Methods and systems to connect consumers to information
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- a first party providing an advertisement to a customer on behalf of an advertiser; and
after a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and the customer, via the advertisement, the first party charging the advertiser a fee based on a price specified by the advertiser, the fee being independent of a duration of the telephonic connection;
wherein the price is for a service rendered by the advertiser over the telephonic connection between the advertiser and the customer.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for specifying and obtaining services through audio commands, resulting in a live conversation between a user and a selected service provider using an audio-transmission medium (the telephone). A service seeker locates a service provider by entering a keypad code corresponding to a field of service or by speaking the name of a profession, which is recognized by the system. The seeker can then specify, via voice or keypad entry, a price range, quality rating, language, and keyword descriptors of the service provider, such as a service provider code number. In response, the system offers currently available service providers. Once an available service provider is selected, the system connects the service seeker with the service provider for a live conversation. The system bills the seeker for the time spent conversing with the service provider and compensates the service provider accordingly.
409 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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a first party providing an advertisement to a customer on behalf of an advertiser; and after a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and the customer, via the advertisement, the first party charging the advertiser a fee based on a price specified by the advertiser, the fee being independent of a duration of the telephonic connection; wherein the price is for a service rendered by the advertiser over the telephonic connection between the advertiser and the customer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system comprising:
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means for a first party providing an advertisement on behalf of an advertiser; and means for the first party charging the advertiser a fee based on a price specified by the advertiser, after a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and a customer, via the advertisement, the fee being independent of a duration of the telephonic connection, wherein the price is for a service rendered by the advertiser over the telephonic connection between the advertiser and the customer.
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20. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions, which when executed, cause a data processing system to perform a method comprising:
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a first party providing an advertisement to a customer on behalf of an advertiser; and after a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and the customer, via the advertisement, the first party charging the advertiser a fee based on a price specified by the advertiser, the fee being independent of a duration of the telephonic connection; wherein the price is for a service rendered by the advertiser over the telephonic connection between the advertiser and the customer.
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21. A method, comprising:
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a first party providing an advertisement, on behalf of an advertiser, to a customer via a telephonic apparatus of the customer; and after a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and the telephonic apparatus of the customer, via the advertisement, the first party charging the advertiser a fee based on a price specified by the advertiser; wherein the price is associated with a service rendered by the advertiser over the telephonic connection between the advertiser and the customer. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method, comprising:
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a first party providing an advertisement, on behalf of an advertiser, to a customer in response to a voice-based search request received from a telephone of the customer; and after a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and the telephone of the customer, via the advertisement, the first party charging the advertiser a fee based on a price specified by the advertiser, the fee being independent of a duration of the telephonic connection, wherein the price is for a service rendered by the advertiser over the telephonic connection between the advertiser and the customer. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions, which when executed, cause a data processing system to perform a method comprising:
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providing an advertisement, on behalf of an advertiser, from a first party to a customer via a telephonic apparatus of the customer; and after a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and the telephonic apparatus of the customer, via the advertisement, charging the advertiser a fee by the first party based on a price specified by the advertiser; wherein the price is associated with a service rendered by the advertiser over the telephonic connection between the advertiser and the customer. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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33. A data processing system, comprising:
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means for providing an advertisement, on behalf of an advertiser, from a first party to a customer via a telephonic apparatus of the customer; and means for charging the advertiser a fee by the first party based on a price specified by the advertiser, after a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and the telephonic apparatus of the customer, via the advertisement, wherein the price is associated with a service rendered by the advertiser over the telephonic connection between the advertiser and the customer. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions, which when executed, cause a data processing system to perform a method comprising:
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providing an advertisement, on behalf of an advertiser, from a first party to a customer in response to a voice-based search request received from a telephone of the customer; and after a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and the telephone of the customer, via the advertisement, charging the advertiser a fee by the first party based on a price specified by the advertiser, the fee being independent of a duration of the telephonic connection, wherein the price is for a service rendered by the advertiser over the telephonic connection between the advertiser and the customer. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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37. A data processing system, comprising:
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means for providing an advertisement, on behalf of an advertiser, from a first party to a customer in response to a voice-based search request received from a telephone of the customer; and means for charging the advertiser a fee by the first party based on a price specified by the advertiser, after a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and the telephone of the customer, via the advertisement, wherein the fee is independent of a duration of the telephonic connection and the price is for a service rendered by the advertiser over the telephonic connection between the advertiser and the customer. - View Dependent Claims (38)
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Specification