WO2012165923A9

WO2012165923A9 - Method and server for managing electronic book

Info

Publication number: WO2012165923A9
Application number: PCT/KR2012/004387
Authority: WO
Inventors: 이해성
Original assignee: 주식회사 내일이비즈
Priority date: 2011-06-02
Filing date: 2012-06-04
Publication date: 2013-02-14
Also published as: WO2012165923A3; WO2012165923A2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a server for managing electronic books and an electronic book system therefor, which can protect copyright while managing a large number of terminal devices using only a single program for borrowed or purchased electronic books. The electronic book server of the present invention comprises a communication unit which: saves electronic book files; makes an electronic book list by using information on electronic books on loan from an electronic book library or information on electronic books purchased by a user; begins managing the valid period of use for the electronic books on loan from the electronic book library or books purchased by the user; performs encryption on electronic book files selected by a user which includes specific information on the user's terminal and the valid periods of use, upon receipt of a user's request; receives information on a valid period of use which includes specific information on a user's terminal and a user's request, from a user's terminal; and transmits an encrypted electronic book file to the user's terminal.

Description

EBook Management Methods and Servers

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an e-book, and more particularly, to an e-book management method and server capable of managing copyrights and protecting copyrights from a plurality of terminal devices using a single program.

One of the most important items in an ebook or electronic document is copyright protection. It is technically difficult to protect copyrights in digitally processed ebooks or electronic documents. Therefore, the existing e-book or electronic document has been restricted to use the e-book only in a single device. However, using e-books or documents only on a single device causes inconvenience to users. Thus, the emergence method was to increase the number of devices that can use e-books or electronic documents. However, increasing the number of devices that can use e-books or electronic documents can cause complaints for both users and copyright holders. Because users are still constrained to use e-books or electronic documents only on a limited number of devices, while copyright holders can actually use them on multiple devices despite having sold only one book. This is because two copies are available at the same time.

On the other hand, the existing e-book system was unable to integrate and manage e-books purchased and owned by users and e-books borrowed from various libraries. If an e-book user, A, was borrowed from the A and B e-books, A would separate books from the A library, books from the B library, and books he had purchased and owned. There is no choice but to manage. That is, even if the same user owns or loans an e-book, the user can manage multiple e-books by logging in separately for each library, even if they use multiple e-book programs or a single program. I had to do it.

In the existing e-book system, even in the case of an e-book service using the same program, there are differences between devices in which an e-book purchased by a user and an e-book borrowed from a library can be used. In other words, e-books purchased directly by consumers can be used on Microsoft Windows-based computers and e-book readers, whereas e-books borrowed from e-book libraries are only available on MS Windows-based computers. Can be. In the existing e-book system, there is a problem that the type of the device that can be used by the e-book loaned from the library and the type of device that can be used by the consumer directly purchased e-books do not match.

In addition, even if the seller continues to sell from the point of view of the copyright holder, if the e-book is delivered to the e-book library, it cannot be re-delivered. There is a problem in that costs are incurred indefinitely. In addition, since the expiration date of the purchased e-book is unclear from the point of view of the e-book library from which the e-book was purchased, the post-support may be provided if the service fails or the e-book service provider who supplied the e-book goes out of business. There is no problem.

In addition, in the existing e-book system, there is only a restriction on the number of e-books that a user can currently borrow, and the user can unlimitedly perform loans and returns at any time within this limit. For this reason, users can borrow and use an unlimited number of dozens or hundreds of books a day.

The present invention provides a method and server for managing e-books rented or purchased from a plurality of terminal devices using a single program and protecting copyrights.

The e-book management method through the e-book server of the present invention includes the steps of: a) forming an e-book list including information of an e-book purchased by the user or borrowed from the e-book library; b) displaying an expiration date setting screen when a user tries to download an e-book file selected by the user from the e-book list; c) receiving, from the user terminal, setting of expiration date information including unique information of the user terminal; d) encrypting the e-book file selected by the user, including the unique information and the expiration date information of the user terminal; And e) transmitting the encrypted e-book file to the user terminal, wherein the unique information of the user terminal included in the encrypted e-book file and the unique information of the user terminal coincide with each other. The book file is displayed on the user terminal.

In addition, the e-book server of the e-book system of the present invention, the storage unit for storing the e-book file; The e-book list is formed using the e-book information purchased by the user and the e-book borrowed from the e-book library, and the expiration date of the e-book purchased from the e-book and the e-book library purchased by the user is managed. A processor configured to receive a user request and perform encryption of an e-book file selected by a user, including unique information and expiration date information of the user terminal; And a communication unit configured to receive, from the user terminal, expiration date information including the user request and the unique information of the user terminal, and transmit an encrypted e-book file to the user terminal.

According to the present invention, users can integrate and manage e-books purchased and owned directly and e-books borrowed from various libraries, and can be used in various internet communication devices. In addition, even if the number of e-book devices used by users increases, no additional copy license is required to support them.

1 is an exemplary view showing the configuration of an e-book system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an exemplary view showing the configuration of an e-book server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 and 4 are exemplary views showing the configuration of an e-book study according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is an exemplary view showing an expiration date selection screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an exemplary view showing an expiration date selection reconfirmation window according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the e-book management method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, in the following description, when there is a risk of unnecessarily obscuring the gist of the present invention, a detailed description of well-known functions and configurations will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 1, the e-book system environment 100 includes an e-book server 110 that manages an e-book file and at least one user terminal 120 connected to the e-book server 110 through a network. Include.

Referring to FIG. 2, the e-book server 110 determines whether the user is authenticated by determining whether the storage unit 112 stores the e-book file and the user authentication information and whether the user information input by the user matches the user authentication information. , E-book list is formed by using e-book information purchased by the user and e-book information borrowed from the e-book library, and the expiration date and e-book file of the e-book purchased from the e-book and e-book library purchased by the user Manages the download to the user terminal 120 and receives the user request from the user terminal 120 to perform encryption of the e-book file selected by the user 114 and the e-book encrypted by the user terminal 120 And a communication unit 116 for transmitting a file and receiving a user request from the user terminal 120.

The user may drive the e-book program using the user terminal 120 and input user information including a user ID and a password to log in to the e-book server 110.

The processor 114 forms an e-book list including purchase e-book information directly purchased by the user and loan e-book information that the user borrowed from at least one e-book library. The purchase e-book information may include, but is not limited to, expiration date information, e-book unique number information, user unique number information, payment success number information, and the like. Loan eBook information may include, but is not limited to, expiration date information, eBook unique number information, user unique number information, library delivery success unique number information, library membership success unique number information, loan success unique number information, and the like. It doesn't happen. Loan e-book information is separate from the e-book server 110 It may be possible to extract from the record of a database base management system (DBMS). In addition, the expiration date information included in the purchase e-book information may include the expiration date information set in the specific user terminal 120, the expiration date information included in the loan e-book information is set in the specific user terminal 120 It may include information about the expiration date and loan expiration date.

The user terminal 120 may display a list of all e-books that the user can read on the e-book study based on the e-book list received from the e-book server 110. At this time, since the expiration date of the specific user terminal 120 is not finished, the e-book which cannot be downloaded and the e-book which can be downloaded may be distinguished and displayed. The e-books that can be downloaded from the other user terminal 120 after the expiration date in the specific user terminal 120 is displayed as if the cloud on the cover of the e-book, and in the specific user terminal 120 Since the expiration date of the e-book that is not available in the other user terminal 120 can be displayed only the e-book cover without displaying a cloud. That is, the e-book in which the cloud is displayed on the cover in the e-book study indicates the e-book that the user can download from the user terminal 120 currently in use, while the e-book without the cloud is displayed in the user terminal 120 currently in use. ) Indicates an e-book that is not available for download. 3 and 4 are exemplary views showing the configuration of an e-book study according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 shows a state in which all the e-books in the e-book library can be downloaded. In FIG. 4, clouds are not displayed in the e-book called "Evolution of Physics", and clouds are displayed in the remaining e-books. Since the e-book "Evolution of Physics" is already in use in a specific user terminal 120, it indicates that the user cannot download the e-book anymore from the other user terminal 120 until the preset expiration date. In other e-books except for "Evolution of Physics", a cloud is displayed to indicate that it can be downloaded from any user terminal 120.

When the user selects the e-book he wants to read from the e-book library using the user terminal 120 and inputs a user request, the e-book server 110 receives the user request and the user terminal that the e-book is currently using. The electronic device may determine whether the electronic book can be downloaded at step 120, and when it is possible to download the selected e-book, display an expiration date selection screen for selecting whether to use the e-book selected by the corresponding user terminal 120. . 5 is an exemplary view showing an expiration date selection screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. The user terminal 120 may receive the expiration date of the corresponding e-book on a displayed expiration date selection screen in units of date and time to form expiration information. In addition, when receiving the expiration date can be displayed by the re-confirmation window as shown in Figure 6 it is possible to prevent the user's mistake in the expiration date setting. The user terminal 120 transmits the formed expiration date information to the e-book server 110. In this case, the user terminal 120 may include the unique information (eg, a user terminal unique number, etc.) of the user terminal 120 in the expiration date information to the e-book server 110. The processor 114 of the e-book server 110 receives the expiration date information transmitted by the user terminal 110 and uses the unique information of the user terminal 120 to store the e-book file stored in the e-book server 110. Encrypt, and transmits the information about the encryption to the user terminal (120). At this time, the encrypted e-book file may include the expiration date information for the period that the user can use the e-book file in the user terminal 120 and the unique information of the user terminal 120 requesting the encrypted e-book file. . The user terminal 120 may decrypt the encrypted e-book file so that the encrypted e-book file can be displayed using information on the encryption received from the e-book server 110.

When the e-book selected by the user is an e-book borrowed from the e-book library, the processor 114 may set the expiration date so as not to exceed the loan expiration date. That is, the expiration date of the e-book borrowed from the e-book library that the user wants to download cannot exceed the expected return date of the library of the e-book.

Meanwhile, the processor 114 determines whether the loan period of the e-books loaned to each user has expired at a predetermined predetermined period, deletes the e-books whose loan period has expired from the e-book list, and borrows the e-books. The server managing the e-book library owning the book can be notified that the loan is expired and available for loan.

When the user attempts to open the e-book file downloaded from the e-book server 110, the user terminal 120 uses the e-book using the expiration date information included in the e-book file and the unique information of the user terminal 120. The display can be performed. As an example, if the unique information of the user terminal 120 included in the e-book file does not match the unique information of the user terminal 120, the user terminal 120 may not display the corresponding e-book file. This is because the e-book file downloaded from another user terminal 120 is illegally copied to the corresponding user terminal 120. The user terminal 120 compares the expiration date information included in the e-book file with the current time and cannot display the e-book file when the expiration date has elapsed. This is because the expiration date on the device of the e-book has expired. Information about the current time may be obtained from the e-book server 120 through the Internet. However, when the Internet connection is not available, the information on the current time may be obtained using the time of the user terminal 120 currently in use. If the e-book server 110 cannot obtain the expiration date information included in the e-book file because it is impossible to access the Internet, the expiration date information included in the e-book file downloaded to the user terminal 120 is decrypted and obtained. can do.

There are two ways to solve the copyright control by adjusting the time of the user terminal 120 running the e-book program in the state where the Internet connection is not possible. First, whenever the user terminal 120 drives the e-book program, the time of the user terminal 120 is sequentially encrypted and stored to easily determine whether the user arbitrarily changes the time of the user terminal 120. can do. That is, the case where the time of the user terminal 120 is stored at a later time in the storage order but the time of the user terminal 120 is changed arbitrarily. Secondly, the most recent usage time of specific operating system files, temporary storage folder (Temp), or cache file of a web browser, which must be used when an operating system of the user terminal 120 is used, may be examined. In this way, even if the user arbitrarily modifies the time of the user terminal 120, the actual time can be accurately identified.

The e-book file downloaded from the user terminal 120 may be deleted by mistake or accident before the expiration date of use. Therefore, even if the cover cloud disappears among the e-books included in the e-book library, the e-book file has already been downloaded and the e-book file is downloaded again from the user terminal 120 that has not yet expired. When attempting to do so, the e-book server 110 may set the e-book file to be downloaded from the user terminal 120.

Meanwhile, in the e-book system environment 100 of the present invention, when a user borrows an e-book from the e-book library, the e-book system environment may be set such that the e-book cannot be returned by the user request. Compared to paper books, e-books can serve many people even with a relatively small number of copy licenses. This is because e-books can be serviced without the constraints of time and space. Thus, authors are reluctant to sell their books in e-book libraries. In order to prevent this, the e-book system environment 100 of the present invention can not return the e-book loaned from the e-book library at the user request, and a predetermined period (for example, one week, 15 days, etc.) from the loan date is provided. It can be set to return automatically when it elapses.

E-books borrowed from e-book libraries may have an expiration date. The expiration date is set in the e-book file, so the subscription may not be made if the expiration date has elapsed. That is, even if an e-book purchased from an e-book library is not used forever, there is a limit to the available period. In addition, by setting different expiration dates for each e-book library, the concept of depreciation applied to the paper book can be applied to the e-book. The e-book server 110 determines whether the e-books delivered for each e-book library have passed the expiration date according to a preset period, and if the e-book has passed the e-books, they can no longer be used in the e-book library. Information can be sent to a server managing the e-book library.

In the case of e-books sold to general users, the post-service guarantee period is limited to a certain period, but in practice, the e-books can be set to continue after-service until the e-book service provider survives. On the other hand, the e-book delivered to the e-book library is terminated after the preset depreciation (expiration), it can be set to deliver the e-book back to the e-book library.

On the other hand, the e-book server 110 may sell the periodical in the form of a subscription service. In one embodiment, the monthly magazine published monthly may sell the right to subscribe 12 times a year. Selling the right to subscribe means preselling ebooks that have not yet been published.

The e-book server 110 may store information such as a subscription service price, a total number of deliveries, a delivery cycle, and the number of times the number of already delivered services is provided for each subscription service in the storage 112 to perform a periodical subscription service. The information stored in the storage unit 112 can be used to calculate the amount to be returned when the buyer terminates the subscription service, and if the subscription is overdelivered to the buyer who has already expired, the buyer has not yet expired. This can be avoided if you do not deliver it to. When the periodical buyer wants to stop the subscription service, the amount to be returned can be calculated using Equation 1 below.

Equation 1

In the case of a periodical subscription service, delivery is very important, and the delivery process is preferably performed at the same time that the periodical is completed and registered in the e-book server 110. When the e-book producer completes and registers the e-book file, the e-book server 110 may determine the type of the subscription service of the corresponding e-book and provide a subscription service suitable for the type of the subscription service. When the e-book file is registered, the e-book file is uploaded to the e-book server 110 and the e-book server 110 manages all users who applied for the subscription service including the e-book and the e-book library. Uploads the new e-book file registered in the e-book server 110, and notifies that the new e-book file has been uploaded. In this case, the e-book (periodical) may be displayed in the e-book library of the user and the e-book library that applied for the subscription service. Users can subscribe to these delivered e-books (periodical) in the same way as for non-periodical e-books, and in the case of e-book libraries, they can provide loan services to members in the same way as regular e-books. Can be.

7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the e-book management method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In one embodiment, the method 700 may be performed by the e-book server 110 as shown in FIG. 1, receiving user information including a user ID and password from the user and authenticating the user. 710.

Next, the method 700 includes building 720 a list of e-books containing information of the e-books purchased by the user or borrowed from the e-book library (720).

Next, the method 700 includes displaying an expiration date setting screen when the user wants to download the e-book file selected by the user from the e-book list (730).

Next, the method 700 includes receiving input of the expiration date information from the user terminal 120 including the unique information of the user terminal (740).

Next, the method 700 includes performing an encryption of the e-book file selected by the user, including the unique information and the expiration date information of the user terminal (750).

Next, the method 700 includes downloading (downloading) the selected e-book file from the e-book server 110 to the user terminal 120 when the expiration date setting is completed (760).

By doing so, the user terminal 120 may display the downloaded e-book file when the unique information of the user terminal included in the encrypted e-book file and the unique information of the user terminal match.

Although the methods have been described through specific embodiments, the methods may also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media include all kinds of recording devices that store data that can be read by a computer system. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and the like, which are also implemented in the form of carrier waves (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. In addition, functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the above embodiments can be easily inferred by programmers in the art to which the present invention belongs.

While the invention has been described in connection with some embodiments, it should be understood that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as would be understood by those skilled in the art. will be. Also, such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the claims appended hereto. For example, the system according to the invention further comprises a storage battery, it is also possible to store the electricity produced using renewable energy, and then sell it later.

Claims

As an e-book management method through an e-book server,

a) forming a list of e-books containing information of the e-books purchased by the user or borrowed from the e-book library;

b) displaying an expiration date setting screen when a user tries to download an e-book file selected by the user from the e-book list;

c) receiving, from the user terminal, setting of expiration date information including unique information of the user terminal;

d) encrypting the e-book file selected by the user, including the unique information and the expiration date information of the user terminal; And

e) transmitting the encrypted e-book file to the user terminal,

And when the unique information of the user terminal included in the encrypted e-book file and the unique information of the user terminal match, the e-book file is displayed on the user terminal.
The method of claim 1,

Step a) is

And receiving user information including a user ID and a password from the user and authenticating the user.
The method of claim 1,

Step a) is

E-book management method comprising the step of displaying a cloud shape in the e-book downloadable from the e-book list.
The method of claim 1,

The e-book file,

The expiration date is set so that when the expiration date has elapsed, subscription is set to be impossible.
The method of claim 1,

The e-book borrowed from the e-book library,

The e-book management method is set not to be displayed on the user terminal when a preset loan period has passed.
As e-book server of e-book system,

A storage unit for storing an e-book file;

The e-book list is formed using the e-book information purchased by the user and the e-book borrowed from the e-book library, and the expiration date of the e-book purchased from the e-book and the e-book library purchased by the user is managed. A processor configured to receive a user request and perform encryption of an e-book file selected by a user, including unique information and expiration date information of the user terminal; And

And a communication unit configured to receive from the user terminal the expiration date information including the user request and the unique information of the user terminal and to transmit an encrypted e-book file to the user terminal.
The method of claim 6,

The storage unit stores the user authentication information,

The processor determines whether the user authentication by determining whether the user information input by the user and the user authentication information match.
The method of claim 6,

The e-book file,

The expiration date is set so that the e-book server is set to be unsubscribed when the expiration date has passed.
The method of claim 6,

The processor,

When the e-book file is registered, it is determined whether the periodical is a periodical, the e-book server for uploading the e-book file to the server that manages the user or e-book library subscribed to the periodical.