Inducing Renting Systems
First Claim
1. A system for inducing renting of an item comprising the steps of:
- acquiring an item, by a merchant in the business of renting a kind of the item;
advertising, to induce a consumer to rent the kind from the merchant, a rebate of a consumer'"'"'s payment for rent whenever the consumer later purchases the kind from the merchant;
renting temporarily the item to a customer other than the consumer;
renting, without obligation to transfer title, the kind to the consumer in exchange for a payment-amount;
calculating a rebate-amount using a portion of the payment-amount; and
selling, after renting temporarily, the item to the consumer for a sale-price minus the rebate-amount.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This disclosure includes a description of a system for inducing renting of an item by acquiring an item, by a merchant in the business of renting a kind of the item. The system provides for advertising, to induce a consumer to rent the kind from the merchant, a rebate of a consumer'"'"'s payment for rent whenever the consumer later purchases the kind from the merchant. The system provides for renting temporarily the item to a customer other than the consumer. The system provides for renting, without obligation to transfer title, the kind to the consumer in exchange for a payment-amount. The system provides for calculating a rebate-amount using a portion of the payment-amount. The system provides for selling, after renting temporarily, the item to the consumer for a sale-price minus the rebate-amount.
49 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for inducing renting of an item comprising the steps of:
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acquiring an item, by a merchant in the business of renting a kind of the item; advertising, to induce a consumer to rent the kind from the merchant, a rebate of a consumer'"'"'s payment for rent whenever the consumer later purchases the kind from the merchant; renting temporarily the item to a customer other than the consumer; renting, without obligation to transfer title, the kind to the consumer in exchange for a payment-amount; calculating a rebate-amount using a portion of the payment-amount; and selling, after renting temporarily, the item to the consumer for a sale-price minus the rebate-amount. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for inducing renting of an item comprising the steps of:
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acquiring an item, by a merchant in the business of renting a kind of the item; advertising, to induce a consumer to rent the kind from the merchant, a rebate of a consumers'"'"' payment for rent whenever the consumer later purchases the kind from the merchant; renting temporarily the item to a customer other than the consumer; maintaining a computer, wherein the computer comprises a first program to assign an identifier to the consumer, a second program to capture information related to renting the kind to the consumer, wherein the information comprises the identifier and the payment-amount, a third program to calculate a rebate-amount using the information, and a database to store, in electronically readable memory, the identifier, an association between the identifier and an amount selected from the group consisting of the payment-amount, the rebate-amount, the rebate ratio, and combinations thereof; accounting to the consumer using the database; and selling, after renting temporarily, the item to the consumer in exchange for a sale-price minus the rebate-amount. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A system for inducing renting of passenger cars comprising the steps of:
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acquiring a car, by a merchant in the business of renting passenger vehicles; advertising, to induce a consumer to rent at least one of the passenger vehicles from the merchant, a rebate of a percentage of a consumer'"'"'s payment for rent whenever the consumer later purchases at least one of the passenger vehicles from the merchant; renting temporarily the car to a customer other than the consumer; renting, without obligation to transfer title, at least one of the passenger vehicles to the consumer in exchange for a payment-amount; maintaining a computer, the computer performing the steps of calculating a rebate-amount by multiplying the payment-amount by at least one hundred percentage points; and selling, after renting temporarily and before the car passes four-fifths of the car'"'"'s useful life, the car to the consumer for the manufacturer'"'"'s suggested retail price minus the rebate-amount. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A system for inducing renting of an item comprising:
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acquiring means for acquiring an item, by a merchant in the business of renting a kind of the item; advertising means for advertising, to induce a consumer to rent the kind from the merchant, a rebate of a consumer'"'"'s payment for rent whenever the consumer later purchases the kind from the merchant; temporarily-renting means for renting temporarily the item to a customer other than the consumer; renting means for renting, without obligation to transfer title, the kind to the consumer in exchange for a payment-amount; calculating means for calculating a rebate-amount using a portion of the payment-amount; and selling means for selling, after renting temporarily, the item to the consumer for a sale-price minus the rebate-amount. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification