SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR PROPOSING FUTURE ITEMS CONTINGENT UPON THRESHOLD DEMAND

• US 20080097825A1
• Filed: 09/04/2007
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: The Ticket Reserve Incorporated
• Original Assignee: The Ticket Reserve Incorporated
• Inventors: Leach, Andrew, Harmon, Richard
• Application Number:
  US11/849,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20080097825A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

The present invention relates to predicting, measuring, and/or guaranteeing demand for a contingent or hypothetical future item and, based upon that demand, determining whether or not to actually produce the future item. In particular, the present invention measures such demand via contingent event certificates and associated marketplaces.

Claims

1-185. -185. (canceled)

186. A method for proposing future item production, comprising:

presenting an offer relating to at least one of a forward right and a forward obligation for a future item;

associating the offer with a module for presenting the proposition;

assessing a response to the offer; and

determining whether the future item will be produced based on the assessed response reaching a threshold condition.

187. The method of claim 186, wherein a future item producer is obligated to produce the item when the assessed response satisfies a threshold condition.

188. The method of claim 186, wherein the module comprises information related to the proposed future item.

189. The method of claim 186, wherein the module comprises advertising.

190. The method of claim 189, wherein every impression made by the advertisement lowers the threshold of response needed for production.

191. The method of claim 186, wherein the module is transmitted to an audience.

192. The method of claim 191, wherein the audience is a social network.

193. The method of claim 186, wherein the future item is a consumer product.

194. The method of claim 186, wherein the future item is a service offering.

195. The method of claim 186, wherein the future item is user-generated content.

196. The method of claim 186, wherein the future item is producer-generated content.

197. The method of claim 186, further comprising exercising the forward obligation when response to the offer satisfies a threshold condition.

198. The method of claim 197, wherein exercising the forward obligation comprises automatically billing for the future item.

199. A system for proposing future item production, comprising:

a presentation of an offer relating to at least one of a forward right and a forward obligation for a future item;

a module associated with the offer for presenting the proposition; and

an assessment of demand for the future item based on the response to the offer, wherein the assessment of demand is considered, at least in part, in determining whether the future item will be produced.

200. The system of claim 199, wherein a future item producer is obligated to produce the item when the assessed demand satisfies a threshold condition.

201. The system of claim 199, wherein the module comprises information related to the proposed future item.

202. The system of claim 199, wherein the module comprises advertising.

203. The system of claim 202, wherein every impression made by the advertisement lowers the threshold of response needed for production.

204. The system of claim 199, wherein the module is transmitted to an audience.

205. The system of claim 204, wherein the audience is a social network.

206. The system of claim 199, wherein the future item is a consumer product.

207. The system of claim 199, wherein the future item is a service offering.

208. The system of claim 199, wherein the future item is user-generated content.

209. The system of claim 199, wherein the future item is producer-generated content.

210. The system of claim 199, further comprising exercising the forward obligation when response to the offer satisfies a threshold condition.

211. The system of claim 210, wherein exercising the forward obligation comprises automatically billing for the future item.