Trading and auction system, and methods for the authentication of buyers and sellers and for the transmission of trading instructions in a trading and auction system

• US 20020032641A1
• Filed: 06/12/2001
• Published: 03/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chikka Com Pte Limited
• Original Assignee: Chikka Com Pte Limited
• Inventors: Garcia, Gilpatrick R., Mendiola, Dennis
• Granted Patent: US 7,505,935 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A trading and auction system (10), and a method for the authentication of buyers and sellers and for the transmission of trading instructions in a trading and auction system (10) is disclosed. To register with the trading and auction system (10), a user must provide a unique identifier of a messaging-capable wireless device (22) belonging to the user. After assigning a password to the user, the trading and auction system (10) communicates the password to the user and receives a confirmation of said password from said user, with at least one of the steps of communicating the password and receiving a confirmation of the password being performed using the wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability (22). The user'"'"'s account or trading instruction is activated if the password is correct. The trading and auction system (10) assigns a unique identification number to each product or service for sale or auction. Messages are sent to a buyer'"'"'s wireless device (22) concerning offers or bids made by that buyer in relation to a product or service, with the unique identification number of the product or service included in a ‘Sender’ field of each message. The buyer can send further trading instructions for the product by simply replying to the received message and entering a trading instruction. The trading and auction system (10) processes messages concerning a buyer'"'"'s trading instructions on a product or service from that buyer'"'"'s wireless device (22) by: determining the product or service by extracting and recognizing the unique identification number of the product or service from a ‘Recipient’ field of received messages; identifying the buyer by extracting and recognizing the unique identifier of the wireless device from the ‘Sender’ field of each message and parsing a text body of each message to determine the buyer'"'"'s trading instructions for that product or service.

Claims

1. A method for the authentication of buyers and sellers and for the transmission of trading instructions in a trading and auction system, comprising the steps of:

Requiring that a prospective buyer or seller register with the trading and auction system before being able to place trading instructions, including requiring that said prospective buyer or seller provide a unique identifier of a messaging-capable wireless device belonging to the prospective buyer or seller;

Assigning a password to said prospective buyer or seller;

Communicating said password to said prospective buyer or seller and receiving a confirmation of said password from said prospective buyer or seller, wherein at least one of said steps of communicating said password and receiving a confirmation of said password are performed using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability;

Activating said prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s account or trading instruction if said password is correct;

Assigning a unique identification number to each product or service for sale or auction at said trading and auction system;

Sending messages to a buyer'"'"'s wireless device concerning offers or bids made by that buyer in relation to a product or service, with the unique identification number of the product or service included in a ‘

Sender’

field of each message;

Receiving messages concerning a buyer'"'"'s trading instructions on a product or service from that buyer'"'"'s wireless device, determining the product or service by extracting and recognizing the unique identification number of the product or service from a ‘

Recipient’

field of received messages, identifying the buyer by extracting and recognizing the unique identifier of the wireless device from the ‘

Sender’

field of each message and parsing a text body of each message to determine the buyer'"'"'s trading instructions for that product or service.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of requiring that a buyer authenticate their identity with the trading and auction system when placing their first trading instruction in relation to a product or service by an exchange of messages between the trading and auction system, in which at least one of said messages are sent or received using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said step of communicating said password to said prospective buyer or seller is performed over a computer network, and said step of receiving a confirmation of said password from said prospective buyer or seller is performed using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said step of communicating said password to said prospective buyer or seller is performed using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability, and said step of receiving a confirmation of said password from said prospective buyer or seller is performed over a computer network.

5. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said wireless device is a GSM device with SMS capability, said wireless device being serviced by a GSM network including a SMSC server to control and manage SMS to and from said wireless device, wherein said trading and auction system is in direct communication with said SMSC server.

6. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said step of sending messages to a buyer'"'"'s wireless device includes the step concatenating an access identification number with the unique identification number of the product or service and placing said concatenated number in the ‘

Sender’

field of each message, said SMSC server using the access identification number to identify SMS from wireless devices destined for said trading and auction system and to forward such SMS directly to the trading and auction system.

7. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said trading and auction system is connected to said SMSC server via a computer network.

8. A method for the authentication of buyers and sellers in a trading and auction system, comprising the steps of:

Requiring that a prospective buyer or seller register with the trading and auction system before being able to place trading instructions, including requiring that said prospective buyer or seller provide a unique identifier of a messaging-capable wireless device belonging to the prospective buyer or seller;

Assigning a password to said prospective buyer or seller;

Communicating said password to said prospective buyer or seller and receiving a confirmation of said password from said prospective buyer or seller, wherein at least one of said steps of communicating said password and receiving a confirmation of said password are performed using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability; and

Activating said prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s account or trading instruction if said password is correct.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising the step of requiring that a buyer authenticate their identity with the trading and auction system when placing their first trading instruction in relation to a product or service by an exchange of messages between the trading and auction system, in which at least one of said messages are sent or received using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability.

10. A method as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein said step of communicating said password to said prospective buyer or seller is performed over a computer network, and said step of receiving a confirmation of said password from said prospective buyer or seller is performed using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability.

11. A method as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein said step of communicating said password to said prospective buyer or seller is performed using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability, and said step of receiving a confirmation of said password from said prospective buyer or seller is performed over a computer network.

12. A method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein said wireless device is a GSM device with SMS capability, said wireless device being serviced by a GSM network including a SMSC server to control and manage SMS to and from said wireless device, wherein said trading and auction system is in direct communication with said SMSC server.

13. A method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein said step of sending messages to a buyer'"'"'s wireless device includes the step concatenating an access identification number with the unique identification number of the product or service and placing said concatenated number in the ‘

Sender’

field of each message, said SMSC server using the access identification number to identify SMS from wireless devices destined for said trading and auction system and to forward such SMS directly to the trading and auction system.

14. A method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein said trading and auction system is connected to said SMSC server via a computer network.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising the step of requiring that a buyer authenticate their identity with the trading and auction system when placing their first trading instruction in relation to a product or service by an exchange of messages between the trading and auction system, in which at least one of said messages are sent or received using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein said step of exchanging messages comprises the steps of sending a password to said prospective buyer or seller over a computer network, and receiving a confirmation of said password from said prospective buyer or seller using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability.

18. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein said step of exchanging messages comprises the steps of sending a password to said prospective buyer or seller using said wireless device'"'"'s messaging capability, and receiving a confirmation of said password from said prospective buyer or seller over a computer network.

15. A method for the transmission of trading instructions in a trading and auction system, comprising the steps of:

Assigning a unique identification number to each product or service for sale or auction at said trading and auction system;

Sending messages to a buyer'"'"'s wireless device concerning offers or bids made by that buyer in relation to a product or service, with the unique identification number of the product or service included in a ‘

Sender’

field of each message;

Receiving messages concerning a buyer'"'"'s trading instructions on a product or service from that buyer'"'"'s wireless device, determining the product or service by extracting and recognizing the unique identification number of the product or service from a ‘

Recipient’

field of received messages, identifying the buyer by extracting and recognizing the unique identifier of the wireless device from the ‘

Sender’

field of each message and parsing a text body of each message to determine the buyer'"'"'s trading instructions for that product or service.

19. A method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 18,,wherein said wireless device is a GSM device with SMS capability, said wireless device being serviced by a GSM network including a SMSC server to control and manage SMS to and from said wireless device, wherein said trading and auction system is in direct communication, via a direct link or through the internet, with said SMSC server.

20. A method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein said step of sending messages to a buyer'"'"'s wireless device includes the step concatenating an access identification number with the unique identification number of the product or service and placing said concatenated number in the ‘

Sender’

field of each message, said SMSC server using the access identification number to identify SMS from wireless devices destined for said trading and auction system and to forward such SMS directly to the trading and auction system.

21. A method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein said trading and auction system is connected to said SMSC server via a computer network.

22. A trading and auction system, comprising:

registration handling means for receiving a unique identifier of a messaging-capable wireless device belonging to a prospective buyer or seller;

message dispatching means for sending messages to a prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device;

message receiving means for receiving messages from a prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device;

said registration handling means arranged to assign a password to said prospective buyer or seller, and to communicate said password to said prospective buyer or seller and receive a confirmation of said password from said prospective buyer or seller, wherein said password is communicated to said prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device via said message dispatching means and/or said confirmation of said password is received from said prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device via said message receiving means, said registration handling means arranged to activate said prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s account or trading instruction if said confirmation of said password is correct;

unique identification number assigning means to automatically allocate a unique identification number to each product or service for sale or auction on said trading and auction system;

database means for storing the unique identification number of each product and service for sale or auction on said trading and auction system and for storing the unique identifier of each buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device; and

trade and auction handling means arranged to send messages to a buyer'"'"'s wireless device concerning offers or bids made by that buyer in relation to a product or service via said message dispatching means, with the unique identification number of the product or service included in a ‘

Sender’

field of each message;

said trade and auction handling means further arranged to receive messages concerning a buyer'"'"'s trading instructions on a product or service from that buyer'"'"'s wireless device via said message receiving means, and to determine the product or service by extracting and recognizing the unique identification number of the product or service from a ‘

Recipient’

field of received messages, identify the buyer by extracting and recognizing the unique identifier of the wireless device from the ‘

Sender’

field of each message, parse a text body of each message to determine the buyer'"'"'s trading instructions for that product or service and execute said trading instructions.

23. A trading and auction system as claimed in claim 22, wherein said trade and auction handling means is arranged to require that a buyer authenticate their identity with the trading and auction system when placing their first trading instruction in relation to a product or service by an exchange of messages with the trading and auction system, wherein one of said messages is communicated to said buyer'"'"'s wireless device via said message dispatching means and/or another of said messages is received from said buyer'"'"'s wireless device via said message receiving means.

24. A trading and auction system as claimed in claim 22 or 23, wherein said wireless device is a GSM device with SMS capability, said wireless device being serviced by a FGSM network including a SMSC server to control and manage SMS to and from said wireless device, said message dispatching means and message receiving means being in direct communication with said SMSC server to send and receive SMS therefrom, respectively.

25. A trading and auction system as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein said message dispatching means is arranged to concatenate an access identification number with the unique identification number of the product or service and place said concatenated number in the ‘

Sender’

field of each message sent to a buyer concerning that product or service, said SMSC server using the access identification number to identify SMS from the buyer'"'"'s wireless device destined for said trading and auction system and to forward such SMS directly to the message receiving means.

26. A trading and auction system as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein said message dispatching means and message receiving means are connected to said SMSC server via a computer network.

29. A trading and auction system as claimed in claim 27 or 28, wherein said message dispatching means and message receiving means are connected to said SMSC server via a computer network.

27. A trading and auction system, comprising:

registration handling means for receiving a unique identifier of a messaging-capable wireless device belonging to a prospective buyer or seller;

message dispatching means for sending messages to a prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device;

message receiving means for receiving messages from a prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device;

database means for storing the unique identifier of each buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device;

said registration handling means arranged to assign a password to said prospective buyer or seller, and to communicate said password to said prospective buyer or seller and receive a confirmation of said password from said prospective buyer or seller, wherein said password is communicated to said prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device via said message dispatching means and/or said confirmation of said password is received from said prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device via said message receiving means, said registration handling means arranged to activate said prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s account or trading instruction if said confirmation of said password is correct.

28. A trading and auction system as claimed claims 27, wherein said wireless device is a GSM device with SMS capability, said wireless device being serviced by a GSM network including a SMSC server to control and manage SMS to and from said wireless device, said message dispatching means and message receiving means being in direct communication with said SMSC server to send and receive SMS therefrom, respectively.

30. A trading and auction system, comprising:

message dispatching means for sending messages to a prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device;

message receiving means for receiving messages from a prospective buyer or seller'"'"'s wireless device;

unique identification number assigning means to automatically allocate a unique identification number to each product or service for sale or auction on said trading and auction system;

database means for storing the unique identification number of each product and service for sale or auction on said trading and auction system; and

trade and auction handling means arranged to send messages to a buyer'"'"'s wireless device concerning offers or bids made by that buyer in relation to a product or service via said message dispatching means, with the unique identification number of the product or service included in a ‘

Sender’

field of each message;

said trade and auction handling means further arranged to receive messages concerning a buyer'"'"'s trading instructions on a product or service from that buyer'"'"'s wireless device via said message receiving means, and to determine the product or service by extracting and recognizing the unique identification number of the product or service from a ‘

Recipient’

field of received messages, identify the buyer by extracting and recognizing a unique identifier of the wireless device from the ‘

Sender’

field of each message, parse a text body of each message to determine the buyer'"'"'s trading instructions for that product or service and execute said trading instructions.

31. A trading and auction system as claimed in claim 30, wherein said trade and auction handling means is arranged to require that a buyer authenticate their identity with the trading and auction system when placing their first trading instruction in relation to a product or service by an exchange of messages with the trading and auction system, wherein one of said messages is communicated to said buyer'"'"'s wireless device via said message dispatching means and/or another of said messages is received from said buyer'"'"'s wireless device via said message receiving means.

32. A trading and auction system as claimed claims 30 or 31, wherein said wireless device is a GSM device with SMS capability, said wireless device being serviced by a GSM network including a SMSC server to control and manage SMS to and from said wireless device, said message dispatching means and message receiving means being in direct communication with said SMSC server to send and receive SMS therefrom, respectively.

33. A trading and auction system as claimed in any one of claims 30 to 32, wherein said message dispatching means is arranged to concatenate an access identification number with the unique identification number of the product or service and place said concatenated number in the ‘

Sender’

field of each message sent to a buyer concerning that product or service, said SMSC server using the access identification number to identify SMS from the buyer'"'"'s wireless device destined for said trading and auction system and to forward such SMS directly to the message receiving means.

34. A trading and auction system as claimed in any one of claims 30 to 33, wherein said message dispatching means and message receiving means are connected to said SMSC server via a computer network.