Font rental system and method
OwnerWilliam Nelson Davis, Steven John Kuhlmaninventors
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Abstract
A font rental system provides a system for the licensing of font software, using a rental model. This differs from the conventional techniques for distributing fonts, which requires their purchase and permanent installation onto a computer. The font is delivered to the end user or font consumer. It provides for the ability to control the degree to which the end users can access the font and how long it is available to them. As a result, the cost can be reasonable and the user is not forced to license more than they require.
Claims24
A method for the distribution of fonts, the method comprising:
- a font consumer requesting a font from a font provider;
- the font provider accessing subscription information for the font consumer;
- the font provider sending the requested font to the font consumer depending on the subscription information;
- and
- the font consumer receiving the requested font and providing the requested font to an application.
A font manager for a computer, comprising:
- a font request interceptor receiving demands for fonts from applications running on the computer;
- a font retriever for requesting the demanded fonts from a remote font provider if the demanded fonts are not installed on the computer;
- a font installer for receiving and installing the demanded fonts;
- and
- a font tracker for controlling use of the demanded fonts by the applications in response to privilege information received from the remote font provider.
A method for the distribution of fonts, the method comprising:
- a font consumer requesting a font from a font provider and providing payment for the font;
- the font provider sending the requested font to the font consumer along with a license for the font consumer that enables the font consumer to use the font for a specified period of time;
- and
- the font consumer receiving the requested font and providing the requested font to an application for the specified period of time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.