Method and apparatus for an electronic marketplace for services having a collaborative workspace

• US 20060095366A1
• Filed: 12/14/2005
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elance Incorporation
• Original Assignee: Elance Incorporation
• Inventors: Anumolu, Srinivas, Sheth, Beerud D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,073,762 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0605 Supply or demand aggregation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A method and system for buying and selling services online includes a process for custom services, a commodity process and a collaborative workspace on a website. The process for custom services includes the posting by a buyer of specific criteria for a desired service, the bidding by a seller to preform the service, and the selection of a seller by the buyer. The commodity process includes the posting by a seller of a service offering, the posting by the buyer of requirements for the purchase of the service offering, and the purchase of a service offering by the buyer. The commodity process may also include an optimization process that provides the buyer with an optimized list of service offerings. The collaborative workspace includes communication tools, a file structure, workbenches and project management tools used by the buyer and seller for facilitating the setup, development and release of one or more services.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method, comprising:

accepting a posting on a website of a project that a buyer wants completed;

receiving a bid on the project from a seller;

allowing the buyer to accept the received bid from the seller; and

allowing the buyer and the seller to work on the project in a collaborative workspace accessible by only the buyer and the seller.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the posting includes a project name.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the posting includes a project description.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the posting includes a category.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the posting includes a price estimate.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the bid is received in a closed auction.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the bid is received in an open auction.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the bid is received in a Dutch auction.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the collaborative workspace includes:

one or more communication tools;

a file structure;

one or more workbenches; and

one or more project management tools.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein the file structure includes at least one private folder.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein the file structure includes at least one shared folder.

12. A computer implemented method, comprising:

accepting on a website, the posting of a service offering by a seller;

receiving requirements for the service offering from a buyer;

returning an optimized list of service offerings to the buyer in accordance with the buyer'"'"'s requirements; and

accepting a purchase request for the service offering from the buyer.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the buyer'"'"'s requirements is inflexible.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 12, wherein the optimized list includes service offerings that meet all of the buyer'"'"'s requirements.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 12, wherein the optimized list includes service offerings that meet a subset of the buyer'"'"'s requirements.

16. A computer implemented method, comprising:

accepting on a website, the posting of a service offering for a project by a seller;

receiving requirements for the service offering from a buyer;

accepting a purchase request for the service offering from the buyer; and

allowing the buyer and the seller to work on the project in a collaborative workspace accessible by only the buyer and the seller.