Data processing system and method to enforce payment of royalties when copying softcopy books

摘要

A publisher of a softcopy book includes royalty payment information either within the structured document text of the book or in a royalty payment information file which accompanies the book. To read the book from the storage disk, the user applies a special softcopy book reading program at his workstation. If the user enters a command to copy the book onto a writable storage medium such as a magnetic disk or to print a hardcopy of the book with a printer or to transmit a copy of the book over a modem, a royalty payment program intercepts the copying command and suspends the copying operations. Instead, the royalty payment program presents the user with a display of the royalty payment information stored in the book text or in a file accompanying the book. The user must select the option of paying a royalty to the publisher before the royalty payment program permits a copy of the book to be made.