JP2002099747A - Method for selling information by using computer network - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information selling method by using a computer network, which gives merits to both of an information user and an information producer. SOLUTION: In the case of selling information which the information producer generates through the computer network to the information user, the price of information is made inexpensive or free, during from the initial distribution of information which the information producer generates to the distribution of the prescribed number of information or distribution for a prescribed period. Then, the price of information is made expensive until the distribution of the prescribed number of information or the distribution for the prescribed period after that time. Then, the price of information in subsequent distribution is dropped. Right for selling the limited amount of information is given to the information user purchasing information at an early stage. An organization managing information which the information producer generates distributes information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for selling information (content) using a computer network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, multimedia information such as image information, music information, and moving images has been used for a homepage in a network business. At present, homepage production companies (or individuals) called limited content builders collect multimedia information such as image information, music information, video, etc. that does not violate copyright, or request information production companies Then, multimedia information is created and used. Information is CD-R
Although it is also sold by OM etc., the content builder
To get the information you think "this is",
There is a problem that data purchase cost, data production cost, and the like become expensive.

[0003] On the other hand, information created by an unfamiliar information producer can be sold at an appropriate price,
(Public Domain Software) and a homepage that collects and manages some shareware, but the price is sold at a fixed price (usually quite cheap or free) decided by the producer, and the producer gains profit Not in form. Therefore, even if an unfamiliar information creator creates excellent information, there is a problem in that it takes time to become famous and no income can be obtained.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to sell information using a computer network, which has advantages for both information users and information producers. It is to provide a method.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by changing the price of information according to the number of times or period of distribution of information created by an information producer to information users, For example, when selling information by an unfamiliar information maker, both the information user and the information creator will benefit by setting the price according to the number of distributions or the period considering publicity and sales activities .

[0006] More specifically, as described in claim 2, the price of information is reduced or reduced from the initial distribution of the information created by the information creator to the information user until the distribution for a predetermined number or period. The price is free, and the price of the information is increased until a predetermined number or a predetermined period of distribution thereafter, and the price of the information is reduced in the subsequent distribution.

[0007] Alternatively, as described in claim 3, the price of the distribution of the information created by the information producer to the information user is initially low or free, and increases as the number of buyers increases. After selling for a predetermined period, lower it as appropriate.

[0008] As described above, information is initially distributed at a low price or free of charge, and when a certain number is distributed within a set period, the result is evaluated and the selling price is increased. There are benefits for both information users and information producers.

[0009] As described in claim 4, the information user who has purchased the information early can be given the right to sell the information in a limited quantity. Further, if the information is distributed by an organization that manages the information created by the information maker, for example, when the information of an unfamiliar information maker is sold, the management organization may distribute the information. In the above, the information creator can set the public relations activity and the sales activity to be advantageous, so that the information sales can be activated.
Alternatively, as described in claim 6, information distribution may be performed by an information producer.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an information sales system using a computer network according to this embodiment. In this system, information (content) created by an information producer is managed by an information management organization, and the management organization distributes the information. In addition, in this system, the information user (primary information purchaser) who has purchased the information early has the right to sell the purchased information to the secondary information purchaser in a limited quantity. I try to give. As a result, excellent information can be sold to many people in a short period of time, and profits can be obtained if the selling price is higher than the purchase price. In other words, a function like a wholesaler of information can be constructed by an individual.

The details will be described below. In FIG. 1, a personal computer (PC) 101, 1 of an information producer is shown.
Are connected to the server 300 of the information management institution via the Internet 200. The Internet 200 has personal computers (PCs) 401, 402, and 40 of primary information purchasers (information users).
3, ... can be connected. Here, FIG. 1 shows a case where the secondary sales are permitted to the PCs 401 and 402 of the primary information purchaser and the secondary sales are not permitted to the PC 403 of the primary information purchaser. Furthermore, personal computers (PCs) 501, 502, 503, and secondary information purchasers (information users) are provided on the Internet 200.
504,... Can be connected.

The computer network 200
The information (content) created by the information creator can be sold to the information user via the Internet. At this time, the price of the information is changed according to the number (or period) of distribution of the information created by the information producer to the information user.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show processing of the information producer, processing of the information management organization, processing of the primary information purchaser, and processing of the secondary information purchaser. In other words, FIG. 2 shows the flow of each process of the producer, the information management organization, the information purchaser (primary), and the information purchaser (secondary). FIG. 3 shows the classification of the processing contents of the PCs or servers of the producer, the information management organization, the information purchaser (primary), and the information purchaser (secondary).

As shown in FIG. 2, when a member is recruited at an information management organization, an information producer joins. During this admission, information producer registers that it is the producer to the information management agency, should decide whether to manufacture in advance what kind of information. In this enrollment, an ID is given as an enrollment process in the information management organization. And the creator has information (content)
Create the information and register the information. At this time, sales conditions are set as necessary. The contents are managed by a management organization. Specifically, the sales conditions are set using, for example, a sheet (sales condition input screen) as shown in FIG. In addition,
Depending on the conditions, the deposit is paid to the management institution. FIG.
Shows an example of a sales unit price set based on the sheet. It means that the price is low at first, then high and then low.

A more detailed method for setting information prices is to set the price of information to be low or free from the initial distribution of information created by the information creator to the information user until distribution for a predetermined number or for a predetermined period. The price of the information is increased until distribution for a certain number or a predetermined period, and the price of the information is decreased in subsequent distribution. Alternatively, the price of distribution of the information created by the information producer to the information user may be initially low or free, increased as the number of buyers increases, and decreased as appropriate after selling for a predetermined number or for a predetermined period.

The sales quantity and unit price as sales conditions can be changed by the producer. However, it is preferable that the change of the sales unit price is basically performed by an information management organization without allowing anyone of the producers to change it.

Further, according to the sales situation, the server application of the management organization can automatically change the sales unit price to maximize the sales. This is performed by effectively utilizing past statistical data and the like. FIG. 6 shows a case where the sales unit price is changed.

As shown in FIG. 3, information (contents) created by the producer is compressed by an application used by the information management organization and sent to the information management organization together with the producer ID and a search key. Here, the search key is a key for viewing data relating to content created by the user because the data is stored in a database at an information management organization.

Thereafter, the information management organization decompresses the data and adds a watermark. Further, the information management institution adds the management institution ID in addition to the manufacturer ID, and further performs data compression of the manufacturer ID and the management institution ID,
Then, a decryption key is set, and all data is encrypted and compressed. In addition, a search key is added, and search terms are prepared so that buyers can easily find desired information.
Further, the information management organization is provided with a secondary sales management application (secondary sales management software). This secondary sales management application is a primary purchaser of information and is used when the purchaser secondary sells information to another person. The secondary sales management application has a function of adding the ID of the secondary purchaser to the information when supplying information to the secondary purchaser, and managing how many sales quantities have been reached.

The information management organization sets a screen (homepage) for selling information. FIG. 7 shows a specific example, and FIG. 8 shows a menu configuration of the homepage of the information management organization. The menu (each page) of the system application includes member registration, search, sales data, data upload (member only), sales condition input (member only), sales database (member only), payment confirmation (member only),
There are a buyer list (members only), security management (members only), etc., a search tree and text search on the search page, browsing and download on the sales data page, and sales volume trends and sales in the sales database. You can see the transition. Note that a password must be entered to open the member-only page.

FIG. 7 shows a home page (title page).
Here are the screen specifications. In FIG. 7, a text search can be performed on anything in the homepage by operating a search button 601. Also, by operating the latest information button 602,
Move to the latest services and news pages provided by the management organization. By operating the event information button 603,
Introduce the events that are performed by the producers under the jurisdiction of the management organization.
By operating the campaign button 604, a transition is made to a page introducing newcomers, special topics, and others. By operating the production member registration button 605, the screen shifts to a producer registration page. This registration has a review. By operating the purchase member registration button 606, the screen shifts to a registration page for purchasing information. By operating the support member registration button 607, the screen shifts to a registration page for members of the evaluator group. This registration has a review. The evaluator group will be described later in detail. The transition to each field button 608 has a search field for selecting each field and maker. For example, music, pictures, computer graphics (CG), software, books, etc. By operating the sales status monitor button 609, a transition is made to a page where the producer views the sales status. At this time, it is necessary to input the above-mentioned search key as a member number (producer ID) and a password.

Looking at this screen, if the information purchaser (who has a sales right) desires to purchase information, as shown in FIG. 2, the information management organization adds data processing, adds purchaser data, and performs secondary sales management. Send information with the application. In addition, at the time of distribution, by including the user (purchaser) ID in the data, copying of the data can be suppressed. In addition, the secondary sales management application is transmitted only to the primary information purchaser who is permitted secondary sales,
The application is sent one for each piece of information (or may be downloaded once and used many times).

Thus, the primary purchaser receives the information and the secondary sales management application. Thereafter, the secondary sales management application manages the information to be sold so that the primary information purchaser can sell the information.

Then, when the secondary information purchaser desires to purchase information from the primary information purchaser, the information is distributed.
This allows the secondary information purchaser to use the information. Also, the primary information purchaser can use the information purchased from the management organization.

When the sales of information is completed, the information management organization receives the sales result, adjusts the sales result, and sends a predetermined amount to the information producer. The number of sales and the like are periodically sent to the producer. The producer can change the sales conditions by looking at the results. In this case, the sales conditions are corrected and sent to the management organization to update the sales conditions.

On the other hand, as detailed processing contents at the time of information distribution, as shown in FIG. 3, when information is sold to the primary information purchaser, the encrypted information and the decryption key are transmitted from the information management organization. Sent to the primary information purchaser. Similarly, when the sale of information to the secondary information purchaser is completed, the encrypted information is sent from the primary information purchaser. Primary buyer, 2
In order for the next purchaser to use the information, it is necessary to download the decryption key from the management organization, and the decryption key is set so that it can be downloaded from the Internet homepage. Based on the buyer's access, the management agency determines whether the information is primary sales information or secondary sales information,
The ID of the purchaser is recorded and a database is created.
This makes it possible to check whether the information is sold properly. Information management agencies, on the other hand,
It manages user list and encryption. As this sales management and user list management, the information actually sold, the user ID, the price, etc. are managed as a database,
As encryption management, key management for decoding data, password management, primary purchaser password, secondary purchaser password, and the like are managed. The management result can be monitored by the information producer. In the case where data has been tampered with, etc., the user is marked and monitored.

Here, a procedure when an information user obtains information will be described. When information users purchase information, they must download and decompress the data,
At the time of decompression, access to the homepage of the management organization and obtain the decompression key of the information. When the information becomes usable by the decompression key, the data includes the purchaser's ID. If this is stored in another format, the purchaser ID will not disappear even if the data configuration changes to some extent. For example, in the case of music information, the purchaser ID is included as a sound, and when the purchaser ID is turned off, the sound is partially eliminated.

As described above, in the information management organization, in order to prevent unauthorized copying of data, data encryption,
By managing the decompression processing, the decryption key, and the like, it is possible to construct a market environment in which information is not illegally sold. We will not supply unauthorized buyers with information once the evidence is clear.

Further, in FIG. 2, the information management organization performs sales condition management and communication management. Sales condition management
The maker manages the sales condition input values of the maker, sets a sales schedule according to the sales conditions set by the maker, and monitors whether or not the sales are being made. Specifically, the number of initial information sales, the number of secondary sellers, the primary sales quantity, the secondary sales quantity, price setting, period setting, and the like are performed. When the primary sales volume and the secondary sales volume exceed the set values, an alarm is issued, and the user who has sold illegally is put on a blacklist. Furthermore, regarding communication management, the status of the communication line with the customer, the hacker activity from the outside, the status of the server, and the like are monitored, and if there is a trouble, an alarm is issued.

On the other hand, as described above, the number of sales can be confirmed by operating the sales status monitor button 609 in FIG. 7, and more specifically, the number of sales and the sales amount can be confirmed on the screen in FIG. Note that the screen may be switched to the screen shown in FIG. 5 in addition to the operation of the sales status monitor button 609 on the title page shown in FIG. A creator ID and password (search key) are required to view this website. The sales unit price can be changed by setting conditions. An example thereof will be described with reference to FIG. 6, which shows that the sales unit price was changed on month x day, and the sales unit price after the change can be increased to increase the sales amount before the change. .

For this reason, information (content) is initially distributed at a low price, and if it is sold in a certain amount within a set period, the result can be evaluated to increase the selling price. The maker determines the sales quantity setting and the selling price, and can change it appropriately.

Here, the evaluation performed by the management organization will be described. The evaluation is performed by a server application of the management organization and an evaluator group requested by the management organization. The evaluator group includes a plurality of persons having knowledge, skills, and the like that can judge the quality of information in a specific field. Members of this evaluator group are selected by other recommendation and self-recommendation. The evaluator group determines the value of the information to be sold before selling. If it is determined that the product is not worth selling, the reason is clearly returned to the producer and returned. In particular,
Producers who have no sales record will always be evaluated. As a result, it is possible to prevent information to be sold from becoming inferior.

The evaluator group makes a sales forecast for each piece of information, and the result is input to the data server of the management organization.
It should be noted that the evaluator group can be replaced when the evaluation result greatly differs from the actual result.

The information management organization can directly grasp the number of sales of the information being handled by the number of user accesses. Therefore, the number of sales and the sales of the sold information can be calculated regularly. The information management organization evaluates that there is no problem if the number of sales increases as planned under the conditions set by the producer for the sold information. This is done by comparing the server's application plan with the results.

On the other hand, when the number of sales is lower than expected (for example, when music information cannot be sold), the evaluator group performs re-evaluation. Conduct public relations activities for sale. As a result, inexpensive information (content) increases for the user, and inexpensive and multi-field information (content) is easily obtained on the Internet.

For example, if the evaluator is well-known in a specific field, PR is performed using his / her homepage, or PR is performed using a medium such as digital broadcasting that allows information in a specific field to flow at low cost. If these activities do not improve performance, the information is sold at a reduced price or tied to another. In the case of tying, a review is also conducted by the evaluator group.

[0038] Regarding the creator's advertising activities (PR), the information management organization promotes the sale of the information by performing PR of the unfamiliar creator with the creator's information as collateral. For more information,
When selling information, the management agency must do so at the responsibility of the management agency. For this reason, a criterion for determining that the producer has a skill equal to or higher than the set level is set. If the work clears the criteria, PR and
The attractiveness of the work becomes the decisive factor in sales.

As specific PR methods, there may be several homepages that are directly publicized by the management organization, homepages of members of the evaluator group, homepages of fan clubs, and the like. Here, the management organization sets up a campaign homepage for picking up the promising producers, in which, for example, the pre-sale is set such that the initial price is further reduced by 20%.
Further, the management organization may distribute the broadcast-related corporate access free of charge. Purchases for secondary sales can be made efficiently on the website of the management organization. Also, a mirror site is provided on the homepage of each member of the evaluator group and the homepage of the fan club so that works for secondary sale can be purchased.

If the sales volume is less than expected,
The management organization carries out PR activities to various broadcasting, information distribution organizations, etc. (broadcasting or trial use). As described above, the present embodiment has the following features. (B) Since the price of information is changed according to the number or period of distribution of information created by an information producer to information users, for example, when selling information by an unfamiliar information producer, By setting the price according to the number of distributions or the period in consideration of the public relations activities and sales activities, there is an advantage for both information users and information producers. In other words, information is initially distributed at a low price, and when a certain number is distributed within a set period of time, the results are evaluated and the selling price is increased. Benefits for both. (B) Distribution of information is performed by an organization that manages information created by information producers. For example, when information of an unfamiliar information producer is sold, publicity and sales activities are performed by the management organization. The information creator can be set to be advantageous, and information sales can be activated. (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to the first embodiment.
The following description focuses on the differences from this embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows an overall configuration diagram of an information sales system using a computer network in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the information is distributed by the information producer. That is, there is no information management organization in FIG. 1, and the server (PC) 300 of the producer has a function to replace the information management organization.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show the processing of the information creator, the processing of the primary information purchaser, and the processing of the secondary information purchaser. That is, FIG. 10 shows the flow of processing when there is no information management organization in FIG. FIG. 11 shows the flow of processing when there is no management institution in FIG. 3 (the server PC of the producer is acting as a proxy).

In this embodiment, the application of the paid member system of the homepage on the server PC of the information producer has an information management function (or the function is added to the personal homepage by using a plug or an applet). ). Specifically, the application has the following functions.

As a function for creating a home page, there is a function of providing desired / sold information and a function of inserting an ID (member ID).
As an information retrieval function, information is classified into several categories, keywords, and the like, and retrieval can be easily performed. The browser also has a function that allows a purchaser to see the details of the information produced by the information producer. Further, as a download function, the creator has a function of setting a relationship between a selling price and a quantity when a password is entered by the creator (or equipped as an applet function).

To exemplify specific information (content) sales conditions, (i). Initially up to 100 distributions (1
Up to 00 access), 20 yen, and delivery number 101-5
00 (101 to 500 access) is 100 yen, and the distribution number 501 to 1000 (501 to 1000 access) is 5
It is assumed to be 0 yen. (Ii). All the information sales rights (copyrighted) are offered for sale at a predetermined amount (for example, 500,000 yen).
(Iii). With the transfer of copyright, all sales rights of the information are offered for sale at a predetermined amount (for example, 2,000,000 yen).

In addition, regarding download record management, there is a page for managing who downloaded what. This can be public or private. In addition, payment management (deposit and withdrawal management) is performed, and secondary sales management is performed.
The primary purchaser can confirm to whom the secondary purchase has been made. Also,
As the password management, the ID of the primary purchaser is entered as password 1 and the creator is entered as password 2, and the secondary purchaser is entered. Further, the password is decided between the primary purchaser and the producer, and it is necessary to access the producer's homepage in order to obtain the producer's password. This allows the producer to know who purchased the information.

In order to use (open) the sold information, a special application is used (password activation, dedicated compressor, electronic watermark).
Also, the secondary purchasers are accumulated for each primary purchaser, and an alarm is issued when the set number of secondary sellers exceeds the set value.

When a key is sent after use after sending information (contents), a serial number is assigned to the information, and an alarm is issued if information with the same serial number is opened by a different user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information sales system using a computer network according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of each of a producer, an information management organization, and an information purchaser.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing processing contents of PCs or servers of a producer, an information management organization, and an information purchaser.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a sales condition input page.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing set sales unit prices.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of changing a sales unit price by setting conditions.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for setting an information sale screen.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the menu structure of the homepage of the management organization

FIG. 9 is an overall configuration diagram of an information sales system using a computer network according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when there is no management organization.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing processing contents of processing when there is no management organization.

[Description of Signs] 101, 102: Personal computer of information creator, 200: Internet, 300: Server of information management organization, 401, 401, 402, 403: Personal computer of primary information purchaser, 501, 502, 50
3,504 ... Personal computer of secondary information purchaser.

Claims (6)

[Claims] Claims 1. A method for selling information using a computer network, which sells information created by an information producer to an information user via a computer network, the method comprising: A method of selling information using a computer network, wherein the price of the information is changed according to the number of times or period of distribution. 2. A method of selling information using a computer network for selling information created by an information producer to an information user via a computer network, the method comprising: sending information created by the information producer to an information user; The price of the information is made inexpensive or free from the first distribution to the predetermined number or the period of distribution, and the price of the information is increased until the predetermined number or the period of the subsequent distribution. A method for selling information using a computer network, characterized in that the price is reduced. 3. A method for selling information using a computer network for selling information created by an information creator to an information user via the computer network, wherein the information created by the information creator is transmitted to the information user. A method of selling information using a computer network, wherein the price of the distribution is initially low or free, increased as the number of buyers increases, and lowered as appropriate after selling for a predetermined number or for a predetermined period. 4. A method for selling information using a computer network according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a limited amount of the information is provided to information users who have purchased the information early. A method for selling information using a computer network, which provides a right to sell. 5. The method for selling information using a computer network according to claim 1, wherein the information is distributed by an organization that manages information created by an information producer. A method for selling information using a computer network. 6. The method for selling information using a computer network according to claim 1, wherein the information is distributed by an information creator. How to sell information using.