System for stock images peer-to-peer services over the world wide web
View Patent ↗A system for distributed digital images. The system comprises image publishers, image buyers, and a system service center. Image publishers, interested in selling rights in high-resolution images, publish thumbnails representing those images in the service's web-site. The image buyer, searching the service web site for images of particular attributes, selects those thumbnails meeting her/his requirements, and gets from the service a temporary direct communication link to the image repository of the image publisher. The buyer gets the option to remotely review, enhance and embed, in a page layout, the low-resolution representation of the selected thumbnails, and quality check parts of the high-resolution images. The buyer negotiates a price with the image publisher, and pays via the service's billing module. On conclusion the buyer acquires the high-resolution image file directly from the publisher's repository.
1. A method of locating and purchasing high-resolution images by a buyer directly from a publisher of said images, the method comprising:
a) accessing a system service unit through a network connection;
b) searching attributes of said high-resolution images in said system service's data base and selecting desired thumbnails;
c) simulating, enhancing and verifying a quality of the high-resolution images and their low-resolution representation corresponding to said selected thumbnail by controlled remote accessing of an image publisher unit via a network connection;
d) purchasing from said system service unit and paying for a permission to download said selected high-resolution images;
e) acquiring from said image unit, said selected image in high-resolution format directly to said image buyer terminal; and
f) automatically rendering said selected image in high-resolution format ready for print by applying parameters of step (c).
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said simulating, enhancing and verifying step comprises at least one of:
a) evaluating the low-resolution representation of a selected thumbnail;
b) cropping and scaling said low-resolution representation;
c) enhancing said low-resolution representation including at least one of toning, sharpening, color correction and color conversion;
d) embedding the selected and enhanced low-resolution image in a page layout;
e) obtaining from said high-resolution image a defined partial image in maximum resolution, and
f) simulating said partial image on said image buyer terminal calibrated screen.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said simulation on said image buyer terminal calibrated screen is one of generic simulation or precise simulation.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said purchasing step comprises at least one of
a) negotiating a price, of the high-resolution image by said image buyer, by accessing said image publisher's price negotiating module;
b) paying the negotiated price; and
c) combinations thereof.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said paying to is at least to one of said image
publisher, the service unit, or split between eligible parties.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said acquiring comprises at least one of:
a) downloading said selected high-resolution image via said network connection;
b) receiving a removable storage device including said selected high-resolution image, and
c) receiving a transparency representing said selected high-resolution image.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said steps (c), (e) and (f) are carried out indirectly via a temporary storage location in said system service.
8. A method of embedding images, selected from an image-bank or a peer-to-peer networked service, in an image buyer's page layout, the method including:
a) selecting at least one thumbnail available from said service to be embedded in said layout;
b) obtaining the low-resolution image, corresponding to said at least one selected thumbnail;
c) fitting said low-resolution image in said image buyer's page layout;
d) enhancing said low-resolution image, including at least one of toning, sharpening, color correction and color conversion;
e) obtaining from the high-resolution image, corresponding to said low resolution image, a defined partial image in maximum resolution;
f) simulating said partial image on said image buyer's terminal calibrated screen, wherein said simulation is one of generic simulation or precise simulation;
g) closing said page layout including the enhanced low-resolution representation and simulation of the image;
h) purchasing said high-resolution image from said image-bank or peer-to-peer service;
i) acquiring said high-resolution image from an image publisher's repository to the image buyer's terminal; and
j) automatically embedding and enhancing said high-resolution images in said layout.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein said purchasing includes at least one of:
a) negotiating a price, of said high-resolution image, by accessing said publisher's price negotiating unit, and
b) paying the negotiated price.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said paying to is at least to one of said image publishers, the service system, or split between eligible parties.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein said acquiring comprises at least one of:
a) downloading said selected high-resolution image via said network service
b) receiving a removable storage device including said selected high-resolution image file, and
receiving a transparency representing said selected high-resolution image.