WO2001040890A2

WO2001040890A2 - A facile discriminatory mercantile method

Info

Publication number: WO2001040890A2
Application number: PCT/IL2000/000790
Authority: WO
Inventors: Boris Tyomkin
Original assignee: Clicks Investments Limited
Priority date: 1999-12-01
Filing date: 2000-11-27
Publication date: 2001-06-07
Also published as: AU1727601A; IL139919A0; WO2001040890A3

Abstract

A facile discriminatory mercantile method of use with an electronic commerce portal is disclosed. This method includes the steps of: (a) establishing linkage to an electronic commerce portal for non-contractually matching of parties that have a transaction defined common interest wherein, for each transaction defined common interest, the portal associates first party offers with second party acceptances; (b) maintaining a multi-list data structure wherein for each party there is associated therewith a list of the other parties; (c) providing substantially each party with its associated list of the other parties; (d) accepting, form at least one of the parties, a discriminatory filter having therein a parametric bias with respect to at least one of the other parties on its respective list of the other parties; (e) convoluting the accepted biases into the data structure; and (f) providing filtered electronic commerce transactional access to the portal according to the biases convoluted into the data structure.

Description

A Facile Discriminatory Mercantile Method

GENERAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to electronic commerce. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electronic commerce method of doing business wherein preferential relationships are embodied.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the absence of electronic facilities, ordinary commerce is directed to facilitating contracting between a buyer and a seller for goods or services. Ordinary commerce often also includes providing transportation, financing, legal services, etc. In ordinary commerce, parametric bias filtering allows any party (to such contracting) to adjust his prices as a buyer or seller, according to his appreciation of other parties to the contracting. Stated simply: a customer may be willing to pay more for a known high quality brand name or when buying from a full service retailer; a seller may adjust his prices according to the credit rating of a buyer; a transporter may quote different rates for frequent users than for occasional users; a finance company often provides different loan structures according to the solvency of his client; etc.

Electronic commerce, as currently spreading across global markets through the vehicle of the Internet, is considered by most technology analysts to be history's most market-permeating conduit for inter-national and intra-national contracting of goods and services. Just as there are countless known macroeconomic and microeconomic models for transacting contracts in markets of disparate scales, there are also countless actual mercantile variations, the mechanics of which often remain as secret methods. In the context of electronic commerce, there is a need in the art for a transferring of countless aspects of these models and also of these secret methods. Given the complexity of market topologies in electronic commerce, often a transferring of any of these aspects requires additional considerations. These considerations include legal aspects of their respective embodying, transaction security, scaling into NP-complete type market sizes, interfacing with the Internet, etc.

US patents 5825881 5909492 5937393 5937391 5918210 5918214 5899980 5897622 5878141 all relate to electronic mercantile embodiments. In the nomenclature of the present document, these patents relate to facilitating electronic commerce portals; albeit without any aspect of parametric bias filtering. Parametric bias filtering is an often-secretive method that is used in ordinary commerce. Just as ordinary commerce often uses parametric bias filtering, there is a need in the art of electronic commerce for parametric bias filtering; especially if it is embodied in a facile mode that is compatible with known electronic commerce systems. More specifically, there is a long felt need in the art for parametric bias filtering in electronic commerce, especially when transacting parties are businesses (note: often called: B2B e-commerce).

US5825881 relates to a system for conducting commerce over a large public network such as the Internet. This system facilitates communications between a merchant, a customer, and a bank or credit card processor.

US 5909492 relates to a network-based sales system including at least one buyer computer for operation by a user desiring to buy a product, at least one merchant computer, and at least one payment computer. The buyer computer, the merchant computer, and the payment computer are interconnected by a computer network. The buyer computer is programmed to receive a user request for purchasing a product, and to cause a payment message to be sent to the payment computer that comprises a product identifier identifying the product. The payment computer is programmed to receive the payment message, to cause an access message to be created that comprises the product identifier and an access message authenticator based on a cryptographic key, and to cause the access message to be sent to the merchant computer. The merchant computer is programmed to receive the access message, to verify the access message authenticator to ensure that the access message authenticator was created using the cryptographic key, and to cause the product to be sent to the user desiring to buy the product. US5937393 relates to an order processing method for implementation in a distributed computer system. An order create request is received from a user at a local station, validated locally and routed to a remote station for authorization. Connection between local and remote stations may be of any type. Progress of an order is tracked by a configuration matrix, and communication is tracked and controlled by a router slip appended to an order message and which is in turn governed by the matrix. The matrix allows selection of a current control register that governs applicability of validation routines to data entities of the request or order. Paper handling is reduced or eliminated and sufficient control for decentralized purchasing is achieved. US5937391 relates to a service system in an online shopping mall, established through a network, realizing an improvement of a service to a customer by not having to carry a magnetic card and shortening a time from issuing points to redeeming points. A points issuing unit issues points corresponding to the purchase amount of a customer. A points storage device stores the number of points accumulated by the customer. A points redeeming unit reduces a purchase amount of the customer as points to be redeemed. A points issue ratio and a points redeeming ratio can be set for each shop forming part of the online shopping mall. A service system in an online shopping mall established through a network realizes an improvement of a service to a customer by not having to carry a magnetic card and shortening a time from issuing points to redeeming points. To attain the objects of the system, a points issuing unit issues points corresponding to the purchase amount of a customer. A points storage device stores the number of points accumulated by the customer. A points redeeming unit reduces a purchase amount of the customer as points to be redeemed. A points issue ratio and a points redeeming ratio can be set for each shop forming part of the online shopping mall.

US5918210 relates to a method of modeling an enterprise so that its policy changes as well as its current components and operations are represented in a database, and a method of using a computer to query the database. The enterprise is modeled using classes of objects and associated methods. During operation, a query about data in the database is received from a user, with the query calling for the use of at least one method to answer the query. The database is accessed to determine whether the method is affected by a policy change, where different policies are represented by policy objects. If so, the user is provided with policy choices. A policy selection is received, and the query is answered, using an implementation of the method based on the policy selection.

US5918214 relates to a system and method for finding product and service related information on the Internet. The system includes Internet Servers which store information pertaining to Universal Product or Service Number (e.g. UPC number) pre-assigned to each product and service registered in the system, with Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) that point to the location of one or more information resources on the Internet, e.g. World Wide Websites, related to such products or services. Each client computer system includes an Internet browser or Internet application tool which is provided with a "Internet Product/Service Information (IPSI) Finder" button and a "Universal Product/Service Number (UPSN) Search" button. The system enters its "IPSI Finder Mode" when the "IPSI Finder" button is depressed and enters the "UPSN Search Mode" when the "UPSN Search" button is depressed. When the system is in its IPSI Finder Mode, a pre-designated information resource (e.g. advertisement, product information, etc.) pertaining to any commercial product or service registered with the system is automatically accessed from the Internet and displayed from the Internet browser by simply entering the registered product's UPN or the registered service's USN into the Internet browser. When the system is in its "UPSN Search Mode", a pre-designated information resource pertaining to any commercial product or service registered with the system is automatically accessed from the Internet and displayed from the Internet browser by simply entering the registered product's trademark(s) or (service-mark) and/or associated company name into the Internet browser.

US5899980 relates to a retail method over a wide area network. The wide area network includes a point of sale computer station, a network service provider server operated by a network service provider, a customer computer station used by a customer and connected to the wide area network through the network service provider server, and a transaction server having access to identification information of the network service provider and the point of sale computer station. The method includes the steps of connecting the customer computer station to the point of sale computer station, purchasing goods from the point of sale computer station by the customer, validation of the purchasing by the transaction server and the network service provider server, charging the customer for the purchase. The step of charging includes a transaction including the steps of billing an account of the customer by the network service provider server a transaction sum and billing by the transaction server an account of the network service provider server the transaction sum. The retail method also includes supplying the goods to the customer and remitting a portion of the transaction sum to a vendor operating the point of sale computer station.

US5897622 relates to providing a merchant system for online shopping and merchandising. The merchant system architecture provides great flexibility for a merchant to adapt the merchant system to their existing business practices, promotions and databases. The merchant system includes a dynamic page generator, a configurable order processing module and a database module capable of retrieving data from the database without regard to its schema. This enables merchants to create electronic orders that are easily adaptable for different sales situations. The order-processing module includes multiple configurable stages to process a merchant's electronic orders. The merchant system is capable of generating pages dynamically using templates having embedded directives. The database module and the dynamic page generator allow merchants to modify their databases and page displays without having to reengineer the merchant system.

US5878141 relates to a computerized, electronic purchase mediating system including a purchaser database having a list of purchasers and a merchant database having a list of merchants. The purchaser database stores information about each purchaser including a set of personal payment methods that the purchaser could use to purchase goods and/or services. Similarly, the merchant database stores information about each merchant including a set of accepted payment methods that the merchant would accept for sale of the goods and/or services. The purchase system also includes a processor coupled to the purchaser and merchant databases. The processor receives a purchase request and accesses the merchant database according to a merchant identified in the purchase request to retrieve the set of accepted payment methods which corresponds to that merchant. The processor also accesses the purchaser database to retrieve the set of personal payment methods which corresponds to the identified purchaser. The processor then computes an intersection of these two sets to derive a common set of any available payment method that is both accepted by the merchant and can be used by the purchaser for purchase of the goods and/or services. The purchaser is presented with the purchase amount and the common set of available payment methods to choose a most preferred form of payment. Upon selection, the processor consummates the sale and signs a digital signature with the purchaser's permission via password verification to ensure for the merchant that a completed transaction has occurred.

The following patents and Internet accessible web-pages describe concepts, methods, systems, and apparatus useful for a better understanding of new, useful, or un-obvious aspects of the present invention; and implicitly therein for appreciating the innate inventive step leading thereto.

US patents 5825881 5909492 5937393 5937391 5918210 5918214 5899980 5897622 5878141 generally relate to facilitating electronic commerce portals; albeit without any aspect of parametric bias filtering.

An Internet citation, www.chemdex.com , specifically relates to a large electronic commerce portal; again without any aspect of parametric bias filtering.

NOTICES

Numbers, alphabetic characters, and roman symbols are designated in the following sections for convenience of explanations only, and should by no means be regarded as imposing particular order on any method steps.

The present invention will forthwith be described with a certain degree of particularity, however those versed in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications and alterations may be carried out without departing from either the spirit or scope, as hereinafter claimed.

Definitions Used In the Context of the Present Invention: An "electronic commerce portal" relates to a forum of disclosure, accessible using data-communications facihties (e.g. the Internet), wherein is provided any of: a publication of offers, a mechanism of expressing interest in acceptance of such offers, a contracting mechanism per se wherein offers are related to associated acceptances, or the like; using external currency transfer mechanisms, internal currency mechanisms, electronic currency mechanisms, barter, or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a facile discriminatory mercantile method for use with an electronic commerce portal. This method includes the steps of: a) establishing linkage to an electronic commerce portal for non-contractual matching of parties that have a transaction defined common interest wherein, for each transaction defined common interest, the portal associates first party offers with second party acceptances; b) maintaining a multi-list data structure wherein for each party there is associated therewith a list of the other parties; c) providing substantially each party with its associated list of the other parties; d) accepting, from at least one of the parties, a discriminatory filter having therein a parametric bias with respect to at least one of the other parties on its respective list of other parties; e) convoluting the accepted biases into the data structure; and f) providing filtered electronic commerce transactional access to the portal according to the biases convoluted into the data structure. This method allows any user of the associated portal to elect predetermined discriminatory aspects of his participation in transactions using the portal. By defining at least one discriminatory filter of parametric biasing, the user causes his participation in the portal to reflect his attitudes, preferences and judgements, presumably for improving his economic stature in comparison with that of his competitors. Just as ordinary commerce is not just a price agreement between a buyer and a seller, so too electronic commerce can facilitate embodiments of superior business judgements; e.g. by using the method of the present invention.

Furthermore, from alternative technological vantages, the present invention may also be understood to relate to a virtual marketplace method, an economic-factor biased search engine, and a distributed computer system for facilitating contract initiation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments including the preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a schematic view of a facile discriminatory mercantile method; and

Figure 2 illustrates a schematic view of a program storage device embodying a program of instructions for performing a facile discriminatory mercantile method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a facile discriminatory mercantile method for use with an electronic commerce portal.

This method (see Figure 1) includes the steps of: a) establishing (A) linkage to an electronic commerce portal (P) for non-contractually matching of parties that have a transaction defined common interest wherein, for each transaction defined common interest, the portal associates first party offers with second party acceptances; b) maintaining (B) a multi-list data structure (M) wherein for each party there is associated therewith a list of the other parties; c) providing ( C ) substantially each party (e.g. via (WWW) )with its associated list of the other parties; d) accepting (D) , from at least one of the parties (e.g. via (WWW) ), a discriminatory filter having therein a parametric bias with respect to at least one of the other parties on its respective list of other parties; e) convoluting (E) the accepted biases into the data structure (M) ; and f) providing (F) filtered electronic commerce transactional access to the portal (P) according to the biases convoluted into the data structure.

Thus, the present invention provides a facility wherein a party may create an implement a filter for his mercantile interests according to his evaluation of parities that may contract with him for all or a portion of such interests. For example a seller-party may divide a list of potential buyer parties into three categories: preferred buyers, other known buyers, unknown buyers. The seller party may then specify a different offer structure for each category of buyer.

For example, a seller party may specify an established offer price for each of his goods or services being offered for sale; and a filter structure. The filter structure may further specify that preferred buyers be given a 10% discount from the established offer price, other known buyers be given the estabhshed offer price, and unknown buyers be given a 10% surcharge above the estabhshed offer price. Likewise, buyer parties may stratify their respective preferences for dealing with different seller-parties; again according to a filter structure. Furthermore, filter structures may be responsive to the number of units being transacted, e.g. bulk transactions receiving preferential rates to smaller transactions, etc. There may be many models that could be used to determine structures in the filter (e.g. short term interest rates, stock market price indices, etc.). According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the step of accepting the parametric bias includes at least one factor with respect to transaction defined common interests. For example, a factor may be chosen from: name of a party, geographic proximity to the party, public record of equity value of the party, party ISO certified or not, etc.

Furthermore, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the step of accepting the parametric bias includes at least one factor with respect to categorization of transaction defined common interests. Thus, for example, geographic proximity may be stratified into same city as a first party, same county as a first party, same state as a first party, same country as a first party, etc.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the step of providing includes an action of reporting to at least two parties the existence of a potential mutual transaction defined common interest between the at least two parties. Since the un-filtered electronic commerce portal presumably provides a facility for matching offers to acceptances according to unfiltered conditions, using the filtering conditions of the present invention will new matches that were not existent in the portal. A most extreme example is a case where, using the present invention a potential buyer gives a potential seller a preferential status and that potential seller coincidentally provides this very buyer with a preferential status. This most extreme example results in a matching of this buyer's willingness to pay more with this seller's willingness to accept less, a mercantile match which would not otherwise be automatically reported except through the good offices of the method of the present invention.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the step of providing includes a condition of allowing an offering party to find all potentially accepting parties having a predetermined transaction defined common interest. This search facility lets an offering party manage his potential profits by giving him access to critical market information, and therewith to making decisions about changing a structural parameter of his offering(s). Transitively, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the step of providing includes a condition of allowing a potentially accepting party to find all offering parties having a predetermined transaction defined common interest. This search facility lets a potential accepting party manage his potential profits by giving him access to critical market information, and therewith to making decisions about changing a structural parameter of his potential accepting(s).

Notwithstanding this transitivity, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the step of providing includes a condition of allowing an outside party to find all offering parties and all potentially accepting parties having a mutual predetermined transaction defined common interest. This search facility lets a potential third party (e.g. a short term loan bank) manage his potential profits by giving him access to critical market information, and therewith to making decisions about changing a structural parameter of his potential offering(s) or accepting(s). Furthermore, according to a preferred variation of this embodiment, the step of providing includes a condition of allowing an outside party to monitor shifts in predetermined transaction defined common interest for any offering party or accepting party or plurality thereof. Substantially, the facihtates the collection of longitudinal market data, which in turn allows decisions in future market tiading, longer term interest rates, etc. to be rationally improved.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the step of establishing linkage to an electronic commerce portal includes an action of using the multi-list data structure as the portal. This embodiment substantially merges the facile discriminatory mercantile method of the present invention with an electronic commerce portal. In the absence of this embodiment, many of the facilities of embodiments described above are accompUshed by exhaustive persistent querying of an external electronic commerce portal; an annoyance which not every such portal might allow to persist for a prolonged period. The present invention also relates to a program storage device (S) (see Figure 2) readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions (I) executable by the machine (X) to perform method steps for facile discriminatory mercantilism, the method steps including: a) establishing linkage to an electronic commerce portal for non-contractual matching of parties that have a transaction defined common interest wherein, for each transaction defined common interest, the portal associates first party offers with second party acceptances; b) maintaining a multi-list data structure wherein for each party there is associated therewith a hst of the other parties; c) providing substantially each party with its associated hst of the other parties; d) accepting, from at least one of the parties, a discriminatory filter having therein a parametric bias with respect to at least one of the other parties on its respective hst of other parties; e) convoluting the accepted biases into the data structure; and f) providing filtered electronic commerce transactional access to the portal according to the biases convoluted into the data structure.

Claims

1. A facile discriminatory mercantile method for use with an electronic commerce portal, the method including the steps of: a) establishing linkage to an electronic commerce portal for non-contractual matching of parties that have a transaction defined common interest wherein, for each transaction defined common interest, the portal associates first party offers with second party acceptances; b) maintaining a multi-list data structure wherein for each party there is associated therewith a hst of the other parties; c) providing substantially each party with its associated hst of the other parties; d) accepting, from at least one of the parties, a discriminatory filter having therein a parametric bias with respect to at least one of the other parties on its respective hst of other parties; e) convoluting the accepted biases into the data structure; and f) providing filtered electronic commerce transactional access to the portal according to the biases convoluted into the data structure.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of accepting the parametric bias includes at least one factor with respect to transaction defined common interests.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of accepting the parametric bias includes at least one factor with respect to categorization of transaction defined common interests.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of providing includes reporting to at least two parties the existence of a potential mutual transaction defined common interest between the at least two parties.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of providing includes allowing an offering party to find all potentially accepting parties having a predetermined transaction defined common interest.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of providing includes allowing a potentially accepting party to find all offering parties having a predetermined transaction defined common interest.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of providing includes allowing an outside party to find all offering parties and all potentially accepting parties having a mutual predetermined transaction defined common interest.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein said step of providing includes allowing an outside party to monitor shifts in predetermined transaction defined common interest for any offering party or accepting party or plurality thereof.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of establishing linkage to an electronic commerce portal includes using the multi-list data structure as the portal.

10. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for facile (hscriminatory mercantilism, said method steps including: a) establishing linkage to an electronic commerce portal for non-contractually matching of parties that have a transaction defined common interest wherein, for each transaction defined common interest, the portal associates first party offers with second party acceptances; b) maintaining a multi-list data structure wherein for each party there is associated therewith a hst of the other parties; c) providing substantially each party with its associated hst of the other parties; d) accepting, from at least one of the parties, a discriminatory filter having therein a parametric bias with respect to at least one of the other parties on its respective hst of other parties; e) convoluting the accepted biases into the data structure; and f) providing filtered electronic commerce transactional access to the portal according to the biases convoluted into the data structure.