SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR UPCOMING EVENT NOTIFICATION AND MOBILE PURCHASING

• US 20100113072A1
• Filed: 10/31/2008
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: StubHub, Inc.
• Original Assignee: StubHub, Inc.
• Inventors: Debussy, Adam, Gibson, Ashley
• Granted Patent: US 8,731,526 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/045 using payment protocols involving tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3223 Realising banking transactions through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27475 using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

Various embodiments relate generally to providing upcoming event notification and mobile purchasing and, more specifically but not exclusively relate to a system and methods for providing notifications of upcoming events to users of an online secondary ticket marketplace and allowing the users to purchase tickets to upcoming events using a mobile device. In one embodiment, a network-based system may receive a registration request from a user to receive alert notifications for upcoming events. The registration request may comprise a telephone number for a mobile device of the user. The network-based system may send an alert notification for an upcoming event to the mobile device of the user over a mobile telephone network. The alert notification may comprise a text message including relevant static or dynamic event information as well as an embedded hyperlink for allowing the user to transact a mobile purchase.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a registration request at a network-based system from a user to receive alert notifications for upcoming events, the registration request comprising a telephone number for a mobile device of the user; and

sending an alert notification for an upcoming event to the mobile device of the user over a mobile telephone network, the alert notification comprising a text message including a hyperlink for allowing the user to transact a mobile purchase.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the hyperlink comprises a hyperlinked telephone number for allowing the user to place a telephone call to an agent of the network-based system for transacting the mobile purchase.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the hyperlink comprises at least one of a uniform resource locator (URL) and a uniform resource identifier (URI) for navigating to the network-based system for transacting the mobile purchase.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the alert notification comprises embedding dynamic information.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the dynamic information comprises a number of available tickets.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising receiving one or more upcoming events selected by the user.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising receiving event criteria from the user and identifying one or more upcoming events that satisfy the event criteria.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising associating the user with one or more event identifiers corresponding to one or more upcoming events that satisfy the event criteria.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising receiving one or more alert conditions specified by the user for generating alert notifications.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising associating the user with one or more event identifiers corresponding to the one or more upcoming events selected by the user.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim number 10, further comprising:

sending a query for upcoming events occurring within a date range; and

receiving a response to the query comprising an event identifier for each upcoming event occurring within the date range.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

comparing each event identifier for each upcoming event to the one or more event identifiers associated with the user;

determining whether an alert notification has been processed for an upcoming event having an event identifier matching an event identifier associated with the user; and

sending an alert notification to the mobile device of the user for an upcoming event having an event identifier matching an event identifier associated with the user if an alert notification has not been processed.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising selecting an alert notification template according to an event category of an upcoming event having an event identifier matching an event identifier associated with the user.

14. A network-based system comprising:

an application server to receive a registration request from a user to receive alert notifications for upcoming events, the registration request comprising a telephone number for a mobile device of the user; and

a notification server to send an alert notification for an upcoming event a the mobile device of the user over a mobile telephone network, the alert notification comprising a text message including a hyperlink for allowing the user to transact a mobile purchase.

15. The network-based system of claim 14, wherein the hyperlink comprises a hyperlinked telephone number for allowing the user to place a telephone call to an agent of the network-based system for transacting the mobile purchase.

16. The network-based system of claim 14, wherein the hyperlink comprises at least one of a uniform resource locator (URL) and a uniform resource identifier (URI) for navigating to the network-based system for transacting the mobile purchase.

17. The network-based system of claim 14, wherein the application server comprises one of an account server and a buying server.

18. A computer-readable storage medium comprising executable computer program instructions that when executed enable a computing system to:

receive a registration request at a network-based system from a user to receive alert notifications for upcoming events, the registration request comprising a telephone number for a mobile device of the user; and

send an alert notification for an upcoming event to the mobile device of the user over a mobile telephone network, the alert notification comprising a text message including a hyperlink for allowing the user to transact a mobile purchase.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the hyperlink comprises a hyperlinked telephone number for allowing the user to place a telephone call to an agent of the network-based system for transacting the mobile purchase.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the hyperlink comprises at least one of a uniform resource locator (URL) and a uniform resource identifier (URI) for navigating to the network-based system for transacting the mobile purchase.