System and method for consumer-to-consumer lending of digital content

Abstract

A consumer-to-consumer lending system and method for digital content such as digital ebooks. The lending system invention enables a user who has purchased digital content to lend that content to another user. The lending system enables a lender to extend a lending offer to a lendee and a lendee to respond to the lending offer. A lendee may accept or reject a lending offer. Upon acceptance, the lending system provides the lent content to the lendee who controls the content until returning it, purchasing it or until a predetermined lending period expires. During the lending period the lender does not have access to the lent digital content item. The lending system assists a lender with initiating a lending offer, such as providing a pre-populated email form, and delivers the lend offer notification to the target lendee. Lending offers may be initiated and notifications received over common channels, including email systems, mobile devices, and web-based user accounts. The lending process can be initiated directly from a consumer device.