Package billing for micro-transactions

• US 7,848,736 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2007
• Issued: 12/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SMS AC Incorporated
• Original Assignee: SMS AC Incorporated
• Inventors: Pousti, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): MITCHELL, NATHAN A
• Application Number:
  US11/654,373
• Publication Number:
  US 20080009263A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,420 Days
• Field of Search: 455406-408, 455/403, 455/466, 705/26, 705/27, 705/1.1
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system for billing a mobile device user for a services and/or products requested by the user, in which a message request is received from the mobile service that is directed to the mobile device user, and wherein the mobile phone user is charged only once for a predefined amount or number of message-related services or products, thereby making the billing experience clearer to the user.

Claims

1. A method for billing a mobile device user for a service, application, content, information, product, or some combination thereof (services) requested by the mobile device user, the method comprising the steps of:

making the services available through an online community;

receiving a request from the mobile device user for the services;

determining if a predefined package of premium messages and standard messages corresponding to a package price is associated with the requested services and the mobile device user;

processing, in the event that a predefined package of premium messages and standard messages corresponding to a package price is associated with the requested services, the received request by;

determining if the received request is the first request associated with the predefined package;

causing, in the event that the received message is the first request associated with the predefined package, a premium message containing a price code that represents the package price to be sent to the mobile device user; and

causing, in the event that the received request is not the first request associated with the predefined package, a standard message which does not contain a price code to be sent to the mobile device user; and

processing, in the event that a predefined package of premium messages and standard messages corresponding to a package price is not associated with the requested services, the received request by causing a premium message containing a price code that represents a single-message price which is different than the package price to be sent to the mobile device user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the first determining step, stored data corresponding to the mobile device user is accessed to make the determination of whether the mobile device user has requested a mobile service that utilizes a predefined package of premium messages and standard messages corresponding to a package price is associated with the requested services.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the stored data is maintained in a database and includes data corresponding to the services requested by that user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the second determining step, stored data corresponding to the mobile device user is accessed to make the determination of whether the received request is the first request associated with the predefined package.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the stored data is maintained in a database and includes a message credit balance that corresponds to a number of remaining standard messages that are allowed to the user according to the predefined package of premium messages and standard messages.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the requested services correspond to audio or video or photographic or audiovisual files.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the requested services correspond to songs.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein requested services correspond to videos.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the requested services correspond to messages selected from the group consisting of:

stock prices, weather data, horoscope data, blogs, “

how to”

content, applications, data corresponding to Beauty, Health and Wellness, Dating and Relationships, Developer Tools, Education and Reference, Entertainment, Finance, Flash Applications, Flash Games, Flash Movies, Games, Inspirational, Maps, Directions and Travel, Miscellaneous, Mobile Blogs, News, Weather, Shopping, Sports, Ringtones and combinations of the above.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the premium messages and standard messages correspond to services.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the predefined package provides a predefined number of premium messages, standard messages, or a combination, to be received by the user over a predefined time period.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the predefined package is renewed periodically.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the period is selected from the group consisting of:

monthly, weekly, and yearly.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the renewal occurs via sending a premium message to the user.

15. A system for billing a mobile device user for a service, application, content, information, product, or some combination thereof (services) requested by the user, the system comprising:

a user area of an on-line community configured to provide access to a plurality of services to a plurality of users, including the mobile device user;

a message interface unit in communication with multiple mobile phone carriers and the user area;

a database unit in communication with the message interface unit and the user area, the database unit containing price data corresponding to the services requested by the user and indicating whether the services are associated with a predefined package of premium messages and standard messages corresponding to a package price, and also containing message balance data indicating a message credit balance that corresponds to a number of remaining standard messages that are allowed to the mobile device user according to the predefined package of premium messages and standard messages; and

a database billing engine unit that operates in conjunction with the database, the database engine unit executing code to perform the steps of;

receiving information related to a request for the services by the mobile device user;

determining if a predefined package of premium messages and standard messages corresponding to a package price is associated with the requested services and the mobile device user;

processing, in the event that a predefined package of premium messages and standard messages corresponding to a package price is associated with the requested services, the received request by;

determining if the received request is the first associated with the predefined package;

in the event that the received request is the first associated with the predefined package, then causing a premium message containing a price code that represents the package price to be sent to the user;

in the event that the received request is not the first associated with the predefined package, then causing a standard message which does not contain a price code to be sent to the user; and

processing, in the event that the requested service is not associated with a predefined package of premium messages and standard messages corresponding to a package price, the received message request by causing a premium message containing a price code that represents a single-message price which is different than the package price to be sent to the user.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the requested services correspond to audio or video or photographic or audiovisual files.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the requested services correspond to songs.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the requested services correspond to videos.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the requested services correspond to messages selected from the group consisting of:

stock prices, weather data, horoscope data, blogs, “

how to”

content, applications, data corresponding to Beauty, Health and Wellness, Dating and Relationships, Developer Tools, Education and Reference, Entertainment, Finance, Flash Applications, Flash Games, Flash Movies, Games, Inspirational, Maps, Directions and Travel, Miscellaneous, Mobile Blogs, News, Weather, Shopping, Sports, Ringtones and combinations of the above.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the message interface is further configured to receive information related to the requested services that includes billing information including any packaged billing information and to send a message to a mobile phone carrier associated with the mobile device user including the billing information.