On-Line System of Coupon Placement and Redemption
First Claim
1. A method of generating coupons, tracking coupon redemption and paying for coupon advertising based upon coupon redemption, comprising the steps of:
- (a) a manufacturer designing a coupon using an online coupon management system;
(b) the manufacturer making the coupon available to a shopper;
(c) the shopper redeeming the coupon at a retailer;
(d) the retailer sending the redeemed coupon to a clearinghouse;
(e) the clearinghouse making a report of the coupon redemption, wherein the report includes the identity of the shopper redeeming the coupon;
(f) the report of the coupon redemption being sent from the clearinghouse to both the manufacturer and to the online coupon management system;
(g) the manufacturer paying the retailer based upon the redemption of the coupon; and
(h) the manufacturer paying the online coupon management system based upon the redemption of the coupon.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A coupon management system in which online or print coupons can be generated by manufacturers and accessed by shoppers wherein a portion of the coupon redemption value is automatically sent to charitable causes that the shopper has pre-selected, and wherein the coupons can be individually tracked to the specific shopper who has redeemed them. In this system, payment is based on actual coupon redemption, rather than on sales of simple print or webpage space, or upon coupons simply being viewed or printed by potential shoppers. This system enables manufacturers to access detailed consumer metrics.
31 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of generating coupons, tracking coupon redemption and paying for coupon advertising based upon coupon redemption, comprising the steps of:
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(a) a manufacturer designing a coupon using an online coupon management system; (b) the manufacturer making the coupon available to a shopper; (c) the shopper redeeming the coupon at a retailer; (d) the retailer sending the redeemed coupon to a clearinghouse; (e) the clearinghouse making a report of the coupon redemption, wherein the report includes the identity of the shopper redeeming the coupon; (f) the report of the coupon redemption being sent from the clearinghouse to both the manufacturer and to the online coupon management system; (g) the manufacturer paying the retailer based upon the redemption of the coupon; and (h) the manufacturer paying the online coupon management system based upon the redemption of the coupon. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A coupon printed for redemption with information thereon, comprising:
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a printed coupon; and information printed on the coupon, wherein the information comprises data fields; (a) representing a good or service to which the coupon relates; and (b) representing the identity of a shopper who printed the coupon. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A coupon management system for generating, distributing and tracking coupons for payment of coupon advertising based upon coupon redemption, comprising:
(a) a central computing facility, comprising; (i) a database facility, comprising; (a) a database of manufacturers, (b) a database of charitable causes, (c) a database of coupons; and (d) a database of shoppers, and (ii) a computer system linked to the database facility, the computer system comprising; (a) a coupon design software module installed in the computer system, wherein the coupon design software module operates an online interface through which manufacturers communicate with the central computing facility to design coupons and store the coupons in the database of coupons, and wherein the central computing facility stores the identity of the manufacturers in the database of manufacturers, (b) a charitable cause selection software module installed in the computer system, wherein the charitable cause selection software module operates a first online interface through which charitable cause communicate with the central computing facility to be included in the database of charitable causes, and a second online interface through which shoppers communicate with the central computing facility to select preferred charitable causes that are stored in the database of charitable causes, (c) a coupon selection software module installed in the computer system, wherein the coupon selection software module operates an interface through which the shoppers communicate with the central computing facility to select preferred coupons stored in the database of coupons, and (d) a coupon generating software module installed in the computer system, wherein the coupon generating software module generates a coupon that has data fields attached thereto that;
(i) identifies a good or service to which the coupon relates, and (ii) identifies the shopper who selected the coupon.- View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30)
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26. A coupon management system for generating, distributing and tracking coupons for payment of coupon advertising based upon coupon redemption, comprising:
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(a) a coupon design software module which operates an online interface through which manufacturers design coupons and stores the coupons in a coupon database; (b) a charitable cause software module which operates an online interface through which charitable causes are entered into a charitable cause database and through which shoppers select preferred charitable causes from the charitable cause database; (c) a coupon selection software module which operates an online interface through which shoppers select preferred coupons stored in the coupon database; and (d) a coupon generation module that retrieves coupons selected by the shoppers and adds information to the coupons identifying the shopper who selected each coupon. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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Specification