Method and apparatus for counterparty communications and brokering transactions
First Claim
1. A method for brokering commercial transactions between an originator and a provider through a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving provider criteria from each of a plurality of providers, wherein at least one of said provider criteria is included in requests for proposals forwarded to said respective provider;
receiving a request for proposal from an originator, the request for proposal including originator criteria, wherein at least one of the originator criteria is included in proposals received by the originator;
comparing the originator criteria included in the request for proposal with the provider criteria of a group of the plurality of providers;
selecting one or more providers from the group of the plurality of providers, the selected one or more providers having at least one of their respective provider criteria matching at least one of the originator criteria;
providing the request for proposal to the selected one or more providers;
receiving a proposal in response to the request for proposal from at least one of the selected one or more providers; and
providing the proposal to the originator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for brokering commercial transactions between an originator and a provider through a communications network includes the steps receiving provider criteria from each of a plurality of providers, wherein at least one of the provider criteria is included in requests for proposals forwarded to the respective provider, receiving a request for proposal from an originator, the request for proposal including originator criteria, wherein at least one of the originator criteria is included in proposals received by the originator; comparing the originator criteria included in the request for proposal with the provider criteria of a group of the plurality of providers, selecting one or more providers from the group of the plurality of providers, the selected one or more providers having at least one of their respective provider criteria matching at least one of the originator criteria, providing the request for proposal to the selected one or more providers, receiving a proposal in response to the request for proposal from at least one of the selected one or more providers, and providing the proposal to the originator.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for brokering commercial transactions between an originator and a provider through a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving provider criteria from each of a plurality of providers, wherein at least one of said provider criteria is included in requests for proposals forwarded to said respective provider;
receiving a request for proposal from an originator, the request for proposal including originator criteria, wherein at least one of the originator criteria is included in proposals received by the originator;
comparing the originator criteria included in the request for proposal with the provider criteria of a group of the plurality of providers;
selecting one or more providers from the group of the plurality of providers, the selected one or more providers having at least one of their respective provider criteria matching at least one of the originator criteria;
providing the request for proposal to the selected one or more providers;
receiving a proposal in response to the request for proposal from at least one of the selected one or more providers; and
providing the proposal to the originator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20)
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18. A method for brokering commercial transactions between an originator and a provider through a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving provider criteria from each of a plurality of providers, wherein at least one of said provider criteria is included in requests for proposals forwarded to said respective provider;
storing said provider criteria in a database;
receiving a request for proposal from an originator, the request for proposal having one or more primary criteria;
filtering said database to identify a group of the plurality of providers having provider criteria matching the one or more primary criteria;
selecting one or more providers from the group of the plurality of providers, the selected one or more providers having provider criteria matching the one or more primary criteria;
providing the request for proposal to the selected one or more providers;
receiving a proposal in response to the request for proposal from at least one of the selected one or more providers; and
providing the proposal to the originator.
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21. A method for facilitating the exchange of documents between users on a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request to create a document exchange directory for a transaction;
receiving information on a group of users involved in the transaction;
providing the group of users involved in the transaction with access to said document exchange directory;
receiving a request from one of the group of users to submit a document to the document exchange directory;
storing said document in the document exchange directory; and
providing each of the group of users with one or more access rights to the document. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. An apparatus for brokering commercial transactions between an originator and a provider through a communications network, comprising:
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a storage device; and
a processor coupled to the storage device, the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor, wherein the processor is configured to receive provider criteria from each of a plurality of providers, wherein at least one of said provider criteria is included in requests for proposals forwarded to said respective provider, receive a request for proposal from the originator, the request for proposal including originator criteria, wherein at least one of the originator criteria is included in proposals received by the originator, and compare the originator criteria included in the request for proposal with the provider criteria of a group of the plurality of providers, select one or more providers from the group of the plurality of providers, the selected one or more providers having at least one of their respective provider criteria matching at least one of the originator criteria, provide the request for proposal to the selected one or more providers, receive a proposal in response to the request for proposal from at least one of the selected one or more providers, and provide the proposal to the originator.
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29. A document exchange for facilitating the exchange of documents between users on a communication network, comprising:
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a storage device; and
a processor coupled to the storage device, the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor, wherein the processor is configured to receive a request to create a document exchange directory for a transaction, receive information on a group of users involved in the transaction, provide the group of users involved in the transaction with access to said document exchange directory stored on the storage device, receive a request from one of the group of users to submit a document to the document exchange directory, store said document in the document exchange directory, and provide each of the group of users with one or more access rights to the document.
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Specification