Bidding network

• US 20070133571A1
• Filed: 12/06/2005
• Published: 06/14/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zarbana Digital Fund LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lipperahy Celestial LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Cohen, Alexander, Kahn, Shabbir
• Granted Patent: US 8,014,389 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/400
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/145 trading network capacity or selecting route based on tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/42 Centralised routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and/or apparatuses of transmitting digital objects to a destination. In particular, disclosed are systems and/or apparatuses of facilitating bidding for the business of forwarding digital objects in a data transmission network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a bid request for forwarding a digital object to a destination node through a first network; and

forwarding said bid request through at least a portion of a second network to one or more intermediaries.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said intermediaries are capable of forwarding said digital object to said destination node through said first network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said bid request is received from said second network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said bid request is received from a source node and/or Internet service provider.

5. The method of claim 1, and further comprising maintaining an account of accrued charges associated with services rendered on behalf of source node and/or Internet service provider.

6. The method of claim 1, and further comprising receiving a bid from at least one of said one or more intermediaries.

7. The method of claim 6, and further comprising selecting at least one of said intermediaries to forward the digital object to a destination based, at least in part, on terms expressed in the received bid.

8. The method of claim 7, and further comprising transmitting a message on said second network identifying said selected at least one of said intermediaries.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said transmitting a message on said second network identifying said selected at least one of said intermediaries further comprises transmitting said message to a source node and/or Internet service provider.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said forwarding said bid request through at least a portion of a second network further comprises forwarding said bid request through said second network according to a UDP/IP protocol.

11. A method comprising:

receiving a bid request for a service of forwarding a digital object to a destination node through a first network, said bid request being received at a communication port coupled to a second network;

determining a bid comprising terms for forwarding the digital object to the destination node in response to said bid request; and

forwarding said bid on said second network.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises enabling forwarding of said digital object to said destination node through a communication port coupled to the first network in response to an indication of an acceptance of said bid.

13. A method comprising:

obtaining a digital object for transmission to one or more destination nodes through a first network;

forwarding a bid request for the service of forwarding the digital object to said one or more destination nodes on a second network; and

forwarding said digital object to one or more intermediaries on said first network based, at least in part, on information responsive to said bid request received from said second network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said forwarding said digital objects to one or more intermediaries and further comprises:

formatting said digital object into one or more data packets;

associating said one or more data packets with a switch label; and

forwarding said data packets to one or more label switch routers.

15. An apparatus comprising a computing platform, the computing platform being adapted to:

process a bid request for forwarding a digital object to a destination node through a first network, said bid request being received at a communication port coupled to a second network; and

initiate forwarding of said bid request through at least a portion of said second network to one or more intermediaries.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said bid request is received at said communication port from a source node and/or Internet service provider.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said computing platform is further adapted to maintain an account of accrued charges associated with services rendered on behalf of said source node and/or Internet service provider.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said computing platform is further adapted to process a bid received from at least one of said one or more intermediaries.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said computing platform is further adapted to select at least one of said intermediaries to forward the digital object to a destination based, at least in part, on terms expressed in the received bid.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said computing platform is further adapted to initiate transmission of a message on said second network identifying said selected at least one of said intermediaries.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said computing platform is further adapted to initiate transmission of a message on said second network to a source node and/or Internet service provider identifying said selected at least one of said intermediaries.

22. An apparatus for forwarding a digital object to a destination node, the apparatus comprising:

one or more first communication ports capable of receiving the digital object from a first network;

one or more second communication ports capable of transmitting the digital object to the destination said through said first network; and

an agent to process one or more bid requests for forwarding said digital object to said destination node, said bid requests being received from a second network.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the apparatus further comprises one or more third communication ports coupled to said second network.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said bid requests are received according to a UDP/IP protocol.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said agent is further adapted to:

form one or more bids for the transmission of the digital object to the destination based, at least in part, on said one or more bid requests; and

initiate transmission of the one or more bids on said second network.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said agent is further adapted to:

receive an acceptance to one or more bids on said second network; and

enable transmission of the digital object to the destination through said one or more second communication ports in response to said acceptance.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said agent is further adapted to inhibit transmission of the digital object to the destination through said one or more second communication ports in an absence of receipt of an acceptance to said one or more bids.

28. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said agent is further adapted to forward billing information to a billing server through said second network.

29. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a bid request for forwarding a digital object to a destination node through a first network; and

means for forwarding said bid request through at least a portion of a second network to one or more intermediaries.

30. A method comprising:

means for receiving a bid request for a service of forwarding a digital object to a destination node through a first network, said bid request being received at a communication port coupled to a second network;

means for determining a bid comprising terms for forwarding the digital object to the destination node in response to said bid request; and

means for forwarding said bid on said second network.

31. An apparatus comprising:

means for obtaining a digital object for transmission to one or more destination nodes through a first network;

means for forwarding a bid request for the service of forwarding the digital object to said one or more destination nodes on a second network; and

means for forwarding said digital object to one or more intermediaries on said first network based, at least in part, on information responsive to said bid request received from said second network.

32. An article comprising:

a storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions stored thereon to;

means for receiving a bid request for forwarding a digital object to a destination node through a first network; and

means for forwarding said bid request through at least a portion of a second network to one or more intermediaries.

33. An article comprising:

a storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions stored thereon to;

process a bid request for a service of forwarding a digital object to a destination node through a first network, said bid request being received at a communication port coupled to a second network;

determine a bid comprising terms for forwarding the digital object to the destination node in response to said bid request; and

initiate forwarding of said bid on said second network.

34. An article comprising:

a storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions stored thereon to;

obtain a digital object for transmission to one or more destination nodes through a first network;

initiate forwarding of a bid request for the service of forwarding the digital object to said one or more destination nodes on a second network; and

initiate forwarding of said digital object to one or more intermediaries on said first network based, at least in part, on information responsive to said bid request received from said second network.