System and method for ascribing a reputation to an entity

• US 6,892,179 B1
• Filed: 11/10/2000
• Issued: 05/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Open Ratings, Inc. (Dun & Bradstreet Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Open Ratings, Inc. (Dun & Bradstreet Corp.)
• Inventors: Zacharia, Giorgos C.
• Primary Examiner(s): LOFTIS, JOHNNA RONEE
• Application Number:
  US09/710,011
• Time in Patent Office: 1,642 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705/8, 705/9, 705/10
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0206 Price or cost determination based on market factors
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

A method and system for determining a ratee reputation of an entity based at least in part on the rater reputation of one or more of the entities that have rated the rated entity. A ratee reputation of a first entity is determined. A first rating of the first entity by a second entity is received. One or more rater reputations including a first rater reputation of the second entity as a qualitative rater of other entities are accessed, and a ratee reputation of the first entity is generated by combining the one or more rater reputations and the first rating.

Claims

1. A method of ascribing a ratee reputation to a first entity, comprising computer-implemented acts of:

(A) receiving a first rating of the first entity by a second entity;

(B) accessing a first rater reputation representing a reputation of the second entity as a qualitative rater of other entities;

(C) receiving an initial ratee reputation indicating a ratee reputation of the first user prior to the reception of the first rating; and

(D) generating a ratee reputation of the first entity, comprising

(1) generating a ratee reputation adjustment from the first rater reputation, the first rating and the initial rater reputation; and

(2) adding the ratee reputation adjustment to the initial ratee reputation.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising acts of:

(E) determining a damping factor as a negative function of the initial ratee reputation, wherein act (D) further comprises;

(3) determining a ratee reputation modification to be applied to the initial ratee reputation based on the first rating, the initial rater reputation and the damping factor, and

wherein act (D)(1) comprises generating the ratee reputation adjustment from the ratee reputation modification.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising acts of:

(E) determining an expected rating by dividing a value of the initial ratee reputation by a maximum ratee reputation value; and

(F) subtracting the expected rating from the first rating to produce a rating difference,

wherein if the rating difference is a positive value, then the ratee reputation adjustment is a positive value, thereby resulting in an increase in the ratee reputation of the first entity from the initial ratee reputation, and

wherein, if the rating difference is a negative value, then the ratee reputation adjustment is a negative value, thereby resulting in a decrease in the ratee reputation of the first entity from the initial ratee reputation.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising an act of:

(E) determining whether to transact with the first entity based on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising an act of:

(E) determining a price to pay for a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising an act of:

(E) determining a price to pay for insuring a quality of a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first entity is a person.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first entity is an electronic agent.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first rating is based on an exchange between the second entity and the first entity.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising acts of:

(E) receiving a third rating of the first entity by a third entity;

(F) accessing a second rater reputation representing a reputation of the third entity as a qualitative rater of other entities; and

(G) updating the ratee reputation of the first entity, comprising combining the generated ratee reputation, the second rater reputation and the third rating.

7. A system for ascribing a ratee reputation to a first entity, the system comprising:

a ratee reputation generator to receive as input a first rating of the first entity by a second entity, to access a first rater reputation representing a reputation of the second entity as a qualitative rater of other entities, to generate a ratee reputation of the first entity by combining the first rater reputation and the first rating, and to provide as output the generated ratee reputation,

wherein the ratee reputation generator is further operable to receive an initial ratee reputation indicating a ratee reputation of the first user prior to the reception of the first rating, and

wherein the ratee reputation generator comprises a ratee reputation adjustment generator to generate a ratee reputation adjustment at least in part from the first rating and the initial rater reputation, and an adder to add the ratee reputation adjustment to the initial ratee reputation.

14. The system of claim 7, wherein the ratee reputation generator further comprises a damping factor generator to determine a damping factor as a negative function of the initial ratee reputation, and a ratee reputation modification generator to determine a ratee reputation modification to be applied to the initial ratee reputation based on the first rating, the initial rater reputation and the damping factor, and

wherein the ratee reputation adjustment generator is operable to generate the ratee reputation adjustment at least in part from the ratee reputation modification.

15. The system of claim 7, wherein the ratee reputation generator further comprises an expected rating generator to determine an expected rating by dividing a value of the initial ratee reputation by a maximum ratee reputation value,

wherein the ratee reputation modification generator is operable to subtract the expected rating from the first rating to produce a rating difference,

wherein, if the rating difference is a positive value, then the ratee reputation adjustment is a positive value, thereby resulting in an increase in the ratee reputation of the first entity from the initial ratee reputation, and

wherein, if the rating difference is a negative value, then the ratee reputation adjustment is a negative value, thereby resulting in a decrease in the ratee reputation of the first entity from the initial ratee reputation.

16. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

a component to determine whether to transact with the first entity based on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

17. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

a component to determine a price to pay for a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

18. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

a component to determine a price to pay for insuring a quality of a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

19. The system of claim 7, wherein the first entity is a person.

20. The system of claim 7, wherein the first entity is an electronic agent.

21. The system of claim 7, wherein the first rating is based on an exchange between the second entity and the first entity.

22. The system of claim 7, wherein the ratee reputation generator is further operable to receive a third rating of the first entity by a third entity, to access a second rater reputation representing a reputation of the third entity as a qualitative rater of other entities, and to update the ratee reputation of the first entity by combining the generated ratee reputation, the second rater reputation and the third rating.

8. A system for ascribing a ratee reputation to a first entity, the system comprising:

means for receiving a first rating of the first entity by a second entity;

means for accessing a first rater reputation representing a reputation of the second entity as a qualitative rater of other entities;

means for receiving an initial ratee reputation indicating a ratee reputation of the first user prior to the reception of the first rating; and

means for generating a ratee reputation of the first entity by generating a ratee reputation adjustment from the first rater reputation, the first rating and the initial rater reputation and adding the ratee reputation adjustment to the initial ratee reputation.

9. A computer program product comprising:

a computer readable medium; and

computer readable signals stored on the computer readable medium that define instructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method of ascribing a ratee reputation to a first entity, the method comprising;

(A) receiving a first rating of the first entity by a second entity;

(B) accessing a first rater reputation representing a reputation of the second entity as a qualitative rater of other entities;

(C) receiving an initial ratee reputation indicating a ratee reputation of the first user prior to the reception of the first rating; and

(D) generating a ratee reputation of the first entity, comprising

(1) generating a ratee reputation adjustment from the first rater reputation, the first rating and the initial rater reputation; and

(2) adding the ratee reputation adjustment to the initial ratee reputation.

23. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises acts of:

(E) determining a damping factor as a negative function of the initial ratee reputation, wherein act (D) further comprises;

(3) determining a ratee reputation modification to be applied to the initial ratee reputation based on the first rating, the initial rater reputation and the damping factor, and

wherein act (D)(1) comprises generating the ratee reputation adjustment from the ratee reputation modification.

24. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises acts of:

(E) determining an expected rating by dividing a value of the initial ratee reputation by a maximum ratee reputation value; and

(F) subtracting the expected rating from the first rating to produce a rating difference,

wherein, if the rating difference is a positive value, then the ratee reputation adjustment is a positive value, thereby resulting in an increase in the ratee reputation of the first entity from the initial ratee reputation, and

wherein, if the rating difference is a negative value, then the ratee reputation adjustment is a negative value, thereby resulting in a decrease in the ratee reputation of the first entity from the initial ratee reputation.

25. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises an act of:

(E) determining whether to transact with the first entity based on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

26. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises an act of:

(E) determining a price to pay for a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

27. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises an act of:

(E) determining a price to pay for insuring a quality of a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

28. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the first entity is a person.

29. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the first entity is an electronic agent.

30. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the first rating is based on an exchange between the second entity and the first entity.

31. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises acts of:

(E) receiving a third rating of the first entity by a third entity;

(F) accessing a second rater reputation representing a reputation of the third entity as a qualitative rater of other entities; and

(G) updating the ratee reputation of the first entity, comprising;

(1) combining the generated ratee reputation, the second rater reputation and the third rating.

48. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises an act of:

(D) determining whether to transact with the first entity based on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

32. A method of ascribing a ratee reputation to a first entity, comprising computer-implemented acts of:

(A) receiving a plurality of ratings of the first entity, each rating provided by a respective second entity;

(B) for each rating provided by a respective second entity, accessing a rater reputation representing a reputation of the respective second entity as a qualitative rater of other entities; and

(C) generating a ratee reputation of the first entity, comprising calculating a weighted average of the ratings, including weighting each rating with the rater reputation of the respective second entity that provided the rating.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising an act of:

(D) determining whether to transact with the first entity based on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising an act of:

(D) determining a price to pay for a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

35. The method of claim 32, further comprising an act of:

(D) determining a price to pay for insuring a quality of a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein the first entity is a person.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein the first entity is an electronic agent.

38. The method of claim 32, wherein each received rating is based on an exchange between the first entity and the respective second entity that provided the received rating.

39. A system for ascribing a ratee reputation to a first entity, the system comprising:

a ratee reputation generator to receive as input a plurality of ratings, each rating provided by a respective second entity, to access, for each rating provided by a respective entity, a rater reputation representing a reputation of the respective second entity as a qualitative rater of other entities, to generate a ratee reputation of the first entity by calculating a weighted average of the ratings, including weighting each rating with the rater reputation of the respective second entity that provided the rating, and to provide as output the generated ratee reputation.

40. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

a component to determine whether to transact with the first entity based on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

41. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

a component to determine a price to pay for a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

42. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

a component to determine a price to pay for insuring a quality of a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

43. The system of claim 39, wherein the first entity is a person.

44. The system of claim 39, wherein the first entity is an electronic agent.

45. The system of claim 39, wherein each received rating is based on an exchange between the first entity and the respective second entity that provided the received rating.

46. A system for ascribing a ratee reputation to a first entity, the system comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of ratings of the first entity, each rating provided by a respective second entity;

means for accessing, for each rating provided by a respective second entity, a rater reputation representing a reputation of the respective second entity as a qualitative rater of other entities; and

means for generating a ratee reputation of the first entity by calculating a weighted average of the ratings, including weighting each rating with the rater reputation of the respective second entity that provided the rating.

47. A computer-readable medium having computer readable signals stored thereon that define instructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method of ascribing a ratee reputation to a first entity, comprising computer-implemented acts of:

(A) receiving a plurality of ratings of the first entity, each rating provided by a respective second entity;

(B) for each rating provided by a respective second entity, accessing a rater reputation representing a reputation of the respective second entity as a qualitative rater of other entities; and

(C) generating a ratee reputation of the first entity, comprising calculating a weighted average of the ratings, including weighting each rating with the rater reputation of the respective second entity that provided the rating.

49. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, wherein the method further comprises an act of:

(D) determining a price to pay for a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

50. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, wherein the method further comprises an act of:

(D) determining a price to pay for insuring a quality of a good or service offered by the first entity based at least in part on the generated ratee reputation of the first entity.

51. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, wherein the first entity is a person.

52. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, wherein the first entity is an electronic agent.

53. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, wherein each received rating is based on an exchange between the first entity and the respective second entity that provided the received rating.