Jukebox entertainment system having multiple choice games relating to music

• US 9,545,578 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2014
• Issued: 01/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TouchTunes Music Corporation (The Octave Music Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TouchTunes Music Corporation (The Octave Music Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nathan, Guy, Mastronardi, Tony
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Milap
• Application Number:
  US14/247,547
• Publication Number:
  US 20140295928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,015 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/53 involving additional visual information provided to the game scene, e.g. by overlay to simulate a head-up display [HUD] or displaying a laser sight in a shooting game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/407 Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/409 Data transfer via television network
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/50 characterized by details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/183 electric

Abstract

Entertainment system based on multiple choice competition games, which includes at least one terminal with a connection to a dedicated remote server, the system also including a module for playing an extract of a recording with a configurable duration on at least one terminal that can reproduce the recording, interact with a user, connect with a dedicated remote server, ask a terminal user a question and suggest multiple choice answers, the question being related to information characteristic of the extract of the recording, and the recording being selected independent of the terminal user.

Claims

1. An entertainment system configured to support a multiple-choice question type game, comprising:

at least one terminal device including a first processor, an audio output device and a display device, and configured to enable users to participate in the game by presenting on the display device a user interface that presents questions and multiple choice responses; and

at least one server including a second processor and connected, via a communication network, with the at least one terminal device;

wherein the questions are based on information extracted from musical works selected independent of the at least one terminal device and/or information related to musical works selected independent of the at least one terminal device, the information being stored in a database,

wherein at least one of the first processor and second processor is configured to select each of the questions to be presented on the display device by repeatedly evaluating respective stored musical works and associated stored flags to identify, at least in part based on one of the flags having a value indicating eligibility of the associated musical work to be used in the game, a musical work based on which the question is selected, and

wherein the first processor is further configured to reproduce limited portions of the selected musical works via the audio output device in association with presenting the questions via the display device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one terminal device is further configured to:

validate responses entered via the user interface; and

record information indicative of entered responses.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the information indicative of entered responses includes score information.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the score information is processed by the first processor and/or the second processor in classifying relative performances of different users.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first processor and/or the second processor is further configured to activate the game upon detecting a payment.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a memory having a file storing an indication of a number of times musical works have been performed.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first processor and/or the second processor is configured to read the file and calculate royalty payments that are due as a result of the performance of the musical works.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the second processor is configured to calculate said royalty payments.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a memory storing a catalog of musical works, wherein only a partial subset of the musical works in the catalog are available for selection and use in the game.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the questions and/or multiple choice responses are predefined.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the questions and/or multiple choice responses are generated at random.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein some of the questions and/or multiple choice responses are predefined, and some of the questions and/or multiple choice responses are generated at random.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more data structures including the questions and/or multiple choice responses to be used in the game.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more data structures are updatable.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided to the at least one terminal device.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium is a portable device removably connected to the at least one terminal device.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein different users are ranked, and wherein differently ranked users are presented with questions of different difficulty levels such that higher ranked users receive more difficult questions.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one terminal device is a jukebox terminal.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the musical works are playable via the jukebox terminal on a pay-for-play basis independent of the game.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the jukebox terminal includes a payment collector.