초록 ▼

A fee accounting mechanism for reporting fees associated with the distribution and use of digital works. Usage rights and fees are attached to digital works. The usage rights define how the digital work may be used or further distributed. Usage fees are specified as part of a usage right. The digita

A fee accounting mechanism for reporting fees associated with the distribution and use of digital works. Usage rights and fees are attached to digital works. The usage rights define how the digital work may be used or further distributed. Usage fees are specified as part of a usage right. The digital works and their usage rights and fees are stored in repositories. The repositories control access to the digital works. Upon determination that the exercise of a usage right requires a fee, the repository generates a fee reporting transaction. Fee reporting is done to a credit server. The credit server collects the fee information and periodically transmits it to a billing clearinghouse.

대표청구항 ▼

A system for controlling the distribution and use of digital works through a network, said system having a mechanism for reporting fees based on the distribution and use of digital works, said system comprising: a digital work having attached usage rights, each of said usage rights for specifying ho

A system for controlling the distribution and use of digital works through a network, said system having a mechanism for reporting fees based on the distribution and use of digital works, said system comprising: a digital work having attached usage rights, each of said usage rights for specifying how a digital work may be used or distributed, each of said usage rights specifying usage fee information, said usage fee information comprising a fee type and fee parameters which define a fee to be paid in connection with the exercise of said usage right; a plurality of repositories, each of said repositories comprising: an external interface for removably coupling to said network; storage means for storing digital works having attached usage rights and fees; requesting means for generating a request to access a digital work stored in another of said plurality of repositories, said request indicating a particular usage right; processing means for processing requests to access digital works stored in said storage means and for generating fee transactions when a request indicates a usage right that is attached to a digital work and said usage right specifies usage fee information; each of said plurality of repositories further removably coupled to a credit server, said credit server for recording fee transactions from said repository and subsequently reporting said fee transactions to a billing clearinghouse.