WO2014144812A2 - System and method for the rebirth of copyright - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and method to rebuild copyright in the digital entertainment marketplace by enabling universal ownership of copyrighted artistic works. Such can occur through a free global stock exchange for the entertainment industry that provides global consumers, at no cost, free financial payouts based on "their" artist's commercial earnings from copyrighted artistic works and other products and services, similar to dividends or royalties. The free global stock exchange may involve any artist-based entertainment sector with digital copyrighted artistic works such as music, literature, film and video gaming.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE REBIRTH OF COPYRIGHT

SPECIFICATION CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This PCT application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 1 19(e) of Provisional Application Serial No. 61/794,295 filed on March 15, 2013 entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE REBIRTH OF COPYRIGHT and whose entire disclosure is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A system and method to rebuild copyright in the digital entertainment marketplace by enabling universal ownership of copyrighted artistic works. Such can occur through a free global stock exchange for the entertainment industry that provides global consumers, at no cost, free financial payouts based on "their" artist's commercial earnings from copyrighted artistic works and other products and services, similar to dividends or royalties. The free global stock exchange may involve any artist-based entertainment sector with digital copyrighted artistic works such as music, literature, film and video gaming.

1. FIELD OF INVENTION

This present invention generally relates to entertainment industry business practices and, more specifically, to addressing digital piracy through a free global stock exchange for the entertainment industry. Global consumers, at no cost, receive free financial payouts based on "their" artist's commercial earnings from copyrighted artistic works and other products and services, similar to dividends or royalties. The free global stock exchange may involve any artist-based entertainment sector with digital copyrighted artistic works such as music, literature, film and video gaming.

2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

In 1999, the music business heralded its finest hour. For the first time in history, revenues swelled to US $40 billion. Executives toasted their success. Then, copyright infringement brought the music industry to its knees.

Several years earlier, consumers had realized the Internet as a powerful recorded music distribution and consumption channel. Through numerous websites hosting "ripped" music, or music transferred from compact disk to personal computer, global consumers could acquire commercially popular artist recordings without payment. That music could be enjoyed on computer or, as early as 1997, portable device.

Then came Napster, which formed a vast "peer-to-peer" network of computers, each sharing a local music library. In turn, with a simple mouse click, any consumer freely could distribute or acquire the full universe of ripped commercial music.

Napster met the consuming public in 1999. Within months, 75,000,000 consumers formed a global army of interconnected computers. Approximately 10,000 songs downloaded every one second.

From 1999 to 2000, global music revenues depressed 4.9 percent. From 2000 to 2001 , global music revenues depressed 5.7 percent. From 2001 to 2002, global music revenues depressed 6.7 percent. From 2002 to 2003, global music revenues depressed 7.6 percent. As remarked one Sony Urban Music executive, "the lights went out."

By 201 1 , as demonstrated in Fig. 1 , global music revenues had depressed more than 60% from 1999.

In 2003, with its market already collapsed nearly twenty-five percent, the music business retreated to its foundation: copyright. Earlier, the music business had sought to disable Napster and its offspring. It pursued legal injunctions through contributory infringement claims. It attempted network corruption through file spoofing (i.e., placing bogus files in circulation) and file encryptions (e.g., SDMI). But the digital pirate remained relevantly unscathed.

Now, only copyright remained.

As a first principal, the modern music business existed only through copyright. Under federal law, copyright converted musical expression into tangible property by creating temporary monopolies on song replication, distribution, performance, display and adaptation. In concept, even when only a mouse click challenged a song's replication and distribution, those copyright monopolies shielded the music business from Napster.

In fall 2003, to force acquiescence to copyright, the music business commenced a litigation onslaught against its consumer. Within months, thousands of instant messages became thousands of lawsuits. Each asserted copyright infringement. In all, more than 1 1 ,000 complaints named consumers in courts around the world. But, still, the public refused to comply. Defendants, who represented no more than .01 percent of the digital pirate population anyway, became only martyrs.

Today, executives toasting success only years earlier have been dethroned. Tens of thousands of employees have lost their jobs. Artist rosters have been slashed. Three of the world's five biggest record labels have been sold or merged.

i. Echoes of Copyright

Modern copyright was born in 1710. English government realized that economic reward would inspire artists to innovate fervently and share their gifts with the world. In turn, the Statute of Anne read: "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or Purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned."

When persuading copyright's unanimous adoption in the United States Constitution, President George Washington echoed: "[T]here is nothing which can better deserve your patronage than the promotion of science and literature.

Knowledge is, in every country, the surest basis of public happiness . . . . [I]t is proportionally essential."

In short, in principal, copyright would serve as the engine of cultural innovation in the United States and around the world. By enabling an economic market for the arts, modern renaissance would flourish.

In the second half of the twentieth century, however, copyright became perceived as corrupted by selfish gain in money and ego. Through copyright, towering conglomerates came to control the facilities for profiting from music and other arts: production dollars; media channels; and distribution relationships. With that power, huge record labels and others transformed copyright into the tool of the suppression— instead of invention— of renaissance. Examples of insincere renaissance abounded:

• Artist and repertoire practice (i.e., artist discovery and signing), such as

nepotistic talent discovery and almost unconscionable artist contract terms governed by "plantation accounting";

· Artist promotion practice, such as bought radio spins (i.e., payola) playing over- and-over again and other propaganda toward manufacturing demand for music as a packaged product;

• Entertainment distribution/selling practice, such as oppressive consumer pricing after bundling one hit song to a full album.

As explained The New Yorker in July 2003 (John Seabrook, "The Money Note"): "Still, one of the most galling things about the [digital] piracy problem, if you happen to be in the record business, is that not only are the fans gleefully and remorselessly taking the hits you make, they are doing so because they think you deserve it." The commentary continued:

"I hope it all goes down the crapper," Joni Mitchell said of the record industry in Rolling Stone. "I would never take another deal in the record business. . . . I'll be damned if I'll line their pockets." The following month, in W, she called the record industry a "corrupt cesspool," saying that she was leaving the major-label system because "record companies are not looking for talent. They're looking for a look and a willingness to cooperate." (Mitchell's most recent album came out on Nonesuch, a Warner label.) As Malcolm McLaren observed to me, "The amazing thing about the death of the record industry is that no one cares."

Like all great struggles, the digital piracy revolution has deep roots.

Throughout its history, the music business has exploited both its customers and its artists. Instead of seeking to catapult great artists into the world, the music business has manufactured demand for a packaged product. Radio and television have served as the factories for transforming millions of dollars into artificial superstars "forced" into the world's ears. And when the "hit" sticks, the consumer then had to spend a full album's worth of music for that one song.

As Congress seeks to rebuild copyright through legislation, the present invention rebuilds copyright by earning— not forcing— the digital pirate's embrace. By its very nature, copyright's relevance emerges from society's legitimate acknowledgement of its authority. In an age when technology seemingly always will outpace copyright's reach, such an acknowledgment only will occur under a new regime of entertainment industry business practices. That new regime must amplify and not silence the consumer's voice. It must empower and not manipulate the consumer. It must bring the ever-growing masses "bearing arms" against the music business and, ultimately, the entertainment industry to enjoy life's soundtrack without resenting its source.

I. The Present Invention

hi view of all of the above, there remains a need for the entertainment industry to rebuild copyright in the digital entertainment marketplace. Specifically, there remains a need for a system and method that enables universal ownership of copyrighted artistic works. Such can occur through a free global stock exchange for the entertainment industry, which provides global consumers, at no cost, free financial payouts based on "their" artist's commercial earnings from copyrighted artistic works and other products and services, similar to dividends or royalties.

Through a consumer-powered/owned entertainment industry, global consumers return to personal acquiescence to copyright.

As stated, in view of all of the above, there remains a need for the entertainment industry to rebuild copyright in the digital entertainment marketplace.

All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method to address the technical problem of digital piracy by creating a financial relationship between an artist and a consumer, at no cost to the consumer, via an electronic platform operating on at least one computer, television, phone, tablet, game console or other electronic device connected, via a network including Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, to at least one database is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: (a) displaying, via an electronic platform operating on at least one computer, television, phone, tablet, game console or other electronic device connected, via a network including Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, to at least one database: (i) at least one artistic work of one artist that is a candidate for creating a financial relationship with at least one consumer; and (ii) at least one artistic work of one other artist that is a candidate for creating a financial relationship with at least one consumer; (iii) permitting at least one consumer, at no cost to the consumer, to vote for the one artist of (a)(i) or the one other artist of (a)(ii); and (b) displaying, via at least one of the electronic devices, information about an amount of money the consumer can collect, the amount of money calculated by factoring in a metric related to the commercial success of the one artist of (a)(i), if the one artist of (a)(i) receives at least one more vote of the voting mechanism than the one other artist of (a)(ii) and if the at least one consumer voted for the artist of (a)(i).

A method to address the technical problem of digital piracy by creating a financial relationship between an artist and a consumer, at no cost to the consumer, via at least one of said electronic platforms operating through at least one of said electronic devices connected, via a network such as Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, to at least one database is disclosed. The method comprising the steps of: (a) displaying, via at least one of the electronic platforms operating through at least one of the electronic devices connected, via a network including Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, to at least one database, information about at least one artist who has agreed to create a financial relationship with at least one consumer; (b) displaying, via at least one of the electronic devices, information for at least one consumer to sign-up, at no cost to the consumer, for a financial relationship with the at least one artist; and (c) displaying, via at least one of the electronic devices, information about an amount of money the at least one consumer can collect, the amount of money calculated by factoring in a metric related to the commercial success of said artist of (a)(i).

A system to address the technical problem of digital piracy by creating a financial relationship between an artist and a consumer, at no cost to the consumer is disclosed. The system comprises: an electronic platform operating on at least one computer, television, phone, tablet, game console or other electronic device for use by at least one consumer; a network including Internet, internet, LAN or cell over which said electronic platform is in communication with; at least one database in communication with said network. The database comprises: (i) at least one artistic work of one artist that is a candidate for creating a financial relationship with at least one consumer; (ii) at least one artistic work of one other artist that is a candidate for creating a financial relationship with at least one consumer; and (iii) a voting mechanism through which at least one consumer selects, at no cost to the consumer, the one artist or the one other artist; and wherein the electronic platform displays, via at least one of the electronic devices, information about an amount of money the at least one consumer can collect, the amount of money calculated by factoring in a metric related to the commercial success of the one artist, if the one artist receives at least one more vote of the voting mechanism than the one other artist and if the at least one consumer voted for the one artist.

A system to address the technical problem of digital piracy by creating a financial relationship between an artist and a consumer, at no cost to the consumer is disclosed. The system comprises: an electronic platform operating on at least one computer, television, phone, tablet, game console or other electronic device for use by at least one consumer; a network including Internet, internet, LAN or cell over which the electronic platform is in communication with; at least one database in communication with the network. The database comprises: (i) information about at least one artist who has agreed to create a financial relationship with at least one consumer; and (ii) information for at least one consumer to sign-up, at no cost to the consumer, for a financial relationship with the at least one artist; and wherein the electronic platform displays, via at least one of the electronic devices, information about an amount of money the at least one consumer can collect, the amount of money calculated by factoring in a metric related to the commercial success of the at least one artist if the at least one consumer signed up for a financial relationship with the at least one artist.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals designate like elements and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a chart demonstrating the collapse of the historical entertainment industry due to disregard for copyright;

Fig. 2A is a block diagram of a system that depicts an implementation of the free global stock exchange;

Fig. 2B is of a system that depicts another implementation of the free global stock exchange;

Fig. 3 is a diagram demonstrating how money from the entertainment industry is shared with consumers through Premium Stock;

Fig. 4 is a diagram demonstrating the various electronic platforms through which a consumer can access the free global stock exchange;

Fig. 5A is a block diagram demonstrating the method of implementing a free, straight Direct Public Offering;

Fig. 5B is another block diagram demonstrating the method of implementing a free, straight Direct Public Offering;

Fig. 6A is a block diagram demonstrating the method of implementing a free, consumer-powered Direct Public Offering;

Fig. 6B is another block diagram demonstrating the method of implementing a free, consumer-powered Direct Public Offering;

Fig. 7 A is a demonstration of the various dimensions of Premium Stock;

Fig. 7B is a demonstration of the various products and services a recording artist can offer; Fig. 7C is a demonstration of the global gift-giving aspect of the free, global stock exchange, through which stockowners donate a portion of their free payouts from publicly-held artist earnings to a philanthropic cause or causes;

Fig. 7D is a demonstration of the exclusive benefits and services provided by Premium Stock;

Fig. 7E is a prospective payout schedule for stockowners when their publicly-held artist earns $1 million;

Fig. 7F is a prospective payout schedule for stockowners when their publicly- held artist earns $ 10 million;

Fig. 8 is a demonstration of the strength of the relationship between publicly- held artists and their stockholders, creating acquiescence to copyright;

Fig. 9 is a block diagram demonstrating marketing of copyrighted artistic works and other artist products and services to the global public;

Fig. 1 OA is a display screen of an exemplary home page for the website electronic platform;

Fig. 10B is another display screen of an exemplary home page for the website electronic platform;

Fig. 10C is a display screen of an exemplary welcome page and tutorial for the website electronic platform;

Fig. 10D is a display screen of an exemplary voting environment for the website electronic platform;

Fig. 10E is a display screen of an exemplary voting environment for the website electronic platform demonstrating the media play feature on the display screen;

Fig. 1 OF is a display screen of the global lottery ticket provided to consumers who select an artist for a Direct Public Offering;

Fig. 10G is a display screen where a consumer may monitor his or her global lottery ticket and access artist rankings and other tracking information;

Fig. 1 OH is a display screen that provides a consumer the tools to promote their artist and OCULUS and improve their odds of winning a higher level of Premium Stock;

Fig. 1 1 is a chart describing the various components of the television network embodiment of the free global stock exchange; Fig. 12 is an exemplar display of the Advanced Television Converter software;

Fig. 13 is an exemplar display of the desktop version of the electronic platform;

Fig. 14 is an exemplar display of the phone/portable electronic platform;

Fig. 15 is a block diagram of the global artist discovery process;

Fig. 16 is a chart demonstrating how Premium Stock rapidly is spread to the world;

Fig. 17 A is a chart demonstrating the implications on copyright of the free, straight Direct Public Offering; and

Fig. 17B is a chart demonstrating the implications on copyright of the free, consumer-powered Direct Public Offering.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown most clearly in Figs. 2A and 2B, the present invention comprises a system for the entertainment industry to rebuild copyright for the digital age through "universal" copyright ownership. Figs. 5A to 6B show a series of flow diagrams demonstrating a complementing method for the entertainment industry to rebuild copyright through universal copyright ownership.

While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific examples thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

To solve the aforementioned need, specifically, via electronic platforms developed for computers, televisions, phones, tablets, game consoles and other electronic devices connected to at least one database (potentially hosted and/or managed in the Cloud), via a network such as Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, the system and method of the present invention enables universal copyright ownership via a free global stock exchange for the entertainment industry, referred to as "OCULUS." As demonstrated in Fig. 3, it does so by providing global consumers a free financial interest in the commercial success of an artist's copyrighted material through free "stock" in the artist, which distributes free monetary payouts based on earnings from copyrighted artistic works, similar to a dividend or royalty based on artist commercial performance.

There are at least two ideal embodiments of the present invention: (1 ) the free, straight Direct Public Offering ("DPO"); and (2) the free, consumer-powered DPO. That is not to mean that there are no other means of executing a "free" artist DPO to accomplish the same result as the present invention: universal copyright ownership.

A DPO, in the context of the present invention, is a free distribution of "Premium Stock"— a special type of financial instrument analogous to stock and unique to the present invention— to the consuming public. As described in detail later and demonstrated in Fig. 7A, through Premium Stock, consumer "stockowners" receive free monetary payouts based on their artist's commercial success. In turn, consumers gain a monetary interest in each copyrighted work produced by a musician, a filmmaker, author or other artist, leading to universal ownership of copyright.

It should be noted that, with reference to a musician, the terminology refers to a single musician, a band or some other grouping. Similarly, the filmmaker, author or other artist terminology also can mean some grouping.

I. Free, Straight Direct Public Offering As demonstrated in Fig. 5A, the straight, free DPO operates as follows.

• As demonstrated in Fig. 4, consumers access "OCULUS," the free global stock exchange of the entertainment industry, displays the OCULUS front- end display on a computer, television, phone, game console or other portable or electronic device.

• Via an OCULUS electronic platform, at least one artist is featured for a DPO.

• Via an OCULUS electronic platform, consumers select at least one artist to "sign up" for the artist(s)' DPO of Premium Stock.

• Via an OCULUS electronic platform, Premium Stock in an artist is

distributed to consumers who "signed up" for that artist(s).

• Via an OCULUS electronic platform, consumer stockowners receive free monetary payouts from Premium Stock, based on their artist's commercial earnings from copyrighted artistic works (e.g., music, literature, film) and other products and services, as demonstrated in Fig. 7A.

• Consumers form a vested emotional and financial interest in their artist's commercial success and, thus, are motivated to purchase the artist's copyrighted artistic works and to encourage others to purchase the artist's works.

• To strengthen the impact of the stock ownership, the publicly-held artist is commercialized with advanced business practices in artist development, marketing and delivery, focusing on electronic means and targeting the Stockowner and the general public.

It should be noted that, while the above operates via an "OCULUS electronic platform," the OCULUS Stock Exchange does not have to operate exclusively within the four-corners of an OCULUS electronic platform. OCULUS may operate in conjunction/partnership with third-party service providers, such as PayPal, Amazon or another, to execute the embodiment of the present invention.

In short, as demonstrated in Fig. 5B, the straight, free DPO involves:

• Step 1. Consumers select which artist(s) they would like to own "stock" in, via the OCULUS website and other OCULUS electronic platforms.

• Step 2. Consumers who select an artist receive free "stock," called Premium Stock, in the selected artist, with Premium Stock managed via an OCULUS electronic platform.

It should be understood that the straight, free DPO may be capped at a certain number of consumers, limited by a time constraint or subject to another limitation.

Π. Free, Consumer-Powered Direct Public Offering

As demonstrated in Fig. 6A, the second type of Premium Stock offering, the free, consumer-powered DPO, involves additional components but produces a profound resulting ownership interest:

• As demonstrated in Fig. 4, consumers access "OCULUS," the free global stock exchange of the entertainment industry, which operates through an electronic platform that displays the OCULUS front-end display on a computer, television, phone, game console or other portable or electronic device.

• Via an OCULUS electronic platform, consumers evaluate a selected group of candidate artists, such as musicians, filmmakers or authors.

• Consumer votes are recorded and tallied via an electronic voting mechanism existing on an OCULUS electronic platform.

• If a consumer votes for a winning artist, he or she receives free "stock," called Premium Stock, in the publicly-held artist. Via an OCULUS electronic platform, Premium Stock in an artist is distributed to consumers.

• Via an OCULUS electronic platform, consumer stockowners receive free monetary payouts from Premium Stock, based on their artist's commercial earnings from copyrighted artistic works (e.g., music, film, literature) and other products and services, as demonstrated in FIG 7A.

• Consumers form a vested emotional and financial interest in their artist's commercial success and, thus, are motivated to purchase the artist's copyrighted artistic works and to encourage others to purchase the artist's works.

• To strengthen the impact of the stock ownership, the publicly-held artist is commercialized with advanced business practices in artist development, marketing and delivery, focusing on electronic means and targeting the Stockowner and the general public. Once again, it should be noted that, while the above operates via an

"OCULUS electronic platform," the OCULUS Stock Exchange does not have to operate exclusively within the four-corners of an OCULUS electronic platform. OCULUS may operate in conjunction/partnership with third-party service providers, such as PayPal, Amazon or another, to execute the embodiment of the present invention.

In short, as demonstrated in Fig. 6B, the free, consumer-powered DPO involves:

• Step 1. Consumers vote for one of several featured artists on the OCULUS website and other OCULUS electronic platforms.

• Step 2. If a consumer votes for a winning artist, he or she receives free

"stock," called Premium Stock, in the publicly-held artist, with Premium Stock managed via the OCULUS website and other electronic platforms. It should be understood that the free, consumer-powered DPO may be capped at a certain number of consumers, limited by a time constraint or subject to another limitation.

Given its complexity and importance, the free, consumer-powered DPO deserves more attention. Referring in detail to the free, consumer-powered DPO, the following are the core elements, as demonstrated in Fig. 5A. First, consider the primary features of the free, consumer-powered DPO: consumer-powered and consumer-owned entertainment. Second, consider the result of the free, consumer- powered DPO and its features: Premium Stock ownership. Third, consider the entertainment industry value chain, as created by the free, consumer-powered DPO.

When focusing on the free, consumer-powered DPO, it should be understood that most of the descriptions below apply equally or, at least, similarly to the free, straight DPO. For example, the second section, on Premium Stock ownership, is interchangeable, as is the section on the entertainment industry value chain (with some revision, such as in artist selection for DPO and the alphanumeric data used for development, marketing and delivery).

A. Primary Components of Free, Consumer-Powered DPO

The primary dimensions of the free, consumer-powered DPO are consumer- powered entertainment and consumer-owned entertainment. Through consumer- powered entertainment, the global public votes to decide which artists rise to stardom and distribute Premium Stock to the public; subsequently, through consumer-owned entertainment, the global public who voted the publicly-held artist to stardom receives a free financial interest in the wining artist's future commercial success, distributed via free payouts. Complementing, the global public participates in a global gift-giving campaign, financing and learning about a philanthropic cause or causes around the world, such as the Cure for Cancer.

1. Consumer-Powered Entertainment

The first dimension of OCULUS is consumer-powered entertainment.

Similar to U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,008 (Chacker), whose entire disclosure is incorporated herein, OCULUS, via its website or other electronic platform, showcases ten aspiring artists per genre per entertainment sector (e.g., music sector) to the global public. Using a simple voting mechanism, the global public— recruited from around the world through the OCULUS Ecosystem (discussed in detail later), social media and other channels— votes for its preferred artists. The entertainment industry then brings to market for DPO only those artists that demonstrate a critical volume of consumer support, evidenced by global voting. These consumer-tested, consumer-demanded artists are marketed and sold directly back to the demanding global public.

It should be noted that there is no limitation to the variations of showcasing an artist (e.g., simple profile with audio and video clips) and enabling voting. To begin, any volume of artists can be showcased in any manner for voting, although ten is the recommended volume to create a manageable figure.

In addition, the voting mechanism used on the OCULUS electronic platform may take many forms, such as a one vote per person regime, a multiple votes per person regime or an interactive game regime in which consumers can participate in a creative manner to express their vote affirmatively.

2. Consumer-Owned Entertainment

The second feature of OCULUS is consumer-owned entertainment.

After the global public votes, each OCULUS user who voted for the "winning" artist receives a free financial interest— much like a stock interest— in the future commercial success of the artist. Specifically, if a user votes for the winning artist, he or she receives a share of the artist's future earnings (e.g., music, live), distributed via free monetary payouts through PayPal, a bank account or another transaction vehicle. This is a 360 degree deal for the consumer. The user receives free payouts from a full gamut of artist product and service revenue streams from entertainment industry sectors, such as copyrighted music, film or literature. By way of example only, Fig. 7B demonstrates the various products and services provided by an artist in music, such as copyrighted music, live entertainment and commercial endorsements.

Beyond free payouts, consumer-owned entertainment includes involvement in a global campaign to finance a global philanthropic cause or causes. This campaign is designed to connect the world through entertainment in a social movement.

For example, the present invention may focus on the Cure for Cancer.

Specifically, winning users may automatically make a personal gift of a percentage of their free payouts based on artist earnings directly to Cancer research, treatment and prevention.

To be clear, the gift portion of a user's payout is not transferred to the user's account and cannot be claimed as a charitable deduction. OCULUS donates the gift on the user's behalf and the gift is merely reflected in the user's account.

With OCULUS, all funds earmarked for a global philanthropic cause or causes are combined into enormous endowments, contributing to global human triumphs. In so doing, OCULUS transforms each Stockowner into a globally connected gift-giver. In short, OCULUS transforms every song or other copyrighted artistic work into a wristband for the global philanthropic cause or causes.

It should be noted that the social element of the present invention need not necessarily be implemented. The social element does, however, build an important connection between consumer ownership of copyright and a major social movement driving universal ownership of copyright, and thus the public's embrace of copyright.

B. Detailed Description of Premium Stock

As explained above, if a user votes for the wining artist, he or she receives free Premium Stock in the artist— providing the user free payouts based on the artist's future commercial success. Further, as described above, Premium Stock has additional components, such as participation in a major social philanthropic movement, such as the Cure for Cancer. Premium Stock also includes exclusive benefits and services, each of which makes Premium Stock more attractive to the consumer, driving universal ownership.

Expanding on the discussions above, Premium Stock has three primary components: (1) personal wealth; (2) global connection; and (3) exclusive benefits and services.

Personal Wealth. First, as described above, through Premium Stock each

Stockowner receives a free financial interest— much like a stock interest— in the future commercial success of his or her artist. Specifically, the Stockowner receives a share of his or her publicly-held artist's earnings for five years (or another length of time), distributed via free payouts over an electronic transaction vehicle, such as PayPal or a bank account.

As demonstrated in Figs. 7E and 7F, in order to ensure more than mere meaningless payouts (such as a penny or a fraction thereof) to potentially millions of Stockowners OCULUS provides for multiple levels of Premium Stock, creating a lottery-type environment. Each Premium Stock level provides a different potential payout amount. Each Stockowner' s level is determined by random computer selection and announced during a global broadcast event occurring on an OCULUS electronic platform, when, in the case of the free, consumer-powered DPO, the winning artist is announced.

The exact number of payout levels used is not critical, but five levels is recommended, as described below. To be clear, OCULUS can operate without multiple payout levels, when the number of Stockowners is not capped, in which case the payouts function more as a token than substantive payouts. In the case of de minimis payouts, that money then can be donated to charities, based on consumer voting/selection, or treated in some other manner that gives the de minimis payouts value.

Further, the payout schedules in Figs. 7E and 7F need not be based on artist earnings specifically. Figs. 7E and 7F demonstrate the five payout levels when an artist earns one-million or ten-million dollars respectively. When implementing the present invention, though, any appropriate metric can be used to determine a Stockowner' s payouts, such as volume of products/services sold.

With the recommended implementation at five levels of stock, the highest level of Premium Stock is Million Dollar Stock, providing total payouts of up to $1 ,000,000 over five years, depending on artist earnings. It should be noted that, rather than having an "up to" payout amount, OCULUS could include a "guaranteed minimum" payout, flowing from advertising revenues and/or other revenue sources.

At the other end of the spectrum is Gift Stock. If a Stockowner does not win a higher level of Premium Stock, he or she is guaranteed to win Gift Stock.

Gift Stock provides only small, seemingly insignificant payouts (perhaps a penny or a fraction thereof) for five years, but Gift Stock connects the world in a big way. Through Gift Stock, all Gift Stockowner's de minimis payouts are combined into large, collective endowments. Gift Stockowners vote to decide which global charities to finance and support with their collective endowment.

To create an effective payout schedule, it is recommended that 50% of earnings go to Stockowners, with 25% going to the publicly held artist and 25% going to OCULUS. Other breakdowns, of course, also could work. Payouts occur annually but can occur weekly, monthly or according to another time frame.

Premium Stock lasts a minimum of five years, with additional years subject to the artist's discretion.

Global Connection. Second, as described above and demonstrated in Fig. 7C, Stockowners unite in a social movement around the world. Through a global campaign, each Stockowner automatically gives a percentage (e.g., 25%) of his or her payouts to finance global charities (i.e., global human triumphs). All

Stockowner gifts are combined around the world to form enormous endowments, significantly influencing global philanthropic causes. In turn, OCULUS transforms each Stockowner into a global gift-giver, connecting him or her to users around the world in a social philanthropic movement.

Exclusive Benefits and Services. In addition to participation in a major social philanthropic movement, as demonstrated in Fig. D., Premium Stock provides a range of other benefits and services. For example, they include:

• Collaborate with the Artist. Stockowners collaborate with their artists, meeting through an interactive studio on OCULUS where they help determine the name of the artist's next song, the title of the artist's next chapter and another creative aspect.

• Universal Discount. Stockowners receive a universal discount (e.g., 10%) off on their artist's products and services (e.g., music, live).

• Promotion Tools. Stockowners have the tools to promote their artist through interactive social media marketing and other marketing, such as traditional offline advertisements; in so doing, they make more money for their artist, themselves and the relevant social philanthropic movement(s). • Meaningful Testimonials. Stockowners access written, audio and text testimonials of people whose lives they influence with their artist's entertainment and their gifts to the relevant social philanthropic

movement(s).

· Other Exclusive Benefits and Services. Stockowners enjoy an evolving array of exclusive benefits and services, each making the Premium Stock experience more meaningful.

C. Advanced, Publicly-Held Artist Value Chain

The Advanced, Publicly-Held Artist Value Chain is discussed in detail below and demonstrated in Fig. 15. The value chain is designed to emphasize the power of copyright.

1. Artist Discovery

The beginning of the publicly-held artist value chain is artist discovery. In addition to producing artists and associated copyrights demanded/owned by the public, OCULUS is a vehicle to discover the world's premier artists.

First, OCULUS relies upon traditional artist discovery practice— expert talent executives.

Second, and most importantly, a feature of OCULUS called the Artist Discovery Subsystem (available on the OCULUS website or other electronic platform) enables OCULUS to unearth the world's best talents.

As described in detail below, the OCULUS Artist Discovery Subsystem is a revolutionary channel for discovering the world's premier artists. First, the Artist Discovery Subsystem enables evaluation of the full community of global artists with its low barriers to artist entry. Second, the Artist Discovery Subsystem enables intelligent, consumer-driven discovery of the world's premier artists.

a. Global Submission over Open System

Similar to U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,008 (Chacker), to enable discovery of the world's premier artists, any aspiring artist, regardless of geography or means, can audition for a DPO by submitting an artistic work into an audition database over an OCULUS electronic platform. In a more elaborate design, various services complement, such as music production tools, instrument stores and auctions, aspiring artist networking environments, expert feedback forums, special events and submission tracking devices.

To begin, it should be noted that the global artist community is an enormous and technologically advanced community. OCULUS offers an attractive platform for artists around the world to showcase their talent.

In the United States alone, over 25% of the population over age twelve, or 53 million people, actively make music. (Source: Gallup). In addition, approximately 62% of households contain an amateur musician. (Source: National Association of Music Merchants). Those musicians represent a broad spectrum of breeds, including hobbyists, amateurs, semi-professionals and professionals. (Source: Gallup).

At the same time, technology has changed artist creative practices. For example, while making music once cost thousands of dollars in studio and production, an artist now may produce an album of high quality music inexpensively through computer-based recording studios. Among others, Apple Computer now provides the GarageBand software application, a fully-enabled recording studio at under $100.

For the global artist market, OCULUS offers compelling incentives and rewards for participation.

To begin, the global community of artists comes to OCULUS to be discovered at minimal expense and with no time or geographical limitations to showcase their talent. To minimize any cost limitations, OCULUS provides all artists in the Artist Discovery Subsystem services such as no-cost Web hosting and at-cost self-promotion materials. In so doing, OCULUS gives each artist a platform to be discovered from anywhere around the world.

In addition, artists come to OCULUS to be considered for global showcasing and voting to become a publicly-held artist. Artists selected for global showcasing and voting receive:

Financial compensation

· Impactful global promotion

Development of deep relationships with global consumers

• Global market data on demographic target markets

• Opportunity to become a publicly-held artist If an artist becomes a publicly-held artist, the rewards are extraordinary.

With OCULUS backing, a publicly-held artist has an established, incentivized consumer base and expansive reach.

With OCULUS driving revenues, the artist receives cash advances, healthcare benefits and a percentage (e.g., 25%) of all copyrighted artistic works and other product and service earnings. In addition, the artist receives a full array of management services to maximize experience and earnings.

2. Premier Artist Filter

In order to whittle down the volume of candidate artists to facilitate manageable consumer evaluation of a select pool of artists, the value chain may include a showcase filter.

a. Artist Audition

As per U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,008 (Chacker), it is recommended that some preselection occur to present a manageable pool of artists to the consuming public:

First, executives can pre-select artists by navigating the ever-expanding database of submissions through pairwise comparisons. That is, instead of evaluating every submitting artist on its own, each artist is compared against one other on decision criteria. In turn, submitting artists steadily are considered one-by- one, with the cream rising to the top; and

Second, similar to U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,008 (Chacker), as discussed below, through the OCULUS "Artist Discovery Subsystem," the consuming public may be empowered to decide which submitting artists are presented as candidate artists over the OCULUS electronic platforms. Via a consumer-powered artist identification process, the OCULUS Artist Discovery Subsystem enables intelligent discovery of the world's premier artists.

b. Artist Showcase Preparation

Once an artist is selected for showcasing over the OCULUS electronic platforms, the candidate artist can receive a "showcase studio" to ensure compelling and cost effective presentation of the artist's qualities. Through a "showcase studio," a candidate artist receives the tools to prepare compelling media and information for presentation over the open system (e.g., video camera, laptop, software). After recording relevant media and information, the artist then can upload electronically. Professional editing then can follow.

3. Publicly-Held Artist Selection

a. Artist Showcase

Through an OCULUS electronic platform, consumers experience a showcase of the world's leading prospective blockbuster artists from music, literature, video gaming and other entertainment sectors. Each artist is competing to become a publicly-held artist that distributes Premium Stock to the consuming public. The candidate artist showcase may encompass the presentation of modest artist profiles for on demand consumption, including graphics, audio, video and text, artistic works performed over a radio station or television network and/or any similarly effective demonstration of an artist's talent.

As stated previously, it should be noted that there is no limitation to the variations of how to showcase an artist effectively.

b. Electronic Voting Mechanism

Through a voting mechanism provided over the OCULUS electronic platform, consumers vote on a collection of artists to determine which showcased artists distribute Premium Stock to the public; in doing so, they, and not executives, power entertainment.

As stated previously, the voting mechanism used on the OCULUS electronic platform may take many forms, such as a one vote per person regime, a multiple votes per person regime or an interactive game regime in which consumers can participate in a creative manner to express their vote affirmatively.

4. Premium Stock Ownership via OCULUS Electronic Platforms As explained above, if a user votes for the wining artist, he or she receives free Premium Stock, in the artist— providing the user free payouts based on the artist's future commercial success. Further, as described above, Premium Stock has additional components, such as participation in a major social philanthropic movement, such as the Cure for Cancer. Premium Stock also includes exclusive benefits and services, each of which make Premium Stock more attractive to the consumer, driving universal ownership.

After the voting term (or maximum volume of votes, etc.) has expired, Premium Stock is distributed to the world via a global broadcast event occurring on the OCULUS electronic platforms. During that event, first, the winning artist is announced. The winning artist is determined based on an algorithm that factors consumer voting, market demand, correlation of artist vote to sales data and other data, etc. Therefore, an executive may end up making the final selection decision after analyzing various data. Second, the level of Premium Stock a user has won in the publicly-held artist will be announced, ranging from Gift Stock to Million Dollar Stock (under the recommended implementation).

Premium Stock ownership is managed via the OCULUS electronic platforms. As demonstrated on Fig. 7A and discussed in detail above, via an OCULUS electronic platform, Stockowners experience: (1) personal wealth; (2) global connection; and (3) exclusive benefits and services.

Once again, it should be noted that, while the above operates via an

"OCULUS electronic platform," the OCULUS Stock Exchange does not have to operate exclusively within the four-corners of an OCULUS website or other electronic platform. OCULUS may operate in conjunction/partnership with third- party service providers, such as PayPal, Amazon or another, to execute the embodiment of the present invention.

5. High Impact, Low Cost Commercialization

a. Advanced Development

A rich portfolio of copyrighted artistic works and other product and service offerings then may be financed and developed by/in conjunction with the now publicly-held artist. The artist is a brand and not as a single piece of entertainment (e.g., in music, the treatment of an artist as a "hit" song for marketing purposes).

Thus, as demonstrated in Fig. 7B, there are numerous offerings that can complement sales from copyrighted artistic works. For example, in music, with each artist, at least nine different categories of entertainment products or services may be developed, including recorded music (distributed by mail-order compact disk, digital download, artist digital subscription, etc.), artist endorsements, apparel, live, publishing, electronic artist radio, electronic artist television programs, electronic magazine, artist electronic destination and others.

In order to maximize return on investment, intelligence collected from OCULUS can drive entertainment product and service development, both in producing successful copyrighted artistic works and other offerings and in planning release schedules for those offerings. Regarding effective offerings, by aggregating consumer feedback to determine the largest demographic of consumers demanding a particular artist, the entertainment business may gear offerings to the known demands of that demographic. Regarding offering release schedules, as only one example, the entertainment business may track personal behaviors from the consumer empowerment process through consumer electronic purchasing to determine and manage product life cycles.

In addition, as the artist develops a product and service portfolio, the artist can collaborate with Stockowners around the world by accessing a virtual studio. Through chat sessions, video conferencing and o other communications occurring through the OCULUS electronic platform, the artist forms a one-to-one relationship with each Stockowner, inviting the Stockowner to participate in the creative process through opinion polls, submission requests and other channels,

b. Advanced Marketing

First, before any artist distributes Premium Stock to the world, OCULUS tests and ensures the commercial demand of the artist— each publicly-held artist is of demonstrated commercial attractiveness, as announced through global voting.

Publicly-held artist offerings then are effectively marketed to two markets: (1)

Stockowners (i.e., OCULUS users who voted for the publicly-held artist and have a vested emotional and financial interest in the future commercial success of the publicly-held artist); and (2) the remaining global public.

First, before any artist distributes Premium Stock to the world, OCULUS tests and ensures the commercial demand of the artist— each publicly-held artist is of demonstrated commercial attractiveness, as announced through global voting.

As explained previously, similar to U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,008 (Chacker), to test the commercial demand of each artist, OCULUS showcases ten aspiring artists per genre per entertainment sector at a time. Of course, OCULUS may focus on any single or multiple entertainment sectors and genres. Through a simple voting mechanism, the public, recruited from around the world through the OCULUS Ecosystem (described in detail later), social media and other channels, votes on which artist(s) it demands. Based on global voting data, the public— not a group of speculating executives— decides which artists warrant Premium Stock distribution as a publicly-held artist. Thus, through crowd-sourcing, OCULUS creates a global focus group of consumers that evaluates each prospective publicly-held artist.

Second, after artist demand testing, OCULUS enables marketing of copyrighted artistic works and other products and services effectively to two markets: (1) Stockowners (i.e., OCULUS users who voted for the publicly-held artist); and (2) the remaining global public.

The primary market for any publicly-held artist is Stockowners. For this demographic, artists are able to do precise customer relationship management ("CRM"). The artist/Stockowner relationship CRM is carefully managed. OCULUS forms meaningful and lasting relationships between Stockowners, who voted for the publicly-held artist, and the publicly-held artist, leading to significant market demand. Further, to purchase the artist's products and services, Stockowners access a personalized marketplace directly on OCULUS, without even having to leave the OCULUS electronic platform, or a complementing external marketplace.

The full scope of the relationship is demonstrated on Fig. 8. The relationship begins with an initial demonstrated attraction to the artist and evolves to form an emotional relationship after powering the artist's rise to stardom and, finally, a financial ownership relationship, via the receipt of Premium Stock.

In short, the relationship begins during the voting process, when

Stockowners demonstrate their attraction to the artist with a vote. At the same time, they form a vested emotional interest in powering the artist's rise to stardom.

OCULUS then strengthens that relationship for the long term by providing each consumer who voted for the publicly-held artist an actual financial interest— much like a stock interest— in the future commercial success of the publicly-held artist— through Premium Stock providing free payouts from a share of the publicly-held artist's future earnings (e.g., music, live).

Enhancing the relationship further, OCULUS creates a profound connection between each Stockowner and a profound global social movement or movements, such as the Cure for Cancer. In the Cure for Cancer context, Stockowners automatically give a percentage (e.g., 25%) of their free payouts from artist earnings directly to Cancer research, treatment and prevention. All funds earmarked for the Cure for Cancer and collected from around the world are combined into enormous endowments, significantly influencing the Cure and saving lives.

It should be noted, once again, that the philanthropic gift portion of a Stockowner' s payouts is not transferred to the user's account and cannot be claimed as a charitable deduction. OCULUS donates the gift on the user's behalf. The gift is only reflected in the user's account.

Thus, OCULUS forms meaningful and lasting relationships between Stockowners and each publicly-held artist, generating significant commercial demand. These relationships drive Stockowners, who have a vested interest in their artist's success, to consume their artist's products and services, including copyrighted artistic works.

To purchase the publicly-held artist's products and services, Stockowners need not look far— they simply visit a personalized marketplace directly on

OCULUS or a complementing external marketplace, described in more detail below. Personalization flows from data aggregated during the voting process and consumer consumption behaviors.

The secondary market for any publicly-held artist is the remaining global public.

First, as demonstrated in Fig. 9, through voting data, OCULUS pinpoints the most popular consumer demographic groups who are attracted to a publicly-held artist. OCULUS then targets those markets with a laser, using traditional marketing tactics, through both electronic (e.g., banner ads on OCULUS or another, third-party platform) and offline means (e.g., radio, television and print ads and coverage), to influence the target market, but powered by its rich, proprietary data.

Specifically, OCULUS identifies a publicly-held artist's target market through databases of user information. Prior to voting on OCULUS, users register for OCULUS, providing name, age, gender, location and other information. That information is managed into proprietary databases, which track each publicly-held artist for which each user votes. Information on each user voting for a publicly-held artist is aggregated into a consumer demographic profile. OCULUS exploits that consumer demographic profile for marketing throughout the entertainment business value chain, including in strategic development and traditional marketing of publicly-held artists.

Second, the remaining global public is influenced by Stockowners. Stockowners are incentivized to promote the publicly-held artist through word-of-mouth due to their vested interest in the artist's commercial success.

Specifically, OCULUS drives Stockowners to promote the publicly-held artists to family, friends and other people in their network through social media and other platforms. In addition to other incentives, the more products and services a publicly-held artist helps sell, the more money the Stockowner receives. Further, the more commercial success an artist has, the more money is gifted to a global philanthropic cause or causes around the world, such as the Cure for Cancer and, through Gift Stock, other global charities. Third, once influenced by intelligent traditional marketing and/or word-of- mouth, the global public has easy access to purchasing publicly-held artist products and services. Publicly-held artist products and services are sold directly back to the global public through a marketplace operating outside OCULUS— personalized based on demographic, target market data— and affiliate/partner marketplaces.

6. Advanced Delivery

Publicly-held artists' copyrighted artistic works and other products and services are sold directly to demanding consumers. Specifically, at least three distribution channels are employed. Each electronic channel relies on OCULUS target market data for personalization and maximum effectiveness. Publicly-held artist offerings are distributed: (1) internally on OCULUS, through a personalized marketplace for each user; (2) through a personalized external marketplace complementing OCULUS; and (3) through potentially personalized external affiliates, such as iTunes and Amazon,

a. Internal OCULUS Marketplace

First, the Stockowner has access to a fully enabled, personalized marketplace directly within OCULUS, providing everything from a single download to a live concert ticket. Personalization flows from user data aggregated during the voting process, consumer consumption behavior and other data.

b. Proprietary External Marketplace

Second, for global consumers outside of OCULUS, publicly-held artist products and services are sold directly through an electronic marketplace operating outside OCULUS and personalized based on demographic target market data. Through this digital store, the global public has easy access to purchasing publicly- held artist products and services.

For personalization, OCULUS pinpoints the most popular consumer demographic groups who demand the artist. Prior to voting on OCULUS, global consumers register for OCULUS, providing name, age, gender, location and other information. That information is managed into proprietary databases, which track each artist for which a user votes. Information on each user voting for a publicly- held artist is aggregated into a single consumer profile. OCULUS exploits that consumer profile for marketing throughout the entertainment business value chain, including in personalized selling of publicly-held artist offerings. c. Licensed Affiliate Marketplaces

Finally, publicly-held artist products and services are distributed through licensed affiliates (e.g., iTunes, Amazon). Once again, demographic demand data is shared to enable a personalized experience. For competitive advantage, many publicly-held artist products and services are made exclusive to the two OCULUS marketplaces for a certain period of time.

III. Electronic Platform Embodiments Whether the free global stock exchange is operating under a free, straight DPO regime or a free, consumer-powered DPO regime, each can be executed via multiple electronic platform embodiments, such as website, television, desktop, portable (e.g., phone, tablet) or game console. Not all electronic platforms need be implemented; any one of the listed platforms could suffice.

A. Website

The website is the first OCULUS electronic platform. It should be noted that the components described below regard the OCULUS website but may be applied to any of the electronic platform embodiments. For demonstration purposes, the listed components assume application of the free, consumer-powered DPO. Analogous components apply to the free, straight DPO, with minor revision.

The OCULUS website has the following components.

Home Page. As demonstrated in Figs. 10A and 10B, the Home Page introduces the user to OCULUS, presenting two central messages: consumer- powered entertainment and consumer-owned entertainment. From the Home Page, the user enters OCULUS through simple buttons. In addition, the user may login.

Tutorial (Welcome Screen). As demonstrated in Fig. IOC, the Tutorial, or Welcome Screen, opens in a modal window as an overlay on top of the Store/Vote Now window, described below. First, the Tutorial provides the user a general overview of how OCULUS works. Premium Stock is introduced. Second, the Tutorial provides the user a simple interactive tour, accessed via a link and open in the same modal window as the launch screen. The tour provides the user a simple step-by-step guide through how OCULUS works and why the user should participate on OCULUS. The user may exit the Launch Screen and the Tutorial through a simple button.

Store/Vote Now. As demonstrated in Figs. 10D to 1 OF, the Store/Vote Now screen is the section on OCULUS where the user votes for his or her artist. First, the user may research each of ten featured artists per genre per entertainment sector (e.g., music, film). For example, in music the user may access two song samples and a more detailed biography (appearing in an overlay modal window). In addition, the user may research via a search engine-branded tool, opening the branded search engine in a separate window. Second, to vote for an artist, the user simply selects "Vote" below the artist image, which then changes to "Selected". To enter a vote, the user selects the "Continue" button, opening the login screen and presenting the user with his or her lottery ticket— the ticket through which they win Premium Stock and, potentially, the Million Dollar Stock.

Store/My Lottery Ticket. As demonstrated in Fig. 10G, after the user has entered his or her vote, the user is directed to the My Lottery Ticket section of OCULUS. There, the user may view his or her lottery ticket and access daily power rankings, revealing trending artists. The top 1/4 to 1/3 of the page is dedicated to a month-long exclusive sponsor, beginning with one global sponsor and evolving to multiple, demographic-based sponsors.

Store/Maximize My Odds. As demonstrated in Fig. 10H, under the

Maximize My Odds section, users who have voted for an artist are given the opportunity to improve their odds of winning Million Dollar Stock or another higher level of Premium Stock. In short, through a points program, the more points a user acquires, the greater his or her odds. To acquire points, a user may: (1) promote OCULUS to friends, family and the rest of this or her network; and (2) vote again for his or her artist, with a max of one vote per day. Once again, the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the page is dedicated to a month-long exclusive sponsor, beginning with one global sponsor and evolving to multiple, demographic-based sponsors.

Store/My Results. Once the user has results to report, i.e., the user has won or not won Premium Stock in a selected artist, the user's results are featured under Store/My Results. The rationale/prize for playing (i.e., Premium Stock) is emphasized. Once again, the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the page is dedicated to a month-long exclusive sponsor, beginning with one global sponsor and evolving to multiple, demographic-based sponsors.

Broadcast Center. Through the Broadcast Center component of OCULUS, the user attends the Global Selection/Lottery Events, during which he or she will: • Discover whether his or her artist has won, based on total votes; and

• If the user's artist has won, discover which of the five levels of Premium Stock the user has won.

Before the Event, the Broadcast Center features an animated (i.e., Flash, video, etc.) preview of the Event, sponsor advertisements and commercials. At the Event, the information is released in a dramatic fashion, with sponsor commercials and advertisements interlaced. Numerous sponsorship opportunities exist in the Broadcast Center, including Super Bowl-style ten and thirty second commercials during the global broadcast and movie-theater style rotating, full-screen ads leading up to the Event.

My Stocks. Under the My Stocks component, after a user has won Premium Stock in an artist, his or her Premium Stock experience is centralized in the My Stocks section of OCULUS. Here, the user can, at least:

• Track and collect his or her payouts.

• Collaborate with his or her artist through interactive studios containing

personal invitations to events and Stockowner-wide events via global voting (e.g., voting on a song name).

• Experience his or her artist's entertainment (e.g., music, merchandise, live tickets, pay-per-view events) via his or her personal Stockowner discount.

• Promote his or her artist to friends, family and colleagues to increase the amount of money he or she, the artist and any involved philanthropic causes earn; and

• Access testimonials (i.e., written o or video) of people whose lives the user has influenced with his or her copyrighted artistic works.

Under My Stocks, the Stockowner receives multiple personal sponsors that form a relationship with the consumer over a week, year or other period of time.

AdvancedBeats. The AdvancedBeats component of OCULUS is a personalized retail marketplace for publicly-held artists that delivers copyrighted artistic works and other products and services directly to OCULUS users.

Essentially, AdvancedBeats functions as an interactive media center, offering retail, radio, television, magazines and other offerings of publicly-held artists. The internal AdvancedBeats marketplace links to the external marketplace when appropriate.

AdvancedCure. The AdvancedCure component of OCULUS is the information hub for the central social movement of the recommended execution of OCULUS— the global campaign to Cure Cancer. There, in addition to tracking fundraising efforts, the user can access research, testimonials and other content informing and inspiring the Cure.

Artist Discovery Subsystem. As detailed below, the Artist Discovery Subsystem component of OCULUS is the global talent village of OCULUS tlirough which artists rise to distinction based on consumer comment. The full Artist Discovery Subsystem is discussed in detail below.

B. Television

As demonstrated in Fig. 1 1 , OCULUS also can operate through an interactive television platform delivered via a television set, such as via DIRECTV. Interactive features might include the components described in the website implementation above and additionally necessary components.

In addition, OCULUS may be viewed via an interactive television network delivered over the computer and not a television set. Specifically, as demonstrated in Fig. 12, OCULUS uses an application called the "Advanced Television

Converter" to transform a computer into three modes of operation: (1) computer mode; (2) television mode; and (3) hybrid, picture-in-picture mode.

In television mode, the user can watch full screen, 24-hour programming from OCULUS, from artist showcases to news updates. On the interactive remote control, as demonstrated in Fig. 12, the user may access the various components of OCULUS. Via the Advanced Television Converter, the user also may watch additional channels using a simple channel up and down button.

C. Desktop

As demonstrated in Fig. 13, OCULUS also can operate through a simple desktop version, operating through a "pop-up" window/remote control, like AIM. Buttons on the application open larger windows containing appropriate content. Through the desktop platform, the user may access the components described in the website implementation above and additionally necessary components.

D. Portable & Evolution

As demonstrated in Fig. 14, OCULUS also can operate on electronic platforms for portable devices, such as phones and tablets, and through other electronic devices, such as game consoles. Through these devices, the user may access the components described in the website implementation above and additionally necessary components. IV. Additional OCULUS Components

In addition to the components discussed above, there are at least two additional components to OCULUS: (1) the Global Artist Discovery Subsystem; and (2) Personal Entertainment Delivery.

A. Global Artist Discovery Subsystem

The Global Artist Discovery Subsystem component of OCULUS is a revolutionary vehicle for the entertainment industry to discover the world's premier artists. First, the Artist Discovery Subsystem enables evaluation of the full community of global artists with its low barriers to entry distinction. Second, the Artist Discovery Subsystem enables intelligent, consumer-driven discovery of the world's premier artists.

To enter the Artist Discovery Subsystem, an artist creates an interactive profile (c.f, Facebook). That profile, designed through a simple template system, is stored in a public database available on OCULUS.

Through the profile, in the context of the of the music sector for example, the artist delivers music and videos, holds streamed concerts and live events, engages in chats and provides other user experiences. Most importantly, through the profile, the artist solicits and receives positive comments-— referred to as Recommendations— recommending the artist for commercialization.

Recommendations are the foundation of OCULUS talent discovery operations.

Specifically, the quantity and quality of Recommendations determines which artists rise to distinction. Talent specialists, with trained ears and eyes, evaluate top- performing artists to discover the world's premier artists.

Through these features, coupled with a global marketing campaign and the inherent low barriers to entry on OCULUS, the entertainment industry can expect to attract the world of artists. To begin, the global artist community is an enormous and technologically advanced market. Further, OCULUS participation offers compelling rewards. Thus, the Subsystem enables the entertainment industry to access the full community of global artists to unearth the world's best talents using a consumer-driven discovery process.

B. Personal Entertainment Delivery

As described in detail above, the Personal Entertainment Delivery component of OCULUS is a personalized retail marketplace for publicly-held artists that deliver copyrighted artistic works and other products and services directly to OCULUS users via the OCULUS electronic platforms. Essentially, the marketplace functions as an interactive media center, offering retail, radio, television, magazines and other offerings of publicly-held artists. The internal marketplace links to the external marketplace when appropriate.

Personalization flows from user data aggregated during the voting process, consumer consumption behavior and other data. Stockowners can enjoy their artist's works with precise personalization.

For new consumers to OCULUS, OCULUS pinpoints the most popular consumer demographic groups who demand the artist to fashion a personalized marketplace. As described above, prior to voting on OCULUS, global consumers register for OCULUS, providing name, age, gender, location and other information. That information is managed into proprietary databases, which track each artist for which a user votes. Information on each user voting for a publicly-held artist is aggregated into a single consumer profile. OCULUS exploits that consumer profile throughout the entertainment business value chain, including in personalized selling of publicly-held artist offerings.

V. System Overview

As demonstrated in Figs. 2A and 2B, the system of the present invention involves electronic platforms operating on computers, televisions, phones, tablets, game consoles and other electronic devices connected, via a network such as Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, to at least one database, storing end-user information (e.g., name, age, votes), candidate artist information (e.g., artistic works, videos, biographies), publicly-held artist information (e.g., copyrighted artistic works, videos, biographies), voting information (e.g., vote tallies, who voted for which artist), marketing and selling information (e.g., personalization data re: who voted for which artist, purchase data, emails, banner ads) , statistical information (e.g., electronic platform usage statistics, publicly-held artist target market demographics), payout information (e.g., how much money is paid, to whom money is paid), retail information and other information. In addition, the system accommodates other links to third-party electronic platforms, such as to an electronic payout transaction vehicle, such as PayPal. It should be understood that the term "database," as used herein, is to be construed in its broadest sense to include any storage means for holding data and which comports with the IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms (1984):

Data base: (1) A set of data, part or the whole of another set of data, and consisting of at least one file that is sufficient for a given purpose or for a given data processing system. (2) A collection of data fundamental to a system. (3) A collection of data fundamental to an enterprise, (p. 226).

Further, it should be understood that the term "information" in a database, as used in the context of the present invention, has its ordinary meaning and, therefore, would be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to mean any form of data, such as, but not limited to, alphanumeric data, media files (e.g., MP3 or other audio or video data formats), graphic files (e.g. JPG or other picture formats), and any other data or related meta-data. By way of example only, "marketing information" can include emails, banner ads, advertisements, articles, promotions, and other materials, etc.

OCULUS and its proprietary databases are developed through a combination of internal development and outsourcing to balance effectiveness, cost and proprietary advantage. The development process occurs in various phases.

OCULUS is based on architecture designed to be secure, reliable, and expandable; it combines proprietary applications, third party database software, and open operating systems that support acquisition of content, management of that content, publication of that content, downloads of music and media files, registration and tracking of users and categorizing of information.

Infrastructure design accommodates each component's independent scaling by securing additional readily-available hardware and software components, to meet or exceed future capacity requirements. Throughout the development process, OCULUS engages in constant market research to ensure maximum commercial impact of its functionalities.

Monitoring of all servers, networks, and systems are performed on a continuous basis. OCULUS employs numerous levels of firewall systems for protection. Backups are performed on a daily basis.

The content on OCULUS is developed and delivered internally. VI. Creating Stockowners Around the World

As demonstrated in Fig. 16, OCULUS employs a variety of traditional and creative marketing tactics to spread OCULUS to consumers around the world.

The Ecosystem is a structure built into OCULUS though which global consumers and aspiring artists gain a self-interest in promoting OCULUS to other global consumers. The consumer recipient of that promotion then, in turn, becomes an incentivized promoter of OCULUS, creating a cyclical, organic marketing cycle.

There are two dimensions to the Ecosystem: (1) the consumer dimension, in which consumers recruit other consumers; and (2) the artist dimension, in which artists recruit consumers. Through each dimension, complemented by traditional and creative marketing channels and tactics, OCULUS grows and, in turn, so do consumer and artist incentives to promote OCULUS.

A. Consumer Dimension of OCULUS Ecosystem

The first dimension of the OCULUS Marketing Ecosystem is the consumer dimension. To begin, OCULUS provides consumers with the range of social networking tools, such as direct links to Facebook and Twitter.

Armed with those tools, voting consumers are incentivized to promote their artist (and, in turn, OCULUS) to friends, family and others in their network. The consumer recipient of that promotion then accesses OCULUS and votes, thereby becoming an incentivized consumer to promote his or her artist in his or her own right.

1. Incentives to Promote

The voting consumer has a vested interest in promoting his or her artist.

Specifically, first, the consumer only wins Premium Stock if his or her artist wins (i.e., more of the global public votes for his or her artist than any other artist).

Therefore, to win Premium Stock, the consumer has an interest in promoting his or her artist throughout his or her network to generate more votes for the artist.

Consumers are given access to artist promotion materials, such as printable posters, etc. to market their artist.

Second, participation in OCULUS drives funds to a global philanthropic cause or causes, thereby encouraging consumer promotion of OCULUS and its artists.

Third, a points program incentivizes consumer promotion. Specifically, promoting an artist or promoting OCULUS improves the consumer's odds of winning the highest level of Premium Stock— Million Dollar Stock. For each new user attracted to OCULUS, the consumer receives points that improve his or her odds of winning Million Dollar Stock or other higher levels of stock. There may be other means of scoring points, as well as prizes awarded for points such as sweepstakes and give-aways.

2. Consumer-to-Consumer Organic Marketing Cycle

Through this incentive structure, a consumer-to-consumer organic marketing cycle is created:

• Incentivized voting users promote their artist and OCULUS to other

consumers.

• The consumer recipient of that promotion accesses OCULUS and becomes a voting user.

• That consumer recipient, now an incentivized voting user, then promotes his or her artist to other consumers via OCULUS and other vehicles.

And the consumer-to consumer marketing cycle continues and grows . . .

It should be noted that the more users on OCULUS, the more important OCULUS will become to the promoting global consumer. First, each publicly-held artist will grow in stature with more Stockowners spreading their artists to the world. Second, the more users, the more important OCULUS becomes in general— in spreading global wealth, influencing global culture and powering global human triumphs through driving funds to a global philanthropic cause or causes.

B. Artist Dimension of OCULUS Ecosystem

The second dimension of the OCULUS Marketing Ecosystem is the artist dimension.

Incentivized artists promote themselves and, in turn, OCULUS. The more users that participate on OCULUS, the harder each artist works to promote itself on the larger global stage.

1. Incentives to Promote

The aspiring artist has a vested interest in promoting itself and, in turn, OCULUS.

As explained on Page 14, each aspiring artist on OCULUS creates an interactive profile (c.f., Facebook). That profile, designed through a simple template system, is stored in a public database available on OCULUS— the Artist Discovery Subsystem.

Through the interactive profile, the artist delivers music and videos, holds streamed concerts and live events, engages in live platform-enabled chats and provides other user experiences. Most importantly, through the profile, the artist solicits and receives positive comments— referred to as Recommendations— recommending the artist for commercialization.

Recommendations are the foundation of OCULUS talent discovery operations. Talent specialists also rely on user interactions with artist profiles (e.g., page views) and other feedback data.

Specifically, the quantity and quality of Recommendations determines which artists rise to distinction. Talent specialists, with trained ears and eyes, evaluate top- performing artists to discover the world's premier artists.

With endorsements as the foundation of artist discovery, aspiring artists have a strong interest in recruiting the global public to access their profiles and, in turn, OCULUS. The more volume and quality of Recommendations the artist receives, the greater the artist's chance of being discovered.

To enable artists to promote themselves, OCULUS provides aspiring artists with the range of social networking tools, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Complementing is the artist's personalized self-promotion mall. Through the mall, the aspiring artist browses and purchases resources, such as the OCULUS Studio (a video camera and laptop kit for music production, and concert streaming, live chat and other events), and self-promotion materials featuring its profile URL, such as banners, posters, stickers, palm cards and t-shirts.

2. Artist-to-Consumer Organic Marketing Cycle

Through incentivized artist-to-consumer promotion, OCULUS, once again, creates a viral marketing cycle.

• Incentivized aspiring artists promote their profiles via OCULUS and other channels to the global public to solicit endorsements.

• Consumer recipients of artist promotion access OCULUS to access the aspiring artist's profile.

• Consumer recipients become voting users on OCULUS.

• The larger the volume of users on OCULUS, the greater the importance of OCULUS to the global artist community as a vehicle to be discovered. Incentivized aspiring artists promote their profiles even harder to the global public to solicit endorsements. • More users join; OCULUS becomes more important to aspiring artists, who work harder to promote themselves on the larger global stage.

And the artist-to-consumer marketing cycle continues and grows . . .

C. Traditional and Creative Marketing Tactics

To launch and grow OCULUS and its Ecosystem, traditional marketing tactics can be employed.

To begin, numerous messages are used to market OCULUS. Among others, messages include free monetary payouts (from publicly-held artist earnings), the opportunity to participate in a global philanthropic cause or causes (such as the Cure for Cancer) and the ability to power the future of entertainment. OCULUS markets directly to global consumers, in particular, to activate the OCULUS Marketing Ecosystem— the core marketing engine of OCULUS.

Specifically, OCULUS executes a direct-email campaign, generates publicity and employs social marketing (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) and other channels and tactics.

• Direct Email. To begin, OCULUS launches with a mass direct email

campaign, with an emphasis on effective creative design.

• Publicity. To complement the email campaign, OCULUS engages in

substantial public relations efforts, delivering press releases to all appropriate venues (e.g., technology blogs, music sites), and utilizes relationships to maximize OCULUS exposure through media.

• Social Media Marketing. In addition, OCULUS engages social media

marketing. For example, OCULUS holds Facebook contests to drive consumers to include OCULUS on their Facebook timelines.

• Street Teams. OCULUS organizes teams of interns and employees who promote OCULUS through one-on-one interactions. Among other strategies, these individuals visit and poster college campuses, in accordance with local rules, and promote OCULUS elsewhere.

• Other. Beyond direct email, publicity, social media marketing and street teams, OCULUS constantly evolves with the market to utilize any channel or tactic that can promote OCULUS effectively. VII. Implications of the Rebirth of Copyright

Through universal ownership of copyright, the entertainment industry is reborn, with the potential to reach unprecedented heights given the expanse of new technology, such as the Internet. For example, some have predicated that, if copyright is reestablished, the music business could triple in size, trebling a once $40 billion industry. In so doing, as a result of the present invention, an array of stakeholders, including artists, consumers, advertisers and entertainment licensees, enjoy dramatically improved and idealized experiences. At the same time,

Stockowners around the world power global human triumphs (such as the Cure for Cancer), spreading compassion, spreading global renaissance and connecting the world in its diversity.

A. Rebirth of a Global Entertainment Industry

As discussed, by operating as a free global stock exchange for the entertainment industry, OCULUS addresses the need for the entertainment industry to rebuild copyright in the digital entertainment marketplace through universal ownership of copyrighted artistic works.

The present invention rebuilds copyright by earning— not forcing-— the digital pirate's embrace. By its very nature, copyright's relevance emerges from society's legitimate acknowledgement of its authority. In an age when technology seemingly always will outpace copyright's reach, such an acknowledgement can only occur under a new regime of entertainment industry business practices.

First, as a result of the present invention, Stockowners now are motivated to purchase their publicly-held artist's copyrighted works. As demonstrated in Fig. 8, through Premium Stock ownership, Stockowners form a profound vested emotional and financial interest in the future commercial success of "their" artist's copyrighted artistic works. The relationship between the artist and the Stockowner is built on attraction, emotion and financial ownership. In turn, OCULUS transforms digital piracy into an act of personal consequence, taking money out of the Stockowner's pocket and, in turn, incentivizing Stockowners around the world to consume copyrighted artistic content through legal means.

Of particular significance, digital piracy of publicly-held artist content violates the global philanthropic campaign(s), such as the movement to cure Cancer. Essentially, digital piracy becomes an act of stealing directly from philanthropic endeavors. The social philanthropic dimension of the present invention builds an important connection between consumer ownership of copyright and a major social movement driving universal ownership of copyright, and thus the public's embrace of copyright.

Second, the remaining global public also is likely to acknowledge and respect copyright. Digital piracy offends OCULUS users around the world. Instead of stealing from a "deserving" historical label or a faceless historical label artist, consumers engaging in digital piracy now steal from relatives, friends, and others around the world, as well as the global philanthropic campaign(s).

Thus, OCULUS is a revolutionary technology that builds a new, highly profitable entertainment industry for the digital age. In this entertainment industry, the people have the power; they, and not a group of speculating executives, decide which artists rise to public ownership and distribute free stock in the world's premier artists and, in turn, copyrights.

Therefore, OCULUS rebuilds copyright for the digital age through universal ownership of copyrighted artistic works.

B. Impact on Stakeholders

1. Global Consumer

For the global consumer, this future means an idealized entertainment universe:

• First, through an OCULUS electronic platform, the global consumer powers and owns entertainment, from music, literature, film and other entertainment sectors.

• Second, each time a user experiences his or her entertainment either

electronically or offline, he or she encounters a personal idyllic entertainment experience. On each electronic experience, the user encounters a wholly personalized experience: the entertainment he or she demands, when he or she demands it, exactly as he or she demands it. Similarly, on each offline experience, the user experiences entertainment tailored to his or her precise target audience. And as the global public enjoys that entertainment, the user realizes an emotionally heightened experience, amplified through genuine attraction, emotional ownership and actual ownership in the consumer-powered entertainment providing the experience, as demonstrated in Fig. 8.

2. Global Artist

For the global artist, OCULUS offers compelling incentives and rewards for participation.

To begin, the global community of artists comes to OCULUS to be discovered at minimal expense and with no time or geographical limitations to showcase their talent. To minimize any cost limitations, OCULUS provides all artists in the Artist Discovery Subsystem services such as no-cost Web hosting and at-cost self-promotion materials. In so doing, OCULUS gives each artist a platform to be discovered from anywhere around the world.

In addition, artists come to OCULUS to be considered for global showcasing and voting to become a publicly-held artist. Artists selected for global showcasing and voting receive:

• Financial compensation

• Impactful global promotion

• Development of deep relationships with global consumers

• Global market data on demographic target markets

• Opportunity to become a publicly-held artist

If an artist becomes publicly-held, the rewards are extraordinary. With OCULUS backing, a publicly-held artist has an established, incentivized consumer base and expansive reach.

With OCULUS driving revenues, the artist receives cash advances, healthcare benefits and 25% of all product and service earnings (e.g., music, live). In addition, the artist receives a full array of management services to maximize experience and earnings.

To summarize, publicly-held artists enjoy:

• Rapid and Boundless Artist Discovery. OCULUS unearths the world's best talents, without geographic or other limitation, through a global digital database of the world's artists, called the Artist Discovery Subsystem. Anyone with a recording device or camera can upload their submissions to the OCULUS artist database.

• Egalitarian Rise to Fame. OCULUS provides artist services for artists listed in the Artist Discovery Subsystem, such as no-cost Web hosting and at-cost self-promotion materials. OCULUS gives each artist the platform to be discovered, from anywhere around the globe through consumer

endorsements and other data points.

• Minimized Discovery Costs. OCULUS minimizes talent discovery costs by centralizing operations and shrinking human resource needs. Artists come to OCULUS to be discovered, at minimal expense and with no time or geographical limitations to showcasing their talent.

3. Global Advertiser

For the global advertiser, this future means an idealized marketing experience:

• First, through the experience of OCULUS, the advertiser has access to the

massive worldwide consuming public exclusively through OCULUS.

• Second, through personal electronic delivery and demographic intelligence- driven offline delivery, the advertiser sends laser-guided messages directly and only to a specific desired audience. For example, an auto manufacturer is launching a new SUV designed for the 18 to 35-year-old male living in northeast United States. Through the OCULUS electronic platforms advertisement or consumer-powered entertainment electronic or offline media sponsorship, the advertiser delivers its message only to the precise desired demographic audience.

• Third, when the message reaches the target consumer, the advertiser has

significant impacts, given the consumer's heightened emotional engagement in his or her entertainment, the consumer's encountering only relevant marketing messages and the consumer has the ability to respond immediately.

4. Global Entertainment Licensee

For the global entertainment licensee (i.e., seeking to license music, television, film or other entertainment for third-party use), this future means the once-inconceivable ideal entertainment licensure experience, administered through OCULUS:

• First, the global entertainment licensee discovers and licenses music, television, film or other entertainment of demonstrated impacts in a precise target audience. For example, consider the auto manufacturer now seeking the perfect song to fashion its ad soundtrack. Through OCULUS, it easily can search the ever- expanding catalog of consumer-powered entertainment for music of established demand in the SUV's relevant target audience.

• Second, when exercising that licensed entertainment, the global entertainment licensee realizes dramatic impacts, given the audience's inevitable genuine attraction, emotional ownership and actual ownership in the employed consumer-powered entertainment.

C. OCULUS Social Implications

1. OCULUS Implication: Powering Global Human Triumphs

At the heart of OCULUS is its fundraising for a global philanthropic cause or causes. OCULUS connects the world to finance and engage in philanthropic pursuits throughout the world. Through its global philanthropic campaigns and the resulting social movements, OCULUS transforms every song or other artistic work into a wristband for the global cause(s).

In particular, each Stockowner automatically gives 25% of his or her free payouts directly to a global philanthropic cause or causes. The gift portion of a user's payouts is not transferred to the user's account and cannot be claimed as a charitable deduction. OCULUS donates the gift on the user's behalf and the gift is merely reflected in the user's account. All funds earmarked for donation to a global philanthropic cause or causes are combined into enormous endowments, contributing to global human triumphs.

OCULUS expects artist earnings to be substantial and, in turn, gifts to global philanthropic causes should be substantial. Artist earnings are driven primarily by the global consumers who own Premium Stock in the artist and thus have a vested interest in the artist's commercial success. These consumers purchas purchase artist products and services and comprise a global street team promoting their artist. They are motivated both financially and emotionally to support their artist as customers and grassroots promoters.

As explained above, the lowest level of Premium Stock is Gift Stock. Gift Stock provides users only a small payout but connects the user with other Gift Stock winners around the world in a big way. Through Gift Stock, all small payouts are combined into one large, collective endowment. Gift Stock winners vote to decide which global charities to support with their collective endowment.

Global users have the opportunity to donate additional, personal funds to the global philanthropic cause or causes with ease.

Collectively, this movement is designed to connect the world through entertainment to fund global human triumphs. In addition to the global gift-giving dimension, OCULUS provides users with informational resources on OCULUS' global philanthropic causes. Users access research, testimonials and other content that informs and inspires our global human triumphs.

2. OCULUS Implication: Spreading Compassion

OCULUS teaches users around the world the power of compassion.

Ultimately, OCULUS transforms each participant into a global gift-giver, connecting them in a philanthropic cause or causes, such as the movement to cure Cancer and other global human triumphs through Gift Stock. For every dollar that comes in, at least twenty-five cents goes out as a charitable gift. The world is taught the power of giving and the feel-good rewards of generosity.

3. OCULUS Implication: Spreading Global Renaissance

OCULUS breeds global renaissance. OCULUS encourages aspiring artists around the world to compete for attention in a hyper-competitive environment (i.e., the Artist Discovery Subsystem) and then places the most premier of those artists, determined by the global public, right in front of the global consumer.

With an open, competitive global artist community, OCULUS is an open invitation to each artist to showcase their talent. Through the Artist Discovery Subsystem and its low barriers to entry, every artist has equal opportunity to rise to stardom.

After opening doors to every artist, the Artist Discovery Subsystem enables identification of the world's premier artists. First, the Artist Discovery Subsystem eliminates geographic, cost and other limitations that have inherently constrained historical discovery practices; OCULUS unearths premier aspiring artists from around the world in a page view's time. Second, the Artist Discovery Subsystem enables accurate talent evaluations— OCULUS experiences aspiring artists in the digital format, as would the ultimate music consumer. Third, the Artist Discovery Subsystem gathers information that guides commercial value appraisals; OCULUS evaluates aspiring artists while armed with consumer comment and interactive profile information.

Only artists of exceptional talent and consumer demand— artists that grow from the Artist Discovery Subsystem— compete and win in the artist showcase, and distribute their Premium Stock to the world. These premier, commercially demanded, consumer-owned artists are delivered, with personalization, right back to the demanding global audience.

As demonstrated in Fig. 17A, under the free, straight DPO, that demanding global audience encounters only globally demanded and consumer-owned copyrighted artistic works.

As demonstrated in Fig. 17B, under the free, consumer-powered DPO, that demanding global audience also encounters only globally demanded and consumer- owned copyrighted artistic works, but, in this case, artist demand is tested beforehand.

4. OCULUS Implication: Connecting the World in its Diversity Through OCULUS and its fundraising for global philanthropic causes to power global human triumphs, the diverse citizenry of the world is unified in its collective goals.

In 2005, Steven Spielberg bought 250 video cameras for Israeli and Palestinian children. Each child produced a short documentary about their life. They then exchanged the videos for, as Mr. Spielberg explains, "people [to] understand that there aren't that many differences that divide Israelis from

Palestinians— not as human beings anyway."

Such is the antecedent to a seemingly impossible social reality. Through entertainment, the OCULUS philanthropic causes and other OCULUS implications, regardless of country, religion or culture, our hearts beat as one. Ethnocentrism and division fade, as the art that inspires each of us touches all of us.

We realize that, through our humanity, we all are one with the beat.

VIII. Conclusion: The Rebirth of Copyright

As demonstrated in Figs. 2A to 3, via electronic platforms developed for computers, televisions, phones, tablets, game consoles and other electronic devices connected to at least one database, via a network such as Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, the system and method of the present invention enables universal copyright ownership via a free global stock exchange for the entertainment industry. It does so by providing global consumers a free financial interest in the commercial success of an artist's copyrighted material through free "stock" in the artist, which distributes free monetary payouts based on earnings from copyrighted artistic works, similar to a dividend or royalty based on artist commercial performance.

Through universal ownership of copyright, the entertainment industry is reborn, with the potential to reach unprecedented heights given the expanse of new technology, such as the Internet. For example, as stated above, some have predicted that, if copyright is reestablished, the music business could triple in size, trebling a once $40 billion industry. In so doing, as a result of the present invention, an array of stakeholders, including artists, consumers, advertisers and entertainment licensees, enjoy dramatically improved and idealized experiences. At the same time, Stockowners around the world power global human triumphs (such as the Cure for Cancer), spreading compassion, spreading global renaissance and connecting the world in its diversity.

It should be understood that the system and method set forth above has applications in many types of businesses. For example, while the present invention uses terminology specific to the entertainment industry and copyright, rather than distributing Premium Stock in artists, OCULUS could distribute Premium Stock in a new product, a new business, a sports team, a celebrity (such as a professional athlete) or another.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate my invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, readily adopt the same for use under various conditions of service.

Claims

What is claimed is:

A method to address the technical problem of digital piracy by creating a financial relationship between an artist and a consumer, at no cost to the consumer, via an electronic platform operating on at least one computer, television, phone, tablet, game console or other electronic device connected, via a network including Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, to at least one database, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying, via an electronic platform operating on at

least one computer, television, phone, tablet, game console or other electronic device connected, via a network including Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, to at least one database:

(i) at least one artistic work

of one artist that is a

candidate for creating a

financial relationship

with at least one

consumer; and

(ii) at least one artistic work

of one other artist that is

a candidate for creating

a financial relationship

with at least one

consumer;

(b) permitting at least one consumer, at no cost to

the consumer, to vote for said one artist of (a)(i) or said one other artist of (a)(ii); and

(c) displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices,

information about an amount of money said consumer can collect, said amount of money being calculated factoring in a metric related to the commercial success of said one artist of (a)(i), if said one artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii) and if said consumer voted for said artist of (a)(i).

The method of Claim 1 wherein said step of displaying information about an amount of money a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i) can collect further comprises displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, a higher amount of money for one consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), than at least one other consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i).

The method of Claim 1 wherein said step of displaying information about an amount of money a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i) can collect further comprises displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, the amount of money said consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i) potentially can collect, known as a payout level, said payout level being determined by a lottery of raffling off at least two different payout levels, if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii).

The method of Claim 3 wherein said step of displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, information that at least one consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), comprises receiving a potential maximum payout of at least a value of $1 ,000,000.

The method of Claim 3 wherein said step of displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, information that at least one consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), comprises receiving a potential minimum payout of at least a value of $1 ,000,000.

The method of Claim 3 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one consumer to increase his or her odds of receiving a higher payout level by inviting at least one new voter to vote for said artist of (a)(i) or said one other artist of (a)(ii).

7. The method of Claim 1 wherein said step of displaying information about an amount of money a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i) can collect further comprises permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), to direct at least a portion of his or her money to cancer research, treatment or prevention.

8. The method of Claim 1 wherein said step of displaying information about an amount of money a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i) can collect further comprises permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), to direct at least a portion of his or her money to help fund clean water in Africa, AIDS relief, poverty eradication, education or another social cause.

9. The method of Claim 1 wherein said step of displaying information about an amount of money a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i) can collect further comprises permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), and at least one other consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i) to combine at least a portion of their money together and vote to decide which social cause their collective money funds.

10. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), to collaborate with said artist of (a)(i) in the production of at least one artistic work.

1 1. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), to receive a discount on the purchase of at least one product or service created by said artist of (a)(i).

12. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, a consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), to promote the sale of at least one product or service created by said artist of (a)(i) through social media tools.

13. The method of Claims 7, 8 or 9 further comprising the step of

displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one testimonial of a person discussing said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), or said funding.

14. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one advertisement for at least one product or service created by said artist of (a)(i), if said artist of (a)(i) received at least one more vote than said one other artist of (a)(ii), by targeting at least one consumer who voted for said artist of (a)(i) or a demographic group interested in said artist of (a)(i), identified through voting data.

15. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, the purchase of at least two products or services created by at least two different artists, said at least two products or services being displayed with personalization through voting data that identifies which consumers voted for which artist and a demographic group interested in the artist, identified through voting data.

16. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, voting data while at least one consumer can vote for said artist of (a)(i) or said one other artist of (a)(ii).

17. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, voting data after no more votes may be cast for said artist of (a)(i) or said one other artist of (a)(ii).

18. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one consumer to increase the number of votes of at least one of said candidate artists of (a)(i) or

(a)(ii) receive, through social media tools.

19. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices,

at least one artistic work of at least one artist who would like to be considered as a candidate for said financial relationship;

(b) permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices,

at least one consumer to provide a

recommendation that said at least one artist who would like to be considered as a candidate for said financial relationship should be

considered as a candidate for said financial relationship; and

(c) displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices,

information about at least one artist that has been selected as a candidate for said financial relationship.

20. A method to address the technical problem of digital piracy by creating a financial relationship between an artist and a consumer, at no cost to the consumer, via at least one of said electronic platforms operating through at least one of said electronic devices connected, via a network such as Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, to at least one database, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying, via at least one of said electronic platforms

operating through at least one of said electronic devices connected, via a network including Internet, intranet, LAN or cell, to at least one database, information about at least one artist who has agreed to create a financial relationship with at least one consumer;

(b) displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices,

information for at least one consumer to sign up, at no cost to the consumer, for a financial relationship with said at least one artist; and (c) displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, information about an amount of money said at least one consumer can collect, said amount of money calculated by factoring in a metric related to the commercial success of said artist of (a).

21. The method of Claim 20 wherein said step of displaying information about an amount of money a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said at least one artist can collect further comprises displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, a higher amount of money for one consumer who signed up for said artist than at least one other consumer who signed up for said artist.

22. The method of Claim 20 wherein said step of displaying information about an amount of money a consumer who signed up for said artist can collect further comprises displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, the amount of money said consumer who signed up for said artist potentially can collect, if said consumer signed up for said artist, known as a payout level, said payout level being determined by a lottery raffling off at least two different payout levels.

23. The method of Claim 22 wherein said step of displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, information that at least one consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist comprises receiving a potential maximum payout of at least a value of $1,000,000.

24. The method of Claim 22 wherein said step of displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, information that at least one consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist comprises receiving a potential minimum payout of at least a value of $1 ,000,000.

25. The method of Claim 22 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to increase his or her odds of receiving a higher payout level by inviting at least one new consumer to sign up for said artist.

26. The method of Claim 20 wherein said step of displaying information about an amount of money a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist can collect further comprises permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one consumer who signed up for said artist to direct at least a portion of his or her money to cancer research, treatment or prevention.

27. The method of Claim 20 wherein said step of displaying information about an amount of money a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist can collect further comprises permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one consumer who signed up for said artist to direct at least a portion of his or her money to help fund clean water in Africa, AIDS relief, poverty eradication, education or another social cause.

28. The method of Claim 20 wherein said step of displaying information about an amount of money a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist can collect further comprises permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist and at least one other consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to combine at least a portion of their money together and vote to decide which social cause their collective money funds.

29. The method of Claim 20 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to collaborate with said artist in the production of at least one artistic work.

30. The method of Claim 20 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to receive a discount on the purchase of at least one product or service created by said artist.

31. The method of Claim 20 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to promote the sale of at least one product or service created by said artist through social media tools.

32. The method of Claims 26, 27 and 28 further comprising the step of displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one testimonial of a person discussing said artist or said funding.

33. The method of Claim 20 further comprising the step of displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one advertisement for at least one product or service created by said artist by targeting at least one consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist, identified through sign-up data.

34. The method of Claim 20 further comprising the step of permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, the purchase of at least two products or services created by at least two different artists, said at least two products or services being displayed with personalization through data that identifies at least one consumer who signed up to have a financial relationship with said artist or a demographic group interested in said artist, identified through sign-up data.

35. A system to address the technical problem of digital piracy by

creating a financial relationship between an artist and a consumer, at no cost to the consumer, said system comprising:

an electronic platform operating on at least one computer, television, phone, tablet, game console or other electronic device for use by at least one consumer;

a network including Internet, internet, LAN or cell over which said electronic platform is in communication with;

at least one database in communication with said network, said database comprising: at least one artistic work of one artist that is a candidate for creating a financial relationship with at least one

consumer; (ii) at least one artistic work

of one other artist that is a candidate for creating a financial relationship with at least one

consumer; and

(iii) a voting mechanism

through which at least one consumer selects, at no cost to the consumer, said one artist or said one other artist; and

wherein said electronic platform displays, via at least one of said electronic devices, information about an amount of money said at least one consumer can collect, said amount of money calculated by factoring in a metric related to the commercial success of said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist and if said at least one consumer voted for said one artist.

36. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides different information to at least two consumers who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, about how much money each of said at least two consumers who voted for said one artist can collect.

37. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information about the amount of money at least two consumers who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, potentially can collect, known as a payout level, said potential payout being determined by a lottery of raffling off at least two different payout levels.

38. The system of Claim 37 wherein said at least one database provides information that at least one consumer who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, can receive a potential maximum payout of at least the value of $1 ,000,000.

39. The system of Claim 37 wherein said at least one database provides information that at least one consumer who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, can receive a potential minimum payout of at least the value of

$1 ,000,000.

40. The system of Claim 37 wherein said at least one database provides information that at least one consumer who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, can increase his or her odds of receiving a higher payout level by inviting at least one new voter to vote for said one artist or said one other artist.

41. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, to direct at least a portion of his or her money to cancer research, treatment or prevention.

42. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, to direct at least a portion of his or her money to help fund clean water in Africa, ADDS relief, poverty eradication, education or another social cause.

43. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, to combine at least a portion of his or her money together with at least one other consumer who voted for said one artist and vote to decide which social cause their collective money funds.

44. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, to collaborate with said one artist in the production of at least one artistic work.

45. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, to receive a discount on the purchase of at least one product or service created by said one artist.

46. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, a consumer who voted for said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, to promote the sale of at least one product or service created by said one artist through social media tools.

47. The system of Claims 41, 42 or 43 wherein said at least one database provides information about at least one testimonial of a person discussing said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, or said funding.

48. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information about at least one advertisement for at least one product or service created by said one artist, if said one artist received at least one more vote than said one other artist, by targeting at least one consumer who voted for said one artist or a demographic group interested in said one artist, identified through voting data.

49. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information about the purchase of at least two products or services created by at least two different artists, said at least two products or services being displayed with personalization through voting data that identifies which consumers voted for which artist and a demographic group interested in the artist, identified through voting data.

50. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides voting data while at least one consumer can vote for said one artist or said one other artist.

51. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides voting data after no more votes can be cast for said one artist or said one other artist.

52. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information for at least one consumer to increase the number of votes for said one artist or said one other artist.

53. The system of Claim 35 wherein said at least one database provides information for:

(a) displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one artistic work of at least one artist who would like to be considered as a candidate for said financial relationship;

(b) permitting, via at least one of said electronic devices, at least one consumer to provide a

recommendation that said at least one artist who would like to be considered as a candidate for said financial relationship should be considered as a candidate for said financial relationship; and

(c) displaying, via at least one of said electronic devices, information about at least one artist that has been selected as a candidate for said financial relationship.

54. A system to address the technical problem of digital piracy by creating a financial relationship between an artist and a consumer, at no cost to the consumer, said system comprising:

an electronic platform operating on at least one computer, television, phone, tablet, game console or other electronic device for use by at least one consumer;

a network including Internet, internet, LAN or cell over which said electronic platform is in communication with;

at least one database in communication with said network, said database comprising: (i) information about at

least one artist who has agreed to create a

financial relationship with at least one

consumer; and

(ii) information for at least

one consumer to sign up, at no cost to the

consumer, for a financial relationship with said at least one artist; and

wherein said electronic platform displays, via at least one of said electronic devices, information about an amount of money said at least one consumer can collect, said amount of money calculated by factoring in a metric related to the commercial success of said at least one artist if said at least one consumer signed up for a financial relationship with said at least one artist.

55. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides different information to at least two consumers who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist about how much money each of said at least two consumers who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist can collect.

56. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information about the amount of money said at least two consumers who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist potentially can collect, known as a payout level, said potential payout being determined by a lottery of raffling off at least two different payout levels.

57. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information that at least one consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist can receive a potential maximum payout of at least the value of $1 ,000,000.

58. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information that at least one consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist can receive a potential minimum payout of at least the value of $1 ,000,000.

59. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information that at least one consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist can increase his or her odds of receiving a higher payout level by inviting at least one new consumer to sign up for a financial relationship with said artist.

60. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to direct at least a portion of his or her money to cancer research, treatment or prevention.

61. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to direct at least a portion of his or her money to help fund clean water in Africa, AIDS relief, poverty eradication, education or another social cause.

62. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to combine at least a portion of his or her money together with at least one other consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said one artist and vote to decide which social cause their collective money funds.

63. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to collaborate with said artist in the production of at least one artistic work.

64. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to receive a discount on the purchase of at least one product or service created by said artist.

65. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information about permitting a consumer who signed up for a financial relationship with said artist to promote the sale of at least one product or service created by said artist through social media tools.

66. The system of Claims 60, 61 or 62 wherein said at least one database provides information about at least one testimonial of a person discussing said artist or said funding.

67. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information about at least one advertisement for at least one product or service created by said artist by targeting at least one consumer who signed up for said one artist or a demographic group interested in said artist, identified through sign-up data.

68. The system of Claim 54 wherein said at least one database provides information about the purchase of at least two products or services created by at least two different artists, said at least two products or services being displayed with personalization through sign-up data that identifies which consumers signed-up for which artist and a demographic group interested in the artist, identified through sign-up data.