Systems and methods for contextual transaction proposals
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method performed by an information server computer for communication transaction proposals to a user, the method comprising:
- for each of a plurality of partners, storing in a location accessible to the information server computer, partner data representing products available from that partner;
receiving, at the information server computer, a request from a user for information related to a currently presented content item, the request including context data representing content of the currently presented content item, wherein the content item is a World Wide Web page;
selecting at least one of the partners as a transaction partner, wherein the selection is based at least in part on comparing the context data to the stored partner data for the plurality of partners;
obtaining at least one transaction proposal from each transaction partner; and
transmitting a representation of at least one of the obtained transaction proposals to the requesting user,wherein the act of obtaining a transaction proposal includes;
for each transaction partner;
formulating a query, the query being based at least in part on the context data;
submitting the query to a partner server associated with the transaction partner; and
receiving a response to the query from the partner server, the response including at least one transaction proposal; and
selecting at least one of the received transaction proposals for transmission to the requesting user.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Context-specific transaction proposals are automatically generated and presented to a user who expresses interest in a particular topic. A user viewing a World Wide Web page or other content item activates an interface to indicate that he or she is interested in additional information related to the subject of the page. A context vector or other representation of the content of the page being viewed is transmitted to an information server, which identifies possible transactions related to the content and proposes one or more of these transactions to the user. Transaction proposals can be presented together with a contextual search interface that allows the user to submit zero or more search terms together with the context vector as a search query.
91 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method performed by an information server computer for communication transaction proposals to a user, the method comprising:
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for each of a plurality of partners, storing in a location accessible to the information server computer, partner data representing products available from that partner; receiving, at the information server computer, a request from a user for information related to a currently presented content item, the request including context data representing content of the currently presented content item, wherein the content item is a World Wide Web page; selecting at least one of the partners as a transaction partner, wherein the selection is based at least in part on comparing the context data to the stored partner data for the plurality of partners; obtaining at least one transaction proposal from each transaction partner; and transmitting a representation of at least one of the obtained transaction proposals to the requesting user, wherein the act of obtaining a transaction proposal includes; for each transaction partner; formulating a query, the query being based at least in part on the context data; submitting the query to a partner server associated with the transaction partner; and receiving a response to the query from the partner server, the response including at least one transaction proposal; and selecting at least one of the received transaction proposals for transmission to the requesting user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer-implemented system for communicating transaction proposals to a user, the system comprising:
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an information server computer; a data store configured to store information about each of a plurality of partners, the information including partner data for each partner, the partner data representing products available from the partner, the information being accessible to the information server computer; partner selection control logic communicably coupled to the data store, the partner selection control logic being configured to receive at the information server computer a user request for information, the request including context data representing content of a currently presented content item, and to select at least one of the partners as a transaction partner, wherein the selection is based at least in part on comparing the context data to the partner data in the data store; and partner interaction control logic coupled to receive identifiers of the selected transaction partners from the partner selection logic and configured to obtain at least one transaction proposal fro each transaction partner and to transmit at least one of the obtained transaction proposals to the requesting user, wherein each transaction proposal includes a transaction page configured to present terms of a proposed business transaction between the user and the partner, wherein the partner selection control logic is further configured red to obtain the at lest one transaction proposal by; for each transaction partner; formulating a query, the query being based at least in part on the context data; submitting the query to a partner server associated with the transaction partner; and receiving a response to the query from the partner server, the response including at least one transaction proposal; and selecting at least one of the received transaction proposals for transmission to the requesting user. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer-implemented method for communicating a transaction proposal to a user, the method comprising:
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presenting to a user, by a client-computer, a content item including an activatable icon, the icon being associated with the content of presented content item, wherein the content item is a World Wide Web page; in response to user activation of the icon, transmitting, by the client computer, context data representing the associated content to an information server; receiving, at the client computer, a response from the information server, the response including a reference to a transaction proposal, the transaction proposal being selected based at least in part on the context data; and presenting to the user, by the client computer, an interface including the reference to the transaction proposal, wherein the information server is configured to obtaining the transaction proposal by; for each of a plurality of transaction partners; formulating a query, the query being based at least in part on the context data; submitting the query to a partner server associated with the transaction partner; and receiving a response to the query from the partner server, the response including at least one transaction proposal; and selecting at least one of the received transaction proposals for transmission to the requesting user. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification