System and method for generating a contract and conducting contractual activities under the contract
First Claim
1. A system for generating a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, comprising a computer for:
- storing at least one compilation of business rules comprising a plurality of rules available to be selected for inclusion in the contract, storing at least one terms and conditions set containing parameters corresponding to selected rules from the compilation of business rules, generating links between the compilation of business rules and the terms and conditions set to generate specific terms and conditions to be embodied in the contract, and interlocking the compilation of business rules, the terms and conditions set and the links to lock the contract.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for automating the contract negotiation and preparation cycle and for electronically facilitating subsequent contractual activities executed pursuant to the contract. The system for generating a contract comprises a Business Rules Book containing a set of rules from which specific rules may be selected for inclusion in the contract. A Terms and Conditions Set representing a unique set of instances of rules selected from the Business Rules Book is selected from a plurality of stored Terms and Conditions Sets. The seller and the buyer settle the provisions of the contract by agreeing to a mutually acceptable set of Terms and Conditions. The administering organization creates a Product List Filter specific to each seller or buyer, targeting products in which there is a mutual interest. The Business Rules Book, Terms and Conditions and Product List Filter are linked in a contract profile, to create a contract representing the agreement between the seller and the buyer, and the contract is locked. Subsequent contractual activities under the contract are executed through the contract, which automatically inserts values from the terms and conditions of the contract to ensure conformity with the terms of the contract and minimize manual administrative activities.
116 Citations
48 Claims
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1. A system for generating a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, comprising
a computer for: -
storing at least one compilation of business rules comprising a plurality of rules available to be selected for inclusion in the contract, storing at least one terms and conditions set containing parameters corresponding to selected rules from the compilation of business rules, generating links between the compilation of business rules and the terms and conditions set to generate specific terms and conditions to be embodied in the contract, and interlocking the compilation of business rules, the terms and conditions set and the links to lock the contract. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 15, 16, 18, 19)
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7. A method of generating a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, comprising the steps of:
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a. storing at least one compilation of business rules comprising a plurality of rules available to be selected for inclusion in the contract, b. storing at least one terms and conditions set containing parameters corresponding to selected rules from the compilation of business rules, C. generating links between the compilation of business rules and the terms and conditions set to generate specific terms and conditions to be embodied in the contract, and d. interlocking the compilation of business rules, the terms and conditions set and the links to lock the contract. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 12, 13)
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14. A system for conducting a contractual activity over a computer network pursuant to a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, the contract comprising a predefined set of terms and conditions, comprising:
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a communications interface for receiving information from one of the seller and the buyer, and a computer for storing the contract terms and conditions, receiving the information and referencing the terms and conditions of the contract to process the information.
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17. A method of conducting a contractual activity over a computer network pursuant to a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, the contract comprising a predefined set of terms and conditions, comprising the steps of:
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a. storing the contract terms and conditions, b. receiving information from one of the seller and the buyer via a communications interface, and c. referencing the terms and conditions of the contract to process the information.
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20. A computer program product for use with a computer, the computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied in said medium for generating a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, said computer program product having
a. computer readable program code means for storing at least one compilation of business rules comprising a plurality of rules available to be selected for inclusion in the contract, b. computer readable program code for storing at least one terms and conditions set containing parameters corresponding to selected rules from the compilation of business rules, c. computer readable program code for generating links between the compilation of business rules and the terms and conditions set to generate specific terms and conditions to be embodied in the contract, and d. computer readable program code for interlocking the compilation of business rules, the terms and conditions set and the links to lock the contract.
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27. A computer program product for use with a computer, the computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied in said medium for conducting a contractual activity over a computer network pursuant to a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, the contract comprising a predefined set of terms and conditions, said computer program product having
a. computer readable program code for storing the contract terms and conditions, b. computer readable program code for receiving information from one of the seller and the buyer via a communications interface, and c. computer readable program code for referencing the terms and conditions of the contract to process the information.
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30. A system for generating a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, comprising:
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at least one compilation of business rules comprising a plurality of rules available to be selected for inclusion in the contract, at least one terms and conditions set containing parameters corresponding to selected rules from the compilation of business rules, means for generating links between the compilation of business rules and the terms and conditions set to generate specific terms and conditions to be embodied in the contract, and means for interlocking the compilation of business rules, the terms and conditions set and the links to lock the contract. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48)
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36. A processing system for conducting a contractual activity over a computer network pursuant to a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, the contract comprising a predefined set of terms and conditions, comprising:
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a communications interface for receiving information from one of the seller and the buyer, means for storing the contract terms and conditions, and means for referencing the terms and conditions of the contract to process the information.
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39. A program product for use with a computer, having computer readable program code for generating a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, the program product comprising:
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a. computer readable program code for storing at least one compilation of business rules comprising a plurality of rules available to be selected for inclusion in the contract, b. computer readable program code for storing at least one terms and conditions set containing parameters corresponding to selected rules from the compilation of business rules, c. computer readable program code for generating links between the compilation of business rules and the terms and conditions set to generate specific terms and conditions to be embodied in the contract, and d. computer readable program code for interlocking the compilation of business rules, the terms and conditions set and the links to lock the contract.
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46. A program product for use with a computer, having computer readable program code for conducting a contractual activity over a computer network pursuant to a contract between at least one seller and at least one buyer, the contract comprising a predefined set of terms and conditions, the program product comprising:
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a. computer readable program code for storing the contract terms and conditions, b. computer readable program code for receiving information from one of the seller and the buyer via a communications interface, and c. computer readable program code for referencing the terms and conditions of the contract to process the information.
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Specification