Patent ID: 7627530
Filing Date: 2009-12-01
Classification: G06F,G06Q,H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. In a computing environment having a merchant server operated by a merchant, a client computer operated by a user, and a plurality of content provider servers operated by a plurality of content providers who are different than the merchant, wherein the merchant does not operate the plurality of content provider servers, a method for managing user access to selected content stored in media files having different file formats, wherein the method comprises: transacting, between the user and the merchant, a purchase of access rights to the selected content, wherein the access rights authorize the user to acquire multiple copies of the same selected content from more than one of the content providers, each of the multiple copies being in a different file format, without requiring the user to conduct multiple transactions to purchase the access rights to the multiple copies of the same selected content, and without requiring the user to provide the same selected content to the content providers to receive the same selected content back in the different file formats; and communicating transaction information associated with the purchase of access rights from the merchant server to the plurality of content provider servers, wherein the transaction information contains information that allows each receiving content provider server to authorize the user to access at least one media file containing the selected content.