METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING MULTIPLE CATALOGS OF FILES ON A NETWORK

• US 20070198364A1
• Filed: 12/26/2006
• Published: 08/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Quoc, Michael, Dukes, Derek
• Granted Patent: US 8,103,590 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

Systems and methods have been developed for managing multiple catalogs of files on a network. The systems and methods may manage a catalog of files with rights for sale and a catalog of rights presented for free public use. The systems and methods may manage these multiple catalogs via determining when one file should be moved from one catalog into another. The systems and methods may manage rights presented in the files, including rights offered for sale, rights offered for free use, where the managing may include changing the classification of those rights based on data relating to the files. The systems and methods may provide the ability to a user to research whether rights in the file are for sale.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

presenting for public use on a publicly accessible network a free right in a first content file;

periodically calculating a popularity index for the first content file, the popularity index being based on current usage data of the content file; and

based on a comparison of the popularity index with a threshold, offering for sale on the publicly accessible network a pre-designated right in second content file.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-designated right in the content file is different from the free right in the content file.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the free right in the first content file is a right to access the first content file in a first format and wherein the pre-designated right in the second content file is a right to access the second content file in a second format.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the free right in the first content file is a right to render the first content file from a remote location and wherein the pre-designated right in the second content file is a right to copy the second content file to a permanent computer-readable medium.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-designated right in the second content file is a right in the second content file authorized by an owner to be offered for sale.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the owner owns a master right in the first content file and the master right in the second content file, the master right including a right to distribute the free right and a right to distribute the pre-designated right.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

selecting the pre-designated right from a plurality of different pre-designated rights, wherein each of the plurality of different pre-designated rights is a different right authorized by the owner to be offered for sale in the second content file.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving the second content file from the owner; and

receiving a request from the owner to present for public use on the publicly accessible network the free right in the first content file.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

creating the threshold based on information received from the owner.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the usage data of the first content file are data selected from user requests for the first content file, user ratings of the first content file, and user ratings of a different commonly owned content file.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

limiting distribution of the free right in the first content file based on the comparison of the popularity index with the threshold.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an unknown file; and

matching the unknown file to the second content file.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

calculating the popularity index in response to matching the unknown file to the second content file.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein calculating the popularity index is performed based on unknown file usage data.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the unknown file usage data includes user requests for the unknown file.

16. A method comprising:

presenting for public use on a publicly accessible network a free right in a content file;

receiving a request from a user to purchase a first right in the content file;

determining whether the first right in the content file is authorized by an owner to be offered for sale, wherein the owner owns the first right in the content file; and

if the first right is authorized by the owner to be offered for sale, offering the first right in the content file for sale to the user.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first right is different from the free right.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first right in the content file is a right to access the content file in a first format and wherein the free right in the content file is a right to access the content file in a second format.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the first right in the content file is a right to render the content file from a remote location and wherein the free right in the content file is a right to copy the content file to a permanent computer-readable medium.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the owner owns a master right in the content file, the master right including a right to distribute the free right and a right to distribute the first right.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, from the owner, a request to offer the first right in the content file for sale based on receiving the request from the user to purchase the first right in the content file;

wherein the receiving the request from the owner is performed before the receiving the request from the user.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

if the first right is authorized by the owner to be offered for sale, offering the first right in the content file for public sale on the publicly accessible network.

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

limiting distribution of the free right in the content file based on the receiving the request from the user.

24. A system comprising:

a community server which presents for public use on a publicly accessible network a free right in a content file;

a cataloging engine which calculates a popularity index for the content file, the popularity index being based on current usage data of the content file; and

wherein the community server offers for sale on the publicly accessible network a pre-designated right in the content file based on a comparison of the popularity index with a threshold.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the community server receives a request from a user to buy the pre-designated right in the content file;

and

wherein the community server presents for sale on the publicly accessible network the pre-designated right in the content file based on the request received.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the pre-designated right in the content file is different from the free right in the content file.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein the first right in the content file is a right to access the content file in a first format and wherein the free right in the content file is a right to access the content file in a second format.

28. The system of claim 24, wherein the first right in the content file is a right to render the content file from a remote location and wherein the free right in the content file is a right to copy the content file to a permanent computer-readable medium.

29. The system of claim 24, wherein the pre-designated right in the content file is a right in the content file authorized by an owner to be offered for sale.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the owner owns a master right in the content file, the master right in the content file including a right to distribute the free right in the content file and a right to distribute the pre-designated right in the content file.

31. The system of claim 29, further comprising:

an arbitration engine which selects the pre-designated right from a plurality of different pre-designated rights, wherein each of the plurality of different pre-designated rights is a different right in the content file authorized by the owner to be offered for sale.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the community server receives the content file from the owner;

and

wherein the community server receives a request from the owner to present for public use on the publicly accessible network the free right in the content file.

33. The system of claim 29, wherein the community server creates the threshold based on information received from the owner.

34. The system of claim 29, wherein the usage data of the content file are data selected from user requests for the content file, user ratings of the content file, and user ratings of other content files associated with the owner.

35. The system of claim 24, wherein the community server retrieves usage data of the content file from a database selected from a ratings database, a user information database, and a metagraphics database.

36. The system of claim 24, wherein the community server limits distribution of the free right in the content file based on the comparison of the popularity index with the threshold.

37. The system of claim 24, wherein the community server receives an unknown file, the system further comprising:

a comparison engine which determines whether the unknown file is related to the content file based on matching a bit print of the unknown file and a bit print of the content file.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the cataloging engine calculates the popularity index if the unknown file is related to the content file.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the cataloging engine calculates the popularity index based on unknown file usage data.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the unknown file usage data includes user requests for the unknown file.