Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080200253 | System and Method to Levy and Collect Taxes in a Virtual Environment - A virtual environment in which players are charged and able to charge taxes for various taxable activities. The tax may be levied by a governmental authority or other entity or by one or more characters in the metaverse. The tax may be imposed at the time of a taxable activity, at periodic intervals, or upon the occurrence of an event. The tax may be imposed for a specific purpose, e.g. to create a fund to use as insurance against possible harms, threats, or misdeeds, to protect the tax payers from impending or realized threats, or for any or no reason. | 08-21-2008 |
20080201316 | Providing Certified Patent Searches Conducted by Third Party Researchers - Improved methods for drafting, preparing, and submitting a patent application are described. The system incorporates a web-based tool in which applications are drafted. The web-based tool allows for real time analysis of the application as it is being drafted. Automated suggestions, prior art searching, researcher and attorney recommendations are also disclosed. | 08-21-2008 |
20080207327 | Virtual Environment with Alerts - A virtual environment in which players are able to receive alerts intended to indicate the occurrence of a given event within the virtual environment. The alerts may be delivered to the player while he is playing the game via an in-game messaging service or other similar device. Alternatively the alerts may be delivered to the player via a real world communication device such as a cell phone, pager, text messaging device, or the like. | 08-28-2008 |
20080303811 | Virtual Professional - A virtual environment including a plurality of virtual professionals capable or providing goods and services to players in the virtual environment is described. The goods and services may be relevant to the real world, the virtual world, or both. Single-use avatars whose availability is limited and which are configured to protect the anonymity of the player controlling the single-use avatar may be used when anonymity is desired. Queues may be used to schedule appointments with virtual professionals. | 12-11-2008 |
20090144066 | Method and System for Differential Billing - A system and method of distinguishing between transactions involving a widget and charging the same or different parties for the use, placement and content of the widget and clones of a widget based on those transactions. Such a system and method allows for differential billing for clones of widgets used on the same or different websites. Charges may be incurred based on the type of transaction and charges for the same or different transactions or the same or different uses of the same widget may be incurred by one or more customers. | 06-04-2009 |
20090144749 | Alert and Repair System for Data Scraping Routines - A system and method of detecting and reporting the failure of a data scrape or redirect routine. In the event of a failure, the system may reattempt a data scrape based on different parameters. Such a system and method may further provide for the repair or replacement of failed routines with new or pre-existing routines. | 06-04-2009 |
20090146378 | Real Time Trivia Match with Audience Votes and Rewards - The present disclosure provides a trivia game in which a first contestant is able to create a trivia question and them posit a putative answer to the question. Audience members can then vote as to whether or not the putative answer is correct or incorrect. A reward may be distributed to some members of the audience based on the results of the vote. | 06-11-2009 |
20090149234 | Managing Participation in a series of Matches in a Real Time Trivia Match - The present disclosure provides a trivia game in which a contestant selected from a group of participants is able to create a trivia question and then posit a putative answer to the question. The participants can then vote as to whether or not the putative answer is correct or incorrect. Participants may be rated in order to determine eligibility and access to various aspects of the game. | 06-11-2009 |
20090149235 | Paying Royalties Based on Content Usage in a Trivia Game - The present disclosure provides a trivia game associated with a database of trivia content items. Contestants are able to create a trivia question related to the trivia content items. The trivia game further includes a mechanism for tracking use of the trivia content items and distributing revenue to revenue recipients, such as copyright holders, based on various types of usage. | 06-11-2009 |
20090149236 | Creating a Virtual Item Skin from Content in a Real Time Trivia Match - The present disclosure provides a mechanism by which end users can create virtual item skins from content displayed in a database of digital content. In the case of digital video content, an end user is able to create a virtual item skin from objects or people shown in the digital videos. A revenue distribution mechanism distributes revenue to revenue recipients such as copyright holders. | 06-11-2009 |
20090149259 | Real Time Trivia Match with Questions with Proof - The present disclosure provides a trivia game in which a first contestant is able to create a trivia question related to a database of video clips and a compilation proof comprised of clips from the database. The contestant may then posit a putative answer to the question, based on the compilation proof. Audience members can then vote as to whether or not the putative answer is correct or incorrect. | 06-11-2009 |
20090150345 | Web Domain Data Replication System - A system and method of increasing the visibility of a website by automatically generating one or more additional linked webpages relating to the website. Information used in the webpages may be gathered from the original website or the websites of one or more third party website. Such a system may increase the ranking of a website in the results of one or more search engines. | 06-11-2009 |
20090170604 | Mediation of Disputes in a Virtual Environment - A mechanism for dispute mediation and resolution in a virtual environment is provided. The mechanism may involve the breach of a virtual contract and the determination of suitable penalties against the breaching parties. In some embodiments, the mechanism may include a judge or jury comprising members of the virtual community. | 07-02-2009 |
20100094751 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR ENFORCING PURCHASE AGREEMENTS - Systems, apparatus, articles of manufacture and methods are provided for establishing (e.g., online) a buyer price for a first plurality of products. In one embodiment, the buyer price is lower than a retail price of the first plurality of products. A second plurality of products that the buyer has actually received during the subsequent transaction is determined. A penalty may be assessed if the first plurality of products does not correspond to the second plurality of products. | 04-15-2010 |
20110099082 | PURCHASING, REDEMPTION AND SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS AND METHODS WHEREIN A BUYER TAKES POSSESSION AT A RETAILER OF A PRODUCT PURCHASED USING A COMMUNICATION NETWORK - Purchasing, redemption and settlement systems and methods are provided wherein a buyer takes possession of a product at a retailer. A purchasing system may communicate with a buyer through a communication network to establish a first price for a product between the buyer and a seller. The purchasing system may also arrange for the buyer to take possession of the product at a retailer, different from the seller, that offers the product for sale at a second price. Verification information, which enables the retailer to authorize the buyer to take possession of the product, is transmitted to the retailer. The buyer provides a payment, based on the first price, to the purchasing system in exchange for the right to take possession of the product at the retailer. In one embodiment, the purchasing system receives a buyer offer, including an offer price, related to the product. In another embodiment, the purchasing system transmits redemption information, including a redemption code, to the buyer. The redemption information may also include information that enables the creation of a voucher to be used when taking possession of the product. The purchasing system may also receive information related to an attempt by the buyer to take possession of the product, including the redemption code, from the retailer. | 04-28-2011 |
20110145121 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING AND PROCESSING INSTALLMENT PLANS AT A TERMINAL - According to some embodiments, a central controller receives a selection signal. If the selection signal indicates acceptance of any installment plan, use of the accepted installment plan for the financial account is authorized. Thereafter, bills may be generated that reflect installment charges to be paid. | 06-16-2011 |
20110153407 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRACKING AND ESTABLISHING A PROGRESSIVE DISCOUNT BASED UPON CUSTOMER VISITS TO A RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT - Methods, computer readable media and apparatus are disclosed for determining and applying a discount for a customer. In some embodiments, the process includes receiving transaction data that represents a current transaction, receiving a customer identifier of a customer, determining a current transaction time and a last transaction time, determining that a duration between the last transaction time and the current transaction time equals or exceeds a predetermined time period, and determining that the current transaction is a first instance of the customer equaling or exceeding the predetermined time period. Since it was the first time the customer equaled or exceeded the predetermined time period, a discount is applied to the current transaction. | 06-23-2011 |
20110258030 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE SALE OF SUBSCRIPTIONS TO PERIODICALS - A POS terminal receives a signal that indicates an item, for example, via a bar code scanner. The POS terminal ascertains whether the item is associated with an offer for a rebate. If so, a code is generated and output to the customer, such as on a printed receipt. The code is associated with an offer for a rebate in exchange for establishing a subscription to a periodical. If the customer subscribes to a required periodical, he will be credited the amount he paid for the item. Subsequently, the customer requests a subscription to a periodical from a subscription fulfillment house, and provides his code in conjunction with the request. If the code is valid, the customer is provided with a rebate. The rebate may be provided directly by the subscription fulfillment house (e.g. a credit to a credit card account) or may be provided by a merchant (e.g. a discount on a future purchase). | 10-20-2011 |
20110264564 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCT DISPLAY - Systems and methods are provided for receiving a request to display at least one product. A substitute product for the at least one product is selected from a plurality of substitute products. The selection may be based on, for example, expected revenue from display of the selected substitute product, expected revenue for purchase of the selected substitute product, or a substitution success rate. The selected substitute product is then displayed. | 10-27-2011 |
20120022923 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR ENFORCING PURCHASE AGREEMENTS - Systems, apparatus, articles of manufacture and methods are provided for establishing (e.g., online) a buyer price for a first plurality of products. In one embodiment, the buyer price is lower than a retail price of the first plurality of products. A second plurality of products that the buyer has actually received during the subsequent transaction is determined. A penalty may be assessed if the first plurality of products does not correspond to the second plurality of products. | 01-26-2012 |
20120084166 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FACILITATING A TRANSACTION BY MATCHING SELLER INFORMATION AND BUYER INFORMATION - Systems and methods are provided to facilitate a transaction between a seller and a buyer. According to one embodiment, seller offer information is received at a controller. The seller offer information is associated with an item, such as a secondary market item, being offered for sale by a seller. Buyer offer information, associated with a buyer offering to make a purchase, is also received. An evaluation rule is determined, and the seller offer information and the buyer offer information are matched based on the evaluation rule. It is then arranged for the seller to sell the item to the buyer. | 04-05-2012 |
20120123864 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTING A SUPPLEMENTAL PRODUCT TO OFFER FOR SALE DURING A TRANSACTION - According to some embodiments, a supplemental product or service may be offered to a user during a transaction, either in addition to products and/or services the user is purchasing, or as a replacement to one or more of the products and/or services that the user is purchasing. The functionality may be implemented, for example, in a retail embodiment where a user is purchasing products and/or services at a cash register or other point-of-sale terminal. One or more embodiments may be implemented online where a user is purchasing products and/or services using a computer, terminal, telephone or other client or user device and accessing a World Wide Web site, online catalog, interactive voice response unit or system, etc. | 05-17-2012 |
20120150609 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE SALE OF SUBSCRIPTIONS TO PERIODICALS - A POS terminal receives a signal that indicates an item, for example, via a bar code scanner. The POS terminal ascertains whether the item is associated with an offer for a rebate. If so, a code is generated and output to the customer, such as on a printed receipt. The code is associated with an offer for a rebate in exchange for establishing a subscription to a periodical. If the customer subscribes to a required periodical, he will be credited the amount he paid for the item. Subsequently, the customer requests a subscription to a periodical from a subscription fulfillment house, and provides his code in conjunction with the request. If the code is valid, the customer is provided with a rebate. The rebate may be provided directly by the subscription fulfillment house (e.g. a credit to a credit card account) or may be provided by a merchant (e.g. a discount on a future purchase). | 06-14-2012 |
20120150612 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING SUBSCRIPTIONS - A subscription system allows a customer to establish a subscription to a product with one or more retailers (e.g., by establishing the subscription through a controller or central system). In one embodiment, a subscription may be established after receiving information that identifies a product. Terms of a subscription for the product are established, such as a frequency and a duration of the subscription. | 06-14-2012 |
20120150672 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING AND PROCESSING INSTALLMENT PLANS AT A TERMINAL - According to some embodiments, a central controller receives a selection signal. If the selection signal indicates acceptance of any installment plan, use of the accepted installment plan for the financial account is authorized. Thereafter, bills may be generated that reflect installment charges to be paid. | 06-14-2012 |
20120191555 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING AND PROCESSING INSTALLMENT PLANS AT A TERMINAL - According to some embodiments, a central controller receives a selection signal. If the selection signal indicates acceptance of any installment plan, use of the accepted installment plan for the financial account is authorized. Thereafter, bills may be generated that reflect installment charges to be paid. | 07-26-2012 |
20120265639 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING ACCOUNT-BASED TRANSACTIONS - Systems, methods and apparatus are presented for facilitating account-based transactions. In an embodiment, the method includes associating a first person with an account, associating a second person with the account, receiving a request from a third party to authorize a transaction between the second person and the third party, determining a first communication address of the first party, and contacting the first party. The process also includes determining that the first person desires to communicate with the second person, determining a second communication address of the second person, initiating a communication between the first person and the second person, and receiving a signal from the first person that authorizes the transaction or declines the transaction. | 10-18-2012 |
20130060621 | MULTI-TIER PRICING OF INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTS BASED ON VOLUME DISCOUNTS - A point of sale system or other computer system stores a product pricing database in which a full price and discount prices corresponding to one or more discount pricing tiers are stored for each product available for sale. Each of the discount prices for a given product has an associated threshold purchase total that has to be satisfied before the discount price is applied to a transaction. When a transaction occurs, the purchase total for the transaction is first calculated on the basis of full retail prices for the products and the purchase total for the transaction is compared with one or more threshold purchase totals which correspond to the discount pricing tiers. If a discount pricing tier is applicable (e.g. the calculated purchase total for the transaction is at least equal to a threshold purchase total), the appropriate discount prices for each product in the transaction are retrieved and used to calculate a reduced purchase total for the transaction. Qualification for discount pricing can also be based on, for example, a customer's purchasing history, or the number of a certain type of product included in the transaction instead of the purchase total of a transaction. | 03-07-2013 |
20130179302 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FACILITATING A TRANSACTION BY MATCHING SELLER INFORMATION AND BUYER INFORMATION - Systems and methods are provided to facilitate a transaction between a seller and a buyer. According to one embodiment, seller offer information is received at a controller. The seller offer information is associated with an item, such as a secondary market item, being offered for sale by a seller. Buyer offer information, associated with a buyer offering to make a purchase, is also received. An evaluation rule is determined, and the seller offer information and the buyer offer information are matched based on the evaluation rule. It is then arranged for the seller to sell the item to the buyer. | 07-11-2013 |
20130268389 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OFFERING MULTIPLE PRODUCTS - A system and method for a supplier to offer multiple products to a first person and multiple pre-owned products to a second person is disclosed. | 10-10-2013 |
20130339182 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTING A SUPPLEMENTAL PRODUCT TO OFFER FOR SALE DURING A TRANSACTION - According to some embodiments, a supplemental product or service may be offered to a user during a transaction, either in addition to products and/or services the user is purchasing, or as a replacement to one or more of the products and/or services that the user is purchasing. The functionality may be implemented, for example, in a retail embodiment where a user is purchasing products and/or services at a cash register or other point-of-sale terminal. One or more embodiments may be implemented online where a user is purchasing products and/or services using a computer, terminal, telephone or other client or user device and accessing a World Wide Web site, online catalog, interactive voice response unit or system, etc. | 12-19-2013 |
20140012755 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING SUBSCRIPTIONS - A subscription system allows a customer to establish a subscription to a product with one or more retailers (e.g., by establishing the subscription through a controller or central system). In one embodiment, a subscription may be established after receiving information that identifies a product. Terms of a subscription for the product are established, such as a frequency and a duration of the subscription. | 01-09-2014 |
20140046781 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING AND PROCESSING INSTALLMENT PLANS AT A TERMINAL - According to some embodiments, a central controller receives a selection signal indicative of acceptance of an installment plan option for a transaction. The central controller determines an installment charge amount to include in at least two bills for a financial account. Thereafter, bills may be generated that reflect installment charges to be paid. | 02-13-2014 |
20140089085 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTING A SUPPLEMENTAL PRODUCT TO OFFER FOR SALE DURING A TRANSACTION - According to some embodiments, a supplemental product or service may be offered to a user during a transaction, either in addition to products and/or services the user is purchasing, or as a replacement to one or more of the products and/or services that the user is purchasing. The functionality may be implemented, for example, in a retail embodiment where a user is purchasing products and/or services at a cash register or other point-of-sale terminal. One or more embodiments may be implemented online where a user is purchasing products and/or services using a computer, terminal, telephone or other client or user device and accessing a World Wide Web site, online catalog, interactive voice response unit or system, etc. | 03-27-2014 |
20140114791 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENCOURAGING COMPETITIVE PARTICIPATION IN AN AUCTION - In both an on-line and a conventional auction, an auctioneer may encourage competitive bidding behavior through the provision of rewards to those bidders whose bids meet predetermined criteria. For example, a bidder may be rewarded if her bid exceeds a prior bid by a threshold value. An auctioneer may further discourage non-competitive bidding behavior by penalizing those bidders whose bids fall below predetermined standards. | 04-24-2014 |
20140180927 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING ACCOUNT-BASED TRANSACTIONS - Systems, methods and apparatus are presented for facilitating account-based transactions. In an embodiment, the method includes associating a first person with an account, associating a second person with the account, receiving a request from a third party to authorize a transaction between the second person and the third party, determining a first communication address of the first party, and contacting the first party. The process also includes determining that the first person desires to communicate with the second person, determining a second communication address of the second person, initiating a communication between the first person and the second person, and receiving a signal from the first person that authorizes the transaction or declines the transaction. | 06-26-2014 |
20140289035 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DEFINING ROUTING OF CUSTOMERS BETWEEN MERCHANTS - A server or Internet service provider computer selects a soliciting merchant and an outputting merchant based on various factors. In one embodiment, the soliciting merchant is selected is its activity rate (e.g. sales rate) is low. The outputting merchant provides offers for bonuses to customers on behalf of the soliciting merchant. The bonus is provided to the customer in exchange for consummating a transaction with the soliciting merchant. Thus, the soliciting merchant benefits from the increased patronage such offers encourage. | 09-25-2014 |
20140304114 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FACILITATING UPGRADING OF PREVIOUSLY SOLD PRODUCTS - In accordance with at least some embodiments, systems and methods provide for storing an indication of an initial purchase of a first new product from a supplier and by an initial purchaser and facilitating a provision to the initial purchaser of the second product by the supplier and a return of the pre-owned product from the initial purchaser to the supplier. | 10-09-2014 |
20140330661 | Systems and Methods for Facilitating a Transaction by Matching Seller Information and Buyer Information - Systems and methods are provided to facilitate a transaction between a seller and a buyer. According to one embodiment, seller offer information is received at a controller. The seller offer information is associated with an item, such as a secondary market item, being offered for sale by a seller. Buyer offer information, associated with a buyer offering to make a purchase, is also received. An evaluation rule is determined, and the seller offer information and the buyer offer information are matched based on the evaluation rule. It is then arranged for the seller to sell the item to the buyer. | 11-06-2014 |
20150066767 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING SUBSCRIPTIONS - A subscription system allows a customer to establish a subscription to a product with one or more retailers (e.g., by establishing the subscription through a controller or central system). In one embodiment, a subscription may be established after receiving information that identifies a product. Terms of a subscription for the product are established, such as a frequency and a duration of the subscription. | 03-05-2015 |