Ticket auction

• US 7,003,485 B1
• Filed: 05/05/2000
• Issued: 02/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/1999
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: F Poszat Hu LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Dale Young
• Inventors: Young, Dale
• Primary Examiner(s): Coggins, Wynn W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): RHODE JR, ROBERT E
• Application Number:
  US09/565,532
• Time in Patent Office: 2,118 Days
• Field of Search: 705/25, 705/37, 205/26
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

This computer-based Internet ticket auctioning method preregisters potential bidders and advises them that all bids are conditional offers to purchase tickets, and therefore cannot be lowered or canceled at will. The auction'"'"'s organizer programs the computer that runs the auction with dates and locations of various events, and with auditoria layout and locations of seats to be auctioned. Each registered customer can view the layout of a particular auditorium and submit a bid for one or more seats. The bidder specifies whether a partially filled order and noncontiguous seat assignments are acceptable. The bidder is also provided with an option to engage a “proxy bid” that will increase the bid amount up to a limit set by the bidder, in order to ensure purchase of tickets. Each customer can also choose to bypass the auction process entirely, by submitting a purchase order at a high, preset price. This preset price is automatically accepted and purchase of tickets is guaranteed. At the conclusion of the auction, the computer runs a seat allocation algorithm that assigns the seats to the bidders so as to maximize the total amount realized from the auction. The seat assignment algorithm is also run periodically during the auction in order to determine which bidders have already being outbid, and to allow them to raise their bids.

Claims

1. A method for conducting a remote auction of event tickets from a central computer to a plurality of customers at remote locations, each said customer connected to the central computer by telecommunications apparatus for receiving and transmitting information, the method comprising the steps of:

programming the computer with a template of an auditorium where the event is scheduled to take place;

programming the computer with available seat data, the seat data identifying seats intended for sale during the auction, each of the seats intended for sale corresponding to a dill rent ticket;

programming the computer with a minimum ticket price below which no ticket may be sold during the auction;

transmitting from the central computer to the customers, before the individual customer registers and before said customer makes any bids, a first message to notify the customer that bids submitted by the customer during the auction are non-revocable;

further transmitting from the central computer to the customers a message that customers can individually specify that partial orders and scattered seats are acceptable;

requesting registration information from at least a first customer, the registration information, including the first customer'"'"'s name, password, and payment information registering the first customer for the auction;

receiving bids from at last two of the customers, each of the bids including a seat quantity indicating a number of seats bid for, an amount bid, means indicating whether

the customer who submitted said each bid is willing to accept noncontiguous seats, and whether the consumer who submitted each bid is willing to accept fewer seats than indicated by said each bid'"'"'s seat quantity, and

performing in a computer a seat assignment algorithm for allocating the seats intended for sale during the auction among the received bids and incorporating at least one of the customers indication of willingness to accept noncontiguous seats and partial orders in a way that maximizes total amount receivable from the customers for the seats intended for sale during the auction.

2. A method according to claim 1, further including the step of notifying each customer who submitted at least one bid of the submitted bid'"'"'s status, said status including a notification of a first number of seats allocated to the submitted bid, a first amount equal to the cost of the seats allocated to the submitted bid, and a unique identifier of the submitted bid.

3. A method according to claim 1, further including the step of informing each customer of a current minimum bid amount that the customer must bid to qualify for seat allocation.

4. A method according to claim 1, further including the steps of:

setting a guaranteed purchase amount for the tickets intended for sale during the auction, and enabling the customer to purchase one or more tickets, without participating in the auction at the guaranteed purchase amount.

5. A method according to claim 1 further including the step of enabling a first customer who submitted a first bid to engage a proxy bid means for automatically increasing the first bid by a predetermined increment up to a first limit.

6. A method according to claim 1, further including the step of sending from the central computer to the telecommunications apparatus, a graphical representation of the template and the available seat date.

7. A method according to any one of claims 1–

6, wherein the central computer and the telecommunications apparatus are connected via the Internet, said steps of transmitting, registering, receiving bids, notifying, and informing are performed through the Internet, and the step of registering the customers includes the step of receiving a second customer'"'"'s name, password and payment authorization.

8. A system for conducting a remote auction of event tickets, the system comprising:

a central computer, the central computer including;

means for communicating with a plurality of customers at remote locations;

means for receiving and storing a template of an auditorium where the event is scheduled to take place;

means for receiving and storing available seat data, the seat data identifying seats intended for sale during the auction, each of the seats intended for sale corresponding to a different ticket;

means for receiving and storing a minimum ticket price below which no ticket may be sold during the auction;

means for transmitting from the central computer to the customers a message that customers can individually specify that partial orders and scattered seats are acceptable;

means for requesting registration information from a first customer, the registration information

information;

including the first customer'"'"'s name, password, and payment information means for receiving the requested registration information;

means for receiving bids, each bid including a seat quantity data item indicating a number of seats bid for, the amount bid field, means indicating whether the customer who submitted said each bid is willing to accept noncontiguous seats, and means indicating whether the customer who submitted said each bid is willing to accept partial orders than indicated by said each bid'"'"'s seat quantity,

means for performing a seat assignment algorithm for allocating the seats intended for sale during the auction among the received bids wherein at least one of the customers indication of willingness to accept noncontiguous seats and partial orders is incorporated such that the total amount receivable from the customers for the seats intended for sale during the auction is maximized.