KR20000036488A - Method for using pay softwares free of charge or at a reduced price while watching advertisements - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for using pay software with a free or a discounted charge is provided to download the pay software and advertisements to user's computers, so that the user can use the pay software free or the discounted charge while watching the advertisements in sever computers on the internet. CONSTITUTION: A system connects many user computers with server computers through the internet. A method for using pay software downloaded from the user computers in the system comprises the steps of: registering advertising files for publicizing the pay software from a software provider, sponsors, sponsored products, or services in databases of the server computers; displaying advertisements transmitted from the server computers to a user, who is connected to the server computers through the internet, in the user computers, and authenticating so that the user can use the pay software for free or with a discounted charge, then transmitting information related to software usages and the advertisement to the server computers; and downloading the software registered in the databases of the server computers and the advertisements to the user computers through the internet.

Description

How to use paid softwares free of charge or at a reduced price while watching advertisements}

The present invention relates to a method of using paid software, and more particularly, to a method of allowing paid software to be used free or at a discounted price while watching advertisements online or offline.

Generally, software is distributed in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a floppy disk. This distribution method is complicated and time-limited because it has to go through a multi-stage distribution process.

On the other hand, in recent years, as the number of Internet users exploded, the method of distributing software online such as the Internet is also increasing. Such software distribution on the Internet is generally performed in the following way. Firstly, if you download the software for a normal price and use it, secondly, if you want to use it freely and continue to use it, you can freely use the software for some functions regardless of the third period. If you want the full version, you have to pay a separate price.

However, the first distribution method has a problem that it is likely to be spread by illegal copying, and the second and third distribution methods require a lot of users in a short time because it takes time for performance evaluation of the software from a developer's point of view. It is difficult to do, and from the user's point of view, a software having a satisfactory function has a problem in that it is difficult to purchase a higher price.

As a result, due to these problems, software distribution online or offline such as the Internet is not spreading.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method for downloading advertising and paid software to a user computer from a server computer on the Internet, and allowing the user to use the paid software at a free or discounted price while watching an advertisement. will be.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for allowing paid software to be used free or at a discounted price while watching advertisements on a computer device.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a system for performing the method of the present invention.

2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a user computer.

3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server computer.

4 and 5 are flowcharts for describing an operation of a user computer.

In order to achieve the above object,

A method of causing a plurality of user computers and a server computer to use software downloaded to a plurality of user computers in a system connected via the Internet,

(a) registering the paid software supplied from the software provider and the advertisement file for promoting the advertiser, the advertiser's product or the service in a database of the server computer; (b) display advertisements transmitted from the server computer on the user's computer to users who access the server computer via the Internet, and use paid software downloaded from the server computer for free or at a reduced price while the advertisement is displayed. Downloading a user program for authenticating and transmitting the information related to the use of the software and information related to viewing the advertisement to the server computer; And (c) downloading the software and advertisements registered in the database of the server computer to the user's computer via the Internet for using the paid software for free or at a discounted price while watching advertisements on the internet. A method is provided.

In order to achieve the above other object,

In the method of using the software in a computer device connected to the server computer and the Internet,

(a) receiving the advertisement transmitted from the server computer and storing the advertisement in the DB of the computer device; (b) displaying the advertisement stored in the DB on a display screen of a computer device; And (c) when installing and executing paid software downloaded from a server computer or distributed off-line on a computer device, authenticating the use of the software at a free or discounted price while advertising is displayed. A method is provided for using paid software for free or at a reduced price while watching advertisements.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a system for performing the method of the present invention.

The server computer 14 is a computer installed in a company that provides a method for using paid software for free or at a reduced price while watching advertisements according to the present invention, and is connected to the database 16. The user computer 10 is a computer of a person who wants to use paid software for free or at a discounted price while watching an advertisement. The server computer 14 and the user computer 10 are connected via the internet 12.

The database 16 receives the advertisement DB 162 storing advertisement files for promoting an advertiser, an advertiser company product or service, a member DB 164 storing information related to a member (registered user), and a sponsored software provider. A software DB 166 that registers the software. Here, the member DB 164 stores software usage information (software unique number, usage time, etc.) and advertisement viewing information (advertising unique number, advertisement display time, etc.) for each member.

The server computer 14 preferably downloads user programs, paid software and advertisements to the computer 10 of the registered user. Here, the user program means to display advertisements transmitted from the server computer 14 on the user computer 10, and to use paid software downloaded from the server computer 14 at a free or discounted price while the advertisement is displayed. A client program that is authenticated and programmed to transmit information related to the use of the software and information related to advertisement viewing to the server computer 14. Details will be described later.

Server computer 14 includes an ad server 142 and a software server 146.

The advertisement server 142 transmits the advertisement stored in the advertisement DB 162 to the user computer 10, receives the advertisement viewing information from the user computer 10, and stores the advertisement viewing information in the member DB 162. The advertisement viewing information means identification information for identifying an individual advertisement, a time when the advertisement is displayed on the user computer, the number of times the user clicks for the advertisement request, the IP address of the user computer, the identification information of the user, and the like. The content of the advertisement may be a general advertisement or an advertisement targeted to a user's interests or fields of interest.

The software server 146 receives software usage information from the user computer 10 and stores it in the member DB 162. Software usage information is identification information for identifying individual software (e.g., a software unique number), the time the software was actually used on a user's computer, the IP address of the user's computer, the user's identification information (e.g., a user's unique number), etc. Means.

2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a user computer.

The user computer includes a user program 100, a user DB 102 and a display unit 140. The user program 100 includes an advertisement receiving and storing module 102, an advertisement display module 104, a software authentication module 106, a software usage information module 108, and an advertisement viewing information module 110.

The advertisement receiving and storing module 102 receives the advertisement transmitted from the server computer 14 and stores the advertisement in the user DB 120.

The advertisement display module 104 performs a function of displaying the advertisement stored in the user DB 120 on the display unit 140 such as a monitor while the software is being used by the user. In addition, the user sequentially displays several advertisements stored while using the software, and periodically checks the amount of advertisements currently stored and displays the quantity. This allows the user to predict how long the software will be available in the future. In the process, if the stored advertisement is insufficient, the server computer 14 continuously or continuously designates the advertisement by a predetermined amount by clicking a schedule button displayed on the display device of the user's computer or setting to automatically download the advertisement from the beginning. Will be sent. On the other hand, the advertisement is preferably displayed on a part of the display device of the user computer 10 so as not to disturb the user using the software.

The software authentication module 106 is authorized to use the paid software for free or at a discount while displaying advertisements when installing and executing the paid software downloaded from the server computer 14 on the user computer 10. It performs the function.

Of course, modem users are often not connected to the Internet 12. In this case, the software can be legally used only while the advertisement downloaded from the server computer 14 is stored in the user database. have. Therefore, if there are no advertisements downloaded or lacked, the software can be used free of charge only by accessing the Internet 12 again.

The software usage module 108 transmits the identification information of the software used in the user computer 10, the time used, the IP address and user identification information of the user computer to the server computer 14 in real time, or the user computer 10 It is stored in the DB 120 and performs the function of transmitting to the server computer 14 periodically or intermittently.

The advertisement viewing module 110 transmits the identification information of the advertisement displayed on the user computer 10, the display time or the number of clicks for the advertisement request, the IP address of the user computer and the user identification information to the server computer 14 in real time, It stores in the DB 120 of the user computer 10 and transmits to the server computer 14 periodically or intermittently.

The advertisement receiving and storing module 102, the advertisement display module 104, and the advertisement viewing information module 110 may be implemented as one module, for example, an advertisement module. In addition, the software authentication module 106 and the software usage information module 108 may be implemented as a single module, for example, a software module. The advertisement module and the software module may also be implemented as one module.

3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server computer.

The software is provided from the software provider and registered in the software DB 166 (step 302).

The advertisement files for promoting the advertiser, the advertiser's products or services, etc. are stored in the advertisement DB 162 (step 304).

The user program is downloaded to the user connected to the server computer 14 (step 306). Since the user program has been described with reference to FIG. 2, it will be omitted here.

Download the paid software to the user computer 10 (step 308).

It determines whether there is an advertisement file download request from the user computer 10, and if so, downloads the advertisement file (steps 310 and 312). If the user designates an interest, the advertisement may be downloaded. .

The software usage information is received from the user computer 10 and stored in the member DB 164 (step 314). The software usage information is used as basic data for calculating a fee to be paid to a software provider.

The advertisement viewing information is received and stored in the member DB 164 (step 316). The advertisement viewing information is the basis of the advertisement fee to be charged to the advertiser.

4 and 5 are flowcharts for describing an operation of a user computer.

It is determined whether there is software that requires authentication (step 402). That is, it is determined whether there is software that you want to use at a free or discounted price while watching the advertisement.

If there is software requiring certification, it is determined whether the sum of the price of the software requiring certification and the price of the software currently in use is within a certain threshold (step 404). (Step 406) This is an example of operation, which means that authentication is performed only when the combined price of the certified software and the software to be authenticated is equal to or less than a predetermined price, and is an optional step. In addition, the limit value is a value that can be arbitrarily set by the company that operates the service.

If the combined price is within a certain limit, the user is authenticated and measurement of the software usage time starts (step 408). If the user is authenticated, the software is executed and placed in a usable state. It is counting the time that it is used.

It is determined whether the advertisement is displayed (step 414). If it is displayed, it is determined whether there is currently certified software. (Step 410) This is not an abnormal process or method, but a termination of the software by normal deactivation after authentication. The software may be terminated to determine if such software is present. If there is no authorized software, step 402 is performed again.

If the authorized software is present, it is determined whether the unit advertisement display time is over (step 412). It is determined whether the time when one advertisement is displayed on the user computer is over.

If the unit advertisement display time has not ended, it is determined whether there is any idle state among the authenticated software. (Step 418) The idle state is executed after executing the authenticated software for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) or more. There is no user input.

In the case of idle software, the usage time measurement is excluded (step 420). This is, for example, the time when the user does not use the software for the first time after the user input for the first time after " five minutes " It only means to count.

It is determined whether there is any software changed from the idle state to the used state (step 424), and if so, the measurement of the software use time is continued (step 428).

It is determined whether there is a request for release of the software use authentication (step 430), and if so, the authentication is released and the usage time measurement is stopped (step 438). The release of authentication means that the use of the software is terminated at the request of the user.

After waiting for a period of time (step 440), steps 402 and below are repeated to determine whether there is software that needs to be used again.

On the other hand, if the unit advertisement display time is finished in step 412, it is determined whether there is an advertisement to be displayed (step 422). If there is an advertisement to be displayed, the next advertisement is prepared (step 444) and the advertisement is displayed (step 416).

If there is no advertisement to be displayed, it is determined whether the mode is set to automatically receive advertisement on the dedicated line (step 426). In this case, the server immediately accesses the server computer (step 432) and transmits the software usage information (step 436). After receiving the advertisement to be displayed on the server computer (step 442), the next advertisement is prepared (step 444).

If the mode is not set to automatically receive advertisements on the dedicated line, the process of FIG. 5 is performed.

In step 502, it is determined whether the advertisement is automatically received from the server computer (step 504).

If not set automatically, the user is informed that the advertisement is insufficient (step 506). In this case, the user is connected to the Internet via a modem. If you continue to use the software after notifying you that there is a lack of advertising, you can display a message to the user that it is illegal.

Wait until the user presses the Update Advertisement button (step 518), and if it is determined that the button is pressed (step 524), then access the server computer (526) to send the software usage information (step 528). Is transmitted from the server computer (step 530). Then, the flowchart of FIG. 4 is performed.

If it is set to automatically receive the advertisement in step 504 (step 508), it is determined whether or not the user is connected to the Internet. On the other hand, if the user is not connected to the Internet, the user is requested to connect to the Internet, waits until the user is connected to the Internet, and when connected to the Internet, performs step 526 or less (steps 508, 510, 514, and 520).

In the step 502, in case of the dedicated line manual setting mode, the user is notified of the lack of an advertisement, waits until the user presses the update button of the advertisement, and if the button is pressed, steps 526 or less are performed (steps 512, 516, and 522).

On the other hand, the present invention can also be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, and may also be implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet). Include. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be modified by those skilled in the art. For example, in the embodiment of the present invention, the method of using the software downloaded online has been described. However, even in the case of software distributed in a medium such as a CD-ROM in an offline state, a computer having the user program installed may view advertisements. You can use the software for free or at a discounted price.

Therefore, the scope of the claims in the present invention will not be defined within the scope of the detailed description, but will be limited to the claims below.

According to the present invention, it is possible to legally spread the supply of the software by making the software downloaded via the Internet or distributed in the offline state available for free or at a discounted price while watching an advertisement.

In addition, by providing various kinds of advertisements on the user computer, it is possible to expect the advertising effect to the advertiser.

Claims (8)

A method of enabling a plurality of user computers and a server computer to use software downloaded to a plurality of user computers in a system connected via the Internet. (a) registering the paid software supplied from the software provider and the advertisement file for promoting the advertiser, the advertiser's product or the service in a database of the server computer; (b) display advertisements transmitted from the server computer on the user's computer to users who access the server computer via the Internet, and use paid software downloaded from the server computer for free or at a reduced price while the advertisement is displayed. Downloading a user program for authenticating and transmitting the information related to the use of the software and information related to viewing the advertisement to the server computer; And (c) downloading the software and advertisements registered in the database of the server computer to the user's computer via the Internet. Way. The method of claim 1, Advertisement is displayed in a location where the user does not interfere with the use of the software. The method of claim 1, The user program in step (b) is An advertisement receiving and storing module configured to receive an advertisement transmitted from a server computer and store the advertisement in a DB of the user computer; An advertisement display module configured to display an advertisement stored in a DB of the user computer on a display device of the user computer; And When installing and running the paid software downloaded from the server computer on the user's computer, characterized in that it comprises a software authentication module that performs a function to authenticate the use of the paid software for free or discounted price while the advertisement is displayed. How to get paid software for free or at a reduced price while watching commercials on the Internet. The method of claim 3, The advertisement display module periodically checks the amount of advertisement stored in the DB of the user's computer and displays the amount. The advertisement display module allows the paid software to be used free or at a discounted price while watching advertisements on the Internet. Way. The method of claim 3, The software authentication module If the combined price of the software requiring current certification and the price of the software currently in use is above a certain threshold, such messages will be notified to the user to use the paid software for free or at a reduced price while watching advertisements on the Internet. How to. The method of claim 3, The function of transmitting identification information, usage time, IP address and user identification information of the software used in the user computer to the server computer in real time or storing it in the DB of the user computer to the server computer periodically or intermittently. A software usage information module to perform; And The identification information of the advertisement displayed on the user computer, the display time or the number of clicks for the advertisement request, the IP address of the user computer and the user identification information are transmitted to the server computer in real time, or stored in the user computer DB and periodically or intermittently sent to the server computer. Further comprising an advertisement viewing information module that performs a function of transmitting the paid software for free or at a discounted price during the advertisement viewing on the Internet. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, step (c) automatically downloads the advertisement to the user's computer or downloads the advertisement at the user's request. In the method of using the software in a computer device connected to the server computer and the Internet, (a) receiving the advertisement transmitted from the server computer and storing the advertisement in the DB of the computer device; (b) displaying the advertisement stored in the DB on a display screen of a computer device; And (c) when installing and executing paid software downloaded from a server computer or distributed off-line on a computer device, authenticating the use of the software for free or at a discounted price while an advertisement is displayed. How to get paid software for free or at a reduced price while watching commercials.