Automated billing and distribution platform for application providers

• US 7,826,822 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2009
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SMS AC Incorporated
• Original Assignee: SMS AC Incorporated
• Inventors: Pousti, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang; Kent
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siddiqui; Kashif
• Application Number:
  US12/620,507
• Publication Number:
  US 20100130163A1
• Time in Patent Office: 350 Days
• Field of Search: 455406-408, 455/414.1, 37911401-132, 705 39- 40, 705 50- 59, 725 1- 8
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/06 Recording class or number of calling , i.e. A-party or called party , i.e. B-party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/51 for resellers, retailers or service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/52 for operator independent billing system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/53 using mediation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0172 Mediation, i.e. device or program to reformat CDRS from one or more switches in order to adapt to one or more billing programs formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/54 Resellers-retail or service providers billing, e.g. agreements with telephone service operator, activation, charging/recharging of accounts

Abstract

Integrating a network-enabled application with a platform having a plurality of users and a plurality of communication channels with a respective plurality of wireless network carriers, including receiving a request from a third-party provider to integrate a network-enabled application with the platform, receiving a set of registration data corresponding to the network-enabled application from the third-party provider, the set of registration data including a link to an application location for accessing the network-enabled application, receiving a set of pricing structure data corresponding to the network-enabled application from the third-party provider, updating a system database in the platform to include the set of registration data and the pricing structure data corresponding to the network-enabled application, and enabling the network-enabled application to be accessible to the plurality of users via a networked interface operated by the platform.

Claims

1. A method for integrating a network-enabled application with a platform that hosts a social networking site having a plurality of users and that includes a plurality of communication channels for communicating with a respective plurality of wireless carriers, the method comprising:

a web page establishment step of establishing, on the social networking site, a user profile web page associated with each of the plurality of users;

a application access step of making a plurality of network-enabled applications available, in the social networking site, to the plurality of users via an area on the social networking site and allowing each of the plurality of users the ability to place one of the plurality of network-enabled application on their web page and to access or use the network-enabled application on the web-page;

a request receipt step of receiving, at the platform, a request from a third-party provider to integrate a network-enabled application to be included in the plurality of network-enabled applications with the social networking site;

a registration data receipt step of receiving, at the platform, a set of registration data corresponding to the network-enabled application from the third-party provider, the set of registration data including a link to an application location to enable the plurality of users to access the network-enabled application;

a pricing structure data receipt step of receiving, at the platform, a set of pricing structure data corresponding to the network-enabled application from the third-party provider;

a database update step of updating a system database in the platform to include the set of registration data corresponding to the network-enabled application and to include the pricing structure data corresponding to the network-enabled application; and

an enablement step of enabling the network-enabled application to be accessible to the plurality of users via a networked interface operated by the platform.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein, in the request receipt step, the request is received from the third-party provider through a user interface operated by the platform.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the user interface is a webpage.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein the user interface is an application downloaded from the platform.

5. A method according to claim 2, wherein the user interface is a mobile phone application.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein, in the registration data receipt step, the set of registration data is received from the third-party provider through a registration webpage operated by the platform.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the set of registration data includes an application identifier corresponding to the network-enabled application, and a provider identifier corresponding to the third-party.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein, in the pricing structure data receipt step, the pricing structure data is received from the third-party provider through a pricing structure webpage operated by the platform.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the pricing structure data includes a number of text messages to be sent by the network-enabled application, and a frequency at which the number of text messages are to be sent.

10. A method according to claim 8, wherein the pricing structure data conforms to one of a plurality of predetermined pricing structure templates that are presented in the pricing structure webpage operated by the platform.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein, in the pricing structure data receipt step, the pricing structure data includes a plurality of price bands corresponding to a plurality of localities based upon currency exchange rates and/or cost-of-living indices.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the platform includes an application interface platform and wherein, in the enablement step, the network-enabled application is integrated with the platform via the application interface platform.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the platform includes a message management system for sending messages to the plurality of users via the plurality of communication channels with the respective plurality of wireless carriers and wherein, in the enablement step, a message communication channel is established between the network-enabled application and the message management system.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein, in the enablement step, the networked interface is an application webpage that is operated by the platform and that includes an application identifier corresponding to the network-enabled application.

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein, in the enablement step, the networked interface includes an application that is downloadable from the platform to at least one mobile device.

16. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a statistics collecting step of collecting statistics regarding one or more of the plurality of users who access the network-enabled application.

17. A method according to claim 1, wherein the network-enabled application is selected from the group consisting of music data, video data, plaintext data or markup language data.

18. A platform for supporting a social networking site and a network-enabled application, comprising:

a plurality of communication channels for communicating with a respective plurality of wireless carriers, each of the wireless carriers having a plurality of users;

at least one interface having access to the internet to enable a plurality of social networking users to access the social networking site;

at least one processor; and

at least one computer readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for integrating the network-enabled application with the platform, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by the one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform;

a web page establishment step of establishing, on the social networking site, a user profile web page associated with each of the plurality of social networking users;

a application access step of making the network-enabled application available, in the social networking site, to the plurality of social networking users via an area on the social networking site and allowing each of the plurality of social networking users the ability to place one of the network-enabled application on their web page and to access or use the network-enabled application on the web-page;

a request receipt step of receiving, at the platform, a request from a third-party provider to integrate the network-enabled application to be included in the plurality of network-enabled applications with the social networking site;

a registration data receipt step of receiving, at the platform, a set of registration data corresponding to the network-enabled application from the third-party provider, the set of registration data including a link to an application location to enable the plurality of social networking users to access the network-enabled application;

a pricing structure data receipt step of receiving, at the platform, a set of pricing structure data corresponding to the network-enabled application from the third-party provider;

a database update step of updating a system database in the platform to include the set of registration data corresponding to the network-enabled application and to include the pricing structure data corresponding to the network-enabled application; and

an enablement step of enabling the network-enabled application to be accessible to the plurality of users via a networked interface operated by the platform.

19. A platform according to claim 18, wherein, in the request receipt step, the request is received from the third-party provider through a webpage operated by the platform.

20. A platform according to claim 18, wherein, in the registration data receipt step, the set of registration data is received from the third-party provider through a registration webpage operated by the platform.

21. A platform according to claim 20, wherein the set of registration data includes an application identifier corresponding to the network-enabled application, and a provider identifier corresponding to the third-party.

22. A platform according to claim 18, wherein, in the pricing structure data receipt step, the pricing structure data is received from the third-party provider through a pricing structure webpage operated by the platform.

23. A platform according to claim 22, wherein the pricing structure data includes a number of text messages to be sent by the network-enabled application, and a frequency at which the number of text messages are to be sent.

24. A platform according to claim 22, wherein the pricing structure data conforms to one of a plurality of predetermined pricing structure templates that are presented in the pricing structure webpage operated by the platform.

25. A platform according to claim 18, wherein, in the pricing structure data .receipt step, the pricing structure data includes a plurality of price bands corresponding to a plurality of localities based upon currency exchange rates and/or cost-of-living indices.

26. A platform according to claim 18, wherein the platform includes an application interface platform and wherein, in the enablement step, the network-enabled application is integrated with the platform via the application interface platform.

27. A platform according to claim 18, wherein the platform includes a message management system for sending messages to the plurality of users via the plurality of communication .channels with the respective plurality of wireless carriers and wherein, in the enablement step, a message communication channel is established between the network-enabled application and the message management system.

28. A platform according to claim 18, wherein, in the enablement step, the networked interface is an application webpage that is operated by the platform and that includes an application identifier corresponding to the network-enabled application.

29. A platform according to claim 18, wherein, in the enablement step, the networked interface includes an application that is downloadable from the platform to at least one mobile device.

30. A platform according to claim 18, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by the one or more processors causes the one or more processors to further perform a statistics collecting step of collecting statistics regarding one or more of the plurality of users who access the network-enabled application.

31. A platform according to claim 18, wherein the network-enabled application is selected from the group consisting of music data, video data, plaintext data or markup language data.