초록 ▼

The system and method permit the purchase of audio music files over the Internet. The PC user logs onto the vendor's web site and browses the songs available for purchase. The songs can be arranged by artist, music style, etc., as mentioned above. Further, the vendor can provide suggestions on the w

The system and method permit the purchase of audio music files over the Internet. The PC user logs onto the vendor's web site and browses the songs available for purchase. The songs can be arranged by artist, music style, etc., as mentioned above. Further, the vendor can provide suggestions on the web site, directing the PC user to songs that might be desirable, based on that PC user's previous purchases, her indicated preferences, popularity of the songs, paid advertising and the like. If interested in a song, the PC user has the option of clicking on a song to "pre-listen" to it--hearing a 20-second clip, for example. If the PC user then wishes to purchase the song, she can submit her order by clicking on the icons located next to each song/album. The order will be reflected in the shopping basket, always visible on the screen. As the PC user selects more items, each and every item is displayed in the shopping basket. At any point in time, the PC user can review her selections, deleting items she no longer desires.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. A system for digitally distributing music comprised of tracks and albums over the Internet to a plurality of the Internet users, comprising:means for assigning a key to a track for downloading to a user;means for inserting the assigned key into said track prior to the d

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. A system for digitally distributing music comprised of tracks and albums over the Internet to a plurality of the Internet users, comprising:means for assigning a key to a track for downloading to a user;means for inserting the assigned key into said track prior to the downloading;means for transferring the same assigned key to said user prior to downloading said track;means for combining the transferred key with additional data to generate an identifier that uniquely identifies a customer's computer; andmeans for verifying that said key extracted from said track matches information that is based on the generated identifier to enable the playback of said track.