Computer architecture for managing courseware in a shared use operating environment

• US 6,170,014 B1
• Filed: 03/18/1999
• Issued: 01/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Digital-Vending Services International LLC
• Original Assignee: Community Learning And Information Network
• Inventors: Jenkins, Christopher, Darago, Vincent S
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cardone, Jason D.
• Time in patent office: 656 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/207, 709/217, 709/225, 709/229, 709/227, 370/260, 370/264, 370/265, 395/726, 340/825.5
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/602 Providing cryptographic facilities or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing , e.g. tax processing in connection with a sale
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Investment, e.g. financial instruments, portfolio management or fund management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 29/06 characterised by a protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to network resources restricting network management access H04L41/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 for peer-to-peer [P2P] networking; Functionalities or architectural details of P2P networks file transfer, upload, download H04L67/06; accessing replicated servers H04L67/1002; presence management H04L67/24; scheduling provisions H04L67/32; real-time communications H04L65/00; information retrieval using distributed database systems G06F16/27; small scale hierarchical wireless network topologies H04W84/10; wireless interfaces between terminal devices H04W92/18; P2P connections between video clients H04N21/632; P2P connections between video game machines A63F13/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles configuring for programme initiating G06F9/44505; information retrieval by personalized querying G06F16/9535
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/42 Protocols for client-server architectures access to replicated servers H04L67/1002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer, i.e. layer seven network arrangements or network communication protocols for networked applications H04L67/00; data processing systems and methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial or managerial purposes G06Q

Abstract

Methods, devices, and systems are provided in a multi-level computer architecture which provides improved capabilities for managing courseware and other content in a shared use operating environment such as a computer network. In particular, the invention provides a commercial networked instruction content delivery method and system which does not exclude synchronous sharing but is focused on asynchronous sharing. Security in the architecture provide content property holdlers with the ability to know how many minutes of use an individual made of licensed material and with increased certainty that their material cannot be used, copied, or sold in usable form unless and until a user site is connected or reconnected to a minute-by-minute counter which is located off the premises of the user. This security link helps protect software and other works which are being sold or licensed to an individual, organization, or entity, and creates income opportunities for owners of such content.

Claims

1. A multi-level computer architecture for managing content in a shared use operating environment, the architecture including:

a registration server level including at least one registration server, each registration server comprising a remote registration manager and a registration database for new user registration, and each registration server being further characterized in that it is free of content managed by the architecture;

a content server level including at least one content server, each content server linked for network communications with a registration server, each content server containing content managed by the architecture, and each content server being further characterized in that it serves such content only for presentation to registered users, namely, users who have previously been registered with a registration server; and

a client level including at least one client workstation, each client workstation connectable to a content server by a client-server network communications link, and each client workstation being further characterized in that it presents to at least one registered user content which is served over the client-server network communications link by the content server.

2. The computer architecture of claim 1, further comprising a security manager for preventing unauthorized use of the content.

3. The computer architecture of claim 2, wherein a portion of the security manager resides on each client workstation and a portion resides on ea(h content server.

4. The computer architecture of claim 2, wherein critical portions of the content reside in database tables managed by the security manager.

5. The computer architecture of claim 2, wherein the security manager is further characterized in that it sends at least part of a critical portion of content only to a volatile client workstation memory rather than sending it to a nonvolatile client workstation memory.

6. The computer architecture of claim 1, wherein the registration server further includes a reservation manager and a reservation database which permits registered users to reserve content.

7. The computer architecture of claim 6, further comprising a funds flow manager for managing payment information, wherein the reservation manager, the reservation database, or both, operate with the funds flow manager to provide registered users with guaranteed content reservations.

8. The computer architecture of claim 1, further comprising a funds flow manager for managing content usage payment information.

9. The computer architecture of claim 8, wherein a portion of the funds flow manager resides on each client workstation, a portion resides on each content server, and a portion resides on each registration server.

10. The computer architecture of claim 1, further comprising a meter manager for metering content usage.

11. The computer architecture of claim 10, wherein a portion of the meter manager resides on each client workstation and a portion resides on each content server.

12. The computer architecture of claim 1, wherein the content comprises courseware.

13. The computer architecture of claim 1, wherein each content server further comprises a launch manager for launching presentations of courseware content.

14. The computer architecture of claim 1, wherein each client workstation comprises a web browser through which content is presented.

15. The computer architecture of claim 1, further comprising a backup registration server containing data mirrored from the registration server.