System & Method for Determining Right of Access

• US 20110078037A1
• Filed: 12/13/2010
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uniloc 2017 LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Galahad Entertainment LLC (Pendrell Corporation)
• Inventors: Erisman, Terry
• Granted Patent: US 8,117,113 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

Various methods and systems for auctioning items such as golf tee times, restaurant reservations, concert tickets or hotel reservations are disclosed. Users can effectively bid on a large number of items but receive at most one item at the end of the auction. This has the favorable effects for the users of: (1) increasing the probability of successfully bidding for at least one item; (2) making the auction process more convenient by greatly reducing the need for actively monitoring the auction; and, (3) decreasing the possibility a user will be out bid at the last moment and receive no item. This also has the favorable effects for the seller of increasing the probability their listed items will sell and increasing the expected average sales price.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A method of permitting users to participate in an electronic auction comprising the steps of:

(a) presenting items to users with a computing system coupled to a database of items available for auction;

(b) receiving a set of bids for a corresponding set of items selected from said database from said users using the computing system, each bid in said set of bids including at least a bid price and a bid ranking for an item;

wherein said bid ranking for said item designates an order to be used by the computing system for resolving a bid for said item relative to any other bids provided by the user for other items;

(c) processing said set of bids with the computing system based on both said bid price and said bid ranking for said corresponding set of items to determine if there is at least one winning bid for one of said corresponding set of items.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said database of items correspond to access rights to an entertainment facility.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said corresponding set of items are selected by a user based on selecting items from said database that are to be processed during a predefined auction period.

14. The method of claim 11, where said processing step (c) determines how said corresponding set of items should be auctioned based on first considering a highest ranking bid submitted.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein during step (b), said set of bids includes at least one unconditional bid for a highest ranked item taken from said corresponding set of items, and the remainder of said set of bids being comprised of conditional bids for items ranked below said highest ranked item.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said conditional bids are not considered during step (c) unless said unconditional bid is unsuccessful for said highest ranked item.

17. The method of claim 11, further including a step (d):

notifying a bidder when a highest ranked bid is unsuccessful for a corresponding item.

18. The method of claim 17, further including a step (e):

permitting said bidder to increase a bid price for said highest ranked bid and then repeating step (c).

19. The method of claim 11, wherein when one bid from set of bids is satisfied for a bidder, any remaining bids are not evaluated for said bidder.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein multiple sets of bids are entered by multiple participants in the auction, and said multiple sets of bids are subjected to the processing step (c) to determine a single winning bid for each of said corresponding set of items.

21. The method of claim 11, further including a step (d):

allowing participants to monitor a status of the electronic auction by displaying bid price and bid ranking information for each of said set of items.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said bid ranking information is limited to an identification of a number of conditional bids placed for each of said set of items, and which conditional bids have a bid price equal to or exceeding a highest unconditional bid price for such items.

103. The method of claim 11 wherein said item is an access right to a venue having a finite capacity.

104. The method of claim 11, where said item is an intangible property.

34. A method of allowing a purchaser to bid on a right to play golf at a selected time and at a selected golf facility in an electronic auction, comprising the steps of:

(a) using a computing system to present a list of available golf playing opportunities to the purchaser, said golf playing opportunities including information identifying a golf course, a golf course date, and a golf course time at said golf course available for playing golf;

(b) allowing the purchaser to select one or more golf playing opportunities desired by the purchaser using the computing system, said golf playing opportunities being characterized by a common expiration period within the electronic auction;

(c) allowing the purchaser to enter a bid for each of said one or more golf playing opportunities using the computing system, said bid including both a bid price and a bid ranking for each of said one or more golf playing opportunities, so that a set of purchaser bids are created for said one or more golf playing opportunities;

(d) processing said set of purchaser bids, along with third party bids for said one or more golf playing opportunities using the computing system, to determine winning bids for said golf playing opportunities;

(e) notifying the purchaser using the computing system when a currently highest ranked bid from said purchaser is determined to be a winning bid or when said currently highest ranked bid is determined to be not a winning bid;

(f) allowing the purchaser to increase said bid price for said highest ranked bid within a predetermined time period using the computing system when said highest ranked bid is determined to be not a winning bid;

(g) repeating steps (d) to (f) as needed until the end of the common expiration period, and until all of said purchaser bids are determined to be not winning bids, or until one of said purchaser bids is determined to be a winning bid;

wherein the purchaser is permitted to bid on multiple golf playing opportunities using said set of purchaser bids, but at most only a single one of said set of purchaser bids is satisfied as a winning bid.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein said time at said golf course in (a) is not a single specific time but rather a window of time which includes multiple potential starting times.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein said multiple potential starting times are assigned to said purchasers that have been declared winning bidders with said multiple times assigned so as to increase the pace of play on the golf course and to improve the enjoyment of said purchasers because of said faster pace of play and because the said purchasers can be grouped according to playing ability so players will be assigned to play with other purchasers of similar capability.

37-102. -102. (canceled)