Granted Patent B2

US 9,076,169 · App. 11/840,603 · Granted Jul 7, 2015

Abstract

Claims (49)

1. A method comprising:

configuring a point-of-sale computer system in a brick and mortar store to carry out both sales of physical items that are a part of an inventory of the brick and mortar store and sales of digital content items, the sales of the digital content items being performed by a digital content handling system comprising:

a digital content web service accessed by the point-of-sale computer system to carry out the sale of the digital content items;

a digital delivery database configured to store information generated from the sales of the digital content items; and

a centralized digital delivery web application comprising:

a back office site comprising screens to carry out management functions in the digital content handling system, the management functions including entry of the digital content items into the digital content handling system; and

a digital delivery site configured to enable downloading of the digital content items after the digital content items are purchased,

wherein the back office site and the digital delivery site are configured to perform an extensible markup language (XML) to hypertext markup language (HTML) transformation of content;

providing a plurality of physical non-programmable reusable hangtags, wherein each of the plurality of physical non-programmable reusable hangtags includes both user-readable and machine-readable digital content identification information for a particular one of the digital content items, and wherein each of the plurality of physical non-programmable reusable hangtags has a hanging hole, and wherein each of the plurality of physical non-programmable reusable hangtags has no intrinsic value;

receiving, via an input of the point-of-sale computer system in the brick and mortar store, digital content identification information related to one of the plurality of digital content items, the digital content identification information being obtained from a physical non-programmable reusable hangtag, of the plurality of physical non-programmable reusable hangtags, for the one of the plurality of digital content items at the brick and mortar store;

obtaining payment for the digital content item from a customer at the brick and mortar store;

generating, using a processor of the point-of-sale computer system in the brick and mortar store, an anonymous physical receipt having a receipt number and a single access code that represents the digital content item;

providing the anonymous physical receipt having the receipt number and the single access code to the customer at the brick and mortar store; and

retaining the physical non-programmable reusable hangtag at the brick and mortar store for subsequent use for obtaining the digital content identification information for the digital content item,

wherein the digital content item is accessed, via a computer, other than the point-of-sale computer system, that is connected to a network that comprises software that is a part of the digital content handling system, and wherein the software comprises:

a first screen configured to receive user identification information, which comprises a username and a password, independently of the receipt number and the single access code;

a second screen accessed after the username and the password are received in the first screen, the second screen being configured to receive the receipt number and the single access code; and

instructions to deliver the digital content item in response to receiving the receipt number and the single access code in the second screen independently of any other codes, identification numbers or information related to the digital content item, wherein the receipt number and the single access code are obtained only from the anonymous physical receipt.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein digital content item is a digital book.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein obtaining the identification information related to the digital book from the physical non-programmable reusable hangtag comprises scanning bar-coded information related to the digital book from the physical non-programmable reusable hangtag.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the digital content item comprises a plurality of digital content items and wherein the single access code represents the plurality of digital content items.

5. The method of claim 4 and wherein at least one of the plurality of digital content items is from a different digital content provider than at least another one of the plurality of digital content items.

6. The method of claim 1 and further comprising, in response to receiving the receipt number and the single access code electronically entered by the customer, displaying the digital content item in a non-consumer-specific domain.

7. The method of claim 6 and further comprising, in response to the customer selecting the displayed digital content item, transferring the digital content item from the non-consumer-specific domain to a consumer-specific non-anonymous domain.

8. The method of claim 7 and further comprising, in response to the customer selecting the digital content item for download in the consumer-specific non-anonymous domain, downloading the digital content item.

9. A system comprising:

a reusable hangtag including digital content identification information that identifies a digital content item, wherein the reusable hangtag comprises a hanging hole, and wherein the reusable hangtag has no intrinsic value;

an in-store point-of-sale computer system configured to carry out sales of physical items that are a part of an inventory of a brick and mortar store that includes the in-store point-of-sale computer system, and configured to carry out sales of digital content items, the in-store point-of-sale computer system comprising:

an input configured to:

receive identification information from the physical items; and

receive the digital content identification information related to the digital content item from the reusable hangtag; and

a processor configured to generate an anonymous receipt having a receipt number and a single access code that represents the digital content item;

a digital content handling system comprising:

a digital content web service accessed by the in-store point-of-sale computer to carry out the sale of the digital content items;

a digital delivery database configured to store information generated from the sales of the digital content items; and

a centralized digital delivery web application comprising:

a back office site comprising screens to carry out management functions in the digital content handling system, the management functions including entry of the digital content items into the digital content handling system; and

a digital delivery site configured to enable downloading of the digital content item after the digital content item is purchased,

wherein the back office site and digital delivery site are configured to perform an extensible markup language (XML) to hypertext markup language (HTML) transformation of content; and

a digital-content-sales-interface that links the in-store point-of-sale computer system and the digital content handling system;

wherein the in-store point-of-sale computer system is configured to carry out the sales of physical items independently of the digital content handling system and to carry out the sales of digital content items when linked to the digital content handling system, and

wherein the digital content item is accessed, via a computer, other than the in-store point-of-sale computer system, that is connected to a network that comprises software that is a part of the digital content handling system, and wherein the software comprises:

a first screen that receives user identification information, which comprises a username and a password, independently of the receipt number and the single access code;

a second screen accessed after the username and the password are received in the first screen, the second screen receives the receipt number and the single access code; and

instructions to deliver the digital content item in response to receiving the receipt number and the single access code in the second screen independently of any other codes, identification numbers or information related to the digital content item, wherein the receipt number and the single access code are obtained only from the anonymous receipt.

10. The system of claim 9 and wherein the in-store point-of-sale computer system is configured to carry out the sales of physical items when the digital-content-sales-interface is disabled.

11. The system of claim 9 and further comprising a barcode scanner for obtaining bar-coded identification information related to the digital content item.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the digital content item comprises a plurality of digital content items and wherein the single access code represents the plurality of digital content items.

13. The method of claim 1 and wherein the physical items comprise physical books, and wherein the digital content items comprise electronic copies of the physical books, and wherein configuring the point-of-sale computer system further comprises configuring a binding code feature, which enables the point-of-sale computer system to identify paperback copies, hardback copies and spiral copies of the physical books, to further enable the point-of-sale computer system to identify electronic copies of the physical books.

Assignments (31)