System and method for revenue sharing for multimedia sharing in social network

• US 20070112687A1
• Filed: 01/10/2007
• Published: 05/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Read, Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 7,469,232 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/346 Cards serving only as information carrier of service
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3213 using tickets or tokens, e.g. Kerberos network architectures or network communication protocols for entities authentication using tickets in a packet data network H04L63/0807

Abstract

When a person uses a first portable music player to wirelessly transmit a tune to a person with a second player in a social networking transaction for playing by the second player for a limited time, if the second person subsequently purchases an unrestricted version of the tune, the first person is compensated.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting, from a first portable multimedia player to a second portable multimedia player, at least one file representing multimedia;

permitting the second player to play the file in accordance with a restriction paradigm; and

if rights are purchased to play the multimedia on the second player in a way that is less restricted than allowed by the restriction paradigm, compensating a user of the first portable multimedia player at least in part using identifying information representing an identification of the first player and/or a user thereof.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying information is at least one token transferred from the first player to the second player with the file.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the file is wirelessly transmitted from the first player to the second player in a non-commercial transaction.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the file is an audio file.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the file is a computer game file.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second player receives rights for less restricted playing of the multimedia pursuant to a purchase using a wireless link direct from the second player to the Internet.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second player is connected to a personal computer communicating with a server on the Internet.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying information is encrypted or obfuscated.

9. A method comprising:

sending at least one file containing multimedia data from a first multimedia player to a second multimedia player in a social transaction without consideration being remunerated to the first player or user thereof for the social transaction;

sending from the first player to the second player identifying information associated with the first player but not with the second player, and/or sending from the second player to the first player identifying information associated with the second player but not with the first player;

permitting the second player to play the file in accordance with a restriction paradigm; and

permitting a user of the second player to purchase rights to play multimedia data represented by the file in a less restricted manner than permitted by the restriction paradigm, and only if rights to play the multimedia data in a less restricted manner are purchased, compensating the first player and/or a user thereof using the identifying information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the file is sent wirelessly from the first player to the second player.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the file is an audio file.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the file is a computer game file.

13. The method of claim 9, comprising sending from the first player to the second player identifying information associated with the first player but not with the second player, the second player sending the information to a server to facilitate the compensating act.

14. The method of claim 9, comprising sending from the second player to the first player identifying information associated with the second player but not with the first player, the first player sending the information to a server to facilitate the compensating act.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein if rights for less restricted playing of the multimedia are purchased, the identifying information is removed from storage of the second player.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the identifying information is encrypted or obfuscated.

17. A multimedia player, comprising:

a portable housing;

at least one processor in the housing;

at least one data store in the housing and communicating with the processor for storing at least one multimedia file and at least one identifying information string identifying a portable multimedia player from which the file was received;

at least one output device for playing the file under control of the processor, the processor permitting playing of the file in accordance with a restriction paradigm, wherein

the processor may be used to purchase rights to play multimedia represented by the file in a less restricted way than permitted by the restriction paradigm, the processor causing the identifying information to be sent to a vendor computer as part of purchasing rights to play multimedia represented by the file in a less restricted way than permitted by the restriction paradigm.

18. The player of claim 17, wherein the player is a music player.

19. The player of claim 17, wherein the player is a video game player.

20. The player of claim 17, wherein the identifying information string is encrypted or obfuscated.