Method and apparatus for generating a sale offer to selected individuals over electronic network systems

• US 7,801,803 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2007
• Issued: 09/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Triumvirate Systems LLC (Jeffrey M. Gross)
• Original Assignee: Kyklos Entertainment Srl
• Inventors: Forlai, Luigi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kyle, Charles R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Niquette, Robert R
• Application Number:
  US11/806,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20080052160A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,205 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26, 705/70, 705 35- 45
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• 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

Methods and systems are provided for generating a sale offer over an electronic network (e.g., the Internet). Such methods and systems may be used to increase the revenue of a website by offering, at a substantially discounted or virtually free basis, one or more goods and/or services to visitors of the website. In one implementation, the seller may transmit a sale offer on the website for a high quality good or service, wherein the good or service can be purchased for free or at a cost near zero. The seller may make the offer visible and available to prospective buyers, who are connected to the website at that moment. Additionally, the sale offer may be available for only a very limited amount of time and may be offered at random or unpredictable times on the website in order to increase traffic to the website.

Claims

1. A method of attracting users to an electronic network system by making a sale offer over the electronic network system, comprising:

receiving registration information from one or more individuals, to designate as registered users;

generating an advertisement to obtain a product or service on the electronic network system at a cost substantially equal to a delivery price for delivering the advertised product or service to a recipient, the delivery price being less than a current value of the advertised product or service in a competitive marketplace;

displaying the generated advertisement through the electronic network system to one or more of the registered users in communication with a Web site associated with the electronic network system, the display of the advertisement starting at a time unpredictable by the one or more registered users while visiting the Web site;

completing a sale of the product or service through the electronic network system based on a response to the advertisement by at least one of the registered users within a predetermined period of time; and

removing the advertisement from being displayed through the electronic network system to each one of the registered users that does not respond to the advertisement within the predetermined period of time.

6. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said electronic network system comprises a plurality of nodes each configured for generating one or more advertisements.

7. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the generated advertisement is communicated to registered users based on the presence of a software module operating in conjunction with means for connecting to the electronic network system.

8. A method as set forth in claim 7 wherein said electronic network system comprises the Internet.

9. A method as set forth in claim 8, wherein said software module operates in conjunction with Internet browser software.

10. A method as set forth in claim 9, wherein said software module comprises a plug-in operating in conjunction with the Internet browser software.

11. A method as set forth in claim 8, wherein said software module monitors the particular Web sites visited by a registered user.

12. A method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said monitoring includes communicating information about a visited Web site through the Internet to a sponsor of the advertisement.

13. A method as set forth in claim 12, wherein the advertisement is communicated to a user via said software module.

14. A method as set forth in claim 13, wherein the advertisement is displayed only if a registered user is browsing a Web site associated with the source of the offer.

2. An apparatus for attracting one or more users to a Web site by facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller, comprising:

a storage device; and

a processor connected to the storage device, wherein said storage device stores a program for controlling the processor, and said processor is operative with the program for;

receiving registration information from one or more individuals, to designate as registered users;

providing, on a Web site, starting at a time unpredictable by one or more of the registered users while visiting the Web site, a notice of a generated sale offer to obtain a product or service at a sale price substantially equal to a delivery price for providing the product or service to the one or more registered users, the delivery price being less than a current value of the product or service in a competitive marketplace, and an acceptance form;

receiving the acceptance form completed by at least one registered user, the completed acceptance form being received in response to the sale offer;

receiving a payment identifier from one of the registered users, the payment identifier being associated with the sale offer;

and

providing payment to the seller by using the payment identifier.

15. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein the notice of the generated sale offer is viewable in conjunction with a program operating on a system used by the one or more registered users to view the Web site.

16. An apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein the program comprises a Web browser program.

3. An apparatus for attracting user traffic to an electronic system by comprising:

a receiving device for receiving registration information from one or more individuals, to designate as registered users;

a sale offer generating device configured for generating an offer to obtain a product or service at an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price associated with providing the product or service to a recipient, the delivery price being less than a current value of the offered product or service in a competitive marketplace;

a communication device configured to communicate the generated offer at the offer price through the electronic system starting at a time unpredictable by one or more of the registered users while in communication with a Web site associated with the electronic system; and

a processing system configured for completing the sale of the product or service at the offer price through the electronic system in response to an acceptance of the offer by the at least one registered user in communication with the Web site associated with the electronic system within a predetermined period of time,

wherein the processing system is configured to remove the offer from the Web site associated with the electronic system when the at least one registered user either accepts the offer, or does not indicate acceptance of the offer within the predetermined period of time.

4. An apparatus for attracting user traffic to a Web site comprising:

a communication device configured to receive registration information from one or more individuals, to designate as registered users;

a processing system configured to allow a sale offer parameter to be inputted into an electronic system by a seller and generating at least one sale offer to at least one registered user in communication with a Web site to obtain a product or service based on the sale offer parameter inputted by the seller, the sale offer being less than a current value of the offered product or service in a competitive marketplace; and

a display generating device configured for displaying the at least one sale offer to a registered user in communication with the Web site starting at a period of time unpredictable by the registered user while visiting the Web site,

wherein the processing system is configured to withdraw the generated sale offer from being displayed, either when the registered user accepts the sale offer or in the event the registered user does not indicate acceptance of the generated sale offer within a predetermined period of time after the display generating device has displayed the generated sale offer.

5. A system for attracting one or more users to view advertisements on an Internet web site, comprising:

a communication device for receiving registration information from one or more individuals, to designate as registered users;

a device for generating an electronic sale offer of a product or service based on at least one parameter defined by an operator of an Internet web site, the electronic sale offer being substantially less than a market value of the offered product or service in a commercial marketplace;

a display generating device for displaying the electronic sale offer of the product or service to one or more registered users visiting the Internet web site at a point in time unpredictable by visitors of the Internet web site; and

a timing device in communication with the generating device and the display generating device, for withdrawing the displayed sale offer from the Internet web site if one or more registered users either accept the offer or do not indicate acceptance of the offer within a predetermined period of time.

17. A method of attracting users to view advertisements on an electronic network system comprising:

receiving registration information from one or more individuals, to designate as registered users;

displaying, on a Web site associated with the electronic network system, at least one offer to accept a product or service at an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price for providing the offered product or service to one of the registered users visiting the Web site, the display of the offer starting at a time unpredictable by the one or more registered users while visiting the Web site, the delivery price being less than a current value of the product or service in a competitive marketplace;

providing an opportunity for at least one registered user visiting the electronic network system to accept the at least one displayed offer at the offer price within a limited duration of time;

receiving an indication of acceptance of the displayed offer at the offer price from at least one registered user visiting the electronic network system;

completing the sale of the product or service through the electronic network system in response to an acceptance of the offer by the at least one registered user visiting the Web site associated with the electronic network system; and

removing the offer from the Web site associated with the electronic network system should the at least one registered user visiting the Web site either accept the offer or not accept the offer within the limited duration of time.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of displaying the offer includes the step of utilizing a random frequency device for displaying the at least one sale offer in an unpredictable manner.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of displaying the offer includes randomly displaying a plurality of offers on the electronic network system during a predetermined period of time, the electronic network system comprising one or more Web sites.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising controlling the frequency of displaying a plurality of offers on the electronic network system to increase the amount of user traffic visiting the electronic network system, the electronic network system comprising one or more Web sites.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising selecting one of a plurality of different types of products or services offered based on a profile of the registered user visiting the electronic network system.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the profile of the registered user is based on a history of Internet web sites visited by the registered user.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein displaying an offer includes displaying a first type of product or service that matches content displayed at a first Web site associated with the electronic network system and displaying a second type of product or service that matches content displayed at a second Web site associated with the electronic network system.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising increasing the frequency of displaying a plurality of offers on the electronic network system when the amount of user traffic visiting the electronic network system increases, the electronic network system comprising one or more Web sites.

25. A method of attracting users to view advertisements on an electronic network system, the method comprising:

receiving registration information from one or more individuals, to designate as registered users;

utilizing a random frequency device for displaying an offer to a selected one of the registered users on a Web site associated with the electronic network system to accept a discounted product or service at a price substantially equal to the delivery price of the product or service, the displayed offer having a start time that is unpredictable by the registered users while visiting the Web site and the selected registered user being selected from any of the registered users, the delivery price of the product or service being less than a current value of the offer product or service in a competitive marketplace;

providing an opportunity for the selected registered user of the electronic network system to accept the displayed offer within a predetermined duration of time;

receiving an indication of acceptance of the randomly displayed offer from the selected registered user on the electronic network system;

completing the sale of the product or service through the electronic network system in response to an acceptance of the offer by the selected registered user on the electronic network system; and

removing the offer from the Web site associated with the electronic network system either when the selected registered user accepts the offer or does not accept the offer within the predetermined duration of time.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising controlling the frequency of displaying a plurality of offers on the electronic network system to attract users to view advertisements on the electronic network system, the electronic network system comprising one or more Web sites.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising selecting one of a plurality of different types of products or services offered based on a profile of the selected registered user on the electronic network system, the electronic network system comprising one or more Web sites.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the profile of the selected registered user on the electronic network system is based on a history of Internet web sites visited by the selected registered user on the electronic network system.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the electronic network system comprises a plurality of rooms each displaying a different type of content, and the step of generating an offer includes displaying a first type of product or service that matches content displayed at a first room within the electronic network system and displaying a second type of product or service that matches content displayed at a second room within the electronic network system.