System for interactive participation by remote bidders in live auctions
First Claim
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1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
- receiving, at a computer of a remote bidder, a status message containing real time auction status information regarding a live auction conducted by a human auctioneer in the presence of on-site bidders, said real time auction status information specifying at least a current high bid amount and an asking price for an item being auctioned off by the auctioneer;
extracting the high bid amount and the asking price from the status message via execution of a client program running on the computer of the remote bidder, said client program providing functionality for the remote bidder to monitor and participate in the live auction in real time from a location that is remote from a physical location of the live auction, said high bid amount and asking price being specific values that correspond to a current status of the live auction, said asking price exceeding the high bid amount, and being a value specified by a human proxy who attends the auction;
updating an auction status screen displayed on the computer of the remote bidder to indicate at least the high bid amount and the asking price extracted from the status message, said auction status screen generated by the client program, and including a display element that is selectable by the remote bidder to submit a bid in the amount of said asking price extracted from the status message such that the remote bidder can participate in real time in the live auction;
in response to selection of the display element by the remote bidder, automatically generating, by execution of said client program by the computer of the remote bidder, a bid message representing a bid in the amount of the asking price as extracted from the status message, and transmitting the bid message from the computer of the remote bidder to an auction system, whereby the remote bidder submits said bid without entering a bid amount; and
repeating said steps of receiving a status message, extracting the high bid amount and asking price, and updating the auction status screen, as the live auction progresses such that the auction status screen reveals changes in the high bid amount and asking price over time.
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Abstract
A distributed auction system allows remote bidders to interactively participate by computer in live auctions conducted on-site by an auctioneer. A client program that runs on the computers of the remote bidders displays real time auction status information extracted from status messages, and provides functionality of the remote bidders to submit live bids that are based on such status information. A network of nodes may be used to filter out invalid bids from the remote bidders so that such bids need not be processed by an auction server.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
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receiving, at a computer of a remote bidder, a status message containing real time auction status information regarding a live auction conducted by a human auctioneer in the presence of on-site bidders, said real time auction status information specifying at least a current high bid amount and an asking price for an item being auctioned off by the auctioneer; extracting the high bid amount and the asking price from the status message via execution of a client program running on the computer of the remote bidder, said client program providing functionality for the remote bidder to monitor and participate in the live auction in real time from a location that is remote from a physical location of the live auction, said high bid amount and asking price being specific values that correspond to a current status of the live auction, said asking price exceeding the high bid amount, and being a value specified by a human proxy who attends the auction; updating an auction status screen displayed on the computer of the remote bidder to indicate at least the high bid amount and the asking price extracted from the status message, said auction status screen generated by the client program, and including a display element that is selectable by the remote bidder to submit a bid in the amount of said asking price extracted from the status message such that the remote bidder can participate in real time in the live auction; in response to selection of the display element by the remote bidder, automatically generating, by execution of said client program by the computer of the remote bidder, a bid message representing a bid in the amount of the asking price as extracted from the status message, and transmitting the bid message from the computer of the remote bidder to an auction system, whereby the remote bidder submits said bid without entering a bid amount; and repeating said steps of receiving a status message, extracting the high bid amount and asking price, and updating the auction status screen, as the live auction progresses such that the auction status screen reveals changes in the high bid amount and asking price over time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a client program that provides functionality for a remote bidder to participate via computer in real time in a live auction conducted by a human auctioneer in the presence of on-site bidders, the client program configured to run on a computer operated by the remote bidder, and configured to cause the computer to at least:
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process status messages received by the computer from an auction system associated with the live auction, said auction status messages including real time auction status information, including information regarding bids accepted by the auctioneer from on-site bidders present at the live auction and including asking prices entered by a human proxy based on communications from the auctioneer; extract the real time auction status information, including the asking prices, from the status messages; update an auction status screen displayed on said computer with the real time auction status information extracted from the status messages such that the remote bidder can monitor the live auction in real time; and provide an option for the remote bidder to submit live bids corresponding to current asking prices associated with the live auction, said option provided on said computer using the asking prices extracted from the status messages such that the remote bidder can, via selection of a display element, submit a bid for the current asking price without having to enter said current asking price, said current asking price exceeding a current high bid amount. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification