Systems and methods for pricing and selling digital goods
First Claim
1. A system for vending copies of a digital work, the system including:
- a computer system for receiving a plurality of bids from a plurality of bidders, wherein a maximum number of copies of the digital work subject to vending is not specified in advance of receiving the plurality of bids;
a memory for storing the bids;
bid sampling logic for selecting (i) a bid from a bidder, and (ii) a sample of one or more bids from the plurality of bids, wherein the sample does not include the bid from the bidder;
a processor for deriving a threshold from the sample of bids, and for comparing the bid of the bidder with the threshold to determine whether to vend a copy of the digital work to the bidder as a function of the comparison, the threshold chosen to maximize a quantity obtained by multiplying (a) a number of bids in the sample that exceed the threshold by (b) a bid value of a highest bid in the sample that is less than or equal to the threshold; and
a network interface unit for sending a copy of the digital work to the bidder.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for pricing, selling, and/or otherwise distributing electronic content using auction mechanisms. A randomized auction mechanism is used to determine both the number of goods that are sold and the selling price. The auction mechanism automatically adapts to the bid distribution to yield revenue that is competitive with that which could be obtained if the vendor were able to determine the optimal fixed price for the goods. In one embodiment a set of bids is randomly or quasi-randomly partitioned into two or more groups. An optimal threshold is determined for each group, and this threshold is then used to select winning bids from one or more of the other groups. In another embodiment, each bid is compared to a competing bid that is randomly or quasi-randomly selected from the set of bids. If the bid is less than the randomly-selected competing bid, the bid is rejected. Otherwise, the bid is accepted and the bidder buys the auctioned item at the price of the randomly-selected bid.
93 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system for vending copies of a digital work, the system including:
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a computer system for receiving a plurality of bids from a plurality of bidders, wherein a maximum number of copies of the digital work subject to vending is not specified in advance of receiving the plurality of bids; a memory for storing the bids; bid sampling logic for selecting (i) a bid from a bidder, and (ii) a sample of one or more bids from the plurality of bids, wherein the sample does not include the bid from the bidder; a processor for deriving a threshold from the sample of bids, and for comparing the bid of the bidder with the threshold to determine whether to vend a copy of the digital work to the bidder as a function of the comparison, the threshold chosen to maximize a quantity obtained by multiplying (a) a number of bids in the sample that exceed the threshold by (b) a bid value of a highest bid in the sample that is less than or equal to the threshold; and a network interface unit for sending a copy of the digital work to the bidder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification