SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRONIC CONTENT UTILIZING ELECTRONIC LICENSE KEYS

摘要

A system and method for distributing electronic content from a content creator to an end-user operating an end-user device. The end-user purchases a number of license tokens, which are electronically distributed to the end-user device from a distributor. The end-user selects a content piece from the distributor's menu, which indicates a content identifier and a predefined number of license tokens required for each content piece. The end-user then downloads the selected content piece in encrypted form. If the user has purchased sufficient tokens for the selected content piece, the device consumes the predefined number of license tokens and uses a unique device identifier and the content identifier for the selected piece to generate a unique license key for accessing protected decryption software. The license key enables only the user's end-user device to decrypt only the selected content piece. The consumed license tokens and decrypted content are reported to the distributor for proper allocation of revenue to those in the distribution chain.