IP Library Granted Patent US 9,530,158
Granted Patent B2
US 9,530,158 · App. 12/417,580 · Granted Dec 27, 2016

Method, system, and graphic user interface for enabling a customer to access information associated with a hosted user profile

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,530,158
App. No.
12/417,580
Granted
Dec 27, 2016
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method, system, GUI, apparatus, and machine-readable media for enabling a customer to access information associated with a hosted user profile via a third party information source are provided. A customer may request information associated with a user profile via a mechanism provided by a third party information source via, for example, a mobile communications device. The customer may be enabled to access the information associated with the hosted user profile and an account associated with the customer may be updated to reflect the access. An account associated with the user may be updated to show the transaction and a statement regarding transactions associated with the user profile may be prepared and presented to the user.

Claims (52)

1. A method comprising:

maintaining, on a server computer system, a user account established by a user and associated with a hosted user profile accessible via a plurality of third-party information sources, wherein the plurality of third-party information sources includes a third-party social media website and a personal website associated with the user, and wherein the hosted user profile includes associated information indicating media files uploaded by a user associated with the user account;

receiving, from a customer through the hosted user profile via at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources, a request to access the media files indicated by the associated information via at least one of a plurality of communication links;

in response to receiving the request, enabling the customer to access the media files via the at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources, using a content delivery platform and content management system;

updating the user account to include updated user account information indicating that the customer was enabled to access to the media files via the at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources, using a subscription and purchase management system;

receiving a user selection indicating a selection by a user of one or more selected third-party information sources of the plurality of third-party information sources; and

providing the user with a hosted user profile activity statement based on the updated user account information, the hosted user profile activity statement tailored to display activity information associated with access by the customer to the media files via the one or more selected third-party information sources, using the content delivery platform and content management system.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the media files include at least one of an MP3 file, a graphic file, a ringtone file, a document file, a game file, a wallpaper file, and a music file.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the associated information includes subscription information.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the customer accesses the associated information via the at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources through a mobile device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein updating the user account includes transferring a portion of a payment received to the user account.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein additional hosted user profile activity statements are prepared based on updated user account information relating to each corresponding one of the plurality third-party information sources.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein enabling the customer to access the media file includes enabling the customer to download the media file.

8. A system comprising:

a network, wherein the network is enabled to facilitate communication between a user associated with a user account, a customer, and a server computer system; and

the server computer system, wherein the server computer system is enabled to:

maintain a user account established by a user and associated with a hosted user profile accessible via a plurality of third-party information sources, wherein the plurality of third-party information sources includes a third-party social media website and a personal website associated with the user, and wherein the hosted user profile includes associated information indicating media files uploaded by the user;

receiving, from a customer through the hosted user profile via at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources, a request to access one of the media files uploaded by the user;

in response to receiving the request, enable the customer to access the one of the media files via the at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources;

update the user account to include updated user account information indicating that the customer was enabled to access the media files via the at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources;

receive a user selection indicating a selected third-party information source of the plurality of third-party information sources; and

prepare and provide a hosted user profile activity statement for the user based on the updated user account information, the hosted user profile activity statement tailored to display activity information associated with access by the customer to the media files via the selected third-party information source.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the associated information includes subscription information.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein access to the media file includes downloading the media file.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a network, wherein the network is enabled to facilitate communication between a user associated with a user account, a customer, and a server computer system; wherein the server computer system is configured to:

maintain a user account established by a user and associated with a hosted user profile accessible via a plurality of third-party information sources, wherein the plurality of third-party information sources includes a third-party social media website and a personal website associated with the user;

provide the customer with one of a plurality of communication links, via at least one of a plurality of third-party information sources, to access the hosted user profile hosted by a hosting entity, the hosted user profile includes associated information related to media files uploaded by the user;

in response to receiving from a customer a request to access the associated information via the one of the plurality of communication links, enable the customer to access the information via the at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources;

update the user profile associated with the user account to include updated user account information indicating the customer's access to the associated information via the at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources based on the one of the plurality of communication links;

receive a user selection indicating a selected third-party information source of the plurality of third-party information sources; and

prepare and provide a user profile activity statement for the user based on the updated user account information, the user profile activity statement tailored to display activity information associated with access by the customer to the media files via the selected third-party information source.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the associated information includes subscription information.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein access to the media file includes downloading the media file.

14. A graphic user interface (GUI), wherein the GUI enables performance of the following operations:

maintaining, on a server computer system, a user account established by a user and associated with a hosted user profile accessible via a plurality of third-party information sources, wherein the plurality of third-party information sources includes a third-party social media website and a personal website associated with the user;

providing a customer with a plurality of communication links via a plurality of third-party information sources, each of the plurality of communication links enable access to a user profile hosted by a host entity via at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources, the user profile includes associated information indicating media files uploaded by a user associated with the user account;

in response to receiving a request to access the associated information from a customer via at least one of the plurality of communication links, enabling the customer to access the media files via at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources, using a content delivery platform and content management system;

updating the user profile associated with the user account to include updated user account information indicating the customer's access to the media files via the at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources based on the at least one of the plurality of communication links, using a subscription and purchase management system;

receiving a user selection indicating a selected third-party information source of the plurality of third-party information sources; and

providing the user with a user profile activity statement based on the updated user account information, the user profile activity statement tailored to display activity information associated with access by the customer to the media files via the selected third-party information source, using the content delivery platform and content management system.

15. The GUI of claim 14 , wherein the associated information includes subscription information.

16. The GUI of claim 14 , wherein access to the media file includes downloading the media file.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable media including instructions that enable a machine to perform the following operations:

maintaining, on a server computer system, a user account established by a user and associated with a hosted user profile accessible via a plurality of third-party information sources, wherein the plurality of third-party information sources includes a third-party social media website and a personal website associated with the user;

providing a customer with a plurality of communication links via a plurality of third-party information sources, each of the plurality of communication links enable access to a user profile hosted by a host entity via at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources, the user profile includes associated information based on data uploaded by a user associated with the user account, wherein the data uploaded by the user includes media files;

in response to receiving a request to access the associated information from a customer via at least one of the plurality of communication links, enabling the customer to access the associated information via at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources, using a content delivery platform and content management system;

updating the user profile associated with the user account to include updated user account information indicating the customer's access to the media files via the at least one of the plurality of third-party information sources based on the at least one of the plurality of communication links, using a subscription and purchase management system;

receiving a user selection indicating a selected third-party information source of the plurality of third-party information sources; and

providing the user with a user profile activity statement based on the updated user account information, the user profile activity statement tailored to display activity information associated with access by the customer to the media files via the selected third-party information source, using the content delivery platform and content management system.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 17 , wherein the associated information includes subscription information.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 17 , wherein access to the media file includes downloading the media file.

Assignments (21)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 5, 2026
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS SUCCESSOR COLLATERAL AGENT TO CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: IHEART COMMUNICATIONS, INC.; IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
Reel/Frame 075557/0138 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS (REEL/FRAME 050017/0882) Recorded Jan 1, 2025
From: U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: IHEARTCOMMUNICATIONS, INC.; IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
Reel/Frame 069795/0626 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS (REEL/FRAME 049067/0800) Recorded Dec 31, 2024
From: U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (FORMERLY KNOWN AS U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION)
To: IHEARTCOMMUNICATIONS, INC.; IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
Reel/Frame 069795/0423 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS (REEL/FRAME 049079/0814) Recorded Dec 31, 2024
From: U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (FORMERLY KNOWN AS U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION)
To: IHEARTCOMMUNICATIONS, INC.; IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
Reel/Frame 069795/0488 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Dec 29, 2024
From: IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
Reel/Frame 069795/0912 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Dec 28, 2024
From: IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 069793/0758 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Dec 28, 2024
From: IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 069794/0248 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Dec 27, 2024
From: IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 069792/0335 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Dec 23, 2024
From: IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 069762/0453 →
ASSIGNMENT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Feb 5, 2020
From: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS SUCCESSOR COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 052144/0833 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Nov 23, 2019
From: IHEART COMMUNICATIONS, INC.; IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: U. S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 051143/0579 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 9, 2019
From: IHEART COMMUNICATIONS, INC.; IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 050017/0882 →
RELEASE OF THE SECURITY INTEREST RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME 034008/0027 Recorded May 10, 2019
From: DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS
To: AMFM TEXAS BROADCASTING, LP; AMFM RADIO LICENSES, LLC; CAPSTAR RADIO OPERATING COMPANY; CAPSTAR TX, LLC; CITICASTERS CO.; CITICASTERS LICENSES, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.; IHEARMEDIA + ENTERTAINMENT, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL INVESTMENTS, INC.
Reel/Frame 049149/0773 →
RELEASE OF THE SECURITY INTEREST RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME 035109/0168 Recorded May 10, 2019
From: DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS
To: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, LLC; CAPSTAR RADIO OPERATING COMPANY; CAPSTAR TX, LLC; CITICASTERS CO.; CITICASTERS LICENSES, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.; IHEARMEDIA + ENTERTAINMENT, INC.; AMFM TEXAS BROADCASTING, LP; IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 049149/0714 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 2, 2019
From: IHEARTCOMMUNICATIONS, INC.; IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 049067/0800 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 2, 2019
From: IHEARTCOMMUNICATIONS, INC.; IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 049067/0606 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 2, 2019
From: IHEARTCOMMUNICATIONS, INC.; IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 049079/0814 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Feb 27, 2015
From: IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
To: DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 035109/0168 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Oct 21, 2014
From: CLEAR CHANNEL MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
To: IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
Reel/Frame 034026/0037 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Oct 15, 2014
From: CLEAR CHANNEL MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL INVESTMENTS, INC.; CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
To: DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 034008/0027 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 14, 2012
From: THUMBPLAY RINGTONES LLC
To: CLEAR CHANNEL MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
Reel/Frame 028375/0180 →