Providing multiple configurable usage models for available services

• US 8,005,723 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2010
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ghare, Guarav D., Frederick, Robert, Agrawal, Ashish, Sirota, Peter, Johnson, Don, Jain, Tushar, Barr, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah; Amee A
• Application Number:
  US12/825,241
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/26.1
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3672 initialising or reloading thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

Techniques are described for facilitating interactions between computing systems, such as in accordance with usage models that are configured for available services by the providers of the services. In some situations, the services are Web services, and an electronic Web service (“WS”) marketplace is provided via which third-party WS providers make their WSes available to third-party WS consumers who purchase access to those WSes via the electronic marketplace based on configured usage models selected by the consumers. Some or all of the one or more usage models configured for an available WS may each have associated use prices and/or non-price use conditions, and if so access to those WSes using those usage models may be provided only if a consumer requesting access provides appropriate payment and otherwise satisfies the specified use conditions for a selected usage model.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium whose stored contents cause a computing system to configure access to invocable services, by performing a method comprising:

receiving an indication of a service from a provider that is to be made available to others for remote invocation;

automatically configuring multiple distinct access control groups for use in controlling access of others to the indicated service, the automatic configuring being performed by the computing system and including,

providing information for display to the provider to indicate multiple options for use prices, wherein the multiple indicated use price options include multiple user-selectable predefined types of use prices; and

for each of the groups, determining one or more use conditions for the group and determining a use price for the group that is to be charged for use of the indicated service by others who select the group, wherein the determining of the use price for the group is based at least in part on one or more selections made by the provider of one or more of the indicated multiple use price options, the determined use price being of one of the multiple predefined types of use prices based at least in part on the one or more selections made by the provider; and

facilitating access to the indicated service for remote invocation by others in accordance with the multiple configured access control groups.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein each of the multiple access control groups is a configured usage model.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2 wherein the facilitating of the access to the indicated service for remote invocation by others in accordance with the multiple configured usage models includes, for each received request to invoke the indicated service in accordance with one of the multiple usage models, verifying that the one or more use conditions for the one usage model are satisfied and verifying that payment is available for the use price for the one usage model.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 3 wherein the facilitating of the access to the indicated service for remote invocation by others in accordance with the multiple configured usage models further includes, after verifying for a received request from a user based on use of one of the usage models that the one or more use conditions for the one usage model are satisfied and verifying that payment is available for the use price for the one usage model, invoking the indicated service on behalf of the user and providing a response from the invoking to the user.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2 wherein the configuring of the multiple distinct usage models for the indicated service includes displaying information to the provider to indicate multiple options for use conditions, and wherein the determining of at least one of the use conditions for one of the usage models is based at least in part on one or more selections made by the provider of one or more of the indicated use condition options such that the determined at least one use conditions are to restrict use of the indicated service by others who select the one usage model.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5 wherein the multiple indicated options for use conditions include multiple user-selectable predefined types of use conditions, and wherein the determined at least one use conditions for the one usage model are each of one of the multiple predefined types of use conditions based at least in part on one or more selections made by the provider of those use condition types such that the determined at least one use conditions of the one or more selected use condition types are to restrict use of the indicated service in manners based on those use condition types.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the indicated service is a Web service that is available for remote invocation by users who are unrelated to the provider.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of the computing system.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the contents are instructions that when executed program the computing system to perform the method.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the contents include one or more data structures comprising multiple entries that each correspond to one of multiple types of use prices and multiple types of use conditions.

11. A computing device configured to facilitate access to invocable services, comprising:

one or more processors;

a first component configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, and for each of multiple services available for invocation, determine multiple distinct usage models for use in controlling access of others to the service such that each usage model has one or more use restrictions and has a use price to be charged for use of the service by others who select the usage model, the determining of the multiple distinct usage models for the service including;

presenting information to a user to indicate multiple options for use prices, wherein the multiple indicated use price options include multiple user-selectable predefined types of use prices; and

receiving one or more indications of selections by the user of at least one of the use price options, wherein the use price for each of the usage models of the service is of one of the multiple predefined types of use prices and is determined based at least in part on the one or more indicated selections by the user; and

a second component configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, and for each of multiple received requests to invoke one of the multiple services by a user, facilitate access to the one service by the user if the use restrictions of one of the multiple usage models for the one service are satisfied and if payment is available for the use price of the one usage model.

12. The computing device of claim 11 wherein the determining of the multiple distinct usage models for a service includes presenting information to a user to indicate multiple options for use restrictions, and receiving one or more indications of selections by the user of at least one of the use restriction options.

13. The computing device of claim 12 wherein the multiple indicated options for use restrictions include multiple user-selectable predefined types of use restrictions, and wherein the determined use restrictions for one of the usage models of one of the services include one or more use restrictions that are each of one of the multiple predefined types of use restrictions.

14. The computing device of claim 11 wherein the use restrictions of a usage model for a service are to restrict use of the service by others who select that usage model, and wherein the use price of a usage model for a service is to be charged for use of the service by others who select that usage model.

15. The computing device of claim 11 wherein the multiple services available for invocation are each a Web service that is available for remote invocation from a provider by users who are unrelated to the provider.

16. The computing device of claim 11 wherein the first component is an interface component of a services marketplace, wherein the second component is a service access controller component, and wherein the first and second components each include software instructions for execution in memory of the computing device.

17. The computing device of claim 11 wherein the first component consists of a means for, for each of multiple services available for invocation, determining multiple distinct usage models for use in controlling access of others to the service such that each usage model has one or more use restrictions and has a use price to be charged for use of the service by others who select the usage model, and wherein the second component consists of a means for, for each of multiple received requests to invoke one of the multiple services by a user other than a provider of the one service in accordance with one of the multiple usage models for the one service, facilitating access to the one service by the user if the use restrictions of the one usage model are satisfied and if payment is available for the use price of the one usage model.

18. A computer-implemented method for facilitating access to invocable services, the method comprising:

for each of multiple services available for invocation, determining multiple distinct usage models for use in controlling access of others to the service, each usage model having one or more use restrictions and having a use price to be charged for use of the service by others who select the usage model, wherein the determining of the multiple distinct usage models for one of the multiple services includes presenting information to a user to indicate multiple options for use prices, the multiple indicated use price options including multiple user-selectable predefined types of use prices, and includes receiving one or more indications of selections by the user of at least one of the multiple predefined types of use prices for one of the indicated use price options, and wherein the use price for each of the determined usage models for the one service is of one of the multiple predefined types of use prices and is based at least in part on the one or more indicated selections made by the user; and

for each of multiple received requests to invoke one of the multiple services by a user in accordance with one of the multiple usage models for the one service, automatically facilitating access of the user to the one service by one or more configured computing systems, the automatically facilitating included determining that the use restrictions of the one usage model are satisfied and that payment is available for the use price of the one usage model.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the determining of the multiple distinct usage models for one of the multiple services further includes presenting information to the user to indicate multiple options for use restrictions, the multiple indicated options for use restrictions including multiple user-selectable predefined types of use restrictions, and includes receiving one or more indications of selections by the user of at least one of the multiple predefined types of use restrictions for one of the use restriction options.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the one service is a Web service that is available for remote invocation from a provider by users who are unrelated to the provider, wherein the use restrictions of each of the multiple usage models for the one service are to restrict use of the one service by users who select that usage model, and wherein the use price of each of the multiple usage models for the one service is to be charged for use of the one service by users who select that usage model.