Method and system for monetizing content

• US 8,244,593 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2009
• Issued: 08/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pure Verticals, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pure Verticals, Inc.
• Inventors: Klinger, Theresa, Wada, Ariel
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zukanovich, Brandy A
• Application Number:
  US12/456,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20090265257A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/26.1, 705/26.7, 705/27.1
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering

Abstract

An e-commerce system, comprising an endorsement engine, a first interface software coupled to the endorsement engine and adapted to interact with one or more content sources connected over a network and adapted to enable subscriptions from users using a protocol, and a second interface software coupled to the endorsement engine and adapted to interact with one or more merchants to receive information about products, is disclosed. In an embodiment, the first interface software enables an endorsing user to browse the content sources and select a content item, to enter code associated with the selected content element, to view product information provided by merchants, to select a product for endorsement, and to enter code associated with the selected product. Upon retrieval of content by a viewing user who previously subscribed to the content source using the protocol, at least one of the content-specific code and the product-specific code is also provided to the viewing user via the protocol. Upon activation of the content-specific code, the viewing user is connected to the selected content and is able to view the selected content, and upon activation of the product-specific code by a viewing user, the viewing user is connected to a network-connected shopping cart, and is thereby enabled to buy the product.

Claims

1. An e-commerce system, comprising:

an endorsement engine executing on a network-connected server and adapted to enable subscriptions to content from the endorsement engine from users a using a syndication feed protocol; and

a first interface software executing on the same or another network-connected server coupled to the endorsement engine and adapted to interact with one or more content sources connected over a network, said content sources located remotely from the endorsement engine and hosting non-advertising content items of a plurality of content types and adapted to enable subscriptions to their content from users using the syndication feed protocol; and

a second interface software executing on the same or another network-connected server coupled to the endorsement engine and adapted to interact with one or more merchants connected over a network to receive information concerning at least products available for sale;

wherein the first interface software enables an endorsing user to browse the content sources and to select a content item of a particular content type from one of the content sources, and the first interface software enables the endorsing user to enter code associated with the selected content item, and the first interface software enables the endorsing user to view product information concerning products made available for endorsement by one or more merchants via the second interface software, and to select a product for endorsement, and the first interface software enables the endorsing user to enter code associated with the selected product, the product-specific code compatible with the content type of the selected content item; and

wherein upon retrieval of content by a viewing user who previously subscribed to the content source using the syndication feed protocol, at least one of the content-specific code and the product-specific code is also provided to the viewing user via the syndication feed protocol; and

wherein upon the activation of the code associated with the selected content item by a viewing user, the viewing user is connected to the selected content still located at its original content source and is able to view the selected content while still connected to the first interface software; and

wherein upon the activation of the product-specific code by a viewing user, the viewing user is connected to a network-connected shopping cart, and is thereby enabled to buy the product.