Automated billing and distribution platform for application providers
First Claim
1. A method for billing a user for the use of a network-enabled application that is integrated with a social networking site having a plurality of users and a plurality of communication channels 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;
an 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 billing event detection step of detecting, in the social networking site, a billing event generated by a network-enabled application for access to or use of the network enabled application by a user, the billing event containing an identification code corresponding to the user;
a billing validation step of validating, in the social networking site, the billing event generated by the network-enabled application by determining if the billing event is in accordance with a predetermined pricing structure corresponding to the network-enabled application;
a billing message step of sending, in the case that the billing event is determined to be valid in the billing validation step, a billing message from the social networking site to an external billing mechanism, the billing message containing a billing amount which the external billing mechanism is to bill the user; and
a billing event discard step of discarding, in the case that the billing event is determined to be invalid in the billing validation step, the billing event from the social networking site.
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Accused Products
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.
39 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method for billing a user for the use of a network-enabled application that is integrated with a social networking site having a plurality of users and a plurality of communication channels with a respective plurality of wireless carriers, the method comprising:
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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; an 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 billing event detection step of detecting, in the social networking site, a billing event generated by a network-enabled application for access to or use of the network enabled application by a user, the billing event containing an identification code corresponding to the user; a billing validation step of validating, in the social networking site, the billing event generated by the network-enabled application by determining if the billing event is in accordance with a predetermined pricing structure corresponding to the network-enabled application; a billing message step of sending, in the case that the billing event is determined to be valid in the billing validation step, a billing message from the social networking site to an external billing mechanism, the billing message containing a billing amount which the external billing mechanism is to bill the user; and a billing event discard step of discarding, in the case that the billing event is determined to be invalid in the billing validation step, the billing event from the social networking site. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A platform for supporting a social networking site and a network-enabled application and for billing a user for the use of the network-enabled application, comprising:
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a plurality of communication channels to 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 social networking site and billing a user for the use of the network-enabled application, 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; an 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 billing event detection step of detecting, in the social networking site, a billing event generated by the network-enabled application, the billing event containing an identification code corresponding to a user; a billing validation step of validating, in the social networking site, the billing event generated by the network-enabled application by determining if the billing event is in accordance with a predetermined pricing structure corresponding to the network-enabled application; a billing message step of sending, in the case that the billing event is determined to be valid in the billing validation step, a billing message from the platform to an external billing mechanism, the billing message containing a billing amount which the external billing mechanism bills to the user; and a billing event discard step of discarding, in the case that the billing event is determined to be invalid in the billing validation step, the billing event from the social networking site. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification