computed as a function of a square root of a value, the value being a function of the ratio of the number of times the content data has been reproduced to the number of times the information contents have been transmitted.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the function of the ratio of the number of times the content data has been reproduced to the number of times the information contents have been transmitted is a linear function.

2. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including computer executable instructions, wherein the instructions, executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

receiving a download notification, from a first information processing apparatus, the download notification indicating that information contents have been transmitted by the first information processing apparatus to a second information processing apparatus;

adjusting a number of times the information contents have been transmitted, based on the download notification;

receiving a reproduction notification from the second information processing apparatus indicating that a reproduction of content data based on the information contents has been detected;

adjusting a number of times the content data has been reproduced, based on the reproduction notification; and

computing a price of a subsequent transmission of the information contents, as a nonlinear function of the number of times the content data has been reproduced and the number of times the information contents have been transmitted,

wherein the price of the subsequent transmission of the information contents is based on a number of times the information contents have been downloaded for commercial use and a number of times the information contents have been downloaded for non-commercial use; and

wherein the price of the subsequent transmission of the information contents is based on a number of times the information contents have been downloaded in an urban area.

3. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a first communication unit configured to receive a download notification from a first information processing apparatus, the download notification indicating that information contents have been transmitted by the first information processing apparatus, to a second information processing apparatus;

a second communication unit configured to receive a reproduction notification from the second information processing apparatus indicating that a reproduction of content data based on the information contents has been detected;

a processor configured to adjust a number of times the information contents have been transmitted, based on the downloaded notification, and to adjust a number of times the content data has been reproduced, based on the reproduction notification; and

a processor configured to compute a price of a subsequent transmission of the information contents, as a nonlinear function of the reproduction notification, the number of times the content data has been reproduced and the number of times the information contents have been transmitted;

wherein the price of the subsequent transmission of the information contents is based on a number of times the information contents have been downloaded for commercial use and a number of times the information contents have been downloaded for non-commercial use; and

wherein the price of the subsequent transmission of the information contents is based on a number of times the information contents have been downloaded in an urban area.