Patent Application
20150379492
The present invention generally relates to online entertainment. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems, apparatuses, methods and computer executable code for facilitating monetary transactions relating to online media content.
Over the past couple decades, there has been a major shift in the channels used by people to receive media content. The stellar rise in speed and quality of internet access to the common person has brought about a new era in the media world. In the very recent past, media content was consumed primarily through television, theaters and the purchase/rent of the content (e.g. cd's, dvd's, pay per view, etc.). Nowadays, however, most media consumption is accomplished online; often times from mobile devices. It has become a common site to see individuals viewing video clips or even movies on their portable devices. This shift has created difficulties for the producers of the content to receive payment for their product.
Accordingly, the media business has been attempting, over recent years, to find new ways to commercialize the consumption of media content online. Many methods for adding advertising to media content online have been developed (e.g. YouTube). In parallel, many subscription type platforms for media content access have risen (e.g. NetFlix). There remains, however, a need for new and innovative manners to commercialize media content presentation online.
The present invention includes systems, apparatuses, methods and computer executable code for facilitating monetary transactions relating to online media content (hereinafter referred to as “Media Content Presentation and/or Payment systems” or “MCPP systems”). According to some embodiments of the present invention, there may be provided systems, apparatuses and/or methods for facilitating monetary transactions relating to online media content including one or more Media Content Presentation and/or Payment (MCPP) client applications and/or one or more MCPP servers adapted to present media content and/or facilitate monetary transactions relating to online media content via existing payment arrangements relating to payment for mobile device applications and associated products (e.g. IOS App Store™, Windows Phone Marketplace™, Google Play™, etc). Hereinafter, such payment arrangements will collectably be referred to as “Mobile Application Markets” or “MAM's”. According to some embodiments, MCPP client applications and/or MCPP servers may provide a user of a computational device a listing of available media content, along with a listing of prices for each content item in the list. Upon a selection and agreement to pay for a given content item, the MCPP client application and/or MCPP server may provide the user with an option to view/hear the selected content and debit the user the associated price via a MAM, using an appropriate application programming interface (API).
According to further embodiments, MCPP client applications and/or MCPP servers may provide a user of a computational device a listing of free available media content, which content the user may view/hear without cost, live or offline. In such embodiments, the MCPP client applications and/or MCPP servers may provide the user viewing the content with a control element designed to allow the user to make a donation or tip to the author/creator/producer of the content. Such donations or tips may be collected via a MAM, using an appropriate application programming interface (API).
The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with objects, features, and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings in which:
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.
It should be understood that the accompanying drawings are presented solely to elucidate the following detailed description, are therefore, exemplary in nature and do not include all the possible permutations of the present invention.
In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussions utilizing terms such as “processing”, “computing”, “calculating”, “determining”, or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities within the computing system's registers and/or memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computing system's memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. The term server may refer to a single server or to a functionally associated cluster of servers.
Embodiments of the present invention may include apparatuses for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the desired purposes, or it may comprise a general purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, memory cards (for example SD card), SIM cards, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs) electrically programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable and programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and capable of being coupled to a computer system bus.
The processes and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer, communication device or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the desired method. The desired structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, embodiments of the present invention are not described with reference to any particular programming language or markup language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages or techniques may be used to implement the teachings of the inventions as described herein.
Functions, operations, components and/or features described herein with reference to one or more embodiments, may be combined with, or may be utilized in combination with, one or more other functions, operations, components and/or features described herein with reference to one or more other embodiments, or vice versa.
The present invention includes systems, apparatuses, methods and computer executable code for facilitating monetary transactions relating to online media content. According to some embodiments of the present invention, there may be provided systems, apparatuses and/or methods for facilitating monetary transactions relating to online media content including one or more MCPP client applications and/or one or more MCPP servers adapted to present media content and/or facilitate monetary transactions relating to online media content via existing payment arrangements relating to payment for mobile device applications and associated products (e.g. IOS App Store™, Windows Phone Marketplace™, Google Play™, etc), i.e. MAM's. According to some embodiments, MCPP client applications and/or MCPP servers may provide a user of a computational device a listing of available media content, along with a listing of prices for each content item in the list. Upon a selection and agreement to pay for a given content item, the MCPP client application and/or MCPP server may provide the user with an option to view/hear the selected content and debit the user the associated price via a MAM, using an appropriate application programming interface (API).
According to further embodiments, one or more MCPP client applications and/or one or more MCPP servers may provide a user of a computational device a listing of free available media content, which content the user may view/hear without cost. In such embodiments, the MCPP client applications and/or MCPP servers may provide the user viewing the content with a control element designed to allow the user to make a donation or tip to the author/creator/producer/distributor (all hereinafter referred to as “authors”) of the content. Such donations or tips may be collected via a MAM, using an appropriate application programming interface (API).
According to some embodiments, a MCPP client application may be provided. An MCPP client application may be designed to reside on a cellular phone (e.g. Iphone™, smartphone, etc.), another type of portable/mobile computing device (e.g. tablet) and/or any other computational platform.
A MCPP client application may include viewer functionalities and/or author functionalities. Further, a MCPP client application may include a graphic user interface (GUI) including control elements for a user to select viewer functionalities and/or author functionalities. Understandably, a selection of viewer mode/functionalities or author mode/functionalities may result in a change of the GUI to accommodate the use in question.
According to some embodiments, a MCPP client application may provide for an author user to upload media content or a link to media content to an associated content server. According to further embodiments, a MCPP client application may further provide for an author user to set a price for the uploaded or linked content. Alternatively, the price of a given content may be set by the MCPP system or in conjunction/negotiation/agreement with the MCPP system. Accordingly, a MCPP system/application may include price setting logic and associated policies and/or pre-programmed criteria/parameters for setting prices for content.
According to some embodiments, a MCPP client application may provide for an author to upload previews, descriptions and/or any other indications of the nature of the content or marketing materials relating to the content he/she is presenting on the system, or links to such previews, descriptions and/or any other indications of the nature of the content. Such previews, descriptions and/or any other indications of the nature of the content or marketing materials relating to the content may be presented to potential viewers/purchasers of the content. According to further embodiments, such previews/descriptions may also or alternatively be created by the MCPP system. According to yet further embodiments, such previews/descriptions may be created automatically by the MCPP system and/or automatically retrieved from exterior databases (e.g. by an internet search). For example, an initial segment or collection of partial segments of the media may automatically be extracted from the media content to create a preview of the content.
According to some embodiments, criteria for price setting for media content may include one or more of: (1) author selected/requested price, (2) content type, size and/or quality (e.g. video or audio, HD or normal, live or previously recorded, short clip or full movie, etc.), (3) the author of the given content (e.g. amateur or pro, based on success of the specific author's previous content, private individual or company, etc.), (4) a rating or other type of assessment of the author of the given content or the content itself, (5) a viewer response, possibly dynamically after the content/link has been uploaded and presented (e.g. the price of viewing a given concert live may rise or fall as the concert approaches, the price of content featuring media currently in high demand may be higher, etc), (6) geographical location of the content or viewer, (7) a time of day or day of week/month/year, (8) a type of compensation plan associated with the content, (9) a specific arrangement associated with the given author or group of authors to which the given author belongs (10) market considerations, (11) any other relevant criteria, or (12) a combination of the above.
According to further embodiments, a MCPP client application may also provide for an author user to designate the content as free with a tipping/donating option. Clearly, a tipping/donating option may be provided with paid content as well.
According to some embodiments, a MCPP client application may also provide for an author user to upload an invitation to view future content (e.g. a broadcast of a performance/show/event due to occur in the future) and set a price for the future content. The MCPP client application may further provide for an author, in such a case, to set separate prices for live viewing of the content and playback viewing. According to yet further embodiments, a MCPP client application may provide for an author user to upload content periodically and set a price for a subscription to his/her content. According to further embodiments, automatic price setting by the MCPP system as discussed herein and/or negotiated price setting between the author and the system as discussed herein may be implemented in relation to future content as well.
According to further embodiments, a MCPP client application may further provide for an author to set time limits on the content, such that the content or link may be removed from the server after the specified time period.
A MCPP client application may further include different methods for an author to receive compensation for his/her content. For example, the author may receive payment by means of check, credit to a credit card account, direct deposit, paypal credit, credit on the MCPP system to view other authors content, and/or any other payment method known today or to be devised in the future. The MCPP may yet further include control elements in the GUI to allow a user to select a payment method and provide the relevant details.
According to some embodiments, a MCPP system may include one or more compensation plans for authors, which may include:
According to some embodiments, authors posting free content with a donation/tipping option may receive different compensation from authors posting paid content.
According to some embodiments, a MCPP client application may: (1) provide for an author to select a compensation plan from one or more of the above mentioned options, (2) designate one or more compensation plans for a given content upload based on the content type, size and/or quality (e.g. video or audio, HD or normal, live or previously recorded, short clip or full movie, etc.), (3) designate one or more compensation plans for a given content based on the author of the given content (e.g. amateur or pro, based on success of the specific author's previous content, etc.), (4) designate one or more compensation plans for a given content based on a rating or other type of assessment of the author of the given content or of the content itself, (5) designate one or more compensation plans for a given content based on any other relevant criteria, or (6) a combination of the above.
According to some embodiments, a viewer GUI of a MCPP client application may provide a viewer user with a list/display of available contents for selection. The list/display may be arranged in any known manner of displaying lists of media content and may further include search and filtering functionalities as well known in the art. Similarly, the GUI may include other well known in the art functionalities relating to such lists/displays, such as but not limited to, identifying and displaying contents similar to currently/previously viewed contents, displaying contents based on user preferences, displaying contents by groups, displaying recommended contents or commonly viewed contents, displaying contents the MCPP system proprietor wishes to promote, displaying one or more of the above groups more prominently or alongside searched contents, etc.
According to some embodiments, each content in the list/display may be indicated by an image or other identifying indication of the content and may further include an image, logo, name or other indication of the author of the content. Each content may further be associated with a preview, description and/or any other indications of the nature of the content or marketing materials relating to the content. The preview, description and/or any other indications of the nature of the content or marketing materials relating to the content may be presented alongside the content indicator, upon “mousing over” or otherwise displaying interest in the content indicator and/or by viewer user request. According to some further embodiments, a MCPP client application may allow a viewer user to view a portion(s) or preview of a given content for free prior to purchasing the content. For example, a MCPP client application may allow a viewer user to view the first ten minutes of a movie for free prior to deciding if he/she wishes to purchase viewing rights for the movie.
According to further embodiments, each content in the list/display may further be associated with a price for viewing the content. As explained above, each content may have a given price and/or groups/types of content may have the same price (e.g. movies for 9.99, movies for 14.99 and brand new movies for 19.99). The price of a content may be displayed alongside the indicator of the content, may be displayed in relation to a group of contents and/or may not be displayed in the main listing and only displayed upon request by a user viewer or when further details of the content are displayed. Further, a MCPP system may implement many known selling techniques, including but limited to sales on certain types of content, discounted prices for multiple purchases or specific groups of users, sales during certain times of day, purchase of larger amounts of credit at a discounted price and/or any other type of relevant marketing scheme. Equally, subscriptions to specific authors, types of content, times of day, all included subscriptions may be sold on an MCPP system.
According to further embodiments, an MCPP system may also offer media content which can be viewed/heard for free. Listings/displays of free content may be in conjunction and/or separate from paid content listing/display. Free content may also be displayed with a graphic indication of its free nature. According to further embodiments, when a viewer user selects to view free content, the MCPP client application may provide along with or subsequent to the content a tip/donation control element designed to allow the viewer user to provide an optional payment/tip/donation in response to the free content. The control element may further allow a viewer user to determine/select the amount he/she wishes to tip/donate. Tips/donations/optional payment may be collected from the viewer users via a MAM, using an appropriate API, similarly to the collection of payment for paid content. Clearly, a tipping/donating option may be provided with paid content as well.
According to some embodiments, a MCPP client application may provide along with or subsequent to paid content a tip/donation control element designed to allow the viewer user to provide an optional payment/tip/donation in response to the paid content.
According to some embodiments, as explained above, payments and/or donations/tips for content executed on a MCPP system may be facilitated via third party MAM's. For this purpose, a MCPP client application or associated server may include one or more appropriate API's for communicating with MAM's and collecting payment via their services. Obviously, the proprietors of the MAM's will charge a fee for their services, which fee should be considered in the financial planning and associated pricing and compensation agreements of a MCPP system.
According to some embodiments, the above described transactions relating to content may relate uniquely to viewing rights, i.e. may not include rights to otherwise use and/or download the content. According to further embodiments, a MCPP system may implement safeguards to prevent and/or identify downloading and/or misuse of content. According to yet further embodiments, a MCPP system may include options for users to purchase and sell content for other purposes as well (e.g. for downloading content and/or using content for commercial or academic purposes). Clearly, pricing for downloading or otherwise using content may be different from the prices for viewing the content. Further, in such embodiments, a MCPP client application may include control elements for authors to select and price the rights in their content they wish to sell and may further include separate displays for viewer users who wish to purchase rights, other than viewing rights in content. Further, content indicators may include indications what rights are available for purchase in relation to each content. According to further embodiments, auctioning of Author rights in relation to content may be performed by a MCPP system and/or bidding on providing authoring services to a buyer of author rights.
According to some embodiments, media content may be uploaded by authors to an associated MCPP server having storage ability to store the content and later provide the content to viewer users. According to further embodiments, the content may be stored by a MCPP client application in cloud storage and later accessed directly by viewers MCPP client applications. According to yet further embodiments, the content may be stored locally at the Author's device and later sent directly from the Author's MCPP client application to viewers MCPP applications.
According to some embodiments, a MCPP system may be designed to function both online and offline. Accordingly, a MCCP client application may be designed to allow an author user to perform all the steps of uploading a content or link to content while his/her computing device is offline, retain the link or content on a local storage and perform the actual upload the next time the computing device is online, possibly automatically. Similarly, a MCCP client application may be designed to allow a viewer user to view content previously purchased, offline.
The present invention can be practiced by employing conventional tools, methodology and components. Accordingly, the details of such tools, component and methodology are not set forth herein in detail. In the previous descriptions, numerous specific details are set forth, in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it should be recognized that the present invention might be practiced without resorting to the details specifically set forth.
In the description and claims of embodiments of the present invention, each of the words, “comprise” “include” and “have”, and forms thereof, are not necessarily limited to members in a list with which the words may be associated.
Only exemplary embodiments of the present invention and but a few examples of its versatility are shown and described in the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the present invention is capable of use in various other combinations and environments and is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein.
While certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/018,617, filed on Jun. 29, 2014 by the inventors of the present invention, titled “Systems, Apparatuses, Methods and Computer Executable Code for Facilitating Monetary Transactions Relating to Online Media Content”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62018617 | Jun 2014 | US |
