How to Buy and Download Digital Music or Movies Over a Phone Line
This 1993 patent describes a system for a customer to pay for and download digital audio or video files from a remote server to their own storage device using a phone line.
Original patent title: “Method for transmitting a desired digital video or audio signal”
What this patent covers
The actual claim
This patent describes a method for a customer, referred to as the "second party," to obtain a digital audio or video file from a seller, the "first party." First, the customer electronically transfers money to the seller using a telecommunications line, such as by providing a credit card number over the phone, as described in claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more → 3 and 6. Next, the seller's digital storage (first memory) connects electronically with the customer's digital storage (second memory) via a telecommunications line. Then, the desired digital audio or video signal is transmitted from the seller's memory to the customer's memory, where it is stored, as detailed in claims 1 and 4. For example, a person could call a service, pay with a credit card, and then have a specific song downloaded directly to their home computer's hard drive.
What this patent does NOT cover
The boundaries
- Does not cover streaming content that is played without being permanently stored on the customer's device.
- Does not cover the physical delivery of media, such as mailing a CD or DVD.
- Does not cover the distribution of free content where no electronic money transfer occurs.
- Does not cover non-digital signals or data that are not specifically audio or video.
- Does not cover in-person cash payments or other non-electronic money transfer methods.
- Does not cover content transfers that do not use a telecommunications line, such as direct physical connection or local network transfers.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The noveltynoveltyThe requirement that an invention be different from anything publicly known before its priority date.Read more → was combining electronic payment with the electronic transmission and permanent storage of specific digital media (audio or video) over a telecommunications line, effectively creating a digital 'store' and 'delivery' system before the internet made such services commonplace.
The Patent Drawing
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
iTunes Store for music and movies
Amazon Prime Video for digital purchases and downloads
Google Play Movies & TV for purchased content
Xbox Games Store for digital game downloads
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This patent outlines a foundational concept for digital content distribution, predating the widespread commercial internet. It describes the core steps of paying for and receiving digital media electronically, which became the basis for services like iTunes and other digital storefronts. It envisioned a future where media could be purchased and delivered directly to a user's device without physical copies.
Filed
September 18, 1990
Granted
March 2, 1993
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a method for a customer, referred to as the "second party," to obtain a digital audio or video file from a seller, the "first party." First, the customer electronically transfers money to the seller using a telecommunications line, such as by providing a credit card number over the phone, as described in claims 3 and 6. Next, the seller's digital storage (first memory) connects electronically with the customer's digital storage (second memory) via a telecommunications line. Then, the desired digital audio or video signal is transmitted from the seller's memory to the customer's memory, where it is stored, as detailed in claims 1 and 4. For example, a person could call a service, pay with a credit card, and then have a specific song downloaded directly to their home computer's hard drive.
The clever bit
The novelty was combining electronic payment with the electronic transmission and permanent storage of specific digital media (audio or video) over a telecommunications line, effectively creating a digital 'store' and 'delivery' system before the internet made such services commonplace.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover streaming content that is played without being permanently stored on the customer's device.
- Does not cover the physical delivery of media, such as mailing a CD or DVD.
- Does not cover the distribution of free content where no electronic money transfer occurs.
- Does not cover non-digital signals or data that are not specifically audio or video.
- Does not cover in-person cash payments or other non-electronic money transfer methods.
- Does not cover content transfers that do not use a telecommunications line, such as direct physical connection or local network transfers.
Patent Journey
From filing to expiry
Patent Filed
1990
Patent Granted
1993 · 2yr after filing
Highly Cited
260 patents cite this
Patent Expired
2010
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Moderate
Citation count
40/40
Highly cited
Claim breadth
5/20
Moderate scope
Recency
0/20
Older than 20 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$38K – $120K
Midpoint $75K · expired or expiring · industry baseline
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
8 claims as filed with the patent office.
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Hair, A. R. (1993). How to Buy and Download Digital Music or Movies Over a Phone Line (U.S. Patent No. 5,191,573). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/5191573/first-mp3-music-distribution
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
Stay in the loop
Get a weekly digest of new patents.
One email per week. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Keep exploring
Related patents you should know
US 8697359 · 2014
How to Use CRISPR-Cas9 to Edit Genes in Human Cells
This patent describes a method and system for precisely altering gene expression in eukaryotic cells, including human cells, using an engineered CRISPR-Cas9 system that targets and cleaves specific DNA sequences.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
US 4683195 · 1987
How to Make Many Copies of a Specific DNA Segment
This patent describes the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a fundamental process for making millions of copies of a specific DNA or RNA segment from a tiny sample, enabling its detection.
Cetus Corp
US 7657849 · 2010
How the iPhone's Slide-to-Unlock Gesture Worked
Apple's 2010 patent on unlocking a device by dragging a specific graphical image along a predefined path on a touchscreen, a gesture iconic with early iPhones.
Apple Inc
US 4405829 · 1983
How RSA Public-Key Encryption Secures Digital Messages
This patent describes the RSA public-key cryptographic system, a method for securely sending digital messages by using a public key to encrypt and a private key to decrypt, based on the mathematical difficulty of factoring large numbers.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
US 7479949 · 2009
How Touchscreens Tell the Difference Between Your Finger Gestures
Apple's 2009 patent describes how a touchscreen device uses clever rules, called heuristics, to figure out whether your finger movement means you want to scroll, pan, or switch items, often by looking at the very start of your touch.
Apple Inc
US 5347632 · 1994
How Early Online Services Delivered Applications Using Networked 'Objects'
This patent describes a system for early interactive computer networks, like Prodigy, that allowed personal computers to display information and perform services by fetching and storing small pieces of application code and data called 'objects' from a central network.
Prodigy Services Co
Semantically similar
You might also find these interesting
US 5960411 · 1999 · Amazon com Inc
How Amazon's One-Click Online Ordering System Works
US 5440632 · 1995 · Scientific Atlanta LLC
How Cable Boxes Got Smarter by Downloading Updates
US 7577616 · 2009
How a Mobile Phone Can Securely Verify Payments Using a Temporary Code
US 7865399 · 2011 · Google LLC
How a Central Broker Handles Online Shopping Cart Transactions
Same assignee
More from Individual
Patent monitoring