Method and apparatus for a cryptographically assisted commercial network system designed to facilitate idea submission, purchase and licensing and innovation transfer

• US 7,043,454 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2004
• Issued: 05/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pitchware Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Pitchware Incorporated
• Inventors: Powell, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEUNG, MARY DA ZHI WANG
• Application Number:
  US10/854,653
• Publication Number:
  US 20040220881A1
• Time in Patent Office: 714 Days
• Field of Search: 705/37, 705 50- 54, 705 57- 59, 705/80, 713164-170, 707 1- 10
• US Class Current: 705/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0442 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data

Abstract

The present invention is a method and apparatus for effectuating bilateral commerce in ideas. The present invention is both an originator-(400) and user-driven (300) online commercial network system designed to facilitate idea submission, purchase and licensing and is easily adapted to business-to-business transfers of innovation as well as consumer-to-business transfers of innovation. The invention allows originators of ideas to communicate nondisclosing synopses of ideas globally to potential users, for users conveniently to search for relevant ideas and for users potentially to bind an originator (400) to a limited duration license (120a) granting user the exclusive right to access and consider confidentially the originator'"'"'s fully disclosed idea (130a). The invention also allows users (300) to communicate confidentially or nonconfidentially unsolved problems or needs globally to potential originators, for originators conveniently to search for relevant unsolved problems or needs (100b) and for originators to submit and communicate confidentially proposed solutions (130b) to the soliciting user.

Claims

1. A method for using a computer to facilitate and control sequential access to a two-level information database created by inputs supplied by users, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving and storing in the database a plurality of two-part descriptions each supplied by a user, each two-part description including a non-confidential first-level element in the form of a searchable and accessible basic description of a user'"'"'s unmet need or unsolved problem, and a confidential second-level element in the form of a searchable, but non-accessible detailed description of each user'"'"'s unmet need or unsolved problem;

(b) permitting originators to access, search, review and select without restriction, only the non-confidential first-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions;

(c) subsequently providing selecting originators with an option to access, search and review the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions that correspond to the selected first-level elements by electronically submitting to each selecting originator a license agreement including a confidentiality provision and other previously supplied licensing terms;

(d) receiving and storing in the computer an acceptance of the license agreement by each selecting originator; and

(e) upon receipt of license acceptance, providing accepting originators with unrestricted access on a confidential basis via the computer to the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions corresponding to the selected first-level elements.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the license agreement is a limited duration, exclusive license, and including the further step of upon receiving license acceptance by one selecting originator, subsequently restricting other originators from accessing, searching, reviewing or selecting both the first-level element and the second-level element, of the two-part description selected by the licensed originator for the duration of the term of the exclusive license.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the license agreement is a limited duration, exclusive license, and including the further step of providing a user with the option of specifying license terms which permit originators to continue to access, search, review and select the non-confidential first-level element, but not the confidential second-level element, of a selected two-part description for the duration of the license term.

4. The method of claim 3 including the further step of creating a queue of license accepting originator seeking access to the selected, but license restricted second-level element.

5. The method of claim 4 including the further step of establishing a priority status for each originator in the queue according to the time of license acceptance, with an earlier license acceptance time having priority over a later license acceptance time.

6. The method of claim 3 including the further step of permitting originators to search and rank by relevancy without restriction the second-level elements of the database without permitting visual access to the second-level elements.

7. The method of claim 1 including the further step of enabling each user to review the identity of each license requesting originator and to either accept or reject the license request by each originator.

8. A method of using a computer to facilitate access to a two-level information database created by inputs supplied by originators and users, comprising:

receiving and storing in the database a plurality of two-part originator descriptions, each supplied by an originator, each two-part originator description including a nonconfidential first-level element in the form of a searchable and accessible basic description of each originator'"'"'s proposal, and a confidential second-level element in the form of a searchable, but nonaccessible detailed description of each originator'"'"'s proposal;

receiving and storing in the database a plurality of two-part user descriptions, each supplied by a user, each two-part user description including a nonconfidential first-level element in the form of a searchable and accessible basic description of a user'"'"'s unmet need or unsolved problem, or both, and a confidential second-level element in the form of a searchable, but nonaccessible detailed description of each user'"'"'s unmet need or unsolved problem, or both;

permitting users to at least one of access, search, review, or select without restriction, only the nonconfidential first-level elements of the stored two-part originator descriptions;

subsequently providing selecting users with an option to at least one of access, search, or review the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part originator descriptions that correspond to the selected first-level elements by electronically submitting to each selecting user a first license agreement including a confidentiality provision and other previously supplied licensing terms;

receiving and storing in the computer an acceptance of the first license agreement by each selecting user;

upon receipt of first license acceptance, providing accepting users with unrestricted access on a confidential basis via the computer to the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part originator descriptions corresponding to the selected first-level elements;

permitting originators to at least one of access, search, review, or select without restriction, only the nonconfidential first-level elements or the stored two-part user descriptions;

subsequently providing selecting originators with an option to at least on of access, search, or review the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part user descriptions that correspond to the selected first-level elements by electronically submitting to each selecting originator a second license agreement including a confidentiality provision and other previously supplied licensing terms;

receiving and storing in the computer an acceptance of the second license agreement by each selecting originator; and

upon receipt of second license acceptance, providing accepting originators with unrestricted access on a confidential basis via the computer to the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part user descriptions corresponding to the selected first-level elements.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the first license agreement is a limited duration, exclusive license, and further including upon receiving first license acceptance by one selecting user, subsequently restricting other users from at least one of accessing, searching, reviewing, or selecting both the first-level element and the second-level element of the two-part originator description selected by the licensed user for the duration of the term of the exclusive license.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the first license agreement is a limited duration, exclusive license, and further including providing an originator with the option of specifying license terms which permit users to continue to at least one of access, search, review, or select the nonconfidential first-level element, but not the confidential second-level element, of a selected two-part originator description for the duration of the license term.

11. The method of claim 10 including creating a queue of license accepting users seeking access to the selected, but license restricted second-level element.

12. The method of claim 11 including establishing a priority status for each user in the queue according to the time of first license acceptance, with an earlier license acceptance time having priority over a later license acceptance time.

13. The method of claim 10 including permitting users to search and rank by relevancy without restriction the second-level elements of the database without permitting visual access to the second-level elements.

14. The method of claim 8 including enabling each originator to review the identity of each license requesting user and to either accept or reject the license request by each user.

15. A computer program product stored on a computer-readable storage medium for at least one of facilitating or controlling access to a two-level information database created by inputs supplied by users, the computer program product comprising:

code for receiving and storing in the database a plurality of two-part descriptions, each supplied by a user, each two-part description including a nonconfidential first-level element in the form of a searchable and accessible basic description of a user'"'"'s unmet need or unsolved problem, or both, and a confidential second-level element in the form of a searchable, but nonaccessible detailed description of each user'"'"'s unmet need or unsolved problem, or both;

code for permitting originators to at least one of access, search, review, or select without restriction, only the nonconfidential first-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions;

code for subsequently providing selecting originators with an option to at least one of access, search, or review the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions that correspond to the selected first-level elements by electronically submitting to each selecting originator a license agreement including a confidentiality provision and other previously supplied licensing terms;

code for receiving and storing in the computer an acceptance of the license agreement by each selecting originator; and

code for upon receipt of license acceptance, providing accepting originators with unrestricted access on a confidential basis via the computer to the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-pad descriptions corresponding to the selected first-level elements.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the license agreement is a limited duration, exclusive license, and the product further includes code for upon receiving license acceptance by one selecting originator, subsequently restricting other originators from at least one of accessing, searching, reviewing, or selecting both the first-level element and the second-level element of the two-part description selected by the licensed originator for the duration of the term of the exclusive license.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the license agreement is a limited duration, exclusive license, and the product further includes code for providing a user with the option of specifying license terms which permit originators to continue to at least one of access, search, review, or select the nonconfidential first-level element, but not the confidential second-level element, of a selected two-part description for the duration of the license term.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising code for creating a queue of license accepting originator seeking access to the selected, but license restricted second-level element.

19. The computer program product of claim 18 further comprising code for of establishing a priority status for each originator in the queue according to the time of license acceptance, with an earlier license acceptance time having priority over a later license acceptance time.

20. The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising code for permitting originators to search and rank by relevancy without restriction the second-level elements of the database without permitting visual access to the second-level elements.