The invention is directed to a method for automated licensing or sale of digital works of art, a method for operating an auto ^¬ mated licensing or sale system and a method for assisting the definition of terms and fees for licensing or sale of a digital art work.

It is a known problem for artists, especially for artists not having for example a record contract with a record label, to on the one hand offer their art work to the public and on the other hand receive an appropriate licensing remuneration.

There are organisations (for example the GEMA in Germany) that bridge the gap between consumer and rights owner, e.g. in the case for music work. In this case, the rights owner does not have a direct influence on the use of his art work.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate these drawbacks of the prior art and in particular provide a method for enabling a rights owner to easily license or sell his work of art directly and for specific uses.

The object is achieved by a method for automated licensing or sale of digital works of art according to claim 1, a method for operating an automated licensing or sale system according to claim 8 and a method for assisting the definition of terms and fees for licensing or sale of a digital work of art by rights owner in an automated licensing and sale system according to claim 13. According to the invention there is provided a method for auto ^¬ mated licensing or sale of digital works of art comprising the following steps:

Providing a database allowing the entry and storage of at least one digital work of art by at least one rights owner;

Allowing the definition of terms and fees for the licensing or sale of said at least one digital work of art by the at least one rights owner;

Providing access to the database to at least one potential licensee ;

Allowing the at least one potential licensee to select at least one use option, preferably a set of use options, relat ^¬ ing to the intended use of the at least one digital work of art ;

Comparing the terms and fees defined by the at least one rights owner with the use option selected by the at least one potential licensee and determining if there is a sufficient match between said terms and fees and set of use options; and

If there is sufficient match, automatically generating a li ^¬ censing or sales contract between the at least one rights owner and the at least one potential licensee based on the terms and fees defined by the at least one rights owner for the at least one digital piece of art and the use option se ^¬ lected by said at least one potential licensee.

This method enables licensing and sales of works of art and ad ^¬ ditionally the sale of rights by offering a set of limited li- censing models for both buyers and rights owners that is very easy and leads to a quick conclusion of a licensing contract.

A sufficient match according to the invention is defined to be given if certain predefined criteria are met, e.g. a range of acceptable commercial terms and fees or also use options or re ^¬ strictions that the rights owner has defined as being accept ^¬ able .

The terms can be exclusive or non-exclusive use of the work of art, integration into further work products, a flat-rate or a receiptional license basis or other terms typically included in a licensing contract.

The use options according to the invention can include or ex ^¬ clude special topics, e.g. pornography, politics, religion or violence and/or different forms of use such as art, audio adver ^¬ tising, audio books, computer games, corporate communication, film and TV, music projects, online videos or visual adverts.

Preferably, any user of the method, potential licencee or rights owner, is registered in advance, in particular by a PayPal ac ^¬ count. The advantage of a PayPal account is the possibility of money transfer in both directions. Hence, users can be rights owner and licensee in one account.

The at least one digital work of art can be selected from the group consisting of: a tune, a song, song lyrics, a written text, a photograph, a sketch, a design or video sequence.

All these works of art can be distributed digitally and easily be reused for further works of art or by an end user. The database can be searchable by the at least one potential li ^¬ censee .

A searchable database enables an easy discovery of a digital work of art that is interesting for the potential licensee.

The database can be searchable using a set of attributes allo ^¬ cated to the at least one digital work of art.

The attributes can be instruments or categories such as sport, technology, animals, people, games, comedy or cars or genres such as alternative, Blues, Country, Electronic, International, Jazz, Pop, Latin, Metal, R'n'B, Rap, Reagge, Rock or Vocal.

There are various further possibilities of attributes that can be allocated to the at least one digital work of art.

The attributes can be allocated to the digital work of art auto ^¬ matically by an analysis algorithm.

The attributes may also refer to rhythm, colours, tone colour, atmosphere and pace and for example afterwards relate those pat ^¬ terns to other pieces of art. Also such attributes may be ana ^¬ lysed by an algorithm. The relation patterns are preferably fur ^¬ ther combined with other metadata such as genres or manually in ^¬ serted tags .

The allocation of attributes enables a search of works of art for specific situations or uses desired by the potential licen ^¬ see .

There can be provided an algorithm which enables to search the database for at least one digital work of art which is similar to a reference work of art provided by the at least one poten ^¬ tial licensee.

Such an algorithm enables the potential licensee to search for digital works of art in a similar category without having to rely on tags.

The algorithm can preferably be the mufin-algorithm. It is further possible to use an algorithm based on recommendations, such as Apple's Genius.

If an appropriate work of art is found but no sufficient match is found a request to the rights owner can be automatically gen ^¬ erated .

Such a request enables the conclusion of a contract although the predefined terms, fees or uses do not match directly. This par ^¬ ticularly may be only the case when both potential licensee and rights owner agree to those terms or fees but if there are dif ^¬ ferences in terms of use.

According to an other aspect to the invention there is provided a method for operating an automated licensing or sale system, in particular as described above, comprising the steps of:

Analysing each digital work of art placed in a database for licensing by a rights owner using an algorithm identifying at least one of a plurality of predefined characteristics of each of the digital works of art;

Attributing and storing the predetermined characteristics to each digital piece of art in the database; Providing a search algorithm allowing to search the database for digital works of art having specific characteristics cor ^¬ responding to at least one definable value.

Such a method allows for attributing verbal, searchable tags to a work of art and hence enable a potential licensee to search the database for a work of art being of interest.

The predefined characteristic can be a key word or genre or other describing characteristics of the digital work of art.

The at least one definable value can be selectable by a user from a given set of values provided in a search mask.

The user may be a content provider, providing music, lyrics, po ^¬ ems, artistic pictures, photographs or other works of creative art or a buyer who buys certain works of art or licenses from the rights owner to use audio and/or visual reproductions of said works of art. Some users may be both content providers and buyers at the same time.

A selectable defined value from a given set of values enhances the chances to find a match in the database since the same words are used for attributing and searching.

The at least one definable value can be selected from at least one of the group consisting of: rhythm, tonality, genre or reg ^¬ ister of a musical digital work of art.

Those definable values have a great influence on the use of the digital work of art and will most likely influence the choice of the potential licensee. The at least one definable value can be resulting from an analy ^¬ sis of a reference digital work of art by the same algorithm use to identify the specific characteristics of the digital work of art contained in the database.

Such a definable value enables a comparison and a categorisation of similar digital works of art.

The database can be searched for digital pieces of art having similar specific characteristics as the definable value.

Hence, the potential licensee is enabled to search for similar rhythms, tonalities, genres or registers of a music digital work of art or other similarities.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for assisting a rights owner in the definition of terms and fees for licensing or sale of a digital work and an auto ^¬ matic licensing and sale system. The method comprises the steps of:

Providing a set of difference use options for possible uses of a digital work of art which may be selected by the rights owner;

Providing a set of different possible license types for the digital work of art which may be selected by the rights owner;

Allowing the rights owner to define a fee for at least one combination of use and license type; Automatically providing a code, in particular a colour code, for every defined fee, wherein the code is determined on the basis of a comparison of the defined fee with a reference fee value for the respective use and license type combination stored in the system.

This method enables the rights owner to easily define appropri ^¬ ate terms for a license contract. Furthermore, the rights owner directly gets a feedback on his choice of fee for a specific use and license type combination.

As described above, the license type can be a non-exclusive or exclusive license, a flat rate license, a single use license or a combination thereof adapted for a specific uses.

All methods described can be implemented in other processes.

Additionally, plug-ins and publishing buttons may be provided that can easily be added to social network sites as objects and that enable content providers to advertise their new art, as well as enabling buyers to express interest in acquiring certain types of works of art, etc. This feature allows a musician, for example, to add such a button on his or her Facebook page, MySpace page, etc. without requiring knowledge of programming.

Such buttons are typically provided in a window on a page, which window contains a small section of HTML or Java script and can be copied and pasted onto one's page at the social networking site, creating an interactive icon with link. It is clear that many modifications and variations of the system and method dis ^¬ closed herein may be made by one skilled in the art without de ^¬ parting from the spirit of the novel art of this disclosure. These modifications and variations do not depart from its broader spirit and scope, and the examples cited here are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Any one of the methods described above can be implemented on a system comprising a server, a database and at least one interface for enabling a user to connect to the system.

In the following the invention is described in embodiments by means of figures.

Figure la shows an overview of an exemplary system for licensing and sales of music over the internet;

Figure lb shows an exemplary overview of a computer system for a licensing method;

Figure 2 shows an exemplary process flow diagram;

Figure 3 shows an exemplary screen;

Figure 4 shows a different exemplary screen;

Figure 5 shows another screenshot.

Figure 6 shows a screenshot from the start page for a potential licensee

Figure 7 shows a screenshot of the pricing indication for a potential licensee

Figure 8 shows a screenshot of the colour code for pric ^¬ ing indication of the rights owner Figure la shows an overview of an exemplary system 100 for licensing and sales of music over the Internet, according to one aspect of the system and method disclosed herein. Connecting to Internet 101 is server 110. Although, for purposes of clarity and simplicity, server 110 is shown as only a single server, it could in practice be one server or multiple servers, and it could be physical servers or cloud-based servers or services, or some or all in any combination, somewhere in the Internet.

Programs llla-n on server 110 comprise all the software therein, such as operating system programs, application programs, etc. Associated with server 110, storage unit 112, containing objects or data 113a-n, may be a single disk, storage devices on a net ^¬ work, cloud-based storage, or any other current or future stor ^¬ age means. Connected to cellular network 102 is a PC user on a PC or computing device 120, a mobile device 130 (for example, a feature phone) with screen 131 and number keypad 132, as well as smartphone 140.

Figure lb shows an exemplary overview of a computer system 150 as may be used in any of the various locations throughout system 100. It is exemplary of any computer that may execute code to process data. Various modifications and changes may be made to computer system 150 without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the system and method disclosed herein. CPU 151 is connected to bus 152, to which bus is also connected memory 153, nonvolatile memory 154, display 157, I/O unit 158, and network interface card (NIC) 163. I/O unit 158 may, typically, be con ^¬ nected to keyboard 159, pointing device 160, hard disk 162, and real-time clock 161. NIC 163 connects to network 164, which may be the Internet or a local network, which local network may or may not have connections to the Internet. Also shown as part of system 150 is power supply unit 155 connected, in this example, to ac supply 156. Not shown are batteries that could be present, and many other devices and modifications that are well known but are not applicable to the specific novel functions of the cur ^¬ rent system and method disclosed herein. This exemplary comput ^¬ ing system may be any one of the computers shown herein It could be a computing device such as a smart phone or a feature phone; it could be server, or it could be a PC, or it could be any other type of suitable computing device It is clear that there are many differences in the actual implementation, but, by and large, for the purposes of the system and method disclosed herein, those devices shall all be deemed network computing de ^¬ vices.

Figure 2 show an exemplary process flow diagram 200 for interacting with the interactive, online music rights clearing system according to one aspect of the system and method disclosed herein. In step 201, a user, such as, for example, a user of PC 120, opens the sign-up page at the web site of the service pro ^¬ vided by the system. In step 202, the user creates a profile. The user may be a musician (content provider, which content, in addition to music, may include, but is not limited to, lyrics, poems, artistic images, photographs, or other works of creative art) or a buyer who "consumes" or buys certain works of art or licenses the rights to use audio and/or visual reproductions of said works of art. Some users may be both content providers and buyers at the same time. For example a musician may want to use the lyrics of another content provider for his own song, etc. Depending on the particular implementation of the system and method disclosed herein, in some cases, such users may be required to create one or multiple profiles. A buyer's profile may define budget and proposed use, such as, for example, adver ^¬ tising, film, podcast, private enjoyment, etc. In step 203 the system asks the user if he has a PayPal account. If the user does not have said account (no) , in step 204 the user is di ^¬ rected to an external site (in this case, the PayPal web site) at which he can sign up for an account, after which he returns to the system, as indicated by the dotted line. Although PayPal is currently the preferred payment solution service, it is only exemplary of any secure, online payment system service.

Depending on the particular implementation of the system and method disclosed herein, in some cases, the system may accept any of multiple such payment systems, or it may limit users to only a single payment system. PayPal is currently the preferred payment system principally because it allows transfer of money in both directions (that is, both from and to the same user) , unlike most standard credit card systems, which allow a card holder to spend money but not to receive it. Use of a system such as PayPal enables an artist, even for a single song, to open an account wherein he can receive payment, without the overhead that typical merchant accounts for credit card use re ^¬ quire. However, other payment systems are available and may be integrated in the future in addition, or in some cases in lieu of, PayPal;. For the purposes of the system and method dis ^¬ closed herein, all such payment systems should be considered similar in functionality. When, at step 203, the user has a Pay ^¬ Pal account (yes) , in step 205 said account is linked to the user's profile and the user can now proceed to step 206, at which he is presented with the main user screen, the same as af ^¬ ter first logging in with his accound ID, etc., via login screen 215. Not shown are typical tools available in such systems as the one disclosed herein, such as search engine, profile editor and profile publisher, merchandise description editor and publisher, store management, etc. Now a content provider can register specific works of art such as his music in step 207, which he will upload later. In step 208 the content provider en- ters information about the content, and in step 209 he enters licensing and pricing information, designating, for example, if he is willing to sell an exclusive license, and, if so, without review of the buyer or with review of the buyer. Further he can choose whether he would prefer only to grant nonexclusive li ^¬ censes, and so forth. Typically, a set of premade agreements would be used, accepted by all providers at the time of signup, but they would have the flexibility to enable a host of choices, just by checking boxes, etc., in the per-made legally binding contracts. Further, the content provider must select pricing levels according to many variables, such as, for example, the type of license granted (exclusive or nonexclusive) , his own "marketability," the type and size of the content, etc. At one step during the signup, the system also requires a legal signa ^¬ ture, which may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction,

from both buyers and sellers, which may be in some cases a PIN linked to an ID. In other cases a legally binding contract may require a notarized, signed original to be mailed in, and in yet further cases, any level of security between the above scenarios may be required. The provider may also set up various guidelines and restrictions for a prospective buyer's sampling of content, which for music would include such limitations as, for example, how many samples granted to each buyer, how long a segment, etc. After all these parameters are set for each registered work of art, in step 210 the content provider uploads the content he has registered. For a musician, this step would entail uploading a music file in any of various file formats permitted by the sys ^¬ tem and selected for his license type, etc. File formats may in ^¬ clude, for example, but are not limited to, such formats as FLAC, AIFF and WAVE, which formats have a better audio-quality than MP3s so they can be used for professional purposes. Content is uploaded to a data store such as, for example, data store 112. A buyer may proceed from the main user screen 206 to searching for music (or other works of art) in step 211. He

then, in step 212, selects certain works, basing his selections on works returned in response to his profile parameters, de ^¬ scriptions of the suggested works entered by the provider, audio or visual sampling, and licensing requirements. For example, if a buyer wants music for an ad campaign, he may want an exclu ^¬ sive-use license for advertisements, but nonexclusive for other uses. The buyer can enter his requirements, such as licensing requirements, into the search engine parameters, and if his particular requirements are not available for the art work he wants, the system can act as intermediary and send a message from the buyer to the content provider, asking if he would agree to the buyer's requirements, and for what price, according to another option of the legal contracts as mentioned above

and throughout herein. In step 213, the buyer uses his payment account to pay for his purchase, and in step 214, the buyer can download his music or otherwise arrange to take possession of his purchased art work. Monies received are then transferred to the seller, less the transaction fee and/or commission for the service .

Figure 3 shows an exemplary screen 300 in which a musician may enter profile parameters, according to one aspect of the system and method disclosed herein. Profile parameters include enough information to create a binding contract, the desired currency type in which to receive payments for music, and PayPal account email address. Section 301 contains fields about payment cur ^¬ rently and amounts. In field 302 the musician enters the email address of his PayPal account. In section 303, the

musician enters his real name, first and last. In field 304, the musician enters the name of his company, if he has one. In sec- tion 305 are fields for the musician's complete address. Much of this information is required for a valid legal contract.

Figure 4 shows an exemplary screen 400 in which a musician may create an album, according to one aspect of the system and method disclosed herein. An album, in this usage, may be one mu ^¬ sical work or multiple musical works. At least one author must be mentioned with the correct name. In field 401, the musician enters the album name. In fields 402a-c, the musician enters the date published. Section 403 contains real name of the author and his collecting society, if any. Additional fields open when the user clicks on "Add a field for authors" so that all authors may be identified. In block 404 the musician writes a description of the album, and in area 405, the musician can place an representative image by uploading an existing image.

Albums that have already been created can easily be edited so that they can be licensed, using a screen similar to the screen described in the discussion of Figure 4, above.

Figure 5 shows an exemplary screen 500 in which a musician may specify the types of uses allowed for his music, according to one aspect of the system and method disclosed herein. The musi ^¬ cian may check button 501 to allow licensing for all types of use, or he may allow only specified usages, such as the examples shown in section 502.

Figure 6 shows an exemplary screen 600 in which a potential li ^¬ censee may choose between different search methods: The classi ^¬ cal search 601 enables the potential licensee to search for gen ^¬ res, instruments or characteristics. The potential licensee can choose between directly entering a search term and choosing from proposed search terms within a category. The second search method 602 prompts the potential licensee to upload a soundfile. A similarity algorithm matches the uploaded file with existing soundfiles in the library. Matching soundfiles are presented as the search result. The algorithm used is the mufin-algorithm.

Figure 7 shows an exemplary screen 700 of a pricing indication after choosing a music piece 701 for licensing. The potential licensee enters the kind of use 702 of the music piece 701 and possible special topics 703 such as violence or pornography. Af ^¬ ter further entering his budget the potential licensee is di ^¬ rectly informed about the price 704 of his chosen configuration of uses and special topics.

Figure 8 shows an exemplary screen 800 of a pricing indication by means of a colour code for the rights owner. Usually rights owners are not aware of the price range their art work may lie in. In this case, the rights owner can input desired values for different kinds of licenses and forms of use. The input value is compared to other cases and it is indicated to the rights owner, if his demand is expensive, normal or cheap. The colour code 801 is red for expensive, yellow for normal and green for cheap. The input value of 20 EUR for a base license for art performance for an uploaded musical piece of art is automatically indicated as being normal 802 compared to other similar pieces of arts, li ^¬ censes and forms of uses. The value of 100 EUR for an advanced license for a music project is indicated as being cheap 803. The value of 300 EUR for an advance license for advertising is indi ^¬ cated as being expensive 804.