VIRTUAL UNLOCKING OF A TRADING CARD

Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to a sports trading card, memorabilia item or collectible that may be distributed to collectors or customers and that can be used to access an electronic trading card, memorabilia item or collectible via a communication network. A particular embodiment of the invention involves a distributed trading card that can be used to access an electronic trading card. The distributed item may be associated with an identifier, which may be unique. The identifier may be submitted to a central computer, which may access a computer readable medium on which virtual items are stored based on the submitted identifier information. The central computer may cause the virtual item to be displayed and may change the virtual item through an evolution process. The central computer may also host games, prize drawings or other activities in which the virtual items are used.

Description: VIRTUAL UNLOCKING OF A TRADING CARD BACKGROUND Sports trading cards traditionally include a picture of an athlete and statistical information about the athlete's performance. This information may be placed on the card so that the picture and name of the athlete appears on the front side of the card and the statistical information appears on the reverse side. These trading cards may be sold separately or may be sold with another product (e.g., cereal or bubble gum) Recently, electronic sports trading cards have been introduced. U.S. Patent No. 5,982,736 to Pierson describes an electronic trading card consisting of a compact disc (CD) having a picture of an athlete affixed to the top surface. The bottom surface can be read by an optical head. The bottom surface is encoded with virtual data which may include photographs, video, music, narration, and textual information, such as a player's or team's statistics or biographical information. United States Patent No. 5,689,561 to Pace describes virtual trading cards stored on floppy disks which can be downloaded to a CD-ROM in an album-type configuration. The patent describes an electronic key system for preventing more than one copy of the virtual card from being reproducible at a time. The CD-ROM album may display multiple cards at one time. Once a set of virtual cards is collected, the owner may be allowed to play games utilizing as characters the athletes depicted on the cards in the album. United States Patent No. 5,748,731 to Shepherd describes an electronic card on a computer readable data storage device that consists of graphic and/or textual encrypted data about a player's performance, biography, profile, etc. The electronic card may be downloaded to an "electronic binder." The electronic binder allows simultaneous display of multiple electronic cards and includes a decryption key. The number of times an electronic card may be downloaded or copied from the electronic card is limited to a preset number using a copy protect code. The electronic binder may also include electronic price guides or player prediction guides that a user may "hot key" between to gather information that may affect a decision to trade the card. Additionally, sports trading cards which have computer readable media attached to them are available. U.S. Patent No. 5,480,156 to Doederlein describes distributed trading cards with attached battery-powered computer chip elements which contain audio data in addition to the photographic and textual information contained on the distributed cards themselves. The audio data is played in response to a user action stimulus, such as squeezing or touching a portion of the trading card. United States Patent No. 5,411,259 to Pearson describes a video game system in which the game characters are affected by information input from a sports trading card having a computer readable medium. Examples of media that may be attached to the card include a bar code, magnetic media, and optical media. The system includes a card reader for transferring information stored on the card to the video game system's computer. The card contains typical trading card information, such as statistical performance data, and/or "access indicia" data that can be read to access data already stored in the game system's computer. Upon reading the cards, the system displays images of the athletes and may display images for whole teams of game characters. United States Patent No. 5,743,801 to Welander describes a video sportscard, i.e., a cartridge similar to a game cartridge on which is printed an athlete picture and textual information similar in appearance to a sportscard and which contains a computer memory chip including read-only memory (ROM). The sportscard ROM contains a video highlight sequence. The user may insert the sportscard into a display unit with a display screen to view the video highlight. SUMMARY The present invention is generally directed to a trading card, memorabilia item or collectible that may be distributed to collectors or customers and that can be used to access an electronic trading card, memorabilia item or collectible via a communication network. The term "distributed item" shall be used to describe the former while the term "virtual item" shall be used to describe the latter. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention specifically involving sports trading cards will be described in further detail. In describing this embodiment of the invention, the terms "distributed trading card" and "virtual trading card" will be used in the same way that the terms "distributed item" and "virtual item" may be used for a broader description of the invention. Although an embodiment focusing on trading cards is mainly described herein, it will be readily evident to a person of ordinary skill in the art that the invention described herein can be equally applicable to trading cards of all shapes, sizes, formats, mediums and compositions (including gold, porcelain, metal, digital and commemorative trading cards) and memorabilia items and collectibles, such as photographs, motivational prints, standees, lithographs, mini-jersey replicas, plaques, plates, trophies, autographed apparel, autographed equipment, magazine covers, pins, medallions, tickets, eels, figurines, steins, tankards, coins, signed art works, signed book editions, and musical and cinematic memorabilia (e.g., album covers, t-shirts, posters, etc.). Moreover, although a traditional printed trading card is primarily described, it will be understood by a person of skill in the art that a distributed trading card in the form of a CD-ROM, electronic file or other computer-readable form may be used with the present invention. In an embodiment of the present invention involving a trading card, a medium contains a unique distributed trading card identifier as well as computer readable instructions for allowing the owner of the trading card to access and/or activate the virtual trading card that corresponds with the distributed trading card. Upon activating the virtual trading card, the owner may trade the virtual trading card, acquire others' cards, or participate in games, prize drawings and the like using the virtual trading card. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURES 1A and IB depict an embodiment of a distributed trading card according to the present invention; FIGURES 2 A and 2B depict another embodiment of a distributed trading card according to the present invention; FIGURE 3 illustrates an embodiment of a virtual trading card as it may be displayed according to the present invention; FIGURE 4 illustrates an embodiment of a virtual trading card portfolio according to the present invention; FIGURE 5 illustrates an embodiment of a system that may be used to activate, unlock, view or otherwise use the virtual trading card; and FIGURE 6 depicts a sample database record which may be associated with a virtual trading card in an embodiment of the present invention. FIGURE 7 is a flowchart which depicts a series of actions that may be taken and decisions that may be made by a distributed item owner and a central computer when the owner attempts to initiate access to a virtual item in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the present invention relate to a distributed item, e.g., a distributed trading card which may be paired with a virtual item, e.g., a virtual trading card. The distributed trading card may include a computer readable medium encoded with computer readable instructions or data for aiding an owner or user in accessing, activating or unlocking the paired virtual trading card via a communication network. The virtual trading card may be traded and/or used in the playing of games, prize drawings and other activities. Although the description below discusses embodiments of the invention particularly directed to sports trading cards, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the invention may be adapted for use with other types of memorabilia and collectibles, including those related to other fields of entertainment such as music, cinema, theater, etc. FIGURES 1A and IB shows an embodiment of a distributed trading card according to the present invention. FIGURE 1 A shows the front side of the distributed trading card 8 while FIGURE IB shows the reverse side. Such cards may be sold separately or as inserts in sets of other trading cards. The distributed trading card 8 may include a substrate 4 made of paper, plastic or other suitable material. An athlete image 1 and text 2 identifying the athlete or indicating the athlete's team affiliation, the year in which the image was taken or imprinted on the distributed trading card 8, or other information related to the image or the athlete may be imprinted on the front side of the distributed trading card 8. In other embodiments of the invention, including those unrelated to sports, the athlete image 1 may actually be an image of a different subject, e.g., a musician, an actor, another celebrity, an event, a group, an object or the like. Athlete performance information 5, such as statistical information or event-specific information, may be imprinted on the reverse side of the distributed trading card 8. For example, in the embodiment shown, athlete performance information includes the athlete's team affiliation, batting average, runs scored total, hit total, home run total and runs- batted-in total for each year of play. The athlete performance information 5, password 6, athlete image 1, text 2, instructions 7, or identifier 3 may be imprinted on either side of the card, depending on size constraints of these elements or the card overall, aesthetic considerations, etc. The distributed trading card 8 may also have imprinted on its surface an identifier 3, such as an identification code, that represents a unique identification code. The reverse side of the distributed trading card 8 may have a password 6 imprinted thereon. Either the identifier 3 or the password 6 or both may include an alphanumeric string, a set of pictures chosen randomly from a pool of possible pictures (for example, the password 106 shown in FIGURE 2B), a barcode, a watermark or any other type of identifier or password that may be used for selectively allowing access to electronic information. As described hereinafter, an owner may transmit the identification code and/or password from a terminal to a central computer in order to access a virtual trading card or other virtual item that is paired with the distributed trading card or distributed item. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention in which a distributed trading card is paired with a virtual trading card is described. However, it will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that a distributed trading card may be paired with other virtual item, e.g., a virtual piece of game equipment, and that other distributed items may be paired with virtual trading cards. The reverse side of the distributed trading card may be imprinted with instructions 7 that an owner may follow to access the virtual trading card. The identifier 3 or password 6 may initially be concealed beneath a "scratch-off material, allowing a purchaser to easily determine whether a distributed trading card had already been used to access the paired virtual item. FIGURES 2 A and 2B show another embodiment of the distributed trading card according to the present invention in which the identifier 3 may be replaced with an identifying medium 103 attached to the surface of the card or embedded therein. The identifying medium 103 may be a computer readable medium such as a barcode, infrared diffraction grating pattern, semiconductor chip, magnetic strip, flash memory, radio frequency identification tag, digital or non-digital scannable watermark or the like. The identifying medium 103 may be encoded with a unique identification code. The identifying medium may also be encoded with instructions readable by a terminal for accessing a virtual trading card from a central computer. In these embodiments, the instructions may direct the computer to, for example, do some or all of the following: 1) establish a communication link with the central computer; 2) submit specified identification codes or passwords to the central computer when requested; and 3) create and/or display an applet or icon that can be activated by the owner to access the virtual trading card in the future without use of the distributed trading card. The identifying medium may also contain other information, such as video images or audio files related to the distributed trading card or virtual trading card or an electronic certificate of authenticity. The information encoded on the identifying medium 103 may be copy-protected so that the owner may make only one copy of the information. This would prevent the owner from freely distributing copies of that portion of the information needed to gain access to the paired virtual trading card. In such a system, owners may be required to install specialized distributed trading card reading software on their terminal. In a particular embodiment of the system, the information may be encrypted ' and the software may include part of a private-key, public-key encryption set that can be used to decrypt the information. Alternatively, the identifying medium 103 may be read-only, in which case, the owner may be required to use the distributed trading card each time he/she desires access to the virtual trading card. Furthermore, in embodiments in which the distributed trading card is in the form of a computer readable medium, such as a CD-ROM or electronic file distributed through electronic mail, the computer readable medium may also be the identifying medium, i.e., the computer readable medium may be encoded with identifying information needed to access the virtual trading card. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2B, the password 106 includes a set of pictures. The pictures may be randomly chosen from a pool of possible pictures to create a set. The pictures in the pool may or may not be related to the image 101 or even the area of endeavor (e.g., sports) to which the card relates. For example, in FIGURE 2B, the password 106 includes pictures of a baseball, a football and a baseball cap. In other embodiments, the password may be encoded on the identifying medium or another computer readable medium. Although both the embodiment of a distributed trading card shown in FIGS. 1 A and IB and that shown in FIGS. 2 A and 2B show the identifiers 3 and 103 and passwords 6 and 106 attached to the distributed trading card, in other embodiments of the invention, the identifier 3 or 103 and/or password 6 or 106 may be attached to other items sold with the distributed trading card, e.g. the packaging material, an insert sheet or the like. FIGURE 3 shows an embodiment of the virtual trading card according to the present invention. It should be understood that the virtual trading card may include data that is not displayable and that this data is not represented in FIGURE 3. In this embodiment, the virtual trading card 201 may be displayed on a display screen 204. The virtual trading card 201 may be initially displayed as an image of the front side of the distributed trading card 1 (as shown in FIGURES 1 A or 2 A for example). When a pointer passes over the area of the screen in which the virtual trading card 201 is displayed (and/or a mouse click is detected), the virtual trading card 201 may be transformed so as to display an image of the reverse side of the distributed trading card 1 (as shown in FIGURES IB or 2B for example). Alternatively, the image of the reverse side of the distributed trading card may be, displayed when a specified series of keystrokes is detected or the user initiates some other action. The images of the front and reverse sides of the distributed trading card that are displayed as part of the virtual trading card may actually be images of the specific distributed trading card being used by the owner (i.e., the virtual trading card and the distributed trading card are uniquely paired) or they may be images of a sample card. In another embodiment of the invention, the virtual trading card may include images different from the distributed trading card. In such an embodiment of the invention, the images included in the virtual trading card may be related to the subject of the images included in the distributed trading card, the team, group, sport or activity with which that subject is affiliated or an event in which the subject participated or at which the subject was present. The images used in the virtual trading card 201 may also have features not present in the distributed trading card. For example, either the front side or reverse side image in the virtual trading card 201 may include an autograph from the athlete shown in the athlete image 1. In an embodiment of the virtual trading card, an autograph image 202 may be added to or superimposed upon the front side image after the owner has performed a specified task or achieved a milestone. For example, the autograph image 202 may be superimposed upon the front side image after the owner has created a virtual trading card portfolio (discussed hereinafter), purchased a certain number of distributed trading cards, amassed a portfolio of a certain monetary value or registered the distributed trading card. Other additional features that may be incorporated in virtual trading cards include updated statistics, altered subject images, video or audio clips (e.g., live news or game feeds), game-playing features, access to secondary appraisals, provenance and ownership tracking, and the like. Some of these features, for example provenance and ownership tracking in which former owners of the distributed or virtual item may be listed, may not be initially apparent to the owner and may be displayed only after an action has been performed. Additional image, audio or other features of this sort may be incorporated in the virtual trading card immediately upon the virtual trading card being accessed by the distributed trading card holder or may be subsequently added to the virtual trading card through a process hereinafter termed the "evolution" or "evolving" of the virtual trading card. The distributed trading card owner may be notified when the virtual trading card evolves. In addition, as a virtual item evolves, an physical copy of the evolved virtual item may be sent to the distributed item and/or virtual item owner. For example, if a distributed trading card is paired with an identical virtual trading card and the virtual trading card evolves to include a signature image, the owner of the distributed trading card may be sent a signed copy of the distributed trading card. The evolution process may not be limited to alteration of images. In embodiments of the invention, one type of virtual item may evolve into another type of virtual item. For example, a virtual trading card may evolve into a virtual piece of game-used equipment, tickets to an electronic game, electronic coupons or the like. In addition, the evolution process is not necessarily limited to the replacement of the original item with a new item, i.e., an item may evolve through the addition of an additional item. For example, a virtual trading card may evolve to include another related virtual trading card. Furthermore, while viewing the virtual trading card, an owner may cause video images to be displayed in area 203. The video images may include images from a game or performance in which the athlete participated, an appearance, a signing event, or the like. The video images may be updated periodically or as often as desired by the owner or the central computer administrator. Display of video images may occur when the owner activates a video icon 205 displayed on the screen 204. Separately, or in addition, the owner may cause an audio file to be played. The audio file may be played when the owner activates an audio icon 206. Alternatively, video image display and audio file play may occur automatically when the owner accesses the virtual trading card 201, randomly, or when the owner performs an act, e.g., causes the reverse side of the virtual trading card 201 to be displayed, clicks the mouse, causes a virtual trading card to be traded away or acquired, creates a virtual trading card portfolio, amasses a virtual trading card or distributed trading card portfolio of a certain value, or the like. Information related to a virtual trading card 201 may be saved together in one portion of a database or may be saved in various portions of a database containing information related to multiple virtual cards. In an embodiment in which each distributed trading card, even cards of the same subject from the same set, is uniquely identified, there may exist two distributed cards which are identical except for their identifiers. In such a case, a virtual trading card may be assembled by taking a stored image of one of the cards and mating it with the unique identifier for the associated distributed trading card prior to display. Alternatively, a unique image(s) of each individual distributed trading card, including the unique identifier, may be stored together with other information related to the particular paired virtual trading card. FIGURE 4 illustrates an embodiment of a virtual portfolio according to the present invention. The owner may create an electronic virtual portfolio 305 for displaying his/her virtual trading cards 301-304 or other virtual items to other Web site visitors ("viewers") on a screen 306. The virtual portfolio 305 may be aesthetically designed to resemble an album for holding distributed trading cards with multiple "pages". Each page may display a number of virtual trading cards 301-304, either in full-size or miniaturized, or thumbnail images that link to the actual virtual trading cards 201. If a virtual portfolio 305 is designed to resemble a multi-page album, a viewer may cause the virtual portfolio 305 to change pages, creating the visual effect of flipping through the portfolio pages. Virtual trading cards 301-304 or thumbnail images thereof may, for example, be grouped on a page according to their related sport or activity, their subject athlete or personality, year, etc. The viewer or owner may choose how the virtual trading cards 301-304 or thumbnail images thereof are grouped on a page. The viewer or owner may also send instructions to the central computer that determine the format in which the virtual trading cards 301-304 or thumbnail images thereof are laid out (e.g., number per page, arrangement, border decoration, etc.). A virtual trading card may automatically be added to a virtual portfolio when it is first accessed. Alternatively, a virtual trading card may be added to the virtual portfolio upon the virtual trading card owner executing a specified action (e.g., clicking on a screen icon) or as part of the evolution process for the digital trading card. FIGURE 5 illustrates an embodiment of a system that may be used by an owner to access a virtual trading card 201. In this embodiment, terminals 401a to 401c may communicate with the central computer 402 through a communication network 403. The communication network 403 may be a public network, e.g., the Internet, a private network, e.g., a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), a leased line network or a combination thereof. The communication network may be implemented as a wire-line system using telephone twisted-pair lines, coaxial cable lines, fiber optic lines, or the like, or as a cellular, satellite or other wireless system using microwave, infrared, radio or other frequency transmission. Each terminal 401a to 401c may be electronically associated with a display device 404a to 404c that is either dedicated to a particular terminal (as shown) or shared among terminals. The terminals 401a to 401c may themselves be interconnected by a public or private communication network. Despite the term "terminals", the terminals 401a to 401c may have processing capabilities and may be computers, cellular phones, personal digital assistants, handheld devices, Web appliances, and the like. In an embodiment in which an identifying medium 103 is affixed to or embedded in a distributed trading card, a terminal 401a to 401c may be electronically associated with a medium reader 403a to 403c capable of reading the identifying medium 103. Medium readers 403a to 403c may be contact style readers or contactless readers. Depending on the type of identifying medium 103 associated with a distributed trading card, examples of medium readers 403a to 403c that may be used in the system of the present invention include barcode readers, scanners, infrared sensors, cameras, magnetic card readers, and the like. In the process of causing a terminal to display a virtual trading card, the central computer may access a database containing information associated with various virtual trading cards. A sample record from such a database is shown in FIGURE 6. Element 501 contains the identification code of the distributed trading card to which the virtual trading card 201 is paired. In an embodiment in which a particular virtual trading card 201 is uniquely paired with a distributed trading card, element 501 may only contain one entry. On the other hand, in an embodiment in which the virtual trading card 201 is paired with multiple similar, but not identical, distributed trading cards, element 501 may contain several entries. Element 502 may contain a data file containing a front side image of the distributed trading card or a memory address at which such a data file is stored. Similarly, elements 503 and 504 may contain data files or addresses corresponding to a reverse side image of the distributed trading card and a signature image respectively. Element 505 may contain video or audio clip files (or memory addresses at which such files are stored) that may be played before, during or after display of the virtual trading card 201. The images may be stored in computer readable files in Portable Document Format (PDF), Moving Pictures Experts Group format (MPEG), Joint Photographic Experts Group format (JPEG), Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) or any other format suitable for image data files. The names or addresses of files containing thumbnail images, greyed out images and images of the evolved card may also be stored in the record. Element 506 may contain information about the subject of the card image, the subject's team or group affiliation, the subject's sport or activity, the card set to which the card belongs or other card characteristic information. Element 507 may contain boolean data indicating whether the virtual trading card has been accessed before. The central computer may use this data to determine whether a user trying to access the virtual trading card must first go through a registration process in which the user submits user identification and profile information such as name, age, gender, contact information, interests and the like. A central computer administrator may organize contests, prize drawings, chat rooms, interactive electronic games or other activities involving virtual trading cards. For example, the central computer administrator may randomly select virtual trading cards or virtual trading card portfolios to evolve. Evolved trading cards may have, for example, the addition of a signature image to the randomly selected virtual trading card or the addition of a new card to a virtual trading card portfolio. Alternatively, the central administrator may distribute such evolved cards to owners that have performed certain tasks or achieved specified milestones. For example, the upgrades may be awarded to owners that have traded or purchased a specified number or value of virtual trading cards. The central computer administrator may send a message to the owner's terminal when the owner's card has evolved or when the owner becomes, or nears becoming, eligible for a prize. Contests involving virtual trading cards or items may include fantasy leagues, hosted video games and the like. Alternatively, in chat room applications or on-line games for example, the virtual trading card or item, may be used by the owner as an avatar. In such embodiments, the qualities of the virtual trading card or item may cause a game character being played by the owner to have special abilities or characteristics. FIGURE 7 illustrates a flowchart of the actions that may be executed by a distributed trading card or item owner to access the virtual trading card or item in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in block 601, the user may attempt to initiate access to the virtual trading card or item using the distributed trading card or item. The process of initiating access may include using Web browser software to view a webpage hosted by the central computer 402. As previously discussed, in an embodiment in which the distributed trading card includes a computer readable identifier 103, many of the actions necessary to initiate access to the virtual trading card or item may be performed automatically by terminals 401a to 401c after the user performs an initial action, e.g., causing a terminal 401a to 401c to read the identifier 103 on the distributed trading card. For example, the terminal 401a to 401c may store identification and/or password information stored on the identifier medium, execute the appropriate Web browser software application, enter the URL of a specified website, and submit the identification and password information to the central computer 402 when requested. In an alternative embodiment in which the identifier 3 and password 6 are not stored on a computer readable medium, these steps may be performed manually by the owner. The central computer 402 may ask the owner to enter the identification and password information associated with the distributed trading card or item (as shown in block 602). The information request may also include a request for user profile information such as the owner's name, gender, age, interests and contact information. In block 603, the user may respond by entering the requested information or the terminals 401a to 401c may perform this step automatically for the owner. The central computer 402 may determine whether the information is correct in decision block 604. The central computer access a database containing valid identification and password pair information to determine whether the submitted information is correct. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the central computer 402 may call a method procedure to determine whether the virtual trading card is valid or if it has already been accessed. If the information is correct, the central computer may proceed to block 605 and access information related to the virtual trading card. The central computer may then grant the owner access to the image in block 606, e.g., by displaying the virtual item. If the information is not correct, the central computer may inform the user that the entered information does not match a known virtual trading card or item, as shown in block 607. The virtual trading cards may have a real-world currency value. Alternatively, virtual trading cards may be valued in terms of points or other virtual currency that may be traded for goods or services from the central computer administrator or affiliated entities. For example, owners of virtual trading cards may be allowed by the central computer administrator to maintain virtual currency accounts. When one owner sells a virtual trading card to another owner, the requisite amount of virtual currency is transferred from the selling owner to the buying owner. The virtual currency may be redeemed for goods such as distributed trading cards, memorabilia, collectibles, collecting paraphernalia, upgraded trading cards, etc. While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it should be readily apparent to people of ordinary skill in the art that a number of modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. The presently disclosed embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning of and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims: CLAIMS WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A trading card system, the system comprising: a terminal; a distributed trading card having an image of a subject; a virtual trading card paired to the distributed trading card, said virtual trading card being stored on a computer readable medium and having computer readable data, said data including data related the distributed trading card; and a central computer capable of causing the terminal to display the virtual trading card. 2. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said distributed trading card includes computer readable instructions encoded in an electronic file. 3. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said distributed trading card is associated with a unique identifier. 4. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said distributed trading card and said virtual trading card are uniquely paired. 5. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said data includes an image related to said subject. 6. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said data includes an image of a signature. 7. A trading card system according to claim 1 , wherein said distributed trading card has a first side and said data includes an image of said first side. 8. A trading card system according to claim 7, wherein said distributed trading card further has a second side and said data includes an image of said second side. 9. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause said virtual trading card to evolve. 10. A trading card system according to claim 9, further comprising a plurality of virtual trading cards and wherein said central computer is adapted to cause said paired virtual trading card to evolve if said paired virtual trading card is randomly selected from among said plurality of virtual trading cards. 11. A trading card system according to claim 9, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause said virtual trading card to evolve after an owner of said virtual trading card has achieved a specified goal. 12. A trading card system according to claim 9, wherein said central computer administers a game and said central computer is adapted to cause said virtual trading card to evolve if an owner of said virtual trading card is entitled to a prize due to the result of said game. 13. A trading card system according to claim 9, wherein said central computer notifies an owner of said virtual trading card when said virtual trading card has evolved. 14. A trading card system according to claim 9, wherein said central computer notifies an owner of said virtual trading card when said virtual trading card is about to evolve. 15. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause the terminal to display a virtual trading card portfolio. 16. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause the terminal to display video images related to the subject. 17. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause the terminal to play audio files related to the subject. 18. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said central computer maintains virtual currency account information. 19. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said central computer maintains information related to an owner of said virtual trading card. 20. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein said central computer maintains information related to an owner of said distributed trading card. 21. A trading card system according to claim 1, wherein a character in one of an electronic game or an electronic chat room may have a characteristic based on said data. 22. A trading card system comprising: a communication network; a central computer electronically coupled to said communication network; a terminal electronically coupled to said communication network and communicating with said central computer through said communication network; a distributed trading card having an image of a subject imprinted thereon and having a computer readable identifying medium associated therewith; and a virtual trading card having computer readable data accessible to said central computer, said computer readable data including data related to the image, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause said terminal to display said virtual trading card. 23. A system for allowing a user access to a virtual item having computer readable data, the system comprising: a distributed item paired with said virtual item; an identifier associated with said distributed item; a communication network; a central computer electronically coupled to said communication network, said central computer having a computer readable medium for storing said virtual item and information related to said virtual item and said distributed item; and a terminal electronically coupled to said communication network and communicating with said central computer through said communication network, said terminal configured to display said virtual trading card to said user, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause said virtual item to be displayed by said terminal. 24. The system according to claim 23, wherein said virtual item is a virtual trading card. 25. The system according to claim 23, wherein said distributed item is a distributed trading card. 26. The system according to claim 23, wherein said virtual item includes an image of said distributed item. 27. The system according to claim 23, wherein said virtual item includes an image of an item related to said distributed item. 28. The system according to claim 23, wherein said identifier is an identifying medium having computer readable instructions encoded thereon. 29. The system according to claim 28, wherein said identifying medium is attached to the surface of the distributed item. 30. The system according to claim 23, wherein said identifier is unique. 31. The system according to claim 23, wherein said distributed item and said virtual item are uniquely paired. 32. The system according to claim 23, wherein said data includes an image of a signature. 33. The system according to claim 23, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause said terminal to display a virtual item portfolio. 34. The system according to claim 23, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause said terminal to display video images related to said distributed item. 35. The system according to claim 23, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause the terminal to play audio files related to the subject. 36. The system according to claim 23, wherein said central computer maintains virtual currency account information. 37. The system according to claim 23, wherein said central computer maintains information related to an owner of said virtual item. 38. The system according to claim 23, wherein said central computer maintains information related to an owner of said distributed item. 39. The system according to claim 23, wherein a character in one of an electronic game or an electronic chat room may have a characteristic based on said data. 40. The system according to claim 23, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause said virtual item to evolve. 41. The system according to claim 40, further comprising a plurality of virtual items and wherein said central computer is adapted to cause said paired virtual item to evolve if said paired virtual item is randomly selected from among said plurality of virtual items. 42. The system according to claim 40, wherein said central computer is adapted to cause said virtual item to evolve after an owner of said virtual item has achieved a specified goal. 43. The system according to claim 40, wherein said central computer administers a game and said central computer is adapted to cause said virtual item to evolve if an owner of said virtual item is entitled to a prize due to the result of said game. 44. The system according to claim 40, wherein said central computer notifies an owner of said virtual item when said virtual item has evolved. 45. The system according to claim 40, wherein said central computer notifies an owner of said virtual item when said virtual item is about to evolve. 46. A distributed trading card comprising: a substrate; an image surface attached to said substrate, said image surface having an image of a subject imprinted thereon; and a medium readable by a computer and encoded with computer readable data, said computer readable data including data uniquely identifying the distributed trading card. 47. The distributed trading card of claim 46, wherein said computer readable data includes data related to the subject. 48. The distributed trading card of claim 46, wherein said computer readable data includes computer readable instructions for accessing a virtual trading card paired with said distributed trading card. 49. The distributed trading card of claim 46, wherein said computer readable data is copyprotected. 50. The distributed trading card of claim 46, wherein said computer readable data is encrypted. 51. The distributed trading card of claim 46, wherein said identifying medium is selected from the group of a barcode, a diffraction grating pattern, a semiconductor chip, a magnetic stripe, a flash memory, a radio frequency identification tag, a digital watermark, and a non-digital watermark. 52. A computer having a computer readable medium with a virtual trading card and computer readable instructions for causing said virtual trading card to be displayed encoded thereon, said virtual trading card comprising: computer readable data related to a distributed trading card, said distributed trading card bearing an image of a subject; computer readable data related to a unique identifier associated with the distributed trading card; and computer readable data related to the subject. 53. The computer of claim 52, wherein said distributed trading card has a first side and said data related to said distributed trading card includes an image of said first side of said distributed trading card. 54. The computer of claim 53, wherein said distributed trading card has a second side and said computer readable data related to said distributed trading card further includes an image of the second side of the distributed trading card. 55. The computer of claim 53, wherein said computer is adapted to cause said image of said first side of said distributed trading card to be initially displayed and, upon an action by a user, said computer is adapted to cause said image of said second side of said distributed trading card to be displayed. 56. The computer of claim 53, wherein said computer readable data includes data related to a signature image. 57. The computer of claim 53, wherein said computer readable data includes a video image related to said subject. 58. The computer of claim 53, wherein said computer readable data includes an audio file related to said subject. 59. A computer having a computer readable medium with a virtual item and computer readable instructions for causing said virtual item to be displayed encoded thereon, said virtual item comprising: computer readable data related to a distributed item, said data including an image of said distributed item; and computer readable data related to a unique identifier associated with the distributed item computer readable data related to the subject. 60. A method for selectively providing access to a virtual item, said method comprising: distributing to a user a distributed item paired to said virtual item, said distributing item including an identifier; receiving from a terminal operated by said user information related to said identifier; automatically confirming that said virtual item is paired to said distributed item using said information related to said identifier; automatically retrieving said virtual item from a storage medium; arid sending information related to said virtual item to said terminal for display to said user. 61. The method according to claim 60, wherein said virtual item is a virtual trading card. 62. The method according to claim 60, wherein said distributed item is a distributed trading card. 63. The method according to claim 60, further comprising determining whether said virtual item has been accessed previously. 64. The method according to claim 60, further comprising: requesting that said user submit profile information; and receiving said profile information from said user. 65. The method according to claim 64, further comprising storing said profile information. 66. The method according to claim 65, wherein said profile information is stored along with said virtual item on said storage medium. 67. A method for selectively providing access to a virtual item, said method comprising: distributing to a user a distributed item paired to said virtual item, said distributing item including an identifier; receiving from said user information related to said identifier; automatically confirming that said virtual item is paired to said distributed item using said information related to said identifier; automatically retrieving said virtual item from a storage medium; and causing said virtual item to be displayed to said user. 68. The method according to claim 67, wherein said virtual item is a virtual trading card. 69. The method according to claim 67, wherein said distributed item is a distributed trading card. 70. The method according to claim 67, further comprising determining whether said virtual item has been accessed previously. 71. The method according to claim 67, further comprising: requesting that said user submit profile information; and receiving said profile information from said user. 72. The method according to claim 71, further comprising storing said profile information. 73. The method according to claim 72, wherein said profile information is stored along with said virtual item on said storage medium.

Inventors: ANDREWS ROBERT G, CHRISTIANSON ADAM, HAGEN G LYNN, HOERR MATTHEW, MCWILLIAM RICHARD P, ANDREWS, ROBERT, G., CHRISTIANSON, ADAM, HAGEN, G., LYNN, HOERR, MATTHEW, MCWILLIAM, RICHARD, P.
Applicants: UPPER DECK COMPANY LLC, THE UPPER DECK COMPANY, LLC
Application year: 2001
Main classification: G06K19
IPC codes: B42D15, G06Q20, G07F7