Apparatus and method for automatic provisioning of merchandise

• US 10,728,603 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2015
• Issued: 07/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aibuy Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Aibuy Incorporated
• Inventors: Spitz, Robert K., Downing, Todd, Briggs, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Michael H
• Application Number:
  US14/644,603
• Publication Number:
  US 20150264417A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,966 Days
• Field of Search: 725 42
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2723 Insertion of virtual advertisement; Replacing advertisements physical present in the scene by virtual advertisement data processing systems or methods specially adapted for marketing G06Q30/02

Abstract

One method includes receiving information identifying multiple products or services offered by one or more vendors and a set of criteria for each vendor, identifying base content to be presented to a user, selecting one or more of the products or services based on the criteria and the base content, and sending supplemental content associated with the selected product(s) or service(s) to an endpoint associated with the user for display with the base content. Another method includes receiving a request from a vendor associated with an e-commerce website and issuing a sub-account of a merchant processing account to the vendor in response to the request. The e-commerce website is associated with a merchant having the merchant processing account allowing the merchant to perform electronic transactions with a merchant processor, and the sub-account allows the vendor to transact directly with customers and to perform electronic transactions with the merchant processor.

Claims

1. A processor-implemented method, comprising:

receiving information identifying multiple products or services offered by a merchant;

receiving information identifying multiple products or services offered by a vendor;

identifying base video content to be presented to a user;

performing video recognition on the base video content to identify at least one product or service shown in the base video content;

selecting, based on the at least one product or service identified in the base video content, (i) a first product or service from the multiple products or services offered by the merchant, and (ii) a second product or service from the multiple products or services offered by the vendor, such that the first product or service and the second product or service are related to the at least one product or service identified in the base video content;

generating supplemental content including additional information for the first product or service and the second product or service, the supplemental content including a user interface configured to allow a user to initiate a transaction for at least one of the first product or service or the second product or service;

dynamically binding the supplemental content to the base video content to form a shareable media container; and

sending the shareable media container including the dynamically bound supplemental content and base video content to an endpoint compute device associated with the user for display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first product or service and the second product or service are further selected based on at least one of:

information associated with the vendor;

information associated with one or more customers; and

information associated with trends in products or services desired by customers.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising

receiving criteria for the vendor including at least one of (i) a range within which a price for at least one of the multiple products or services offered by the vendor is dynamically adjustable or (ii) a time period in which the price for the at least one of the multiple products or services offered by the vendor is dynamically adjustable;

and

selecting the first product or service based, at least in part, on the criteria.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information identifying the products or services offered by the vendor represents a sub-list of all products or services offered by a plurality of the vendors.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the endpoint compute device is a first endpoint compute device, the method further comprising;

sending the shareable media container to a second endpoint compute device such that the base media content and the supplemental content dynamically bound to the base video content are displayed at the second endpoint compute device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the dynamically binding includes binding the supplemental content to the base video content upon the identifying the base video content, the method further comprising;

receiving a command to play the base video content at the endpoint compute device, the identifying the base video content being triggered by the command to play the base video content.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the dynamically binding includes binding the supplemental content to the base video content, upon the identifying the base video content;

the sharable media container is configured to display the supplemental content dynamically bound to the base video content upon receiving a command to play the base video content; and

the endpoint compute device is a first endpoint compute device, the method further comprising;

sending the shareable media container to a second endpoint compute device such that the base media content and the supplemental content dynamically bound to the base video content are displayed at the second endpoint compute device upon receiving a command to play the base video content at the second endpoint compute device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the supplemental content is a first instance of the supplemental content;

the base video content is a first instance of the base video content; and

the dynamically binding includes binding the first instance of the supplemental content to the first instance base video content, upon the identifying the first instance of the base video content, to define the sharable media container; and

the endpoint compute device is a first endpoint compute device, the method further comprising;

sending the shareable media container to a second endpoint compute device such that the shareable media container is configured to;

instantiate a display of a second instance of the base video content at the second endpoint device,

determine, based on identifying the second instance of the base video content and based on the first instance of the supplemental content, a second instance of the supplemental content, and

dynamically bind the second instance of the supplemental content to be displayed with the second instance of the base video content at the second endpoint compute device.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving the sub-list from a vendor from the plurality of vendors.

10. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

automatically generating the sub-list; and

providing the sub-list to a vendor from the plurality of vendors for approval.

11. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one interface configured to receive information identifying multiple products or services offered by a merchant and information identifying multiple products or services offered by a vendor; and

at least one processing device in communication with the interface and configured to;

perform video recognition on base video content to identify a logo appearing in the base video content;

select, based on the logo identified in the base video content, (i) a first product or service from the multiple products or services offered by the merchant, and (ii) a second product or service from the multiple products or services offered by the vendor, such that the first product or service and the second product or service are related to the logo;

generate supplemental content including additional information about the first product or service and the second product or service, the supplemental content including a user interface configured to allow a user to initiate a transaction for at least one of the first product or service or the second product or service;

dynamically bind the supplemental content to the base video content to form a shareable media container; and

transmit the shareable media container including the dynamically bound supplemental content and base video content to an endpoint compute device associated with the user for display.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processing device is configured to select the second product or service further based on at least one of:

information associated with the vendor;

information associated with one or more customers; and

information associated with trends in products or services desired by customers.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the interface is configured to receive criteria for the vendor including at least one of (i) a range within which a price for at least one of the multiple products or services offered by the vendor is dynamically adjustable or (ii) a time period in which the price for the at least one of the multiple products or services offered by the vendor is not dynamically adjustable.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the information identifying the products or services offered by the vendor represents a sub-list of all products or services offered by a plurality of vendors.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the endpoint compute device is from a plurality of endpoint compute devices; and

the at least one processing device is further configured to define the shareable media container such that each endpoint compute device from the plurality of endpoint compute devices is configured to display the base media content and the supplemental content upon execution of the sharable media container.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one processing device is further configured to receive the sub-list from a vendor from the plurality of vendors.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one processing device is further configured to:

automatically generate the sub-list; and

provide the sub-list to a vendor from the plurality of vendors for approval.

18. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable program code that, when executed by at least one processing device, causes the at least one processing device to:

receive information identifying multiple products or services offered by a merchant;

receive information identifying multiple products or services offered by a vendor;

identify base media content to be presented to a user;

perform video recognition on the base media content to identify at least one product or service shown in the base media content;

select, based on the at least one product or service identified in the base video content, (i) a first product or service from the multiple products or services offered by the merchant, and (ii) a second product or service from the multiple products or services offered by the vendor such that the first product or service and the second product or service are related to the at least one product or service identified in the base media content;

generate supplemental content including additional information for the first product or service and the second product or service, the supplemental content configured to provide a user interface to allow a user to initiate a transaction for at least one of the first product or service or the second product or service;

dynamically bind the supplemental content to the base media content to define a shareable media container; and

send the shareable media container including the dynamically bound supplemental content and base video content to a first endpoint compute device.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, further containing computer readable program code that, when executed by the at least one processing device, causes the at least one processing device to:

receive criteria for the vendor that includes at least one of a range within which a price for a product or service offered by the vendor is dynamically adjustable or a time period in which the price for the product or service offered by the vendor is dynamically adjustable; and

select the first product or service based, at least in part, on the criteria.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the information identifying the products or services offered by the vendor represents a sub-list of all products or services offered by a plurality of vendors.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, further containing computer readable program code that, when executed by the at least one processing device, causes the at least one processing device to:

receive, from the first endpoint compute device, an instruction to share the shareable media container with a second endpoint compute device;

send the sharable media container to the second endpoint compute device such that, when the second endpoint compute device receives the sharable media container, the second endpoint compute device displays the base media content and the supplemental content.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20, further containing computer readable program code that, when executed by the at least one processing device, causes the at least one processing device to:

receive the sub-list from a vendor from the plurality of vendors.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20, further containing computer readable program code that, when executed by the at least one processing device, causes the at least one processing device to:

automatically generate the sub-list; and

provide the sub-list to a vendor from the plurality of vendors for approval.