PURCHASES USING UNIQUE CODES
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, comprising:
- on a first website, using a computer for showing a number of items for sale on the first website, where said items include items which can be used on a second website which hosts a virtual world, wherein said items are usable on said second website;
using the computer for detecting a selection of an item by a user and for detecting a payment by the user for said item; and
responsive to said payment for said item, using the computer for creating information that provides a code, where said code is usable to obtain said item on the second website without providing the item itself on the first website.
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Abstract
An E-store allows purchase of codes for use on another website. The codes can be redeemed for items or credit on a website different from the site on which they were purchased. This allows obtaining items on the website without requiring real money or virtual money to be paid for the items. In addition, credits can be awarded using an administrative tool that distributes the credits or a portion thereof based on automatically detected events.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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on a first website, using a computer for showing a number of items for sale on the first website, where said items include items which can be used on a second website which hosts a virtual world, wherein said items are usable on said second website; using the computer for detecting a selection of an item by a user and for detecting a payment by the user for said item; and responsive to said payment for said item, using the computer for creating information that provides a code, where said code is usable to obtain said item on the second website without providing the item itself on the first website. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method, comprising:
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using a computer for selling credits on a first website, said credits being usable to purchase items on a second website different than the first website; responsive to obtaining payment by a user for said credits, displaying a code which represents said credits, wherein said code is different than said credits, and where said code is usable to obtain said item on the second website without providing the item itself on the first website. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method, comprising:
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using a computer for producing a user interface that allows selection from among items for sale on a purchasing website, where said items for sale include items which can be used on another website in a virtual world, and where said items for sale are usable on said another website; using said computer for detecting a selection of said items on said purchasing website and for detecting a payment on said purchasing website by the user for said items; and responsive to said selection and payment for said items, producing information that allows displaying a code on said purchasing website, where said code is usable to obtain said items on said another website without providing the item itself on the purchasing website, and where the item represented by the code is for the another website. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method, comprising:
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on a first website, accepting registration of an item by entering a unique code that represents said item; responsive to said accepting registration, showing an image of said item on said first website; and using a purchased code purchased on a second website to obtain another item on the first website.
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44. An apparatus, comprising:
a computer system that runs an E-store website that provides a code which corresponds to one of a selected item or a selected type of item for a reward for a person other than a current user accessing said E-store website, where said website provides said reward in a form that can be used by said other person without having that other person'"'"'s account information, wherein said code is redeemable for one of the selected item or the selected type of item.
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45. A method, comprising:
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using a computer for producing a user interface that shows a number of credits, where the credits are units of virtual currency for use on the website, and where said credits are usable to obtain items on a website; detecting a selection by a supervisory user of a number of credits to be allocated to multiple persons other than the supervisory user; and using the computer for allocating said credits to said multiple persons other than the supervisory user without logging in as any of said multiple persons. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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Specification