Drawing for winners over the internet

• US 6,409,593 B1
• Filed: 07/24/2000
• Issued: 06/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Anthony Petrecca
• Original Assignee: Anthony Petrecca
• Inventors: Petrecca, Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Neill, Michael
• Application Number:
  US09/624,634
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/17, 463/18, 463/19, 463/20, 463/21, 463/22, 463/23, 463/24, 463/25, 463/26, 463/27, 463/28, 463/29, 463/30, 463/31, 463/40, 463/41, 463/42, 273/138.1, 273/138.2, 273/139, 273/224, 273/269, 705/14, 700/91, 700/92, 700/93, 235/375-386
• US Class Current: 463/17
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0212 Chance discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 15/006 electronically

Abstract

In a drawing for prizes conducted on the Internet, the clients (players) log onto the web page of the server (drawing web site). The player saves his/her paper receipts received, for example, incidental to the purchase of goods, and enters the date and time of each receipt into blank blocks on the drawing web site'"'"'s web page. Winners are randomly selected based on the entered dates and times.

Claims

1. A method of conducting a legal drawing sweepstake over the Internet in which:

(a) a plurality of players obtain a document, each of the documents displaying at least a time and a date;

(b) the players each log onto the Internet and communicate with a server drawing web site;

(c) the drawing web site displays a web page having a box indicating that it is to be filled in with a time and a date;

(d) the drawing web site displays said page also having a box to be filled in with a zip code from the document, when there is no zip code on the document, a zip code is automatically randomly assigned by the web site and said box is automatically filled in; and

(e) the drawing web site randomly selects a time, a date and a portion or all of a zip code and awards a prize to a player whose time, date and zip code most closely matches the selected time, date and zip code.

3. A method as in claim 1 or 2 wherein the document is selected from the group consisting of:

(a) retail store purchase receipts;

(b) restaurant receipts;

(c) credit card purchase receipts;

(d) gasoline purchase receipts;

(e) ATM slips;

(f) parking tickets;

(g) theater ticket stubs; and

(h) paper slips of any type.

2. A method of conducting a legal drawing sweepstake over the Internet in which:

(a) a plurality of players obtain a document, each of the documents displaying at least a date;

(b) the players each log onto the Internet and communicate with a server drawing web site;

(c) the drawing web site displays a web page having a box indicating that it is to be filled in with a date;

(d) the drawing web site displays said page also having a box to be filled in by the time on the document, when there is no time on the receipt, the log on time is automatically used;

(e) the drawing web site displays said page also having a box to be filled in with a zip code from the document, when there is no zip code on the document, a zip code is automatically randomly assigned by the web site; and

(f) the drawing web site randomly selects a date, time and potion or all of a zip code and awards a prize to a player whose date and time and zip code most closely matches the selected date and time and zip code.