USER INTERACTION CAUSING CLICK FACILITATOR TO COLLECT SALES COMMISSION FEE

• US 20080091611A1
• Filed: 05/28/2007
• Published: 04/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia, Lapstun, Paul, Hollins, Michael
• Application Number:
  US11/754,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20080091611A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0321 by optically sensing the absolute position with respect to a regularly patterned surface forming a passive digitiser, e.g. pen optically detecting position indicative tags printed on a paper sheet constructional details of pen-shaped pointing devices G06F3/03545, G06F3/03542, G06F3/037
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A method of causing a proportion of a sales commission fee to be credited to a facilitator of a user interaction with a printed substrate, said substrate comprising user information and coded data enabling the user interaction, said method comprising the steps of:

• • (a) a user performing the user interaction with the substrate using a sensing device, said sensing device reading at least some of the coded data when operatively positioned or moved relative to the substrate and generating interaction data using the read coded data, said interaction data being indicative of the user interaction, said user interaction causing a first resource to be displayed on a display device wherein a content of said first resource includes at least one merchant hyperlink; and
  • (b) the user selecting a merchant hyperlink in said first resource, thereby causing a merchant resource corresponding to said merchant hyperlink to be retrieved and displayed on said display device;
  • (c) the user making a purchase via said merchant resource,
    wherein step (c) causes said sales commission fee to be charged to a merchant associated with the merchant resource, and said proportion of said sales commission fee to be credited to said facilitator.

Claims

1. A method of causing a proportion of a sales commission fee to be credited to a facilitator of a user interaction with a printed substrate, said substrate comprising user information and coded data enabling the user interaction, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) a user performing the user interaction with the substrate using a sensing device, said sensing device reading at least some of the coded data when operatively positioned or moved relative to the substrate and generating interaction data using the read coded data, said interaction data being indicative of the user interaction, said user interaction causing a first resource to be displayed on a display device wherein a content of said first resource includes at least one merchant hyperlink; and

(b) the user selecting a merchant hyperlink in said first resource, thereby causing a merchant resource corresponding to said merchant hyperlink to be retrieved and displayed on said display device;

(c) the user making a purchase via said merchant resource, wherein step (c) causes said sales commission fee to be charged to a merchant associated with the merchant resource, and said proportion of said sales commission fee to be credited to said facilitator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the facilitator is selected from the group comprising:

a content provider of said first resource;

an issuer of said sensing device;

an issuer of a relay device that relays the interaction data to a first computer system;

the user;

a publisher of the printed substrate or the user information;

an author of the printed substrate or the user information;

a rights holder associated with the user information; and

an advertiser associated with a printed advertisement on the printed substrate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first resource is a blended resource comprising content corresponding to the user interaction and the at least one merchant hyperlink.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one merchant hyperlink is selected using a first context determined from said user interaction.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said first context is derived from any one of the group comprising:

a resource description;

a subject description;

a user description; and

an environment description.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the first context comprises at least one context term selected from the group comprising:

a word, a keyword, a concept, a person, an organization, a place, a product, a publication, a weather condition, a geographic location, a date, a time of day, a day of the week, a current user location, a user home location, a user demographic indicator, a user preference, a search history, a click-through history, a user interest or a user language.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the user interaction identifies a hyperlink and the blended resource comprises hyperlinked content.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the user interaction identifies a search request and the blended resource comprises search-results content.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein said content is selected at least partially using a first context determined from said user interaction.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein said at least one merchant hyperlink is selected at least partially using second context derived from said content.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first resource and the merchant resource is a webpage.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interaction causes:

transmission of the interaction data, or an encoded form thereof, to a first computer system; and

the first computer system to determine a request using the interaction data and initiate obtaining or formation of the first resource using the request.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the request is encoded in a request URI.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein transmission of the interaction data is via a relay device.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the user interaction causes the first computer system to initiate obtaining or formation of the first resource by:

the first computer system sending the request to the display device;

the display device relaying the request to a second computer system; and

the second computer system obtaining or forming the first resource using the request.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first computer system and the second computer system are the same computer system.

17. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the coded data is indicative of a region identity associated with the substrate and of a plurality of locations on the substrate, and the user interaction causes:

the sensing device to generate the interaction data to be indicative of the region identity and of at least one position of the sensing device relative to the substrate;

transmission of the interaction data, or an encoded form thereof, to a first computer system; and

the first computer system to;

(1) identify a page description corresponding to the printed substrate using the region identity;

(2) determine a request using the page description and the interaction data; and

(3) initiate obtaining or formation of the first resource using the request.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the facilitator is selected from the group comprising:

an issuer of the relay device;

an issuer of a SIM card in the relay device; and

a carrier that provides network services to the relay device.

19. A system for crediting a proportion of a sales commission fee from a merchant to a facilitator of a user interaction with a printed substrate, said system comprising:

(A) the printed substrate, said substrate comprising user information and coded data, said coded data enabling said user interaction;

(B) a sensing device, said sensing device comprising;

(i) an optical sensor for reading at least some of the coded data when a user operatively positions or moves the sensing device relative to the substrate while performing said user interaction;

(ii) a processor for generating interaction data using the read coded data, said interaction data being indicative of said user interaction; and

(iii) means for communicating the interaction data, thereby causing a first resource to be displayed on a display device in response to the user interaction;

(C) the display device, said display device comprising;

(i) means for receiving the first resource, wherein a content of said first resource includes at least one merchant hyperlink;

(ii) a processor configured for retrieving a merchant resource corresponding to said merchant hyperlink in response to the user selecting said merchant hyperlink; and

(iii) a display for displaying the first resource and the merchant resource;

(D) means for charging said sales commission fee from a merchant associated with the merchant resource when the user makes a purchase via said merchant resource; and

(E) means for crediting said proportion of said sales commission fee to said facilitator of the user interaction.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

(F) a first computer system configured for;

(i) receiving the interaction data, or an encoded form thereof;

(ii) determining a request using the interaction data; and

(iii) initiating obtaining or formation of the first resource using the request.