Retail transactions involving distributed and super-distributed digital content in a digital rights management (drm) system

Abstract

To distribute digital content from a retailer to a customer, the content as issued by a content provider is retrieved. The as issued content has license acquisition information for acquiring a corresponding license attached thereto, where the license acquisition information includes a site identifier identifying a site at which the customer may obtain a digital license corresponding to the content. The site identifier includes an additional information field attached thereto. The additional information field is modified to include retailer information identifying the retailer, and the content is delivered with the modified additional information field to the customer. Thus, a license request sent from the customer is addressed to the site identified by the site identifier in the license acquisition information and includes the modified additional information field attached thereto. The corresponding digital license is issued to the customer after receiving the license request at the site identified by the site identifier, and after payment is received at such site from the customer in connection with the license request. The retailer information from the license request is retrieved and the retailer is identified therefrom, and such identified retailer is credited for a portion of the payment received.