Apparatus and method for providing and/or for fulfilling subscription services
First Claim
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a receiver for receiving a request to receive or pick-up a good, a service, or a printed issue of at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, at a retail facility or a store, or at a location of a service provider, pursuant to a subscription;
a processing device for processing information regarding the request, wherein the processing device determines whether the subscription is active or not active or determines whether any good, any service, or any issue or any issues of the at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, remain to be fulfilled pursuant to the subscription; and
a transmitter for transmitting a message in response to the request, wherein the message contains an authorization or a denial of the request, and further wherein the message is transmitted to a transaction device located at the retail facility or the store or at the location of the service provider.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus, including a receiver for receiving a request to receive or pick-up a good, service, or printed issue of a periodical, a newspaper, or a magazine, at a retail facility or store or at a location of a service provider, pursuant to a subscription, a processing device for processing information regarding the request, wherein the processing device determines whether the subscription is active or not active or determines whether any good, service, or issue or issues remain to be fulfilled pursuant to the subscription, and a transmitter for transmitting a message in response to the request, wherein the message contains an authorization or a denial of the request. The message is transmitted to a transaction device located at the retail facility or the store or at the location of the service provider.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a receiver for receiving a request to receive or pick-up a good, a service, or a printed issue of at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, at a retail facility or a store, or at a location of a service provider, pursuant to a subscription; a processing device for processing information regarding the request, wherein the processing device determines whether the subscription is active or not active or determines whether any good, any service, or any issue or any issues of the at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, remain to be fulfilled pursuant to the subscription; and a transmitter for transmitting a message in response to the request, wherein the message contains an authorization or a denial of the request, and further wherein the message is transmitted to a transaction device located at the retail facility or the store or at the location of the service provider. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus, comprising:
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a processing device for processing a request to create or initiate a subscription which allows for goods, services, or printed issues of at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, to be picked-up or received at a retail facility or a store or at another retail facility or another store, or at a location of a service provider, wherein the request is transmitted from a communication device or from a transaction device associated with the retail facility or the store or the location of a service provider, wherein the request contains information regarding a specified number of goods, services, or printed issues of the at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, to be picked-up or received at the retail facility or the store or at another retail facility or another store or at the location of a service provider in or during a specified time period, wherein one or more of the goods, services, or printed issues can be skipped or foregone in or during the specified time period while ensuring that a subscriber is able to pick-up or receive all of the specified number of the goods, services, or printed issues at the retail facility or the store or at another retail facility or another store, or at the location of a service provider, in or during the specified time period, wherein the request is processed with a processing device, wherein the apparatus creates or initiates a subscription in response to the request and transmits a message to the communication device or to the transaction device associated with the retail facility or the store or the location of the service provider, wherein the message contains information regarding the subscription which was created or initiated. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus, comprising:
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a processing device for processing a request to create or initiate a subscription which allows for goods, services, or printed issues of at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, to be picked-up or received at a retail facility or a store or at a location of a service provider, wherein the request is transmitted from a communication device or from a transaction device associated with a retail facility or a store or is associated with a location of a service provider, wherein the request contains information regarding a specified number of goods, services, or printed issues of at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, to be picked-up or received in or during a specified time period, and a retail facility or a store or a location of a service provider from which the goods, services, or printed issues can be picked-up or received, wherein the apparatus processes information for creating or initiating a subscription in response to the request and transmits a message to the communication device or to the transaction device associated with the retail facility or the store or associated with the location of a service provider, wherein the message contains information regarding the subscription which was created or initiated. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification