WO2003043001A2

WO2003043001A2 - Low cost distribution system for music and other digital data

Info

Publication number: WO2003043001A2
Application number: PCT/GB2002/005102
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sean Christopher Martin; Vivienne Jane Hughes
Original assignee: Sean Christopher Martin; Vivienne Jane Hughes
Priority date: 2001-11-12
Filing date: 2002-11-11
Publication date: 2003-05-22
Also published as: WO2003043001A8; GB2383651A; AU2002343012A1; GB0127162D0

Abstract

A distribution system for intellectual property in the form of content that combines both storage-based and electronic-based distribution with measures for copy-protection and redistribution through successive stages within the distribution chain. Initial content is produced, prepared for publication and protected. Protected content at any stage in the distribution chain can be distributed using storage based physical media and via electronic methods. As content is distributed and re-distributed through the distribution chain, instances of the content can identify the users or organisations who distributed it. This thus provides a mechanism whereby such users or organisations benefit when other users or organisations who receive that instance of content make purchases associated with that content.

Description

Low Cost Distribution System for Music and Other Digital Data

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to the manufacture and distribution of media in particular music.

Problems with known techniques

The music recording industry is well established where the predominant distribution mechanism uses compact disks (CDs) . More recently, other optical disk formats such as Super Audio CD (SACD) and DVD Audio have been used for the distribution of recorded music. In the future it is likely that other optical disc formats and other physical digital storage media will also be used. In the description that follows, the term CD has been used for the sake of illustration, but it should be noted that the description and this invention supports the use of other optical media and other physical storage media as well. Similarly the terms "red book" and "yellow book" are terms that relate to the Compact Disc format. For the sake of simplicity these terms, too, are used throughout the description that follows, with "red book" being used to describe the specification for commercial distribution of music or other content in a particular medium, and "yellow book" being used to describe the appropriate specification for additional compressed, encrypted files in that medium.

The distribution mechanism uses a supply chain whereby an artist creates content, the content may be processed to produce a master sound recording, a CD master or stamper is created for the production process, CDs are manufactured from the CD master, the CDs are distributed wholesale, the CDs are retailed and finally become available to the consumer. A CD may contain audio data in the red book session of the CD that can be played directly on audio equipment, such as hi-fi equipment, on a wide range of consumer electronics devices, such as hand-held players, and on PC or PC-like equipment. A CD may also contain other data in a yellow book session of the CD, which can be read using PC based equipment. The yellow book may contain additional data for example for entertainment purposes, which may include video and other material to accompany the sound recording. There may also be other sessions which contain other additional content.

Considerable cost is incurred throughout the various stages of the supply chain. Several consequences arise including cost barriers when entering into or expanding in the market, and domination by a set of major organisations who exert considerable influence, and hence indirect control over the market.

The recording industry faces a range of threats from piracy infringing copyright, in particular the manufacture and distribution of CDs that infringe copyright. An important threat includes using a PC, or PC-like equipment, to read a CD and, using a CD writer attached to the PC, to write a copy of the original. Techniques, sometimes called CD copy protection techniques, have been developed to impede this process. These include exploiting either (a) technical differences between the ways in which audio equipment reads a CD and the ways in which a PC typically reads a CD, and/or

(b) technical differences between how a CD is read at normal playback speed, such as occurs while playing music, and how a

CD is read at greater speeds, such as occurs typically when the data on a CD is copied onto storage controlled from a PC. However these techniques have only recently been developed and used in the music manufacture and distribution process, with the principle benefit of impeding piracy without fundamentally changing the supply chain.

The recording industry is also exploring alternative distribution mechanisms including electronic distribution via the Internet. Some of the approaches include the use of Digital Rights Management (DRM) techniques. These generically comprise two elements, an underlying framework based on cryptography, and an application framework that delivers the functionality for distributing intellectual property while seeking to ensure that it cannot be copied via unauthorised means. These alternative distribution techniques typically comprise Internet, or web, servers from which a DRM management application and DRM protected content can be downloaded to PC based equipment. The sound recording may thus be played in a protected manner on the PC equipment; however, such techniques do not typically result in protected content being playable on standard audio equipment. The manner of electronic distribution has the potential to change the dynamics of the supply chain in that several steps in the supply chain are by-passed or dis-intermediated, but as already observed, with the limitation that a sound recording is not playable on audio equipment. However, it is anticipated there will be market demand for the capability to play on audio equipment for a considerable period, and so current electronic distribution approaches could leave unfulfilled market and so not be a complete alternative to conventional CD manufacture and distribution.

Solutions to the problems

The present invention overcomes the problems mentioned above in the following manner. Firstly, it exploits the mechanism of electronic distribution thus by-passing several steps in the supply chain thus producing consequent benefits. Secondly, it delivers sound recordings that are playable on both PC, or PC-like equipment, and also on audio equipment. Thirdly, it uses CDs as the medium to deliver sound recordings that can be played on audio equipment. Fourthly, it exploits copy-protection techniques so that a CD used as the medium to deliver sound recordings to audio equipment cannot easily be copied using PC-like equipment and thereby protects the intellectual property. Fifthly, it encourages the consumer to make copies of the sound recording and distribute them but in a manner that retains control over the usage.

The present invention has the following additional advantages, where in the new supply chain there are several distinct roles which include a content provider, for example an artist, an intermediary, such as a record label, and also the role of a consumer, but noting that a single entity can take the roles of content provider and intermediary. Firstly, it supports a wide range of business models, which include but are not limited to: (a) a consumer may enjoy the material using PC-like equipment on one or more occasions before committing to a purchase, so called try before buy;

(b) a consumer may purchase a batch comprising a defined number of occasions in which the material may be enjoyed; (c) a consumer may purchase the right to enjoy the material during an unrestricted number of occasions within a fixed period using PC-like equipment; (d) a consumer may purchase the right to enjoy in perpetuity or convert from a limited right, for example as per (b) or (c), to a perpetual right, (e) the consumer may be granted with a perpetual right, the right also to write one or more CDs that may be played on audio equipment; (f) a first consumer may write a CD that can then be read in a PC, for example belonging to a second customer, and the first customer may be offered a form of financial rebate or other benefit when the second customer pays for enjoyment rights, thus encouraging the first customer to distribute the product, (g) following (f) the second customer may then write a CD that can be read in a PC, for example belonging to a third customer, and the second customer may be offered a form of financial rebate or other benefit when the third customer pays for enjoyment rights, and in addition the first customer may also be offered some form of financial rebate or other benefit - this approach could be cascaded to multiple levels.

Secondly, considering the role of content provider outlined above: (a) the content provider may easily access a world market, (b) the cost savings may lead to increased income, (c) product may be processed and released in a much reduced timescale, substantially immediately when compared with conventional manufacture and distribution processes, (d) there is a very low cost for distributing content, (e) a content provider requires only a standard low cost commodity web hosting service and/or a low initial production run of CDs in order to distribute content, (f) a content provider can easily be accepted, or be signed up, by an intermediary or alternatively may distribute without the apparent use of an intermediary.

Thirdly, considering the role of intermediary outlined above: (a) the intermediary may easily access a world market, (b) the consumer manufactures physical product and pays to do so,

(c) in consequence there may be no manufacturing costs and intrinsically very low costs in distributing the product, (d) the cost savings may lead to increased income, (e) product may be processed and released in a much reduced timescale, (f) the intermediary may now enjoy a direct relationship with the consumer and thus avail cross-sell opportunities, (g) the intermediary may enjoy freedom, for example choosing to focus on themes, or a style of content, (h) the low cost of entry allows new intermediaries to challenge the dominant position of major organisations in the current supply chain.

Fourthly, considering the role of consumer outlined above: (a) the consumer can enjoy access to content shortly after its creation, (b) the consumer can enjoy such access to content on a continuous basis, (c) the consumer may enjoy content both on PC-like equipment, and on audio equipment, (c) the consumer may enjoy reduced prices resulting from the cost savings in the supply chain, (d) the consumer can engage and is encouraged to and benefits from distributing controlled content among social acquaintances (e) the consumer can enjoy the full experience of conventional CD distribution with access to art work for supporting product literature, such as sleeves and other such material. The present invention is unique because of the following reasons. Firstly, the recording industry has actively discouraged consumers writing content on CDs since this behaviour typically infringes copyright; whereas this invention actively encourages consumers writing content on CDs to distribute the content to social acquaintances, and also to increase sales of the product. Secondly, copy protection techniques for CDs have been designed for use in the manufacturing process, and in particular in CD bulk- production plant; whereas this invention can use such techniques both in the manufacturing process and at the time that a consumer writes a CD, where according to conventional reasoning it could illogical to do so since it could be assumed there is no benefit in writing content in a copy protected manner when that content had already to be available in an unprotected form in order to do so. Thirdly, this invention combines electronic distribution with the ability to deliver content for enjoyment using both PC-like equipment and audio equipment. Fourthly, this invention combines the roles of consumer and distributor and creates a mechanism whereby a consumer benefits from distributing the product.

Brief Description of Drawings

Figure 1: describes the principal physical system components. Figure2: describes the principal propagation and business model components. Figure3: describes the overall distribution process.

Detailed description of the invention

As outlined in Figure 1 the principal system physical components comprise:

The Content Provider, or artist, 20 may register with an Admin Site 13 using the Manage Inventory 13 or similar component where a consequence of this registration is to create an identifier by which this Content Provider can be identified.

The Content Provider, or artist, 20 will create content and produce a Media Master 21, which can be in the form of an original sound recording.

The Content Provider 20 interacts with Manage Inventory 13 component of the Admin Site 10 with which that Content Provider 20 is registered. This interaction is characterised by Create Update Inventory Details 23, where these may include the creation of a designation for the new content as embodied in the Media Master 21, and setting associated parameters, such as pricing options and rebates for the variety of business models.

The Content Provider 20 uses the Artist toolkit 22 to prepare the content for distribution. The Artist toolkit 22 will interact with the Manage Inventory 13 component of the Admin Site 10 with which that Content Provider 20 is registered as follows. The Artist toolkit 22 or the Content Provider 20 will request a new Asset Identifier 24 corresponding to the designation of this Content Provider and the new content as embodied in the Media Master 21. This Asset Identifier 24 can be embodied in a variety of ways including but not limited to the use of a certificate by which the identity of the Content Provider 20 and the content, as embodied in the Media Master 21, can be recognised. The Manage Inventory 13 will provide the Asset Identifier 24 to the Artist Toolkit 22. The Artist Toolkit 22 will process the content as embodied in the Media Master 21 to produce Compressed and Encrypted Content 25 which includes the Asset Identifier 24 optionally in a processed form, for example in a way that allows the identity of Management Applications 41 71 to be recorded thus indicating the distribution path of an instance of the asset. The Compressed and Encrypted Content 25 forms essentially a data set or file of information. Once produced, this same dataset can be published but because of the encryption it is only meaningful to authorised users. Therefore this same dataset Compressed and Encrypted Content 25 can be placed on the Artist Site 26 where it can be designated as DRMed Content 28. It is anticipated that the Content Provider 20, or agents of same, will have direct control over the Artist Site 26, and so the Content Provider can speedily create new content, and then process and publish it on the Artist Site 26. This approach only requires the Content Provider 20 to produce a single instance of DRMed Content 28, which may be downloaded by all consumers. This therefore only requires very simple web hosting facilities such as can be obtained as a very cheap commodity service from numerous providers. The intention is to simplify as much as possible what a Content Provider needs to undertake or provision in processing and preparing content for distribution.

The Content Provider 20 may also include a Link 27 on the Artist Site 26 for use by consumers where a Management Application Download 14 may be obtained. The Content Provider 20 may also optionally in agreement with the Site Operator 17 publish the Compressed and Encrypted Content 25 as DRMed Content 15 on the Admin Site 10 which is under the control of the Site Operator 17. Alternatively the Content Provider may incorporate the DRMd content, optionally together with an instance of the Management Application 14 as a yellow book session on a commercially distributed CD 31.

The Admin Site 10 contains several functions that generally do not have considerable visibility to consumers and which hence can be considered as back-office functions. These include (a) Manage Inventory 13 with which a Content Provider 20 interacts as described above, (b) Usage Management 12 with which downloaded instances of Management Application 41 and 71 may interact when they purchase enjoyment rights for DRMed content which is identified by its embedded Asset Identifier 24, and where Usage Management 12 can accumulate the amount of enjoyment rights sold for a particular asset, and also accrue information about a Management Application 41 or 71 regarding the rights that the consumer has purchased for use with that Management Application 41 or 71, (c) Payments Management 11, which uses information about accumulated sold enjoyment rights from Usage Management 12 to calculate Payments 16 that may be made to the Site Operator 17 and the set of Content Providers 20. When new enjoyment rights are sold then the Usage Management 12 and Payments Management 11 components may interact with External Financial Payments 90 gateways and systems so that payment transactions may be authorised and effected. The Payments Management 11 component may also provide an account service whereby a user may set up an account, arrange for a payment to be made into the account, and where subsequent purchase of enjoyment rights may be made from credit available within the account, and through which payments or credits for further distribution of the DRMd content 28 may be channelled, (d) Management Application Download 14 which downloads an identifiable unique instance of a Management Application 41 or 71 to a consumer.

The First User will use the PC 1^st User 40 to transfer the DRMd content 42 and, optionally, the Management Application 41 from a commercially distributed CD 31 that has been obtained, or may browse via Internet 30 and wish to download DRMed Content 28 or 15. This DRMed Content 28 or 15 will be meaningful only to a management application. Hence the user will download a Management Application 41 from an Admin Site 10 where it is designated Management Application Download 14. It can be advantageous that the Management Application Download 14 component produces unique and hence distinguishable identifiable instances of the Management Application 41 or 71. This can be achieved by ensuring that each download is unique; however an attractive alternative is to use an identical download where during its initialisation unique identifiers, such as cryptographic keys are created. The purpose of a unique Management Application is to simplify tracking of consumers, and to benefit a First User when the First User distributes material to a Second User, and so on. This propagation may be via a network either wired or wireless, for example 60 Local Network or any other communication or storage media for example, 50 CD written on PC.

There are a variety of ways possible by which the Management Application 41 or 71 will process DRMed Content 28 or 15. These can include (a) simple local registration of newly available DRMed content, (b) the management of free plays or occasions by which the content may be enjoyed without charge, (c) purchase of enjoyment rights limited to a specific number of occasions or limited to a finite period, (d) purchase of enjoyment rights in perpetuity, which may be accompanied by the right to write red book content on a number of CDs without further charge, (e) purchase of rights to write CDs playable in audio equipment. It is anticipated that the Management Application 41 or 71 will use the embedded Asset Identifier 24 to identify the content and then interact with the Usage Management 12 component to effect the activities outlined above. As part of these interactions the Usage Management 12 component will communicate in a secure manner the decryption key for a particular instance of DRMed content 42 or 72 to the Management Application 41 or 71. It is anticipated that each instance of DRMed content 28,15,42 or 72 will have different encryption keys so that if the secrecy of one key is breached then the loss of security affects only that instance of DRMed Content. The Management Application 41 or 71 will manage and securely retain the keys to each instance of DRMed Content 42 or 72. Once these have been acquired by the Management Application 42 or 72 it may supervise the delivery of enjoyment occasions consistent with the rights purchased and accrued by the User. These enjoyment occasions can occur or be delivered without the Management Application 41 or 71 being connected to the Usage Management 12 component, for example without an Internet 30 connection. To recap, the Management Application 41 or 71 requires interaction with the Usage Management 12 component for purchasing enjoyment rights and optionally for initial registration of access to an instance of DRMed Content 42 or 72; however, the Management Application 41 or 71 does not require continuous access to the Usage Management 12 component, and so for example may deliver enjoyment occasions without such access. Following off-line enjoyment occasions delivered when the Management Application 41 or 71 is not connected to the Usage Management 12 component, then a Management Application 41 or 71 may report on the status or expiry of temporary enjoyment rights.

The Usage Management 12 component can accumulate information regarding the enjoyment rights purchased by this User. This allows the User to transfer these rights to another Management Application 41 or 71, for example if the User chooses another PC voluntarily or if the original PC becomes defective or unavailable through loss or other reason. One way in which this can be achieved is by the User accessing the Usage Management 12 component through a web browser or other means, authenticating herself, transferring enjoyment rights logically from the First PC directly to a Second PC or indirectly to the Usage Management 12 component and thence to the Second PC.

The Management Application 41 or 71 will supervise the delivery of permitted enjoyment occasions, for example any free plays, purchased play occasions or enjoyment rights purchased in perpetuity, delivered by sound devices attached to the PC such as PC speaker 43 or 74. As outlined above, this can occur without requiring continuous access to the Usage Management 12 component.

The Management Application 41 will supervise writing a CD 50 for example in the circumstances outlined above in the following manner: (a) it has access to DRMed Content 42 held on a CD or on local or networked storage accessible to that PC held in a compressed and encrypted manner, (b) it interacts via device drivers with the CD writer hardware attached locally or via a network to the PC, (c) it holds securely the decryption keys and so may progressively unencrypt and uncompress the DRMed Content 42, and so progressively produce a stream of data containing a representation of the original content, (d) this stream of data is progressively processed or transformed to introduce established copy protection techniques designed to allow playing of a red book session but to impede copying of a red book session, (e) the copy protected data stream is written as Write CD 44 as a red book session to the CD Written on the PC 50, (f) the integrity of the data that is written to the CD may also optionally be verified. It would also be advantageous that the unencryption, and uncompression and introduction of copy protection transformation activities are concurrent with the writing of the data to the CD so that at no point is a temporary file produced that contains unprotected data whose security could easily be compromised.

The foregoing describes an idealised embodiment where copy protection techniques are incorporated in steps (d) and (e); however the process can also be applied without the need for or the recourse to copy protection techniques.

The red book session on the CD Written on the PC 50 can then be played on Audio Equipment 80. However, because the data in the red book session has been written in a copy protected manner it would be difficult to copy the red book session using a PC. However, depending on the choice of copy protection technique the Red Book 52 session may be playable via the Audio Player 73 on a PC, whereas some copy protection techniques also inhibit this activity.

The activity Write CD 44 can also write a Yellow Book 51 session to the CD Written on PC 50, however this is subject to different and fewer constraints than when writing a Red Book 52 session. A principal purpose of writing a Yellow Book 51 session is to transport sufficient data to a PC of 2^nd User 70 to obviate the need for time consuming downloads of the Management Application 14 or of instances of DRMed Content 28 15 or 42. Hence the data written to the Yellow Book 51 session is logically similar to what can be freely downloaded via Internet 30, with one notable difference which is to include within the data on the Yellow Book 51 session additional data, for example, which can be used to identify the instance of the Management Application 41 which was used to create the Yellow Book 51 session. The purpose is to create a means by which the Usage Management 12 component can identify the instance of the Management Application 41 which distributed DRMed Content 42 to the PC of the 2^nd User 70 so that when the Second User uses the Management Application 71 to purchase enjoyment rights then some benefit can be accrued to the First User via her Management Application 41. The same mechanism can be used to accrue distribution benefits if the PC of the 1^st user transfers data via a network to the PC of the 2^nd User 71. The identity of the Management Application 41, and optionally other data, can also be conveyed by incorporating an identifier in the red book session, for example using watermarking techniques. This can serve the purposes described above, but can also be helpful in identifying the Management Application 41 should any copy protection incorporated in the red book session be breached and unauthorised copies of the content be made.

The Second User can thus use the PC of the 2^nd User 70 to import DRMed Content and the Management Application 71 by a variety of means such as via the Yellow Book 51 session on a CD Written on a PC 50, by a direct network connection from the PC of the 1^st User 40 or directly via Internet 30.

Once the PC of the 2^nd User 70 has access to DRMed Content 72 and a Management Application 71 then all of the previous functionality and behaviour ascribed to the First User and the PC of the 1^st User 40 can now be undertaken by the Second User and the PC of the 2^nd User 70. Roles can thus be repeatedly transferred in this manner as the content is distributed through a network of social acquaintances. As outlined above benefit can be accrued to the First User in distributing content to a Second User. However this approach can be cascaded so that when the Second User distributes content to a Third User then according to this principle some benefit will be accrued to the Second User; however at the same time it will be possible also to transfer some further, and usually much smaller, proportion of benefit to the First User. The intention is to provide a strong incentive for distribution of content by Users.

It should be noted that the following system components can be provided as a toolkit to allow content providers and site operators to set up their operations speedily and efficiently; these components include: artist toolkit 22, payments management 11, usage management 12, manage inventory 13, and management application for download 14.

The foregoing description distinguishes as a convenience between the functional roles of Content Provider 20 and admin Site Operator 17; however these roles in practice may be conducted in other ways. For example a Content Provider 20 may chose not to have an Artist Site 26 but instead outsource all preparation, such as Create/Update Inventory 23, use of Artist toolkit 22, Compress and Encrypt 25, and hosting of DRMed Content 28, for example to the Site Operator 17 according to the commercial relationship between the Content Provider 20 and Site Operator 17. The Content Provider 20 may also chose not to associate explicitly with an intermediary, taking the role of a branded Admin. Site 10, where an alternative is to associate with a passive unbranded Admin. Site 10, which provides the various back-office functions, described above.

The foregoing description is in terms of an Artist Site 26 and an Admin Site 10; however there are a wide range of extensions to this model. As already outlined there is no need for an Artist Site 26 to be separate from an Admin Site 10. There may be several Admin Sites 10 for example each operated by different Site Operators 17. One particular situation is that a User may choose to arrange authorisations and payment via a Usage Management 12 component pertaining to an Admin Site 10 which is different from the Admin Site 10 to which the Content Provider 20 originally subscribed. To support this process the Asset Identifier 24 can also include an identifier by which the originating Admin Site can be identified.

As outlined above the Content Provider 20 may create content predominantly in the form of a sound recording as embodied in the Media Master 21. This may additionally include other content, often referred to as value-added content, for example, still picture, moving picture and information in textual representations, or a mix of both. Such content is currently distributed by some organisations within a yellow book session on a CD. This approach can be adapted to the current invention whereby the DRMed Content 28 15 42 or 72 may comprise one or more components, for example, where one component corresponds to an audio payload which may later be written to a Red Book 52 session, and another component corresponds to the value-added content, which can be written to a Yellow Book 51 session. The purchasing and rights accrual principals for the two types of component can be managed collectively or independently.

The key system components such as Usage Management 12 and Management Application 41 and 71 engage in the purchase and the assignment of enjoyment rights and it is important that these activities are secure and non-repudiable. It is therefore envisaged that the principles of strong authentication, such as embodied in public key infrastructure, and also the use of encrypted secure authenticated communication channels be used for communications between these and possibly other system components. There is a communication bearer for communications between Usage Management 12 and Management Application 41 and 71 and also for downloading DRMed content 28 and 15 and Management Application downloads 14 to the Management Applications 41 and 71. This has been described in Figure 1 as the Internet 30, since this is the most likely communication bearer. However, the principals of this invention can be applied using any other appropriate bearer, including physical media.

Detailed Description of the Principal Propagation and Business Model Components

As outlined in Figure 2, the invention allows for a number of propagation levels and business models to operate in the manufacture and distribution.

Each propagation level in the cascade, supports a wide range of business models, which include but are not limited to: (a) a consumer may enjoy the material using PC-like equipment on one or more occasions before committing to a purchase, so called try before buy; (b) a consumer may purchase a batch comprising a defined number of occasions in which the material may be enjoyed; (c) a consumer may purchase the right to enjoy the material during an unrestricted number of occasions within a fixed period using PC-like equipment; (d) a consumer may purchase the right to enjoy in perpetuity or convert from a limited right, for example as per (b) or (c), to a perpetual right, (e) the consumer may be granted with a perpetual right, the right also to write one or more CDs that may be played on audio equipment; in addition, at each propagation level, (f) a consumer for example PC 1^st user 40 at that level, for example Propagation Level 1 111 may write a CD that can then be read in a PC, belonging to a customer, for example PC 2^nd user 70, in the next propagation level Propagation Level 2 112 or subsequent propagation levels, and the customer PC 1^st user 40 may be offered a form of financial rebate or other benefit when the customer PC 2^nd user 70 in the next or subsequent propagation level pays for enjoyment rights, thus encouraging the customer in the current propagation level to distribute the product, (g) following (f) the customer PC 2^nd user 70 in the next or subsequent propagation level may then write a CD that can be read in a PC, for example belonging to a customer PC nth user 80, and the second customer PC 2^nd user 70 may be offered a form of financial rebate or other benefit when the third customer, PC nth user 80 pays for enjoyment rights, and in addition the first customer PC 1^st user 40 may also be offered some form of financial rebate or other benefit - this mechanism cascades across multiple propagation levels.

At each propagation level, the business model allows for the flow of payments, financial rebates or other benefits to be managed in both the up-propagation and down-propagation directions. Site Operator 17 at Propagation Level 0 110 and the associated Admin Site 10 with Payments Management 11, External financial payments 90 and payments 16 are key components in the management and provision of an audit trail for payments, financial rebates or other benefits.

Across the propagation levels, the invention supports a wide range of payment components as part to the business models which include but are not limited to: a) 1^st user 200, payments are made from PC 1^st user 40 depending on the exact business model chosen for payments to Site operator 17, and from there in some proportion to Content provider/artist 20. The invention supports multiple Site operators 17 and hence also multiple Content provider/artists 20. Thus multiple instances of 1^st user 200 and all other payment aggregations will be effective; b) 2^nd user yellow book/network 201, in the up-propagation direction, payments flow from PC 2^nd user 70 direct to the appropriate Site operator 17, and thence to Content provider/artist 20. However, in the down-propagation direction, 1^st PC user 40 receives a financial rebate or other benefit for distributing the content to PC 2^nd user 70; c) 1^st user red book 202, in the up-propagation direction, payments flow from audio user 100 direct to the appropriate originating PC user in this case PC 1^st user 40, who retains a proportion of audio user 100 ^Λs purchase price as a margin, before the remaining payment flows to Site operator 17, and thence a proportion flows to Content provider/artist 20. Since PC 1^st user has been rewarded for manufacture and distribution via his margin, there is no payment flow in the down-propagation direction; d) 2^nd user red book 203, in the up-propagation direction, payments flow from audio user 100 direct to the originating PC user, in this case, PC 2^nd user 70, who retains a proportion of audio user 100^Λs purchase price as a margin, before the remaining payment flows to Site operator 17, and thence a proportion flows to Content provider/artist 20. Since PC 2nd user 70 has been rewarded for manufacture and distribution via his margin, no payment flows to PC 2^nd user 70 in the down-propagation direction, however, a financial rebate or other benefit does flow downwards from Site operator 17 to PC 1^st user 40 to reward him for manufacture and distribution to PC 2^nd user 70; e) nth user yellow book/network 204, in the up-propagating direction, payments flow from PC nth user direct to Site operator 17, and thence a proportion flows to Content provider/artist 20. In the down-propagation direction, financial rebates or other benefits flow from Site operator 17 to the PC users at each propagation level involved in the manufacture and distribution to the final consumer. Thus each link in the chain is rewarded for their part in the manufacture and distribution to the final consumer.

The invention supports any logical combination of red book or yellow book/network routes down through the propagation levels.

Financial rebates or other benefits supports a wide range of mechanisms, which include but are not limited to: a) cash payments, b) financial rebate against the next purchase from the specific instance of Site operator 17, c) non-financial points to be accumulated and redeemed against subsequent purchases from the specific instance of Site operator 17, d) non-financial points to be accumulated and redeemed to provide privileges within fan clubs supported by Site operator 17 or Content provider/artist 20, e) non-financial points to be accumulated and redeemed against purchases in other music related schemes such as hi-fi equipment purchases, f) non-financial points to be accumulated and redeemed against purchases in other non music related schemes such as popular airmiles etc.

Detailed Description of the Overall Distribution Process

As outlined in Figure 3 the overall distribution process is based on the distribution and redistribution of Protected Content 128, 132 through potentially an unlimited succession of stages, for example initially 120, 121, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127 and then via any number of users who may enjoy and redistribute, for example 129, 130 and 133 and 134.

The Protected Content 128, 132 may comprise combined red and yellow books on CD 150 yellow book on CD 151 and an electronic equivalent of the yellow book content 152. All three specific instances of the Protected Content 128, 132 contain either a physical yellow book or an electronic logical equivalent that contains compressed and encrypted content. The material may be redistributed through successive stages where a new instance of the Protected Content is created from the physical or logically equivalent yellow book Protected Content.

Each instance of the Protected Content may comprise identifiers indicating which parties were involved in its distribution. These identifiers are then used by Administration processes 140 in order to update accounting information 141, 142, 143, 144 on behalf of the parties concerned when rights are purchased 131, 135.

Claims

1. A technically-implemented distribution system for intellectual property in the form of content,

which distributes the content through stages in a distribution chain from the entity or entities that created it to those who enjoy it;

and, which comprises:

a first preparation means by which content is compressed and encrypted, thus facilitating conditional access to the content, including providing the facility to prevent or allow the making or distribution of additional instances of that content;

a second preparation means by which content is processed so that it may be enjoyed using an appliance specifically designed to play, display or otherwise render content that complies with the standard (s) for the medium or media on which the content is to be embodied or the digital file format (s) in which the content is to be distributed;

a distribution means by which content is distributed from a first party to a second party by: a first type of distribution means using digitally- protected content processed according to the first preparation means; or a second type of distribution means using digitally- protected content processed according to the first preparation means and using content processed according to the second preparation means;

an enjoyment means by which received content may be enjoyed by: a first type of enjoyment means where received digitally-protected content processed according to the first preparation means is enjoyed using a computer, or computer-like, or communications, or communications-like, or hybrid computer and communications, or related appliance, or a second type of enjoyment means by which received content processed according to the second preparation means may be enjoyed using an appliance specifically designed to play, display or otherwise render content that complies with the standard (s) for the medium or media on which the content is to be embodied or the digital file format (s) in which the content is to be distributed.

2. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 1 and, which comprises:

- a third preparation means by which content processed by the second preparation means, as described in claim

1, is further processed by techniques designed to inhibit copying, thus producing copy-protected content;

and, where:

a distribution means by which content is distributed from a first party to a second party is by: a first type of distribution means, as described in claim 1, or a third type of distribution means using received digitally-protected content processed according to the first preparation means and using copy-protected content processed according to the third preparation means;

the second type of enjoyment means by which received content processed according to the second preparation means or received copy-protected content processed according to the third preparation means may be enjoyed.

3. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where the encryption and compression of the content supports a conditional redistribution means so that a party who has received that content may distribute or re-distribute additional instances of the content to third parties.

4. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 3 where the re-distribution means is such that:

- the received content is

(a) digitally-protected content produced using the first preparation means, or

(b) digitally-protected content produced using the first preparation means and content produced using the second preparation means, or

(c) digitally-protected content produced using the first preparation means and copy-protected content produced using the third preparation means,

- re-distributed content is produced from received digitally-protected content produced using the first preparation means from the received content described in (a), (b) or (c) above,

- the re-distributed content is

- digitally-protected and produced using the first preparation means, but not necessarily with the same encryption keys as the received content, or digitally-protected and produced using the first preparation means, but not necessarily with the same encryption keys as the received content, and is content produced using the second preparation means, or - digitally-protected and produced using the first preparation means, but not necessarily with the same encryption keys as the received content, and is copyprotected content produced using the third preparation means.

5. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where there is an identification means by which: - original content is tagged for the purpose of identifying it and,

- optionally, the entity which created it,

- and, optionally, other entities;

6. A technically-implemented distribution system according to the preceding claim where the identification means is incorporated within the first preparation means.

7. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claims 3, 4, 5 or 6 and where there is an additional identification means by which:

- a party, who distributes or redistributes the content, may be identified in a manner associated with the instance of the content that is distributed or redistributed to a second party; and where this process is repeated as the content is redistributed through various successive and/or selected stages in the distribution chain, and so the instance of content received by a party may have a series of identifiers associated with it that indicate some or all of the various parties who have distributed that instance of content to that party.

8. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where the first type of distribution means uses electronic communications between two parties.

9. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where the first type of distribution means uses communications based on Internet protocols between two parties.

10. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where the first type of distribution means uses communications based on telephony protocols between two parties.

11. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where a distribution means uses storage media between two parties.

12. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 11 where a distribution means uses optical media between two parties.

13. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 12 where a distribution means uses a DVD disk between two parties.

14. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 12 where a distribution means uses a CD disk between two parties.

15. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 14 where

- the first type of preparation means produces compressed and encrypted content held in a yellow book session on a CD, and a second type of preparation means produces audio content, or a third type of preparation means produces copy-protected audio content, where the audio content produced by either preparation means is held in a red book session on a CD.

16. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where the first type of enjoyment means is enjoyed using a personal computer, or a personal digital assistant or personal digital assistant and mobile phone, or a mobile phone.

17. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where the second type of enjoyment means is enjoyed using audio equipment.

18. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where the second type of enjoyment means is enjoyed using audio-visual equipment.

19. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where a party that receives content may be granted or may purchase enjoyment rights to the content.

20. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 19 where a party that receives content may purchase limited enjoyment rights to the content.

21. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 19 where a party that receives content may purchase permanent enjoyment rights to the content.

22. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claims 19, 20 or 21 where there is an additional administration means which maintains accounts on behalf of the identified parties.

23. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claims 19, 20, 21 or 22 where a party that re- distributes content may benefit when a party, to whom that instance of the content is eventually redistributed, purchases enjoyment rights.

24. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 23 where a party that re-distributes content may benefit financially when a party, to whom that instance of the content is eventually redistributed, purchases enjoyment rights.

25. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 22 where the administration means accumulates information indicating which rights have been purchased by which party.

26. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claim 25 where the administration means uses the accumulated purchased rights information to derive information on purchasing patterns.

27. A technically-implemented distribution system according to claims 25 or 26 where the administration means uses the accumulated purchased rights information: - to target publicity regarding new content products to those parties that may have a propensity to purchase them, and/or to communicate with a party with a purpose of strengthening or extending the relationship with that party.

28. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where the first preparation means facilitates conditional access to the content or to portions of the content in a manner that is dependent on time.

29. A technically-implemented distribution system according to any of the preceding claims where the second preparation means incorporates additional identification technique or techniques designed to convey additional information, such as an identifier or identifiers.

0. A technically-implemented distribution system according claim 15 and claim 29 where the second or third preparation means incorporates an additional identification technique or techniques designed to convey additional information, such as a means to identify the party or parties that distributed that instance of the content, within the audio content held in a red book session.