Apple wins their Original iTunes Store Patent

Since Apple's iTunes Store patent is such a classic, we present you with Apple's original patent background and summary verbatim:

Patent Background

Traditionally, music has been purchased at music stores or music departments of larger stores. A consumer will visit the music store or department and manually browse for albums or compact discs (CDs) of interest. Often, the music in the music store or department is categorized by genre, and then indexed by artist. For example, genre can include rock, country, pop, soul, jazz, etc. After the consumer selects an album or CD of interest, the consumer proceeds to a check-out register to pay for the album or CD being purchased.

In recent years music delivery or distribution over the Internet has become popular. Due to the advances in efficient file formats, such as MP3 and MPEG4, the size of media files have become small enough to make their download via the Internet practical. Also, technological advances have led to higher-speed Internet connections and lower cost of memory. The combination of these advances make downloading media files, such as for music and videos, manageable and not too time consuming.

One popular approach to music distribution was mp3.com which uses a centralized server for storage of the numerous songs that are available for download. Another popular approach to music distribution was Napster in which peer-to-peer sharing was utilized. With peer-to-peer sharing, the numerous songs reside on the user machines of the many users, not on a centralized server.

However, unrestricted use and distribution of music files can lead to copyright violations. It is, therefore, desirable for companies to be endorsed by the music industry. However, to obtain endorsement, companies must charge users for access to the songs. Some companies charge a monthly subscription fee and permit subscribers to play songs by streaming such to the subscriber's machine where the songs are played. Streaming does not store the music files on the subscriber's machine, and thus is less of a concern for the music industry. However, such a system requires a network connection and network availability in order for subscribers to play songs.

As a result, there is a need to permit songs to be purchased and then made available locally to purchasers so that the purchaser is not dependent and constrained by the availability of a network connection for playback of the songs. However, the music industry requires its songs be secured against unauthorized copying or other copyright violations. Thus, there is also the need to incorporate security measures to restrain the susceptibility to unauthorized use or distribution of the songs.

Apple's Patent Summary

Broadly speaking, the invention relates a graphical user interface suitable for reviewing, browsing, previewing and/or purchasing media items. The graphical user interface can be presented to a user at a client (client machine). In one embodiment, the graphical user interface is presented to the user by an application program that runs on the client.

The graphical user interface is also suitable for previewing or purchasing media items in an on-line manner. The graphical user interface can be presented to a user at a client (client machine). In one embodiment, the graphical user interface is presented to the user by an application program that runs on the client.

The graphical user interface is particularly useful for a system that provides purchase and distribution of media in a client-server environment. The purchase and distribution of media can not only be secure but also controlled. The controlled distribution can use encryption and user accounts to not only restrict unauthorized access to the media but also to limit usage rights to the media by authorized users. The security restricts access to media within media files during downloads as well as while stored at a server and/or client. The graphical user interface can assist users in locating media to be purchased. The media can, for example, be audio, video, or image data.

The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a method, system, device, apparatus, graphical user interface, or computer readable medium. Several embodiments of the invention are discussed below.

As a graphical user interface produced by an application program, one embodiment of the invention includes at least an application program window generated by the application program. The application program window concurrently includes at least a first sub-window and a second sub-window. The first sub-window displays first content in a network browser-like manner, and the second sub-window displays second content in an application-like manner. The first and second content are received by the application program from a remote server over the network.

As a method for browsing through a plurality of media items, one embodiment of the invention includes at least the acts of: requesting first selectable items for a first list from a remote server; displaying a browse window with the first list of the first selectable items; receiving a first user selection of one of the first selectable items in the first list; distinctively displaying the one of the first selectable items in the first list that the user has selected; requesting second selectable items for a second list from the remote server, the second selectable items being dependent on the one of the first selectable items in the first list that the user has selected; displaying the browse window with the first list of the first selectable items and the second list of the second selectable items; receiving a second user selection of one of the second selectable items in the second list; distinctively displaying the one of the second selectable items in the second list that the user has selected; requesting third selectable items for a third list from the remote server, the third selectable items being dependent on the one of the second selectable items in the second list that the user has selected; and displaying the browse window with the first list of the first selectable items, the second list of the second selectable items, and the third list of the third selectable items.

As a graphical user interface produced by an application program, one embodiment of the invention includes at least a browse window generated by the application program. The browse window enables a user of the application program to browse through a plurality of media items. The browse window includes at least: a first list of first selectable items, with at least one of the first selectable items being capable of being selected by the user; a second list of second selectable items, with at least one of the second selectable items being capable of being selected by the user; and a third list of third selectable items, with at least one of the third selectable items being capable of being selected by the user. The second selectable items of the second list are dependent on a first selection by the user of at least one of the first selectable items from the first list. The second list is displayed along with the first list after the user has selected at least one of the first selectable items from the first list. The third selectable items of the third list is dependent on a second selection by the user of at least one of the second selectable items from the second list, and the third list is displayed along with the first list and the second list after the user has selected at least one of the second selectable items from the second list.

As a graphical user interface produced by an application program, one embodiment of the invention includes at least an application program window generated by the application program. The application program window concurrently includes at least a sub-window and a next control. The sub-window displays media information for a first set of media items. The media information for the first set of media items is received by the application program from a remote server over a network. When the next control is activated, the sub-window displays media information for a second set of media items. The media information for the second set of media items is also received by the application program from the remote server over the network.

As a method for reviewing information on a plurality of media items, one embodiment of the invention includes at least the acts of: displaying a window having at least one sub-window and at least one next control, the at least one sub-window displaying first media data pertaining to a first set of the media items, the first media data being provided by a remote server; determining whether a user selects the at least one next control; requesting next media data pertaining to a next set of the media items from the remote server when it is determined that the user has selected the at least one next control; subsequently receiving the next media data pertaining to the next set of the media items; and displaying the next media data in the at least one sub-window of the window.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

Apple's patent FIG. 2A represents a flow diagram of the media purchase process; FIG. 7A is a diagram of an application program window.

Apple's granted patent which was published by the US Patent and Trademark Office today, covers 26 patent claims. Apple credits Jeffrey Robbin, Dave Heller, Peter Wagner and Mike Wiese as the inventors of this patent which was originally filed in Q2 2004. A secondary 2006 iTunes Store patent was granted to Apple in August 2010. Interestingly Apple's patent also covers "one-click" purchasing which by all accounts is a feature that they licensed from Amazon back in 2000. Whether this will cause a conflict in the future is unknown at this time.

Notice

Patently Apple presents only a brief summary of granted patents with associated graphics for journalistic news purposes as each Granted Patent is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any Granted Patent should be read in its entirety for full details. About Comments: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments.

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