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  Systems and methods for matching, selecting, narrowcasting, and/or classifying based on rights management and/or other informationUSPTO Application #: 20080109242Title: Systems and methods for matching, selecting, narrowcasting, and/or classifying based on rights management and/or other information Abstract: Rights management information is used at least in part in a matching, narrowcasting, classifying and/or selecting process. A matching and classification utility system comprising a kind of Commerce Utility System is used to perform the matching, narrowcasting, classifying and/or selecting. The matching and classification utility system may match, narrowcast, classify and/or select people and/or things, non-limiting examples of which include software objects. The Matching and Classification Utility system may use any pre-existing classification schemes, including at least some rights management information and/or other qualitative and/or parameter data indicating and/or defining classes, classification systems, class hierarchies, category schemes, class assignments, category assignments, and/or class membership. The Matching and Classification Utility may also use at least some rights management information together with any artificial intelligence, expert system, statistical, computational, manual, or any other means to define new classes, class hierarchies, classification systems, category schemes, and/or assign persons, things, and/or groups of persons and/or things to at least one class. (end of abstract) Agent: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP - Washington, DC, US Inventors: Victor H. Shear, David M. Van Wie, Robert P. Weber USPTO Applicaton #: 20080109242 - Class: 705001000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Data Processing: Financial, Business Practice, Management, Or Cost/price Determination, Automated Electrical Financial Or Business Practice Or Management Arrangement The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080109242. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/541,255, filed Sep. 28, 2006, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/272,911, filed Oct. 18, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,143,066, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/498,369, filed Feb. 4, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,092,914, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/965,185, filed Nov. 6, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,181, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. FIELDS OF THE INVENTIONS [0002] The inventions relate to electronic rights and transaction management. More particularly, the inventions relate to automated systems, methods and techniques for efficiently matching, selecting, narrowcasting, categorizing and/or classifying in a distributed electronic rights and/or other event and/or transaction management environment. For example, the inventions provide electronic computer based systems, methods and techniques for matching, classifying, narrowcasting, and/or selecting digital information describing people and/or other things. This matching, classifying, narrowcasting, and/or selecting can be based, at least in part, on elements of rights management information and/or one or more other categories of information--wherein such information is used for efficient, trusted event management assuring the execution of one or more controls related to, including, for example, consequences of processing such digital information describing people and/or other things. The present inventions also provide systems and methods for efficiently determining class hierarchies, classification schemes, categories, and/or category schemes and/or the assignment of objects, persons and/or things to said class hierarchies, classification schemes, categories, and/or category schemes using at least some rights management information. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONS [0003] The modern world gives us a tremendous variety and range of options and choices. Cable and satellite television delivers hundreds of different television channels each carrying a different program. The radio dial is crowded with different radio stations offering all kinds of music, news, talk, and anything else one may care to listen to. The corner convenience store carries newspapers from around the country, and a well stocked newsstand allows you to choose between hundreds of magazines and publications about nearly every subject you can think of. Merchandise from all corners of the world is readily available at the shopping mall or by mail order. You can pay by check, in cash, or using any number of different kinds of credit cards and ATM cards. [0004] This tremendous variety is good, but it also presents problems. Sometimes, it is hard or inefficient for us to find what we want and need because there are too many things to evaluate and choose from, and they are often located in too many places. We can waste a lot of time searching for the things we need or want at the right price, with the rights features, and at a particular time. [0005] Sometimes, we never find things that satisfy what we feel we need or want. This happens when we don't know what to look for, how to look for it, or don't have the necessary assistance or tools to search successfully. For example, we may not know the best way of looking for something. Sometimes, we know what we are looking for but can't express or articulate it in ways that help us look. And sometimes, we don't even know what we are looking for. You may know you need something, know its missing, but never really know how to communicate to others what you are looking for. For example, someone who speaks only English may never find resources using Japanese or Spanish. In general, we often don't have the time or resources to look for all the things that would give us the most benefit or make us the most satisfied. It's Hard to Find Mass Media Things You want or Need. [0006] FIG. 1A shows, as one example, how frustrating it can be to find anything to watch on the hundreds of television channels that may be available. The man in FIG. 1A spends a lot of time "channel surfing," trying to find something he is interested in watching. He may be moderately interested in golf, but may not like the particular golf tournament or golf players being broadcast at 7 o'clock on a particular channel. After flipping through other channels, he might think an action movie looks interesting only to find out after watching it for a while that he isn't really interested in it after all. A documentary on horses also seems interesting at first, but he finds it boring after watching it awhile because it doesn't give him the kind of information he is interested in. The whole process can be frustrating and he may feel he wasted a lot of time. FIG. 1B shows the man getting so frustrated at the wasted time and energy that he thinks that maybe watching television is just not worth it. What the man really needs is a powerful yet efficient way to find those things that most satisfy his desires--that is, match his needs and/or his interests. Our Mail Overloads Us with Things we Don't want or Need [0007] The same thing can happen with information sent to us in the mail. It can be fun to receive some kinds of mail, such as personal letters, or magazines and catalogs on topics of personal interest. Certain other mail, such as bills, may not be fun but are usually important. Unfortunately, our mailboxes are typically overflowing with yet another kind of mail commonly referred to as "junk mail." The person in FIG. 2 finds his mailbox stuffed to the overflowing point with mail he never asked for and has absolutely no interest in. Most of this junk mail ends up unread and in the trash. However, it can take a long time to sort through all this mail to be sure you are only throwing out only the junk mail and not the good mail you are interested in or need. For example, it's sometimes hard to distinguish credit card bills from offers for new credit cards you don't need or want. Wouldn't it be useful if your mail could be automatically "cleaned" of the mail you had no interest in and you received only the mail you wanted or needed? [0008] Sorting through things to identify things you might want, then selecting what you actually want, can be a frustrating and time consuming experience. For example, it wastes the time of the person who receives the junk mail, and it also wastes the time, money and effort of the people who spend their money to send mail to people hoping that they will buy their products. [0009] As frustrating as finding and selecting may be to consumers, they often create even greater problems for businesses and people who want to locate or provide information, goods and services. It is often said, that in the world of business, "Information is Power" and "efficiency is the key to success." To find or sell the most relevant or useful information and to provide the ability to most efficiently allow business to operate at its best, we need easy-to-use tools that can help us navigate, locate, and select what matches our interests. In the modern world, it is often difficult to find out what different people like, and to supply people with the opportunity to select the best or most satisfying choices. [0010] Past attempts outside the computer world to match up people with information, goods and/or services have had limited success. For example, attempts to "target" mass mailings may increase the chance that they will go to people who are interested in them, but the entire process is still very wasteful and inefficient. It is considered a good success rate to match the interests of only a few percent of the recipients of "junk" mail. Telemarketing campaigns that use the telephone to reach potential consumers can be very expensive, very annoying to consumers who are not interested in the products being marketed, and very costly and inefficient. A much more ideal situation for all concerned is enabling businesses to send information only to individual consumers likely to find the information interesting, desirable, convincing, and/or otherwise useful. That way, businesses save time and money and consumers aren't unproductively hassled by information, phone calls, junk mail, junk e-mail and the like. However, right now it is extremely difficult to accomplish this goal, and so businesses continue to annoy consumers while wasting their own time, money, and effort. Because of the Vast Amount of Information Available, Even Systems that Provide a High Degree of Organization May be Difficult to Use or Access [0011] You can find yourself wasting a lot of time finding things--even in places where finding things is supposed to be easy. For example, a library is a place where you can find all sorts of useful information but can also waste a lot of time trying to find what you are looking for. Modern libraries can be huge, containing tens or even hundreds of thousands or millions of different books, magazines, newspapers, video tapes, audio tapes, disks, and other publications. Most libraries have an electronic or manual card catalog that classifies and indexes all of those books and other materials. This classification system is useful, but it often has significant limitations. [0012] For example, normally a card catalog will classify materials based only on a few characteristics (for example, general subject, author and title). The boy in FIG. 3 is looking for information on American League baseball teams during World War II for a high school report. The card catalog led to the general subject of baseball and other sports, but, looking at the catalog, he can't identify any books that seem to provide the specific information he wants to see, so he must rely on books classified as "histories of sports" or "histories of baseball." He can spend lots of time looking through the books on the shelves, going back to the card catalog, and going back to the shelves before he finds a reference that's reasonably helpful. He may need to go ask an expert (the librarian) who is familiar with the books the library has on sports and may know where to look for the information. Even then, the boy may need to flip through many different books and magazines, and look in many different places within the library before he finds the information he is looking for. Finding Products You want or Need can be Very Difficult and Time Consuming [0013] The same kind of frustrating experience can happen when you shop for a particular kind of item. While some people enjoy shopping, and have fun seeing what is in various stores, many people dislike spending time shopping, searching for the best or most affordable item. And sometimes even people who like to shop don't have the time to shop for a specific item. [0014] For example, the man in FIG. 4 goes into a shopping mall looking for a tie to fit very tall people. He didn't wear a tie to work that day, but, at the last minute, an important meeting was scheduled for later that day and he needs to dress up. The shopping mall has a large variety of stores, each selling a range of merchandise. But the man may only have a short time to look. For example, he may be on his lunch break, and needs to get back to work soon. He can't spend a lot of time shopping. He may therefore need to rely on tools to help him identify where he wants to buy the tie. Perhaps he uses a mall directory that classifies the different stores in terms of what kinds of merchandise they sell (for example, clothing, books, housewares, etc.). Perhaps he asks at the malls help desk staffed by "experts" who know what is available in the shopping mall. But even these resources may not tell him where to buy Italian silk ties that are discounted and cost $20. So he does the best he can with the available resources. These Problems are Worse in the Digital World [0015] The electronic or digital world offers a rapidly growing, vast array of electronically published products and services. For example, computer superstores have a dizzying array of different software products. Furthermore, music is now published primarily in digital form on optical disks, and video will soon be published that way too. And, of particular interest related to certain of the inventions described by this document, the Internet now has millions of home pages with an overwhelmingly variety and quantity of digital information, and, these millions of home pages, in turn, point or "link" to millions of other web pages as well. [0016] Today, for example, you can use the Internet to: [0017] read electronic newspapers, books and magazines and see them on your computer screen; [0018] get music in electronic form and play it using your computer; [0019] send and receive electronic mail all over the world; [0020] download reports and other information compiled by governments, companies, industries, universities, and individuals; [0021] watch videos and animations; [0022] play games with "cyber-friends" located around the world; [0023] chat with individuals and groups who share at least some interests in common; [0024] participate in "virtual reality" worlds, games, and/or experiences; [0025] a (offer to) buy, and/or (offer to) sell nearly anything; and [0026] conduct electronic transactions and commerce. Continue reading... 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