Computerized transaction bargaining system

• US 7,831,480 B2
• Filed: 10/13/2006
• Issued: 11/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cybersettle Holding Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cybersettle Holdings, Inc. (CyberSettle, Inc)
• Inventors: Burchetta, James D., Brofman, Charles S.
• Primary Examiner(s): DUNHAM, JASON B
• Application Number:
  US11/549,443
• Publication Number:
  US 20070118486A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,488 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/35, 705/80
• US Class Current: 705/26.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0619 Neutral agent
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• 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 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

A method and system for automated bargaining is disclosed. The method and system are used in testing non-equal values in normal rounds for satisfaction of a condition. If the condition is not satisfied in the normal rounds, power round values are tested for satisfaction of a power round condition. If the power round condition is satisfied, a binding bargained payment is calculated. Additional options involve an automated facilitator, windfalls to initiators, automatic payment initiation, multiparty aggregation and automatic agreement document generation.

Claims

1. A system for automated bargaining comprising:

a processor adapted to process offers and counter-offers;

means for introducing to the processor, via a communications linkage, information identifying a transaction, a series of offers to satisfy a transaction made by or on behalf of a person involved in the transaction, a series of counter-offers satisfy the transaction, for the transaction by an entity opposite to the person for the transaction;

settable means for indicating whether or not to perform a power round comparison;

memory, accessible by the processor, for storing the information identifying the transaction, and for temporarily storing the series of offers to satisfy the transaction and the series of counter-offers to satisfy the transaction, for use by the processor in a series of rounds, without disclosure of the series of offers to the opposite entity or series of counter-offers to the person;

agreement means for indicating, when set, bargained agreements and calculating bargained values as a result thereof such that, when the agreement means is set for a round, the agreement means will calculate a bargained value equal to;

(a) a first amount, in accordance with a first preestablished formula, if the counter-offer in the round is less than the offer and within a preestablished percentage of the offer in the round,

(b) the offer, if the counter-offer in any round is the same as or greater than the offer, or

(c) a second amount in accordance with a second preestablished formula, if the counter-offer is not within the preestablished condition in all rounds but the difference between a particular counter-offer and a corresponding offer is less than a preestablished amount;

comparison means, accessible by the processor, for receiving and comparing offers and counter-offers against each other on a round-by-round basis, in accordance with a preestablished condition, and a power round comparison only when the settable means is set, in accordance with a power round condition, the comparison means setting the agreement means when either the preestablished condition or the power round condition is satisfied, the comparison means operating on the series of offers and series of counter-offers until;

i) the agreement means is set, irrespective of whether the settable means is set,

ii) all of the series of offers and series of counter-offers have been exhausted and the settable means is set, wherein the comparison means will perform a power round comparison of a power round offer with a power round counter-offer against each other in accordance with a preestablished power round condition and set the agreement means to indicate an agreement if the power round condition is satisfied, or

iii) all of the series of offers and series of counter-offers have been exhausted and either the settable means is not set or the power round condition is not satisfied, wherein the comparison means will set the settable means to indicate no agreement;

means for inhibiting a reuse of an unsuccessful offer, or unsuccessful counter-offer, by the comparison means in any round that is not a power round; and

means for communicating an agreement result to the person and the entity.

2. The system of claim 1 where if, in any round, the agreement means is set, means for offering via the communications linkage a bargained payment of a specified value to be paid to the person.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising;

and

means for transmitting via the communication linkage notification of the bargained payment.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for asking at least one of the person or the entity information.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for automatedly generating agreement documents.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for automatedly initiating the bargained payment to whomever of the person or the entity is to be paid.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

facilitator means, constrained by a plurality of rules, for prompting, in accordance with the rules, at least one of the person or the entity prior to introducing one of the series of offers or series of counter-offers into the processor means.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

means for determining whether one of the person or the entity is an initiator.

9. The system of claim 8 further comprising:

means for adjusting the first amount, the offer and the second amount by a windfall differential when one of the person or the entity is the initiator.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

means for on-line initiation of a transfer of the bargained value in accordance with a preference indicated by one of the person or the entity.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

means for generating on-line an agreement document including.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the preestablished percentage is from about 5% to about 50%.

13. The system according to claim 1 wherein the same percentage is applied for one or more of the rounds.

14. The system according to claim 1 wherein the same condition is applied for one or more than one round.

15. The system according to claim 1 wherein the condition used in the rounds can be changed in response to a request received from at least one of the entities.

16. The system according to claim 1 which further comprises a login procedure so that only entities with proper authentication data to use the system can log in.

17. The system according to claim 1 which further comprises providing a response to the parties as to whether or not the offers satisfy the condition only upon entry of authentication data.

18. The system according to claim 1 wherein when the offers and counter-offers are in different currencies, applying a currency converter to convert the offers and counter-offers into a common currency in order to permit a comparison thereof.

19. A system according to claim 1 wherein the system is configured to, before the completion of any given round, allow one offer or counter-offer or a plurality of offers or counter-offers to be submitted by the person or the entity, one such offer or counter-offer corresponding to the present round and each of such other offers or counter-offers corresponding to sequential rounds.

20. The system according to claim 1 wherein the power round condition is the same condition used in one of the preceding rounds.

21. The system according to claim 1 wherein the power round condition is different from the condition of one or more of the preceding rounds.

22. The system of claim 1 wherein the entity is also a person.