Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-14
2004-10-19
Robinson, Greta (Department: 2177)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C709S203000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06807542
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular to a method and apparatus for processing data. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer implemented instructions for managing rights to services provided over a network data processing system.
2. Description of Related Art
The Internet, also referred to as an “internetwork”, is a set of computer networks, possibly dissimilar, joined together by means of gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from a protocol of the sending network to a protocol used by the receiving network. When capitalized, the term “Internet” refers to the collection of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols.
The Internet has become a cultural fixture as a source of both information and entertainment. Many businesses are creating Internet sites as an integral part of their marketing efforts, informing consumers of the products or services offered by the business or providing other information seeking to engender brand loyalty. Many federal, state, and local government agencies are also employing Internet sites for informational purposes, particularly agencies that must interact with virtually all segments of society such as the Internal Revenue Service and secretaries of state. Providing informational guides and/or searchable databases of online public records may reduce operating costs. Further, the Internet is becoming increasingly popular as a medium for commercial transactions.
Currently, the most commonly employed method of transferring data over the Internet is to employ the World Wide Web environment, also called simply “the Web”. Other Internet resources exist for transferring information, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Gopher, but have not achieved the popularity of the Web. In the Web environment, servers and clients effect data transaction using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a known protocol for handling the transfer of various data files (e.g., text, still graphic images, audio, motion video, etc.). The information in various data files is formatted for presentation to a user by a standard page description language, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). In addition to basic presentation formatting, HTML allows developers to specify “links” to other Web resources identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A URL is a special syntax identifier defining a communications path to specific information. Each logical block of information accessible to a client, called a “page” or a “Web page”, is identified by a URL. The URL provides a universal, consistent method for finding and accessing this information, not necessarily for the user, but mostly for the user's Web “browser”. A browser is a program capable of submitting a request for information identified by an identifier, such as, for example, a URL. A user may enter a domain name through a graphical user interface (GUI) for the browser to access a source of content. The domain name is automatically converted to the Internet Protocol (IP) address by a domain name system (DNS), which is a service that translates the symbolic name entered by the user into an IP address by looking up the domain name in a database.
The Internet also is widely used to transfer applications to users using browsers. With respect to commerce on the Web, individual consumers and businesses use the Web to purchase various goods and services. In off-ring goods and services, some companies offer goods and services solely on the Web while others use the Web to extend their reach.
With respect to the offering of services, many of these services are rights-based services in which a user temporarily or permanently acquires rights to use this service for a fee. These services may include, for example, a music service, a book service, a video service, or a stock research service. With a music service, a user may be entitled to download and receive various music titles. A user may receive books through a book service or movies through a video service. Various articles and historical data may be available to a user through a stock research service.
The manner in which rights are defined and managed are important with these types of services. Rights are acquired in exchange for payment or promise of payment; rights are revoked at the end of a service period. Rights are usually considered to be binary: either the user has the rights or not. It is customary for the service provider to grant rights to a prospective user, either for a limited period of time (“trial period”) or for a restricted version of the service (“limited function”) to allow the user to experience the service as a prelude to a more comprehensive commitment. It is also customary for the service provider to allow the user to retain rights to use the service for a short time (“grace period”) after the end of the normal period of subscription. In all of these cases the rights to use the service are binary. When the user continues to retain rights to the service, the service provider may provide notices that the agreement or service period has terminated and that the user needs to re-sign or restart the agreement or service period. This, however, often does not provide sufficient incentive for the user to sign another agreement or continue paying for the service. If the service is terminated, the user may then re-sign or restart the service. In some cases, however, the user may find it easier to re-sign with another service provider.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer implemented instructions for selective and quantitative rights management to retain users of a service.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides for a method, apparatus, and computer implemented instructions for managing rights to a service in a data processing system. A request is received from a user for the service. The rights to the service are identified. Content for the service is received. The content is selectively modified based on the rights identified, or other attributes of the service such as the immediacy and predictability of the service is selectively modified based on the rights identified, and the content is sent to the user.
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Bantz David Frederick
Chefalas Thomas E.
Karve Alexei A.
Mastrianni Steven J.
Herzberg Louis P.
International Business Machines - Corporation
Lewis Cheryl
Robinson Greta
Walder, Jr. Stephen J.
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