The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 14, 1997
Filed:
Oct. 18, 1994
General Instrument Corporation of Delaware, Chicago, IL (US);
Abstract
Limited duration previews of program offerings available for purchase via a communication network are provided in a cryptographically secure manner at virtually any time during the service. The invention has particular applicability to the provision of video services on a pay-per-view basis. Such a video service is provided during a program epoch. A fixed period is defined during the program epoch when portions of the video service are available for viewing on a preview basis. A consumer is allowed to preview, without purchase, portions of the video service at any time during the fixed period for up to a maximum preview duration that is shorter than the fixed period. The consumer can then purchase the video service for viewing during the program epoch after previewing portions thereof. A plurality of records is maintained to service different previewable programs concurrently.