IDENTIFYING AND SHARING COMMON TRENDS

• US 20100179858A1
• Filed: 01/15/2009
• Published: 07/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: First Data Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: First Data Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jasper, Robert, Rutledge, Shawn
• Granted Patent: US 8,494,942 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, systems, and machine-readable media for identifying and sharing common trends represented in a corpus of private information without revealing the private information. Identifying and sharing common trends can comprise reading a first set of private information and a second set of private information. The first set of private information can be compared to the second set of private information and common information between the first set of private information and the second set of private information can be identified. Once identified, a determination can be made as to whether the identified common information represents an emerging trend, i.e., the common information re-occurs or develops over time. In response to determining the identified common information represents an emerging trend, the emerging trend can be reported without revealing the first set of private information or the second set of private information.

Claims

1. A method of identifying common trends represented in a corpus of information, the method comprising:

reading a first set of private information from the corpus of information, the first set of private information associated with a first entity;

reading a second set of private information from the corpus of information, the second set of private information associated with a second entity;

comparing the first set of private information to the second set of private information; and

identifying common information between the first set of private information and the second set of private information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of private information and the second set of private information comprise a first set of proprietary rules and a second set of proprietary rules.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first set of proprietary rules and the second set of proprietary rules comprise rules for detecting fraud in a financial transaction.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first set of proprietary rules and the second set of proprietary rules comprise rules for authorizing a financial transaction.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the first set of proprietary rules and the second set of proprietary rules comprise rules for increasing a credit line.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the first set of proprietary rules and the second set of proprietary rules comprise rules for decreasing a credit line.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the identified common information represents an emerging trend.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising recording results of said comparing the first set of information to the second set of information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining whether the identified common information represents an emerging trend is based at least in part on previously recorded results of said comparing the first set of private information to the second set of private information.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising, in response to determining the identified common information represents an emerging trend, reporting the emerging trend without revealing the first set of private information or the second set of private information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein reporting the emerging trend comprise reporting the emerging trend to the first entity and the second entity.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising reporting the emerging trend to a third entity.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein said reporting is provided by a hosted service.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the hosted service is provided by an acquirer for a plurality of financial transactions and wherein the acquirer maintains the first set of private information and the second set of private information.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising placing each of the first set of private information and the second set of private information into a canonical form.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein comparing the first set of private information and the second set of private information comprise comparing the canonical forms or the first set of private information and the second set of private information.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein identifying common information between the first set of private information and the second set of private information comprises identifying recurring patterns in the canonical forms or the first set of private information and the second set of private information.

18. A system comprising:

a corpus of information comprising a first set of private information associated with a first entity and a second set of private information associated with a second entity;

a host communicatively coupled with the corpus of information and adapted to read the first set of private information, read the second set of private information, compare the first set of private information to the second set of private information, and identify common information between the first set of private information and the second set of private information.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first set of private information and the second set of private information comprise a first set of proprietary rules and a second set of proprietary rules.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the host is further adapted to determine whether the identified common information represents an emerging trend.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the host is further adapted to record results of said comparing the first set of information to the second set of information and determine whether the identified common information represents an emerging trend based at least in part on previously recorded results of said comparing the first set of private information to the second set of private information.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the host is further adapted to report the emerging trend without revealing the first set of private information or the second set of private information.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the host comprises an acquirer system adapted to support a plurality of financial transactions and maintain the corpus of information.

24. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a series of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to identify common trends in a corpus of information by:

reading a first set of private information from the corpus of information, the first set of private information associated with a first entity;

reading a second set of private information from the corpus of information, the second set of private information associated with a second entity;

comparing the first set of private information to the second set of private information; and

identifying common information between the first set of private information and the second set of private information.

25. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the first set of private information and the second set of private information comprise a first set of proprietary rules and a second set of proprietary rules.

26. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, further comprising determining whether the identified common information represents an emerging trend.

27. The machine-readable medium of claim 26, further comprising recording results of said comparing the first set of information to the second set of information.

28. The machine-readable medium of claim 27, wherein determining whether the identified common information represents an emerging trend is based at least in part on previously recorded results of said comparing the first set of private information to the second set of private information.

29. The machine-readable medium of claim 26, further comprising, in response to determining the identified common information represents an emerging trend, reporting the emerging trend without revealing the first set of private information or the second set of private information.