Patent ID: 7844549

Claim:
A file sharing method comprising receiving a request from a first user computing device for at least one file; confirming that said file is a licensed file from an authorized licensor; searching for a second user computing device possessing a copy of said file; determining whether the downloading is a direct transaction in which the first user will pay a fee to download the file, or an indirect transaction in which the first user will redeem files using credits from a first user's account on a server to download the file; when the transaction is a direct transaction, the method further comprises charging said first user a fee for downloading said file, and compensating said second user with credit to a second user's account on the server, which credit may be redeemed for files or merchandise; when the transaction is an indirect transaction, the method further comprises determining whether said first user has accumulated enough file credits in the first user's account to redeem said file, and when said first user has accumulated enough file credits, initiating download of said file, debiting the first user's account for redeemed file credits, and compensating said second user with credit to the second user's account, which credit may be redeemed for compensation but not for files; allowing said first user to download said file; and compensating the authorized licensor.