Peer-to-peer trading platform with relative reputation-based item search and buddy rating

• US 20070214259A1
• Filed: 12/28/2006
• Published: 09/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Sundaresan, Neelakantan, Ahmed, Zahid N., Ferrandiz, Josep M., Cockcroft, Adrian Nicholas
• Granted Patent: US 7,877,353 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1057 involving pre-assessment of levels of reputation of peers

Abstract

A computer-implemented method and system is disclosed in which a network-based interaction environment includes a plurality of peer-to-peer nodes being able to communicate directly with each other using a peer-to-peer protocol and a peer-to-peer client application, the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes including a first peer-to-peer client and a second peer-to-peer client, a first peer-to-peer client application running on the first peer-to-peer client to maintain persistent buddy information on the first peer-to-peer client, the persistent buddy information including a buddy list identifying trusted peer-to-peer nodes of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, and a second peer-to-peer client application running on the second peer-to-peer client to maintain persistent reputation information on the second peer-to-peer client, the persistent reputation information including information related to the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client in the network-based interaction environment.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a network-based interaction environment including a plurality of peer-to-peer nodes being able to communicate directly with each other using a peer-to-peer protocol and a peer-to-peer client application, the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes including a first peer-to-peer client and a second peer-to-peer client;

a first peer-to-peer client application running on the first peer-to-peer client to maintain persistent buddy information on the first peer-to-peer client, the persistent buddy information including a buddy list identifying trusted peer-to-peer nodes of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes; and

a second peer-to-peer client application running on the second peer-to-peer client to maintain persistent reputation information on the second peer-to-peer client, the persistent reputation information including information related to the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client in the network-based interaction environment.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the reputation information includes user feedback information.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the reputation information includes buddy list connection path information.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the reputation information includes completed transaction information.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the reputation information includes item category information.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein different sets of reputation information are maintained on a plurality of the peer-to-peer nodes.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein a reputation of a particular peer-to-peer node is relative to reputations of others of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the reputation of a particular peer-to-peer node is different from the reputations of others of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the reputation of a particular peer-to-peer node is based on a feedback score.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client is based on buddy connection paths that exist between the first peer-to-peer client and the second peer-to-peer client.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client is based on an item category.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein a set of services offered to the first peer-to-peer client is based on the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client.

13. The system of claim 7 wherein a reputation of a first node of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes is based on a position of the first node in a social network relative to a position of a second node of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes in the social network.

14. The system of claim 7 wherein information indicative of the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client is propagated to others of the nodes in the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes.

15. The system of claim 7 wherein a search result is based in part on the reputation of at least one node in the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes.

16. A method comprising:

enabling network communication among a plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, the peer-to-peer nodes being able to communicate directly with each other using a peer-to-peer protocol and a peer-to-peer client application, the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes including a first peer-to-peer client and a second peer-to-peer client;

maintaining persistent buddy information with a first peer-to-peer client application running on the first peer-to-peer client, the persistent buddy information including a buddy list identifying trusted peer-to-peer nodes of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes; and

maintaining persistent reputation information with a second peer-to-peer client application running on the second peer-to-peer client, the persistent reputation information including information related to the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client in the network-based interaction environment.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the reputation information includes user feedback information.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the reputation information includes buddy list connection path information.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the reputation information includes completed transaction information.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the reputation information includes item category information.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein different sets of reputation information are maintained on a plurality of the peer-to-peer nodes.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein a reputation of a particular peer-to-peer node is relative to reputations of others of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the reputation of a particular peer-to-peer node is different from the reputations of others of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the reputation of a particular peer-to-peer node is based on a feedback score.

25. The method of claim 22 wherein the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client is based on buddy connection paths that exist between the first peer-to-peer client and the second peer-to-peer client.

26. The method of claim 22 wherein the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client is based on an item category.

27. The method of claim 22 wherein a set of services offered to the first peer-to-peer client is based on the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client.

28. The method of claim 22 wherein a reputation of a first node of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes is based on a position of the first node in a social network relative to a position of a second node of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes in the social network.

29. The method of claim 22 wherein information indicative of the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client is propagated to others of the nodes in the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes.

30. The method of claim 22 wherein a search result is based in part on the reputation of at least one node in the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes.

31. An article of manufacture comprising a machine-readable medium having machine executable instructions embedded thereon, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:

enable network communication among a plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, the peer-to-peer nodes being able to communicate directly with each other using a peer-to-peer protocol and a peer-to-peer client application, the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes including a first peer-to-peer client and a second peer-to-peer client;

maintain persistent buddy information with a first peer-to-peer client application running on the first peer-to-peer client, the persistent buddy information including a buddy list identifying trusted peer-to-peer nodes of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes; and

maintain persistent reputation information with a second peer-to-peer client application running on the second peer-to-peer client, the persistent reputation information including information related to the reputation of the first peer-to-peer client in the network-based interaction environment.

32. The article of manufacture of claim 31 wherein the reputation information includes user feedback information.

33. The article of manufacture of claim 31 wherein the reputation information includes buddy list connection path information.

34. The article of manufacture of claim 31 wherein the reputation information includes completed transaction information.