Method and system for providing commercial information and operating an electronic commerce system over a global communications network with company and constituency nodes

• US 7,567,921 B1
• Filed: 10/23/2000
• Issued: 07/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Business-To-Investor Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Business-To-Investor Incorporated
• Inventors: Ussery, Troy Alan, Rucinski, Dean, Balcombe, Jeffrey Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Garg; Yogesh C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah; Amee A.
• Application Number:
  US09/694,425
• Time in Patent Office: 3,200 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/22, 705/26, 705/27, 705/28, 705/29, 705/51, 705/25, 705/37, 705/54, 713/166, 707/100
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226

Abstract

An electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network and having both company nodes and constituency nodes comprises a data repository and a communications controller. The data repository stores data files contain commercial information relating to the company associated with a company node. The communications controller allow a specific company node to modify commercial information in the data files relating to the respective company and to control times at which selected portions of the commercial information is first made available to the constituency nodes, propagates communication interfaces accessible by the constituency nodes with selected portions of the commercial information under direction of the company nodes, and gathers feedback information representative of constituency response to the constituency nodes accessing the communication interfaces.

Claims

1. For use over a global communications network having company nodes and constituency nodes associated therewith, a method of operating an electronic commerce system having a data repository and a communications controller, said method of operation comprising:

storing data files associated with said company nodes in said data repository, wherein said company nodes populate respective associated data files with company information and wherein each set of said company information relates to a specific company that is represented by a specific company node;

allowing said specific company node to modify said set of said company information that is stored in said data files relating to said specific company;

allowing said specific company node to control times at which selected portions of said set of said company information in said data files relating to said specific company are first made available to said constituency nodes;

propagating communication interfaces accessible by said constituency nodes and facilitating access by said constituency nodes to said selected portions of said set of said company information, wherein said communication interfaces are propagated under control of said specific company node in a manner that ensures compliance with one or more governmental disclosure requirements applicable to one or more companies associated with the company nodes; and

gathering feedback information representative of constituency response to said constituency nodes accessing said communication interfaces.

2. The method of operating the electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 further comprising processing said gathered feedback information and, in response thereto, modifying said set of said company information in said data files relating to said specific company.

3. The method of operating the electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 2 further comprising analyzing said gathered feedback information and said set of said company information in said data files relating to said specific company and, in response thereto, reporting results thereof to said specific company node.

4. The method of operating the electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 further comprising, while gathering said feedback information, employing mathematical representations to represent at least one of constituency understanding and constituency reaction.

5. The method of operating the electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 further comprising limiting, with respect to data files associated with said specific company node, access to said data files associated with said specific company to designated personnel of said specific company.

6. The method of operating the electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 5 comprising using an interactive voice recognition controller to verify the identity of said designated personnel.

7. The method of operating the electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 further comprising translating said selected portions of said company information from a first language into a second language.

8. The method of operating the electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 further comprising indexing and relating associated portions of said company information in the data repository.

9. The method of operating the electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 further comprising organizing said selected portions of said set of said company information that are propagated by said communication interfaces into channels accessible by said constituency nodes.

11. The electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 wherein said communications controller is further operable to process said gathered feedback information and, in response thereto, modify said set of said company information in said data files relating to said specific company.

12. The electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 11 wherein said communications controller is further operable to analyze said gathered feedback information and said set of said company information in said data files relating to said specific company and, in response thereto, to report results of said analysis to said specific company node.

13. The electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 wherein said communications controller, while gathering said feedback information, employs mathematical representations to represent at least one of constituency understanding and constituency reaction.

14. The electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 further comprising a security controller that is operable, with respect to those data files associated with said specific company, to limit access to said data files associated with said specific company to designated personnel of said specific company.

15. The electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 14 wherein said security controller includes an interactive voice recognition controller that is operable to verify the identity of said designated personnel.

16. The electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 wherein said communications controller is further operable to translate said selected portions of said company information from a first language into a second language.

17. The electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 wherein said communications controller is further operable to store, index and relate associated portions of said company information in the data repository.

18. The electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 1 wherein said communications controller is further operable to organize said selected portions of said set of said company information that are propagated by said communication interfaces into channels accessible by said constituency nodes.

19. The electronic commerce system for use over a global communications network recited in claim 18 wherein said channels include at least two of an overview channel, an outlook channel, a community consensus channel, a community forecast channel, a research channel, an online q&

a channel, an online conference channel, a financial history channel and a newsroom channel.

20. The electronic commerce system recited in claim 1, wherein said communications controller is operable to ensure compliance with said one or more governmental disclosure requirements by fully disseminating said selected portions of said set of said company information to said constituency nodes.

21. The electronic commerce system recited in claim 1, wherein said communications controller is operable to control availability of said selected portions of said set of said company information to the constituency nodes by:

allowing multiple versions of a single data file to be stored in said data repository; and

refraining from propagating said selected portions of said set of said company information in said data files to said constituency nodes until said specific company node indicates that a specific version of said selected portions of said set of said company information in said data files is ready for distribution.

10. For use over a global communications network having company nodes and constituency nodes associated therewith, an electronic commerce system comprising:

a data repository that is operable to store data files associated with said company nodes, wherein said company nodes populate respective associated data files with company information, wherein each set of said company information relates to a specific company that is represented by a specific company node; and

a communications controller that is operable to (i) allow said specific company node to modify a set of said company information that is stored in said data files and that relates to said specific company and to control times at which selected portions of said set of said company information in said data files relating to said specific company are first made available to said constituency nodes, (ii) propagate communication interfaces accessible by said constituency nodes and facilitating access by said constituency nodes to said selected portions of said set of said company information under control of said specific company node in a manner that ensures compliance with one or more governmental disclosure requirements applicable to one or more companies associated with the company nodes, and (iii) gather feedback information representative of constituency response to said constituency nodes accessing said communication interfaces.

22. For use over a global communications network having company nodes and constituency nodes associated therewith, an electronic commerce system comprising:

a data repository that is operable to store data files associated with said company nodes, wherein said company nodes populate respective associated data files with company information wherein each set of said company information relates to a specific company that is represented by a specific company node; and

a communications controller that is operable to;

allow said specific company node to modify a set of said company information that is stored in said data files and that relates to said specific company and to control times at which selected portions of said set of said company information in said data files relating to said specific company are first made available to said constituency nodes;

propagate communication interfaces accessible by said constituency nodes and facilitating access by said constituency nodes to said selected portions of said set of said company information under control of said specific company node in a manner that ensures compliance with one or more governmental disclosure requirements applicable to one or more companies associated with the company nodes,

gather feedback information representative of constituency response to said constituency nodes accessing said communication interfaces,

process and analyze said gathered feedback information and, in response thereto, to at least one of (a) modify said set of said company information in said data files and (b) report results of said analysis to said specific company node, and

limit access, with respect to data files associated with said specific company node, to designated personnel of said specific company.