Transaction tracking, managing, assessment, and auditing data processing system and network

• US 7,747,476 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2004
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rakuten USA, Inc. (Rakuten Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Linkshare Corporation (Rakuten Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Messer, Stephen Dale
• Primary Examiner(s): Elisca; Pierre E
• Application Number:
  US10/868,682
• Publication Number:
  US 20040230476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,205 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705/26, 705/27, 705/1
• US Class Current: 705/61
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/023 the neutral party being a clearing house
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0185 Product, service or business identity fraud
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0248 Avoiding fraud
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0617 Representative agent
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0619 Neutral agent
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols

Abstract

An improved processing system for tracking commerce on the Internet provides for subvariable processing and includes web page scanning to discern fraud or improper content to insure proper promotion of select products within the network environment.

Claims

1. A data processing system comprising:

a. an affiliate site for displaying data comprising promotions on a web page;

b. a clearinghouse server in communication with said affiliate site, said clearinghouse server operable to parse HTTP data received from said affiliate site, said HTTP data including an affiliate field comprising one or more subvariables; and

c. a merchant site in communication with said clearinghouse server, wherein said merchant site is operable to obtain information triggered by said affiliate site from said clearinghouse server and said merchant site is operable to submit information to said clearinghouse server relating to affiliate referral activity on said merchant site,

wherein said clearinghouse server is configured to track user referrals from said affiliate site to said merchant site, and to track sales to one or more of said users by said merchant site, and to calculate commissions owed for said sales to said affiliate site.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising programming for managing a commission vector process wherein a target commission recipient is identified as a subvariable in said affiliate field.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising programming on said merchant site for sending a file to said clearinghouse server comprising information on commerce at said merchant site.

4. A data processing system comprising:

a first computer connected to and in communication with a computer network, said first computer having memory storage for one or more files defined by universal resource locator, said files forming web pages and providing information of interest to one or more users and further including a promotional icon formed from text, graphics, or image having embedded therein a sequence of commands for transferring a link to a user computer in communication with said first computer, to a second, clearinghouse computer and then to a thirds merchant computer wherein goods and/or services associated with said promotional icon are available for purchases;

said transfer of said user computer link including a user or site identifier that is recorded at the clearinghouse computer and the merchant computer so that data regarding purchases made at the merchant computer by said user may be attached and used to provide a commission based on referral by said icon,

wherein said clearinghouse computer is configured to track user referrals from said first computer to said merchant computer, and to track sales to one or more of said users by said merchant computer, and to calculate commissions owed for said sales.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the first computer commands embedded with the icon include html coding that establishes a unique identifier for said user.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein the clearinghouse computer stores information from the user HTTP comprising a first computer site ID, a user ID and an icon ID.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said user link is established to said merchant computer by HTTP command enabled by said clearinghouse server.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein said merchant computer is operable to record data comprising said user link and including said user ID and said first computer site ID.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said merchant computer is operable to associate a cookie with said user if no transaction takes place during the user'"'"'s link.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein a subsequent visit by said user that is associated with a transaction results in a credit to said first computer as a referral of said user.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein purchases by said user at said merchant computer are recorded and used to determine a commission.

12. A data processing system for supporting web based commerce and commission tracking on a multi-node network, comprising:

a plurality of web pages within the multi-node network, wherein each of the plurality of web pages displays at least one on-line content;

a storage component for storing information related to products or services promoted or to be promoted on one or more of each of the plurality of web pages;

a web access and scanning code for selectively downloading particular ones of the plurality of web pages and examining the selected web page content, and

a web page processor programmed to analyze the accessed and scanned web page,

wherein said web page processor includes a comparison mechanism for comparing the content on said scanned web pages with said stored information and making assessments based on said comparisons.