Method of providing a virtual product to third parties

Abstract

In a method of providing a virtual product to third parties, the virtual product being present in an original version in a digital form having a predetermined quality, a reduced version of the virtual product, along with information relating to a distributor of the virtual product, is initially provided. The reduced version's quality is inferior to the quality of the original version, and the information relating to the distributor are associated with this reduced version. On the basis of the information associated with the reduced version, further information may be created. This further information indicates that the reduced version has been passed on to the third party by the content provider. The further information is created if the third party has acquired rights to the virtual product after having obtained the reduced version of same.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a method of providing a virtual product to third parties, and here it relates, in particular, to a method wherein the virtual product is present in a digital form and further includes additional information indicating which rights a third party having received the virtual product has acquired in relation to same. In addition, the present invention relates to a computer program having a program code for performing the method of providing a virtual product to third parties. [0003] 2. Description of Prior Art [0004] The term “virtual product” describes intellectual property, such as music, a novel, a picture, a film, a program or the like, which may be represented in a digital form, typically as a file. Files under consideration are, for example, an MP3 file, a PDF file, an AVI file, an EXE file, and the like. [0005] The production and distribution of a virtual product, such as multimed...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0031] The inventive approach has the effect that the natural motivation of consumers to go around on a mission of spreading their “discoveries” among others is not suppressed but promoted. By personalizing the previews, successful advertising may be associated with the advertiser, which enables various forms of reward.

[0032] The inventive method provides a number of benefits. Firstly, passing on previews is more attractive than passing on the original full version, i.e. the original content, since, for one thing, a reward may be obtained, and, secondly, the use of restrictive technical protective measures that would have been required to protect the original content may be dispensed with, which, among other things, increases the user-friendliness. In addition, this yields a positive sales effect (advertisement) by the content being passed on, whereas the negative consequences of a sale that would have arisen from the passing-on of the original version are eliminated. The inventive approach further provides an additional benefit and “is fun”, since the buyers may go round doing “missionary” work and are even rewarded for it. They are also in a position to co-create the type of advertising, which gives rise to competition among the buyers. A further advantage is that the previews may be passed on, in principle, via any distribution channel. What is also advantageous is that the inventive method may be added to and / or integrated into various, already existing distribution systems at a later date without significant expense.

[0039] For existing P2P (peer-to-peer) services, there is, in accordance with the invention, the possibility of an addition by sharing a number of previews without any originals being provided. In addition, a bond to the download portal is facilitated.

[0040] For a preview portal there is a possibility of providing new content and to determine the circulation, popularity and value of same. In addition, it is possible to determine good scouts, i.e. distributors who advertise successfully and / or prove to have a good nose for content with potential for the future.

[0044] Quantitative restriction may be effected, for example, by the above-described manual or automatic cutting. The above-described methods of qualitative and quantitative restriction may also be combined, quantitative restriction having the advantage, in principle, that thereby more favorable legal conditions may be achieved, especially with regard to potential fees that may incur (compared to the fees required in the passing-on of the full version).

Problems solved by technology

The production and distribution of a virtual product, such as multimedia, are expensive.

The latter bears the economic risk for the goods (virtual product).

Non-legalized copies or pirate copies of multimedia products and software products as well as their non-licensed passing-on undermine this economic model.

The software and music industries are faced with a dilemma, however: on the one hand, they want to hand out the product to legal buyers, i.e. to transfer the product to the users' devices and thus to pass them on to the user's range of influence.

There, however, they are only supposed to be of limited availability to the users' desire to use them.

However, it is not the content providers that possess the instruments of power for implementing this limitation, but only their users.

The problem associated with this is that every product contains the elements of its decryption, so that the limitations of the IPMP elements may be lifted by suitable reprogramming.

On the contrary, the user is restricted in his / her freedom.

However, a disadvantage is that the virtual product is always sent on to third parties in the original format, i.e. in the original version, so that these third parties will always hold a full version of the virtual product in their hands, irrespective of whether the rights to this product have been acquired or not.

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