METHOD, SYSTEM AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR FACILITATING AN AUCTION BEHAVIOR AND AUTOMATIC BIDDING IN AN AUCTION

• US 20140032355A1
• Filed: 09/30/2013
• Published: 01/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Inventor Holdings LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Original Assignee: Walker Digital Holdings LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Inventors: Walker, Jay S., Tedesco, Daniel E., Van Luchene, Kathleen M., Jorasch, James A., Ware, Adam
• Application Number:
  US14/041,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20140032355A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

One or more proxy bidders is associated with a rule which determines a time to place a bid. The proxy bidder places a bid at the determined time, instead of immediately after the bidder'"'"'s prior bid is exceeded. Such rules may be selected for all proxy bidders to encourage a desired auction behavior. By controlling the placement of bids based on rules associated with the desired auction behavior, bids may be placed in a manner that seems natural and competitive to bidders in the auction when, in fact, they are placed in accordance with the selected rules. The desired auction behavior may be selected statically for an auction or dynamically during the auction. Historical auction data maybe analyzed to characterize the behavior of an auction, such as the average period of time between bids and the average increment between bids. Rules may be generated to correspond to a behavior so as to provide the same average time and increment between bids.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

An electronic processing device; and

a memory device in communication with the electronic processing device, the memory device storing instructions that when executed by the electronic processing device result in;

determining a stored indication of a desired sales behavior for a specific sale;

determining, based on the desired sales behavior for the specific sale, a stored indication of a plurality of proxy bidder rules;

determining an indication of a request for a first bidder to establish a first proxy bidder for the specific sale; and

assigning a first one of the plurality of proxy bidder rules to the first proxy bidder.