Method, system, and apparatus for dynamically creating electronic contracts

• US 7,788,168 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2008
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cheng, Tsz, Fitzpatrick, Gregory P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Agwumezie; Charles C
• Application Number:
  US12/171,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20080270281A1
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26, 705/35, 705/37, 705/67
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

A method of dynamically negotiating a transaction can include determining a potential transaction between participants according to transaction parameters stored within a transaction parameter data store. The transaction parameters can be associated with each of the participants and can specify acceptable transaction terms. The potential transactions can be evaluated according to a mutual benefit conferred on the participants by the potential transactions according to the transaction parameters. The potential transactions can be ordered according to decreasing mutual benefit; and, the potential transaction having the greatest mutual benefit can be presented to the participants.

Claims

1. A transaction processing system for determining potential transactions between two or more potential transaction participants according to transaction parameters, the transaction processing system comprising:

at least one data store including transaction parameters associated with each of said participants; and

a transaction processing engine for

determining a plurality of potential transactions based upon the transaction parameters and, for each potential transaction, assigning a separate transaction score to each of said participants such that a plurality of scores, one for each of said participants, is associated with each potential transaction,

ranking by the transaction processing engine each potential transaction based on a mutual benefit of each potential transaction to all transaction participants and assigning a higher rank to a particular potential transaction that has a higher mutual benefit than that for another potential transaction, wherein said mutual benefit is computed taking into consideration of a total score of all participants and a participant score differential for each potential transaction, wherein each participant score differential measures a difference between transaction scores respectively assigned to each transaction participant for a corresponding potential transaction, and wherein a smaller participant score differential means a higher mutual benefit, and

sequentially presenting to each of said participants each potential transaction according to decreasing rank until all transaction participants agree to a presented potential transaction or until no potential transactions remain to be presented;

determining whether an acceptable potential transaction more favorable to the at least one rejecting transaction participant can be generated by another participant altering at least an associated transaction parameter; and

notifying said another participant that an acceptable potential transaction can be generated if said participant modifies at least one associated transaction parameter.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said transaction parameters specify transaction terms selected from the group consisting of price, anonymity, shipping, taxation, financing, and customer satisfaction.

3. A computer-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions, which, when executed by a transaction processing engine, cause the transaction processing engine to perform the steps of:

determining by a transaction processing engine a plurality of potential transactions according to transaction parameters stored within at least one transaction parameter data store, said transaction parameters being associated with two or more potential transaction participants, and, for each potential transaction, assigning to each of said participants a separate transaction score such that a plurality of scores, one for each of said participants, is associated with each potential transaction;

ranking by a transaction processing engine each potential transaction based on a mutual benefit of each potential transaction to all transaction participants and assigning a higher rank to a particular potential transaction that has a higher mutual benefit than that for another potential transaction, wherein said mutual benefit is computed taking into consideration of a total score of all participants and a participant score differential for each potential transaction, wherein each participant score differential measures a difference between transaction scores respectively assigned to each participant for a corresponding potential transaction, wherein a smaller participant score differential means a higher mutual benefit; and

sequentially presenting to each of said participants each potential transaction according to decreasing rank until all transaction participants agree to a presented potential transaction or until no potential transactions remain to be presented;

determining whether an acceptable potential transaction more favorable to the at least one rejecting transaction participant can be generated by another participant altering at least an associated transaction parameter; and

notifying said another participant that an acceptable potential transaction can be generated if said participant modifies at least one associated transaction parameter.

4. The computer-readable storage of claim 3, said determining step further comprising:

determining said potential transactions within a trusted third party.

5. The computer-readable storage of claim 3, said determining step comprising:

determining potential transactions according to transaction parameters specifying transaction terms selected from the group consisting of price, anonymity, shipping, taxation, financing, and customer satisfaction.

6. The computer-readable storage of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving said transaction parameters from at least one of said participants.

7. The computer-readable storage of claim 3, further comprising:

generating said transaction parameters for at least one of said participants according to information provided by said participant.

8. The computer-readable storage of claim 7, further comprising:

assigning an importance measure to said generated transaction parameters.

9. The computer-readable storage of claim 3, further comprising:

determining said transaction parameters for at least one of said participants from purchase history information associated with said participant.

10. The computer-readable storage of claim 9, further comprising:

assigning an importance measure to said generated transaction parameters.