System and method for providing access to electronic works

A method of providing electronic works, comprising the steps of:

• offering electronic works to a user over a network,
• receiving a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
• verifying the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work;
• providing the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network;
• and
• storing electronic works;
• wherein the step of verifying includes the steps of:
• sending a request to obtain data corresponding to at least a portion of a physical work;
• receiving data corresponding to the at least a portion of the physical work;
• and
• comparing the at least a portion of the physical work with a corresponding portion of at least one electronic work to determine whether to grant the request.

A method of acquiring an electronic version of a work, comprising the steps of:

• obtaining a physical work;
• creating an electronic work from the physical work;
• extracting samples of data from the physical work;
• identifying an electronic work in an encoding queue;
• retrieving the electronic work identified in the encoding queue;
• and
• transferring the retrieved electronic work to storage.

A method of delivering electronic works, comprising the steps of:

• receiving a request for access to an electronic work and a form of user identification from a device;
• identifying characteristics of the requesting device;
• verifying the form of user identification against stored information;
• storing frequently requested items locally in memory;
• and
• providing the device with access to the electronic work;
• wherein the verifying step includes checking whether the user is simultaneously logged in from another device.

A method of acquiring an electronic work, comprising the steps of:

• logging into a service offering access to at least one electronic work;
• sending a request to access at least one electronic work and a form of identification;
• demonstrating authorization to receive the requested electronic work;
• and
• obtaining access to the requested electronic work;
• wherein the step of demonstrating includes sending a confirmation number for the purchase of a physical work.

An apparatus for providing electronic works, comprising:

• means for offering electronic works to a user over a network;
• means for storing at least one of the offered electronic works;
• means for receiving a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
• means for verifying the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work wherein the means for verifying includes:
• means for receiving data corresponding to at least one track offset of a physical work, and
• means for comparing the at least one track offset of the physical work to a corresponding track offset on at least one stored electronic work;
• and
• means for providing the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network.

An apparatus for providing electronic works, comprising:

• means for offering electronic works to a user over a network;
• means for storing at least one of the offered electronic works;
• means for receiving a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
• means for verifying the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work wherein the means for verifying includes:
• means for sending a request to obtain data corresponding to at least a portion of a physical work,
• means for receiving data corresponding to the at least a portion of the physical work, and
• means for comparing the at least a portion of the physical work with a corresponding portion of at least one electronic work to determine whether to grant the request;
• and
• means for providing the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network.

An apparatus for acquiring an electronic version of a work, comprising:

• means for obtaining a physical work;
• means for creating an electronic work from the physical work;
• means for extracting samples of data from the physical work;
• means for identifying an electronic work in an encoding queue;
• means for retrieving the electronic work identified in the encoding queue;
• and means
• means for transferring the retrieved electronic work to storage.

An apparatus for providing electronic works, comprising:

• a server for offering electronic works to a user over a network, wherein the server stores at least one of the offered electronic works, wherein the server receives a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
• wherein the server verifies the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work by receiving data corresponding to at least one track offset of a physical work, and comparing the at least one track offset of the physical work to a corresponding track offset on at least one stored electronic work;
• and
• wherein the server provides the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network.

An apparatus for providing electronic works, comprising:

• a server for offering electronic works to a user over a network, storing the offered electronic works, and receiving a request for access to at least one electronic work over the network;
• wherein the server also verifies the user is authorized to access the requested electronic work by sending a request to obtain data corresponding to at least a portion of a physical work, receiving data corresponding to the at least a portion of the physical work, and comparing the at least a portion of the physical work with a corresponding portion of at least one electronic work to determine whether to grant the request;
• and
• wherein the server also provides the user with access to the requested electronic work over the network.