System and method for promoting intellectual property

• US 7,797,373 B1
• Filed: 03/03/2000
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Martin S. Berger
• Original Assignee: Martin S. Berger
• Inventors: Berger, Martin S
• Primary Examiner(s): RUDY, ANDREW J
• Application Number:
  US09/518,699
• Time in Patent Office: 3,847 Days
• Field of Search: 705/27, 705/34, 705/30, 705/1, 705/8, 705/10, 707/1, 707/3, 707/5, 707/10, 707/100, 707/192, 709/201, 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/223, 709/230, 716/1
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/931 Patent comparison
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/937 intellectual property searching

Abstract

A method and system for the online promotion of intellectual property includes providing an Internet host station with at least one database that is connectable via the Internet to consumer stations and industry stations. The database includes a plurality of intellectual property items and a description of each intellectual property item. At least one of the intellectual property items is selected by a consumer station and the description associated with the selected intellectual property item is viewed at the consumer station. Portions of the description may be confidential and therefore not normally viewed at the consumer station. Feedback data is sent from the consumer station to the host station. The feedback data includes consumer opinion information of the selected intellectual property item based at least in part on the description of the selected intellectual property item. The feedback data is then accessed from an industry station to thereby determine the interest in the selected intellectual property item based on the consumer opinion.

Claims

1. A computer implemented system promoting inventions over the Internet communications network, the system comprising:

a host computer station constituting an Internet domain site connected to said communications network and having a database with stored descriptions of respective inventions and their distinctive features;

a publicly accessible interface in communication with the host computer station and in communication with plural consumer computer stations via the communications network;

a first computer program module at said host computer station selecting at least one of said inventions by reference to the stored invention descriptions and distinctive features for viewing at said plural consumer computer stations and thereafter receiving feedback data relating to a consumer desirability of the selected inventions, wherein said first computer program module includes a survey module eliciting said feedback data from multiple users of the consumer computer stations by posing one or more questions to said users regarding said consumer desirability of products incorporating the selected inventions and consolidating their responses;

a second computer program module receiving said consolidated responses at said host computer station to provide an information summary of the consumer desirability for the respective selected inventions;

a restricted access interface in communication with the host computer station and in communication with plural industry computer stations via the communications network, wherein users of said industry computer stations are specifically identified by said host computer station as authorized to access said information summary; and

a computer program module transferring said information summary to said authorized industry computer stations but not to said consumer computer stations.

2. The computer implemented system of claim 1, wherein:

said first computer program module searches a desired grouping of inventions having at least one common feature prior to selecting said at least one invention.

3. The computer implemented system according to claim 2, wherein:

said at least one common feature is one of a Standard Industrial Classification code and a North American Industry Classification System code.

4. The computer implemented system according to claim 1, wherein:

said at least one database further includes at least one confidential information description of said inventions, respectively.

5. The computer implemented system according to claim 4, including:

a third computer program module operable to provide said one confidential information description to be viewable only by selected ones of said industry computer stations.

6. A computer implemented system for obtaining informed consumer opinions over a communications network regarding the commercial attractiveness of customer inventions, comprising:

a host computer station connected to said communications network and having a database storing identification of customers and descriptions of respective inventions of said customers, including distinctive features of said inventions;

a publicly accessible interface in communication with the host computer station and in communication with plural customer computer stations via the communications network, the users of said customer computer stations being customers who own respective proprietary interests in said inventions;

the publicly accessible interface being in communication with the host computer station and in communication with plural consumer computer stations via the communications network, users of said consumer computer stations being consumers who constitute potential purchasers of products incorporating said inventions;

a first computer program module enabling respective customer identifications and descriptions of their inventions, including the distinctive features of said inventions, from each of said customers to be received and stored in said database;

a second computer program module (i) enabling access by said consumers at said plural consumer computer stations to said inventions by reference to the stored invention description, (ii) thereafter receiving feedback data relating to a commercial attractiveness of products incorporating the selected inventions, said second computer program module including a survey module eliciting said feedback data from multiple ones of the consumer computer stations by posing one or more questions regarding said commercial attractiveness of products incorporating the selected inventions and responding to answers thereto constituting such feedback data, and (iii) thereafter consolidating said answers to provide respective information summaries regarding the commercial attractiveness of the selected inventions; and

a third computer program module receiving said information summaries at said host computer station for storage in the database;

a restricted access interface in communication with the host computer station and in communication with plural industry computer stations via the communications network, users of said industry computer stations being involved with commercial transactions regarding said inventions, wherein the users of said industry computer stations are specifically identified by said host computer station as authorized to access said information summaries; and

a fourth computer program module transferring said information summaries to said industry computer stations but not to said consumer computer stations.

7. The computer implemented system of claim 6 in which said first computer program module additionally enables the storage in said database of information pertaining to the legal protection status of said inventions.

8. A computer implemented system promoting inventions over the Internet communications network, the system comprising:

a host computer station connected to said communications network and having a database with stored invention information, including confidential invention information and non-confidential invention information;

a restricted access interface in communication with the host computer station and in communication with at least one industry computer station via the communications network;

a computer program enrollment module enrolling an industry representative user of said industry computer station as an industry representative wishing to access the confidential invention information, wherein said enrollment module conditions such access upon the industry representative executing a confidentiality agreement regarding the confidential invention information; and

a computer program invention disclosure module selectively granting the industry representative user access to said confidential invention information upon execution by the industry representative user of the confidentiality agreement but not to other users.