WO2001095216A2

WO2001095216A2 - System and method for providing a virtual publication library to users on a computer network

Info

Publication number: WO2001095216A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/018055
Authority: WO
Inventors: Patrick E. Kenny; Daniel M. Schwartz; Richard L. Z. Seet
Original assignee: Qiosk.Com, Corp.
Priority date: 2000-06-05
Filing date: 2001-06-04
Publication date: 2001-12-13
Also published as: AU2001266697A1

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A VIRTUAL PUBLICATION LIBRARY TO USERS ON A COMPUTER NETWORK

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of United States Patent Application Serial No.

09/587,259, filed June 5, 2000, entitled "System and Method for Distributing Electronic Publications" (now co-pending).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION: The present invention relates generally to a system and method for providing a virtual publication library to users on a computer network. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for providing a personalized page of links to publications associated with a user on a computer network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

Numerous periodical publications such as magazines and newspapers have established web pages on the Internet in recent years. These web pages typically provide stories and text on-line that an Internet user can peruse. One problem with these web pages is that often the look and feel of these pages is not as satisfying as the paper version ofthe publication. Pages on the Internet are typically viewed in an HTML format. The appearance ofthe page that a viewer sees will typically vary depending on the particular user's computer and screen setup. The height and width of columns, the font size, and the location and appearance of graphics can all vary from setup to setup. A number of programs have been developed that allow the user to view a document in a "true replica" format such as Adobe Acrobat. The appearance of a document in a true replica format does not vary from screen to screen or computer to computer. It allows the viewer to view the text and graphics in exactly the same format as was intended by the author ofthe document. The fonts, the columns, and the graphics will appear on screen exactly as they would appear in a paper version.

Many customers would be eager to pay for an electronic publication which has a more satisfying look and feel that simulated a paper version ofthe publication. However, such electronic publications are not available. Additionally, there are a lack of effective methods for delivering electronic publications to customers. Various systems have been proposed to deliver electronic publications to users over a computer network. One system which has been proposed utilizes a fulfillment engine and a publishing engine within the same computer. The fulfillment engine performs the tasks of compiling customer address and billing information while the publishing engine performs the task of producing electronic publication files.

The problem with this system is that it is not practical for use in today's publishing industry. In the publishing industry today, there are a handful of fulfillment houses that service most ofthe major publishers. A publisher establishes a relationship with a fulfillment house to handle all of its subscription record keeping and billing. The fulfillment house is responsible for keeping track of all the billing information, new subscriptions, renewals, and similar record keeping. The publisher is responsible for producing the publication.

What is needed a system and method for effectively interfacing between publishers and the fulfillment houses over a computer network for the purpose distributing electronic publications to customers. What is also needed is an electronic publication that has a more satisfying look and feel than is currently available on Internet web page versions of publications. What is also needed is a system that provides a virtual publication library for each customer, so that customers can conveniently access and view their virtual publication libraries without having to carry around a library of digital storage media. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The invention comprises a system and method for providing a virtual publication library to a user on a computer network. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a server receives an order for an electronic publication from a user. The server provides a link for the electronic publication on a page associated with user. The server provides the page to the user when the user accesses the page over a computer network. The server sends the electronic publication to the customer when the customer clicks on the link for the electronic publication.

The server can provide multiple links on the page, each link associated with a publication previously ordered by the user. A user can place an order for a subscription to an electronic publication. Each issue ofthe subscription is then providing as link on the page associated with the user. The publication links can be categorized by publication and by date. The user can then access his page from any terminal connected to the network. The user simply accesses his page by entering a URL into a browser, and entering a user name and a password. The page can also contain links to individual articles and issues ordered by the user.

The present invention provides the advantages of allowing the user to have a virtual publication library that the user can access conveniently from any computer network terminal. The user does not have to store a huge publication library or carry around a huge publication library, because the user can access his library by accessing the network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram illustrating the server ofthe present invention and its connections to other publishing entities.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of interaction between publisher 106 and Qiosk.com server 102. FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of allowing a customer to place an order for a subscription or an individual issue or an individual article through the Qiosk.com server 102.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of interaction between the fulfillment house and Qiosk.com server 102 for renewing a subscription.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary My Qiosk page 500 for a customer.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary electronic publication as viewed on a customer's computer screen 604.

FIG.7 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of processing an order placed through a publisher or a sales agent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram illustrating the server ofthe present invention and its connections to other publishing entities. Qiosk.com server 102 connects to network 108. Network 108 can be any network connecting computers such as the Internet. A fulfillment house 104 communicates with Qiosk.com server 102 over a direct communication link 118 such as a Tl line or a satellite link. Direct communication link 118 can also be a combination of communication links such as a Tl line connected to a satellite link. Fulfillment house 104 is responsible for storing billing records and customer subscription information. Audits of billing records can be performed at fulfillment house 104. As described in more detail with respect to FIGS. 3 A and 3B, fulfillment house 104 sends triggering signals to Qiosk.com server 102 when it is time to deliver an electronic publication issue to a subscriber.

Publisher 106 communicates with Qiosk.com server 102 over a direct communication link 120. Publisher 106 produces electronic publications in a digital file format and transmits these files to Qiosk.com server 102 over direct communication link 120. Qiosk.com server 102 transmits sales data back to publisher 106. Qiosk.com server 102 acts like a virtual printing press for the publisher. Qiosk.com server 102 performs the role of distributing electronic publications to customers. Publisher 106 can also receive sales orders from customers seeking subscriptions to publications, or seeking to purchase individual issues or articles. Subscription orders are forwarded to fulfillment house 104 via communication link 144 or via network 108. Orders for individual issues and articles are forwarded to Qiosk.com server 102 via communication link 120. Fulfillment houses typically handle record keeping and billing for subscription orders only, not individual issue and article orders.

Although FIG. 1 only shows a single publisher 106 and a single fulfillment house 104, Qiosk.com server 102 can connect to many publishers and many fulfillment houses. In the publishing industry today, there are five fulfillment houses that handle all the billing records for most ofthe major publishers. Each publisher typically establishes a relationship with one ofthe six major fulfillment houses. The fulfillment house is responsible for maintaining the subscription records and billing information for the publisher's customers. As an alternative to transmitting over direct communication links 118 and 120, fulfillment house 104 and publisher 106 can alternatively communicate with Qiosk.com server 102 through network 108 via network connections 114 and 116, respectively.

A sales agent 144 communicates with Qiosk.com server 102 via network 108. Sales agent 144 receives subscription orders and individual issue or article orders from customers. Sales agent 144 forwards subscription order information to fulfillment house 104 either via a direct communication link 146 or via network 108. Sales agent 144 can also forward a copy ofthe subscription order information to Qiosk.com server 102 via network 108. Sales agent 144 sends order information for individual issue and article orders to Qiosk.com server 102. Sakes agent 144 can receive orders through a variety of methods such as telemarketing, direct mailings, or tlirough Internet sales. A customer accesses the Qiosk.com server 102 by using client terminal 110. Client terminal 110 is running browser program 112 which allows the customer to communicate with Qiosk.com server 102 via network 108. Qiosk.com server 102 contains a CPU 126 which runs a program for operating the publishing distribution method ofthe present invention. CPU 126 accesses RAM 122, ROM 124, and data storage device 128. Data storage device 128 can be any magnetic or optical media or any other device for storing electronic data. As will be understood by one of skill in the art, Qiosk.com server 102 can comprise multiple servers working together, and data storage device 128 can similarly comprise multiple data storage devices.

Data storage device 128 includes a section for electronic publication storage 130. Electronic publications in a true replica format are received from publisher 106 and are stored in electronic publication storage 130.

Data storage device 128 also includes a text format storage section 131 for storing electronic publications in text format. Qiosk.com server 102 receives the file for publications in text format from the publisher. Alternatively, Qiosk.com server 102 can extract a text version ofthe publication from the true replica format by using an optical character recognition (OCR) program which recognizes the text in the true replica format file, and converts the true replica format to a text file which is then stored in text format storage 131.

Customer records 132 contain information pertaining to individual customers such as their names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, Qiosk.com customer identification numbers, order histories, customer preferences, hobbies, interests, and any other information pertinent to individual customers. Fulfillment house records 104 store information pertaining to individual fulfillment houses 104 such as fulfillment house billing arrangements, fulfillment house address and contact information, fulfillment house-publisher relationships, and any other information pertinent to individual fulfillment houses 104.

Publisher records 136 contains information pertaining to individual publishers 106 such as publisher-fulfillment house relationships, publisher address and contact information, publications offered, specials offered, etc. Advertisement records 138 contain information pertaining to advertisements and banners displayed on the Qiosk.com web site which are shown to customers using client terminals 110. My Qiosk pages 140 contain customized pages for individual customers. My Qiosk pages 140 contain links to every publication that a customer has ever ordered for easy and convenient access, hi this sense, My Qiosk pages 140 act like a portable virtual library of periodicals for each individual customer. My Qiosk pages 140 are described in more detail with respect to FIG. 5.

Publication records 142 contain information pertaining to individual publications. For example, there is one publication record for Newsweek, another one for the New York Times, another for Time, and so on. Publication records 142 contain information unique to each individual publication offered such as price structures, release date tables, and special offers and discounts.

As will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, the various sections of data storage device 128 can be modified or combined in various different ways. For example, My Qiosk pages 140 could be incorporated into customer records 132. Publication records 142 and/or electronic publication storage could be incorporated into publisher records 136.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of interaction between publisher 106 and Qiosk.com server 102. hi step 200, Qiosk.com server 102 receives a release date table and a pricing table for a specific publication from publisher 106. The release date table is a table of dates indicating when new issues ofthe publication will be released. The pricing table provides various pricing structures for each issue. For example, the pricing table can provide prices for purchasing an individual issue, for purchasing subscriptions of various terms of duration, and various discounts and specials. hi step 202, when publisher 106 produces a new issue of a publication such as a magazine or a newspaper, publisher 106 produces the publication in a preliminary format. The preliminary format is typically a combination of film and digital data. In step 204, the publisher submits the publication in the preliminary format to a pre-press facility. The pre-press facility converts the publication in the preliminary format into a final format. The final format for the electronic publication is a completely digital file. Preferably, the file is in a "true replica" format, such as an Adobe Acrobat PDF document.

In step 206, the pre-press facility sends the file in its final format to a digital enhancement facility. The digital enhancement facility embeds html links and audio, video, or multimedia clips into the publication. In step 206, the digital enhancement facility then sends a copy ofthe final publication file to publisher 106 for approval of the file, hi step 208, Qiosk.com server 102 receives the electronic publication file from the digital enhancement facility. Qiosk.com server 102 then stores the publication in data storage device 128 and waits for approval from publisher 106 before releasing the publication.

After the publisher has approved the electronic publication in its final format, in step 206 Qiosk.com server 102 receives the issue ofthe electronic publication in its final format from publisher 106. Preferably, the files are in a "true replica" format, such as Adobe Acrobat PDF documents. As an alternative to receiving the files over direct communication link 120, Qiosk.com server 102 could receive the electronic publication via link 116 and network 106. It is preferable to deliver the publications via direct communication link 120 due to the better speed of a direct communication line. Since the publication files may be very large, it is desirable to be able to transmit the files from publisher 106 to Qiosk.com server 102 as fast as possible.

After Qiosk.com server 102 receives the electronic publication, Qiosk.com server 102 stores the publication in step 208 in electronic publication storage 130 on data storage device 128. A new issue of a publication is typically received by Qiosk.com server 102 prior to the release date specified in the release date table received from the publisher. The Qiosk.com server 102 stores the publication but puts the publication on hold until the release date arrives. Once the release date arrives, the electronic publication is made available to customers for downloading or is electronically transmitted to customers. Qiosk.com sever 102 thus acts as a virtual printing press for the publishers. Qiosk.com server 102 makes the electronic publications available to customers for downloading on the release date, just like a printing press prints out paper publications on the release date.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of allowing a customer to place an order for a subscription or an individual issue or an individual article through the Qiosk.com server 102. The customer can also place orders through other publishing entities such as publisher 106, fulfillment house 104, and sales agent 144, but the method for placing orders tlirough these other entities is described later with respect to FIG. 7.

In step 302, a customer visits the Qiosk.com web site by entering an appropriate URL into his or her browser, such as http://www.qiosk.com. The Qiosk.com web site displays information and advertisements about numerous electronic publications which are available for the customer to purchase subscriptions, individual issues or individual articles. The customer may browse freely through the site without providing any identification or login. The customer only needs to login when he or she has decided to make a purchase.

In step 304, the customer chooses which publication he or she is interested in purchasing. For example, the customer could scroll through a list of publications offered by Qiosk.com and click on a desired publication such as Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Newsweek, The Washington Post, Scientific American, U.S. News & World Report, or any newspaper, magazine, journal, or other publication. The

Qiosk.com web page can also display advertisements and special offers for publications and a consumer could click on one of these advertisements to select a publication to order.

As an alternative to ordering a publication, the customer could choose to access his or her My Qiosk page. This page allows the customer to access his or her customized page which provides links to every electronic publication the customer has ever purchased. The My Qiosk page is described in more detail with respect to FIG. 5.

After the customer has selected a publication, in step 306, the customer is taken to a special page on the Qiosk.com web site associated with the requested publication. For example, if the customer has selected Sports Illustrated, then the customer is taken to a web page on the Qiosk.com web site that is dedicated to Sports Illustrated. The web page can contain all kinds of information about the requested publication such as articles in recent issues and articles which will appear in upcoming issues. The web page can also contain html links with text versions of various articles appearing in recent issues.

In step 308, the customer is asked whether he or she is a returning customer. If the customer is a returning customer, then in step 310, the returning customer is prompted to enter his or her user name and password. In step 312, the customer user name and password are verified by retrieving customer information from customer records 132. Additional customer preferences can be retrieved from customer records 132 to provide a customized web page for the customer.

If the customer is a new customer, then in step 314, the customer is asked to enter new customer information such as name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and other similar information. A new customer record is created for that customer and stored in customer records 132.

In step 316, the customer selects whether he or she wishes to order an electronic version, a paper version or both ofthe desired publication. If the customer desires a paper version, then the publication will be mailed or delivered to the customer at his or her home or work address. If the customer desires an electronic version, then the publication will be transmitted electronically to the customer in a true replica format. The customer may also choose to receive both an electronic version and a paper version.

In step 318, the customer chooses to order either 1) a subscription, 2) an individual issue, or 3) an individual article. If the customer wishes to order a subscription, then in step 320 the customer enters the desired subscription term. For example, the customer can enter a starting date and an ending date for the subscription. Alternatively, the customer can just choose from several options such as a 1 year subscription, a 2 year subscription, or a 3 year subscription. The customer can be provided with price information for each duration, and perhaps be given a discount for longer subscriptions. As an alternative to purchasing a fixed subscription, the customer can choose to have an automatically renewing subscription, also known as continuous service. For example, the customer could choose a 1 year subscription which automatically renews each year unless the customer cancels the subscription.

In step 322, the customer makes payment by entering his or her credit card information. Alternatively, the customer's credit card information can be retrieved from the customer's record stored in customer records 132. The customer's credit card information is sent to a clearing house for authentication. When the credit card information has been authenticated, the customer's credit card is then charged and an e- mail is. sent to the customer verifying his or her purchase. Alternatively, the customer can choose a different payment method. For example, the customer could choose to be sent a bill.

As another payment alternative, the customer can be qualified for a controlled publication. If the customer qualifies for a controlled publication, then payment is not necessary. A controlled publication is a publication that is targeted to a specific group of professionals, such as electrical engineers. These publications derive revenue from advertisements, not from subscription fees. However, to receive one of these publications, the customer must qualify. For example, the customer may be required to be a certain type of engineer, or to have a job that requires purchasing computers, or similar criteria. The customer can fill out an on-line qualification form, and if the customer qualifies, then no payment is necessary (or alternatively, a reduced payment fee could be required).

Once the customer's credit card has been charged or other alternative payment arranged, in step 324 the most recent issue ofthe ordered publication is made available to the customer for downloading. There are several ways that the publication can be provided to the customer. The first way is to provide the customer with a link. By clicking on the link, the customer can download the publication. A second way is to e- mail the issue to the customer's e-mail address. A third way is to perform a "directed download" to the customer's computer. A directed download pushes the publication to the customer's computer, even when the customer is not using his or her computer at that time. The publication can then be stored on the customer's local storage device such as a hard drive or CD-ROM for later viewing. In step 326, Qiosk.com server 102 sends the following items of information to fulfillment house 104: customer information (such as the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and a unique customer identification number assigned by Qiosk.com), subscription information (e.g. publication name, publisher name, duration, start date, stop date, sale date, price, discounts), and payment information (payment method, credit card information, billing information, etc.). Fulfillment house 104 stores the customer information, subscription information, and payment information, billing information for all the customers. Any audits of billing records can be performed at fulfillment house 104.

In step 328, Qiosk.com server 102 remits a payment to fulfillment house 104. For example, fulfillment house 104 could receive 30% ofthe subscription fee. If a customer's credit card is charged $10.00, then fulfillment house 104 would receive $3.00. As an alternative to paying the fulfillment house 104 a percentage, the fulfillment house can be paid a fixed standard fee per issue such as $0.25 per issue. The payment to fulfillment house 104 can be made by electronic funds transfer, or alternative payment arrangements can be made between fulfillment house 104 and Qiosk.com server 102 (e.g. Qiosk.com can send fulfillment house 104 an invoice).

Fulfillment house 104 receives the payment from Qiosk.com server 102 and deposits the payment in an account for the publisher ofthe publication. The payment thus goes to the publisher, with the fulfillment house 104 acting as the conduit for the payment. Fulfillment house 104 makes its own payment arrangements with each publisher; e.g. fulfillment houses typically get paid by the publisher a standard fee for each item processed by the fulfillment house. In step 330, fulfillment house 104 assigns a unique customer identification number to the customer and sends this fulfillment house customer identification number to Qiosk.com server 102.

Steps 326, 328 and 330 can be performed on a periodic basis such as daily or weekly rather than after every single order. In other words, Qiosk.com server 102 can accumulate all ofthe customer and order information over a week, for example, and then forward the customer and order information to fulfillment house 104 for all ofthe orders that occurred over that past week. Qiosk.com server 102 also remits payment to fulfillment house 104 for all ofthe orders that occurred over that past week. This reduces the amount of communication traffic required between fulfillment house 104 and Qiosk.com server 102.

In step 332, a My Qiosk page is set up for the customer, if the customer does not yet have one. Each customer has a customized My Qiosk page which provides links for every publication that the customer has previously ordered. The My Qiosk page is described in more detail with respect to FIG. 5.

In step 334, Qiosk.com server 102 periodically receives a triggering signal from fulfillment house 104 indicating that it is time to deliver a new issue to the subscriber. Fulfillment house 104 keeps track of when it is time for each customer to receive a new issue according to a publication schedule provided by publisher 106. For example, publisher 106 informs fulfillment house 104 that a monthly magazine should be triggered on the 6th day of each new month. On the 6th day of each month, fulfillment house 104 sends a triggering signal over direct communication link 118 to Qiosk.com server 102. This triggering signal informs Qiosk.com server 102 which customers should receive the magazine. Alternatively, fulfillment house 104 could send a triggering signal via Internet connection 114. However, since there will be a lot of communications between fulfillment house 104 and Qiosk.com server 102, sending the triggering signal over direct communication link 118 is preferable.

If the customer has to chosen to pay for his or her subscription by being billed, then Qiosk.com handles the billing ofthe customer. If the customer has not paid his or her bills for a period of time the customer' subscription can be suspended. In this case, Qiosk.com server 102 notifies fulfillment house 104 that the customer's subscription has been suspended. Qiosk.com server 102 can send one or more e-mails to the customer notifying him or her ofthe suspension and his or her overdue account. The fulfillment house 104 ceases sending triggering signals for that customer. If the customer's subscription has been suspended, the customer will still be able to access his or her My Qiosk page. If the customer pays his or her unpaid bills, then Qiosk.com server 102 will notify fulfillment house 104 that the customer's suspension has been lifted, and the subscription should be resumed. Fulfillment house 104 will resume sending triggering signals to Qiosk.com server 102.

Qiosk.com server 102 also stores a release date table for each publication. Qiosk.com server 102 receives the release date table from the publisher. Often, Qiosk.com server 102 will receive the triggering signal from fulfillment house 104 before the release date for a particular publication (much like a printing press often receives the publication for printing from the publisher aliead ofthe release date). In this case, Qiosk.com server 102 waits until the release date arrives before making the issue available for download to the customers.

Fulfillment house 104 can send an individual triggering signal for each individual customer when a new issue has been published. Alternatively, fulfillment house 104 could send a single triggering signal to Qiosk.com server 102 indicating that the new Sports Illustrated has been published, and then attach a list of customers who should be receiving the new Sports Illustrated. The triggering signals can also be sent on a periodic basis, such as once or twice a day.

After a triggering signal has been sent to Qiosk.com server 102, and the release date for the new issue arrives, in step 336 the Qiosk.com server 102 sends a notification to the customer that a new issue is available for downloading. The notification can include a link, which the customer may click on to download the new issue. Also, the customer can then access his or her My Qiosk page at his or her convenience and download the new issue. Alternatively, Qiosk.com server 102 can e-mail the electronic publication to the customer at his or her e-mail address. Alternatively, Qiosk.com server 102 can perform a directed download ofthe new issue to the customer's computer.

In some cases, e-mailing the publication may not be desirable. Because the file size for the electronic publication may be very large, the customer may not be able to receive such a large e-mail. The customer could be given the choice of whether to download the publication or receive it by e-mail. The customer could also be given the option of downloading one, two, or three pages at a time. For example, the customer could be given links which allow him or her to download pages 1-3, or 4-6, or 7-10, and so on. This would allow the customer to view portions of the publication without having to wait to download the entire publication.

As an alternative to receiving a triggering signal, in step 334, Qiosk.com server 102 could make the publication available for downloading whenever the release date of the publication arrives. In this embodiment, fulfillment house 104 would not need to generate triggering signals .

In step 337, an electronic or paper record is periodically sent to the publisher summarizing all sales of that publisher's publications sold through Qiosk.com, including volume of sales, prices, discounts, etc.

Returning to step 318, if the customer chooses to order an individual subscription or individual article, then in step 338, the customer enters identifying information for the desired issue or article. For example, the customer could enter that he or she wishes to purchase the June 1997 issue of Sports Illustrated. The customer could be provided with information concerning which issues are available, and brief identifying information for each issue such as "June 1997: Swimsuit issue", or the titles ofthe articles included in the issue. The customer could also click on an issue or article that he or she wishes to purchase. Alternatively, the customer could be allowed to search text database 131, either for a fee or for free. Text database 131 contains the text of all available issues. The customer could enter a search query to search text database 131 for a desired article. For example, if the customer was searching for articles about Michael Jordan, then he could search the text database with the search query: "Michael Jordan". He or she could search in the titles of articles or the body of articles, or by date, or any similar criteria. The customer would be provided with the results of which issues and articles contained the words "Michael Jordan." The customer could then click on these links to order any desired articles. Optionally, the customer could be allowed to read the text version ofthe article or a brief summary of the article.

One business method that may be effectively employed is to allow customers to read selected articles or excerpts from publications in a text or HTML format for free. If they enjoy the excerpts, they will be likely want to purchase the publication in a true replica format, especially because the true replica version has a much more satisfying look and feel. The true replica version has characteristics more similar to an actual paper magazine. The customer can flip through pages ofthe electronic publication on the screen in true replica format and see the photographs and graphics set in their correct locations with respect to the text. The true replica version can also be printed out to give the same appearance as the actual paper version ofthe magazine.

After the customer has identified the issue or article he or she wishes to order, then the customer is prompted to enter his or her credit card information in step 340. Alternatively, the customer's credit card information can be retrieved from the customer records 132. The customer's credit card information is sent to an acquirer for authentication. When the credit card information has been authenticated, the customer's credit card is then charged and an e-mail is sent to the customer verifying his or her purchase. Alternatively, the customer can choose a different payment method. For example, the customer could choose to be sent a bill. In step 342, the customer is allowed to download the requested issue or article.

Alternatively, the requested issue or article can be e-mailed or a directed download can be performed to the customer's computer.

In step 344, the following items of information can be sent to fulfillment house 104: customer information (such as the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and a unique customer identification number assigned by Qiosk.com), issue/article identification (e.g. the publication name, article title, issue date, and/or publisher name), and payment information (payment method, credit card information, billing information, etc.). In step 344, Qiosk.com server 102 forwards the customer and order information to publisher 106. This information includes the Qiosk.com customer identification number, the identification ofthe ordered article or issue, and the price paid. In step 346, Qiosk.com server 102 remits a payment publisher 106. The payment to publisher 106 can be a percentage ofthe fee paid by the customer. The payment to publisher 106 can be made by electronic funds transfer, or other payment arrangements can be made between fulfillment house 104 and Qiosk.com. Preferably, Qiosk.com server 102 sends the order information (in step 344) and remits payment (in step 346) on a periodic basis such as daily or weekly. Qiosk.com server 102 can then accumulate all the orders over that period and send the order information and remit payment for all orders received over that period.

As an alternative to remitting payment directly to the publisher, Qiosk.com server 102 can remit payment to fulfillment house 104. In this case fulfillment house 104 deposits the payment in the publisher's account.

In step 348, a My Qiosk page is set up for the customer, if the customer does not yet have one. The customer is then provided with a link which allows the customer to download the requested issue or article in true replica format and/or text format. By clicking on the link, the customer can download the issue or article and optionally save it on a local storage unit such as a hard drive or CD-ROM. Alternatively, Qiosk.com server 102 can e-mail or perform a directed download ofthe issue or article to the customer.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of interaction between fulfillment house 104 and Qiosk.com server 102 for renewing a subscription. In step 400, Qiosk.com server 102 receives a notification from fulfillment house 104 that the customer's subscription is nearing expiration. For example, fulfillment house 104 could send notification that a customer John Doe's subscription will expire in one month. In step 402, Qiosk.com server 102 sends an e-mail reminder to the customer that his subscription will expire in one month. The e-mail also informs the customer that he may renew his subscription by going to the Qiosk.com web site or by calling a toll-free number. If the customer has an automatically renewing subscription, the e-mail reminder will inform the customer that his subscription will be automatically renewed in one month, and his or her credit card will automatically be charged. If the customer wishes to cancel, the customer may send a cancel e-mail, or may cancel through the Qiosk.com web site. At step 404, the customer visits the Qiosk.com web site and enters his or her user name and password. At step 406, the customer chooses to cancel, suspend, renew, or make any other changes to his or her subscription. If the customer chooses to suspend his or her subscription, then the customer will stop receiving any new issues until the customer chooses to reactivate his or her subscription. A customer may also cancel, suspend or renew a subscription by contacting the fulfillment house 104. For example, in step 408 the customer can telephone fulfillment house 104 and request that the subscription be cancelled or renewed. In step 410, fulfillment house 104 sends notice to Qiosk.com server 102 that the customer has cancelled, or suspended, or renewed a subscription. Frequently, when a customer purchases a magazine at a newsstand, the magazine will include a telephone number for subscribing, renewing, or canceling subscriptions. These telephone numbers usually direct the customer to a fulfillment house 104. In this case, fulfillment house 104 takes care ofthe subscription and transmits the necessary details to Qiosk.com server 102. FIG. 5 illustrates a typical My Qiosk page 500 for a customer (in this example, John Doe). My Qiosk page 500 is the customer's own personalized page and acts as a personal virtual publication library for the customer. My Qiosk page includes links for every electronic issue or article that the customer has ever ordered. By clicking on a link, the customer can download any issue or article that he or she has every ordered. This provides the customer convenient access to his or her own personal library that he or she may access from any computer. The customer merely has to have access to the Internet. The customer can access his or her personal My Qiosk web page by entering an appropriate URL such as http://www.qiosk.com/myqiosk. The customer then enters his or her user name and password. This brings up My Qiosk page 502 which provides the customer access to his or her own virtual publication library.

My Qiosk page 500 includes a separate publication folder 502 for each different publication that the customer has ever ordered. For example, FIG. 5 shows publication folders 502 for Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Scientific American, and U.S. News & World Report. Subfolders 504 organize the publications into date subcategories. For example, the exemplary My Qiosk page 500 shown in FIG.5 shows that customer John Doe has had a subscription to Newsweek in the years 1998, 1999, and 2000. By clicking on the folder 2000, the customer can be shown a series of icons 506 corresponding to all ofthe Newsweek issues that the customer has received in the year 2000. By clicking on any of icons 506, the customer can download and view that issue. There could also be subfolders for each month, so that, for example, the customer could click on a March subfolder to view all ofthe issues released in March.

FIG. 5 shows that customer John Doe has also ordered Sports Illustrated individual issues in the past, but has not ordered a subscription. John Doe ordered an issue in Nov. 2, 1998, Mar. 22, 1999, July 19, 1999, and Jan 10, 2000. These individual issues have each been stored, and the customer can click on an icon 506 to download. FIG. 5 also shows that customer John Doe once ordered an article from U.S. News & World Report entitled "Best Graduate Schools" on page 68 ofthe April 10, 2000 issue. This article is stored as a link which the customer can download.

Icons 506 shown in FIG. 5 allow the customer to download a true replica format ofthe publication, such as Adobe Acrobat PDF file. My Qiosk web page 500 could optionally also include links for a text format for each publication.

My Qiosk web page 500 therefore allows the customer to have virtual storage of his or her whole publication library. The customer does not have to have a library of CD-ROMs or hard drives full of his or her publications and carry this library around with him or her, because the customer can access the My Qiosk page from anywhere. The My Qiosk page 500 provides virtual access to the customer's whole publication library.

Each customer's My Qiosk page is stored in My Qiosk Pages 140 on data storage device 128 shown in FIG. 1. My Qiosk pages 140 does not store the electronic publications. When a customer downloads a publication from a link on his or her My Qiosk page. The links on the My Qiosk pages to publications.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary electronic publication as viewed on a customer's computer screen 604. The publication includes a left page and a right page. The publication appears like a magazine or newspaper opened up and laid flat. The left- hand page ofthe exemplary publication shown in FIG. 5 includes text 606. Two graphics 604 are located within the page of text. A link for a video clip 606 can be clicked on by the customer to display a video. The right page bears a full page advertisement 602. The customer can click on multimedia clip 608 to view a multimedia display related to the advertisement. The customer can flip back a page by clicking on arrow 610. The customer can flip forward one page by clicking on arrow 612.

Rather than placing electronic publication orders at the Qiosk.com web site, customers may also order electronic publications by placing orders via publisher 106, fulfillment house 1104, or sales agent 144. FIG.7 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of processing an order placed through a publisher or a sales agent.

In step 700, a customer places an order for an electronic publication either through publisher 106, fulfillment house 104 or sales agent 144. The customers are obtained through various advertisements and marketing campaigns, such as direct mail, insert cards, telemarketing, gift offers, package inserts, and cooperative sales efforts.

Customers can place orders with publisher 106, fulfillment house 105 or sales agent 144 through their respective on-line web sites or via telephone or mail.

Steps 702-710 illustrate the method of processing the customer's order when the customer places an electronic publication order on-line; i.e. via the publisher, fulfillment house or sales agent's own web site. Steps 712-720 illustrate the method of processing offline customer orders; i.e. when the customer places a telephone order, or mails in a subscription card.

In step 702, the customer places an order for either a subscription to an electronic publication or an individual issue or article of an electronic publication. The order taker (either publisher 106 or sales agent 144) charges the customer's credit card accordingly. The customer also submits his or her personal customer information such as name, address, telephone, e-mail address, and similar information. As an alternative to paying by credit card, the order taker can arrange an alternative payment method such as sending the customer a bill. Another alternative is to qualify the customer for controlled circulation.

In step 704, the order taker transfers the on-line customer to the Qiosk.com web site, and forwards all ofthe customer and order information to Qiosk.com. The customer and order information includes the name ofthe publication, the customer's name, address, e-mail address, terms ofthe subscription sale, price paid, duration of subscription and any similar information. After Qiosk.com server 102 receives the customer and order information from fulfillment house 104, a new customer record and a new My Qiosk page is set up if the customer is new. If it is a returning customer, the customer's record is retrieved from data storage device 128 and the customer's account is updated to reflect the new order.

In step 706, the most recent issue is made available to the customer for downloading (in the case of a subscription order). If the customer placed an order for an individual issue or article, then the requested issue or article is made available for downloading. In step 708, the order taker forwards all ofthe customer and order information to fulfillment house 104. If the customer is ordering an individual issue or article, then this step is optional, since the fulfillment house may keep records only for subscriptions, or the fulfillment house may keep records for both subscriptions and individual issue/article orders. The fulfillment house 104 sets up all the necessary billing and subscription records for the customer's order. As an alternative for step 708, Qiosk.com server 102 could forward all ofthe customer and order information to fulfillment house 104.

In step 710, the payment is distributed between all the involved parties by a predetermined agreement. For example, if sales agent 144 takes the order, then

Qiosk.com and the publisher will need to receive a portion ofthe payment. The sales agent could send payment to the publisher, via the fulfillment house (i.e. the fulfillment house deposits payment for the publisher in the publisher's account). Qiosk.com could then bill the publisher. Alternatively, sales agent 144 could remit payment to both the publisher (via the fulfillment house) and to Qiosk.com.

Payment can be distributed for each individual order. Alternatively, payment can be distributed a periodic basis such as daily or weekly for all orders occurring during that period. Payment can be made by electronic funds transfer, by billing or by any other conventional method. As an alternative to the above process, the order taker could transfer the customer to the Qiosk.com web site and then let Qiosk.com charge the customer's credit card or arrange alternative payment, h this case, Qiosk.com would have to arrange payment with the other parties. This is the preferred process when the order taker is the publisher. If the customer has ordered a subscription, then the customer will periodically received notification by e-mail that the most recent issue is available for downloading. The customer can be given a link, which he or she may click on to download the most recent issue. Alternatively, the customer may receive the issue by e-mail, by directed download, or by visiting his or her My Qiosk page. For future issues, fulfillment house 104 will deliver triggering signals and the customer will be notified when the new issues are available for downloading (same as steps 334 and 336 in FIG. 3C).

If a customer has placed an offline order with sales agent 144 or publisher 106, then in step 712 the order taker (i.e. the sales agent 144, fulfillment house 104, or publisher 106) charges the customer's credit card or arranges an alternative payment method, or qualifies the customer for controlled circulation. In step 714, the order taker forwards all customer and order information to fulfillment house 104. The customer is notified that he or she can access the publication through the Qiosk.com web site, and that the most recent issue will be available shortly for downloading. In step 716, fulfillment house 104 forwards the customer information and order information to Qiosk.com server 102. In step 718, Qiosk.com sets up a new customer account and My Qiosk page for the customer, if the customer is a new customer. If the customer has registered previously with Qiosk.com, then the customer's record is retrieved and his account is updated to reflect the new order. In step 720, payment is distributed between all ofthe involved parties.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of various embodiments, it is not intended that the invention be limited to these embodiments. Modification within the spirit ofthe invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The scope ofthe present invention is defined by the claims that follow.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method for providing a virtual publication library to a user on a computer network, comprising: receiving an order for an electronic publication from a user; providing a link for the electronic publication on a page associated with user; and providing the page to the user when the user accesses the page over a computer network.

2. The method of claim 1, further including: sending the electronic publication to the customer when the the customer clicks on the link for the electronic publication.

3. The method of claim 2, further including: providing a plurality of links on the page, each link associated with a publication previously ordered by the user.

4. The method of claim 1, further including: receiving an order for a subscription to an electronic publication from a user; and providing a link on the page for an issue ofthe subscription.

5. The method of claim 4, further including: providing a link on the page for each issue ofthe subscription.

6. The method of claim 1, further including: categorizing publications on the page by publication and by date.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user can access his page from any terminal connected to the network.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the user accesses his page by entering a URL into a browser, and entering a user name and a password.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the page contains at least one of: a) links to issues of electronic publications to which the user has subscriptions; b) links to individual issues of electronic publications which the user has previously individually ordered; and c) links to individual articles which the user has previously ordered.

10. The method of claim 1, further including: receiving at a server an electronic publication from a publisher; storing the electronic publication in a data storage device coupled to the server; receiving at the server an order for an electronic publication subscription or an individual issue of an electronic publication or an individual article of an electronic publication, the order having been sent by a user over a network; and sending an issue ofthe ordered electronic publication to the user over the network, when the user clicks on a link for the issue on the page associated with the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic publication is in a true replica format.

12. The method of claim 1 , further including allowing the user to download a portion of the electronic publication.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic publication has embedded multimedia items.

14. A method for providing a virtual publication library to a user on a computer network, comprising: providing a link to an electronic publication on a page associated with user; and providing the page to the user when the user accesses the page over a computer network; and sending the electronic publication to the user when the user accesses the link.

15. The method of claim 14, further including: receiving an order for a subscription to an electronic publication from the user; and providing a link a new issue ofthe electronic publication on the page, when a new issue for the subscription is released.

16. The method of claim 15, further including: receiving an order from a user for an individual issue or individual article of an electronic publication; and providing a link to the individual issue or individual article.

17. An apparatus for providing a virtual publication library to a user over a computer network, comprising: a server coupled to a network; a data storage device coupled to the server; wherein the server operates a program performing the following steps: a) storing an electronic publication in the data storage device; b) providing a link to the electronic publication on a page associated with a user; and c) sending the publication to the user over the network when the user accesses the link.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the data storage device includes a section where a plurality of pages is stored, each page associated with an individual user.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the data storage device includes a section wherein the electronic publications are stored, and wherein the pages include links to the electronic publications.

20. Computer executable software code stored on a computer readable medium, performing a method for providing a virtual publication library to a user on a computer network, comprising: receiving an order for an electronic publication from a user; providing a link for the electronic publication on a page associated with user; and providing the page to the user when the user accesses the page over a computer network.