Automatic authorization of programmatic transactions

• US 20060036553A1
• Filed: 07/19/2004
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Vermeulen, Allan H., Gupta, Vikas, Bezos, Jeffrey P., Krause, Duane J., Wei, Eugene, Schappell, David A., Jassy, Andrew R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,324,976 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3672 initialising or reloading thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/403 Solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like

Abstract

Techniques are described for facilitating interactions between computing systems, such as by performing transactions between parties that are automatically authorized via a third-party transaction authorization system. In some situations, the transactions are programmatic transactions involving the use of fee-based Web services by executing application programs, with the transaction authorization system authorizing and/or providing payments in accordance with private authorization instructions previously specified by the parties. The authorization instructions may include predefined instruction rule sets that regulate conditions under which a potential transaction can be authorized, with the instruction rule sets each referenced by an associated reference token. After one or more of the parties to a potential transaction supply reference tokens for the parties, the transaction authorization system can determine whether to authorize the transaction based on whether the instruction rule sets associated with the reference tokens are compatible or otherwise satisfied.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for performing programmatic Web service transactions between Web service provider and consumer parties that are automatically authorized in accordance with predefined instructions supplied by the parties to a third-party transaction authorizer system, the method comprising, under control of computing systems of the Web service providers and consumers:

for each of multiple Web service providers, interacting with the third-party transaction authorizer system to define one or more payment instruction rule sets for the Web service provider and to receive in response an associated reference token for each of the payment instruction rule sets, each payment instruction rule set including multiple rules regulating whether to accept payments from Web service consumers for transactions that each have the Web service provider providing at least one Web service for a fee, each of the reference tokens generated by the transaction authorizer system for later use in referencing the associated payment instruction rule set as part of a potential transaction;

for each of multiple Web service consumers, interacting with the third-party transaction authorizer system to define one or more payment instruction rule sets for the Web service consumer and to receive in response an associated reference token for each of the payment instruction rule sets, each payment instruction rule set including multiple rules regulating whether to provide payments to Web service providers for transactions that each have the Web service consumer receiving at least one Web service provided for a fee, each of the reference tokens generated by the transaction authorizer system for later use in referencing the associated payment instruction rule set as part of a potential transaction; and

using the generated reference tokens and associated payment instruction rule sets to enable payments for transactions involving Web services by,

for each of multiple of the Web service consumers, identifying one or more Web services that are each provided for an associated fee by one of the Web service providers and programmatically invoking each of the identified Web services from the Web service provider who provides that Web service, the programmatic invoking of each of the Web services including supplying one of the reference tokens of the Web service consumer; and

for each of multiple of the Web service providers, receiving one or more invocations that are each for a Web service provided by the Web service provider and that each include a reference token for a Web service consumer making the invocation and, for each of the received invocations of a Web service,

sending a request to the transaction authorizer system to authorize a potential transaction that includes the Web service provider providing the invoked Web service to the Web service consumer making the invocation for the fee associated with the invoked Web service, the sent request including the reference token for the Web service consumer included with the received invocation and one of the reference tokens for the Web service provider; and

when the transaction authorizer system determines that the potential transaction is authorized based on the payment instruction rule sets associated with the reference tokens included in the sent request being compatible, receiving the associated fee for the invoked Web service from the Web service consumer via the transaction authorizer system and providing the invoked Web service to the Web service consumer,

so that Web service providers and consumers can conduct transactions that include payments for Web services in accordance with predefined instructions indicated by associated reference tokens.

2. The method of claim 1 including, under control of the transaction authorizer system, in response to each of multiple received requests that are each for authorization of a potential transaction between a Web service provider and a Web service consumer that includes a fee associated with a Web service to be provided, each authorization request including a reference token for the Web service provider and a reference token for the Web service consumer, determining whether to authorize the potential transaction by,

retrieving the payment instruction rule sets associated with the reference tokens included in the authorization request;

determining whether the retrieved payment instruction rule sets are compatible such that the rules in the payment instruction rule set for the Web service provider allow acceptance of the associated fee from the Web service consumer in a manner specified in the payment instruction rule set for the Web service consumer and such that the rules in the payment instruction rule set for the Web service consumer allow payment of the associated fee to the Web service provider in a manner specified in the payment instruction rule set for the Web service provider; and

when it is determined that the retrieved payment instruction rule sets are compatible, authorizing the potential transaction and providing the associated fee to the Web service provider in the manner specified in the payment instruction rule set for the Web service provider and obtaining payment from the Web service consumer in the manner specified in the payment instruction rule set for the Web service consumer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing by a Web service provider of an invoked Web service to a Web service consumer as part of a potential transaction includes providing a response message the Web service consumer that includes information related to execution of the Web service by the Web service provider, and including, when the transaction authorizer system determines that then potential transaction is not authorized, providing from the Web service provider to the Web service consumer an error message related to the Web service.

4. The method of claim. 1 wherein the Web service consumers are application developers that each provide to distinct end-users an application program that includes one or more of the reference tokens for the Web service consumer application developer, and wherein the programmatic invocations of the Web services are each from an application program being executed by an end-user and using one of the included reference tokens for the Web service consumer application developer that provided the application program.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein each of the programmatic invocations of a Web service from an application program being executed by an end-user further includes supplying a distinct reference token for the end-user that is associated with a payment instruction rule set of the end-user including rules regulating whether to provide payments for transactions that each include receiving at least one Web service, and wherein each of the sent requests to the transaction authorizer system by a Web service provider further includes a reference token for an end-user that is included with a received invocation for a Web service, such that the determining by the transaction authorizer system that a potential transaction is authorized is further based on compatibility of the payment instruction rule sets associated with the reference tokens for a Web service provider, a Web service consumer and an end-user.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining that the payment instruction rule sets for a potential transaction are compatible includes:

for each rule in the payment instruction rule set associated with the reference token for the Web service provider, determining that the rule is satisfied by one or more of the Web service consumer, the payment instruction rule set associated with the reference token for the Web service consumer, information about the potential transaction, and an end-user executing an application program related to the potential transaction; and

for each rule in the payment instruction rule set associated with the reference token for the Web service consumer, determining that the rule is satisfied by one or more of the Web service provider, the payment instruction rule set associated with the reference token for the Web service provider, the information about the potential transaction, and an end-user executing an application program related to the potential transaction.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein each of the payment instruction rule sets further includes one or more rules regulating types of transactions that the payment instruction rule set can authorize, one or more rules regulating post-transaction modification conditions that the payment instruction rule set can authorize, one or more rules regulating types of payment to be received or provided that the payment instruction rule set can authorize, and one or more rules regulating types of parties with whom the payment instruction rule set can authorize to conduct transactions.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the Web service providers and Web service consumers has multiple payment instruction rule sets with distinct rules and distinct associated reference tokens, such that each potential transaction between a Web service provider and a Web service consumer includes a selection by each of the Web service provider and consumer of one of their payment instruction rule sets for use in determining whether to authorize the potential transaction.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the Web service providers and Web service consumers has an account with the transaction authorizer system with which their payment instruction rule sets are associated, wherein the accounts of Web service consumers can be used as payment instruments for payments to Web service providers, wherein the accounts of Web service providers can be used as payment repositories for payments from Web service consumers, such that the providing of associated fees to Web service providers from Web service consumers for at least some of the potential transactions involves use of the accounts of the Web service providers and consumers involved in those transactions.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the transaction authorizer system further charges a fee for each of one or more of providing generated reference tokens to Web service providers and consumers for later use, determining whether the payment instruction rule sets for a potential transaction are compatible, and providing of associated fees to a Web service provider from a Web service consumer for a potential transaction.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the reference tokens are anonymous such that a party to a potential transaction cannot obtain information about the payment instruction rule set associated with the reference token of another party to the potential transaction and cannot obtain information about the another party from the reference token.

12. A method for a Web service provider to perform programmatic transactions that are automatically authorized based on predefined instructions of the Web service provider and other parties, the method performed under control of a computing system of the Web service provider, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a first party for a programmatic transaction between the first party and the Web service provider that includes an invocation of at least one Web service functionality of the Web service provider and an associated financial payment from the first party to the Web service provider for that Web service functionality;

obtaining a first reference token of the first party that is for use in determining whether to authorize the associated financial payment for the programmatic transaction, the first reference token being associated with a first predefined payment instruction rule set of the first party that is not accessible to the Web service provider;

sending an indication to a third-party transaction authorizer to automatically determine whether to authorize the associated financial payment from the first party to the Web service provider, the sent indication including the obtained first reference token of the first party and a second reference token of the Web service provider that is associated with a second predefined payment instruction rule set of the Web service provider that is not accessible to the first party, the transaction authorizer having access to the first and second payment instruction rule sets and the automatic authorization determination by the transaction authorizer based at least in part on whether the first and second payment instruction rule sets are determined to be compatible; and

when the associated financial payment is determined to be authorized, providing the at least one Web service functionality to the first party.

13. The method of claim 12 including, when the associated financial payment is determined to be authorized, receiving the associated financial payment from the transaction authorizer on behalf of the first party.

14. The method of claim 12 including, after the associated financial payment is determined to be authorized, receiving the associated financial payment from the first party.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the requested programmatic transaction further includes one or more additional associated financial payments that are each by one of the first party, the Web service provider and a third party related to the transaction and are each to a distinct one or more of the first party, the Web service provider, the third party and the transaction authorizer, such that the additional associated financial payments are each made when one or more corresponding payment instruction rule sets authorize that additional payment.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the received request is from an application program provided by the first party to a distinct end-user who is executing the application program.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the sent indication further includes an obtained third reference token of the end-user that is associated with a third predefined payment instruction rule set of the end-user, and wherein the determining of whether the retrieved first and second payment instruction rule sets are compatible so as to authorize the associated financial payment further includes determining whether the first and second payment instruction rules sets are compatible with the third payment instruction rule set.

18. The method of claim 12 wherein the received request is from an application program provided by another party to the first party who is executing the application program.

19. The method of claim 12 including, before the receiving of the request, interacting with the transaction authorizer to define the second payment instruction rule set and receiving the second reference token from the transaction authorizer in response.

20. The method of claim 19 including, before the receiving of the request by the Web service provider and under control of a computing system of the first party, interacting with the transaction authorizer to define the first payment instruction rule set and receiving the first reference token from the transaction authorizer in response.

21. The method of claim 12 wherein the tokens are anonymous such that the Web service provider cannot obtain information about the first payment instruction rule set from the first token and such that the first party cannot obtain information about the second payment instruction rule set from the second token.

22. The method of claim 12 wherein the first token is anonymous such that the Web service provider cannot obtain information about the first party from the first token.

23. The method of claim 12 wherein the sending of the indication to the third-party transaction authorizer is based on invocation of one or more Web services provided by the transaction authorizer.

24. The method of claim 12 wherein the sent indication is further to determine whether to authorize the programmatic transaction based at least in part on the first and second payment instruction rule sets.

25. The method of claim 12 wherein the sent indication is further to determine whether each of the first and second payment instruction rule sets is valid under current conditions.

26. The method of claim 12 wherein the determining of whether to authorized the associated financial payment further includes interactively providing information to the transaction authorizer by the first party and/or the Web service provider in accordance with information specified in the first and/or second payment instruction rule sets.

27. The method of claim 12 wherein the first and second payment instruction rule sets each include multiple rules that each specify criteria for determining whether the payment instruction rule set authorizes a programmatic transaction.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the determining that the first and second payment instruction rule sets are compatible so as to authorize the associated financial payment includes determining that each of the rules of each of the first and second payment instruction rule sets is satisfied for the programmatic transaction.

29. The method of claim 27 wherein each of the payment instruction rule sets further includes one or more rules regulating types of transactions that the payment instruction rule set can authorize, one or more rules regulating post-transaction modification conditions that the payment instruction rule set can authorize, one or more rules regulating types of payment to be received or provided that the payment instruction rule set can authorize, and one or more rules regulating types of parties with whom the payment instruction rule set can authorize to conduct transactions.

30. The method of claim 12 wherein the first party and the Web service provider each further has one or more usage instruction rule sets that each includes multiple rules regulating whether to provide to and/or receive from another party access to information as part of a potential programmatic transaction.

31. The method of claim 12 wherein the first party and the Web service provider each has an account with the transaction authorizer with which their payment instruction rule sets are associated, and including providing the associated financial payment to the Web service provider on behalf of the first party by using the account of the first party as a payment instrument for the financial payment and using the account of the Web service provider as a payment repository for the financial payment.

32. The method of claim 12 wherein the first and second payment instruction rule sets are determined to be compatible for the programmatic transaction, and including, after receiving a request from a distinct second party for a second programmatic transaction between the second party and the Web service provider that includes an invocation of a Web service functionality of the Web service provider and a second associated financial payment from the second party to the Web service provider, providing that Web service functionality to the second party after the second financial payment for the second programmatic transaction is determined to be authorized based on the second payment instruction rule set being determined to be compatible with a third payment instruction rule set that is associated with a distinct third token for the second party.

33. The method of claim 12 wherein the first and second payment instruction rule sets are determined to be compatible for the programmatic transaction, and including, after receiving a second request from the first party for a second programmatic transaction between the first party and the Web service provider, and after sending a second indication to the transaction authorizer that includes the first and second reference tokens, receiving an indication from the transaction authorizer of a determination to not authorize the second programmatic transaction based on the first and second payment instruction rule sets being determined to not be compatible for the second programmatic transaction.

34. The method of claim 12 wherein the first and second payment instruction rule sets are determined to not be compatible for the programmatic transaction, and including, after receiving an indication of a third reference token of the first party or the Web service provider for use in determining whether to authorize the associated financial payment for the programmatic transaction, determining to authorize the associated financial payment for the programmatic transaction based on a third payment instruction rule set that is associated with the third token being determined to be compatible with the first and/or second payment instruction rule sets.

35. The method of claim 12 wherein each of the first and second payment instruction rule sets are XML documents.

36. The method of claim 12 wherein the obtaining of the first reference token includes receiving the first reference token with the received request.

37. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing system to perform automatically authorized programmatic transactions between parties, by performing a method comprising:

receiving an indication of a potential programmatic transaction between distinct first and second parties that includes an associated financial payment from the first party to the second party for providing one or more services as part of the programmatic transaction;

receiving indications of a first reference for the first party and a second reference for the second party for use in determining whether to authorize the programmatic transaction;

obtaining an indication from a transaction authorization system distinct from the first and second parties whether a first usage instruction rule set associated with the first reference is automatically determined to be compatible with a second usage instruction rule set associated with the second reference in such a manner as to authorize the programmatic transaction; and

when the first and second usage instruction rule sets are determined to be compatible, performing the programmatic transaction.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein the method is performed by the first party, and wherein the performing of the programmatic transaction includes providing of the associated financial payment to the second party from the first party and receiving information and/or functionality from the second party as part of providing of the one or more services.

39. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein the method is performed by the second party, and wherein the performing of the programmatic transaction includes receiving the associated financial payment from the first party and providing information and/or functionality to the first party and/or a third party as part of performing the one or more services.

40. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein the method is performed by a third party, and wherein the performing of the programmatic transaction includes receiving information and/or functionality from the second party as part of providing of the one or more services.

41. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein the programmatic transaction includes invoking by one of the first and second parties of a Web service provided by the other of the first and second parties.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein determining that the first and second usage instruction rules sets are compatible includes evaluating each of multiple rules in each of the first and second usage instruction rules sets to determine that the rule is satisfied for the programmatic transaction.

43. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein the transaction further includes at least one additional party, and wherein the determining of whether the first and second usage instruction rule sets are compatible further includes determining whether the first and second usage instruction rule sets are compatible with an additional usage instruction rule set for each of the at least one additional parties.

44. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein at least one of the first and second references is a reference token that is dynamically generated for use with the programmatic transaction and whose associated usage instruction rule set is based at least in part on instructions specified for the programmatic transaction.

45. The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein each dynamically generated reference token is a single-use token available for use only with the programmatic transaction.

46. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of a computing system.

47. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein the computer-readable medium is a data transmission medium transmitting a generated data signal containing the contents.

48. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein the contents are instructions that when executed cause the computing system to perform the method.

49. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein the contents include one or more data structures for use in automatically authorizing programmatic transactions between parties, the data structure comprising a multiplicity of entries, each entry being a usage instruction rule set associated with a party and containing an indication of a unique associated reference token and of indications of multiple rules for the usage instruction rule set.

50. A computing device configured to perform automatically authorized programmatic transactions between parties, comprising:

a transaction requester component that is configured to, after receiving one or more indications of a programmatic transaction between first and second parties and of a first reference token of the first party and a second reference token of the second party for use in determining whether to authorize the programmatic transaction, obtain a determination as to whether first and second payment instruction rule sets associated with the first and second reference tokens are satisfied so as to authorize the programmatic transaction, the programmatic transaction including providing functionality to the first party of one or more Web services from the second party; and

a transaction performer component that is configured to, after the first and second payment instruction rule sets are determined to be satisfied, perform at least a portion of the programmatic transaction.

51. The computing device of claim 50 wherein the transaction requester component and the transaction performer component are executing in memory of the computing device.

52. The computing device of claim 50 wherein the transaction requester component consists of a means for obtaining determination as to whether the first and second payment instruction rule sets are satisfied so as to authorize the programmatic transaction, and wherein the transaction performer component consists of a means for performing at least the portion of the programmatic transaction.