Method and apparatus for an electronic marketplace for services having a collaborative workspace
First Claim
1. A computer implemented method of fulfilling projects comprising:
- accepting project postings from one or more buyers;
allowing a seller to browse through the project postings and to make a bid on a project;
allowing a buyer to accept the bid from the seller;
creating an online collaborative workspace for a project that is accessible by both the buyer and the seller, wherein the online collaborative workspace is created prior to the buyer receiving the bid from the seller; and
maintaining the accessibility of the online collaborative workspace when the online collaborative workspace is not being accessed by the buyer and the seller.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for buying and selling services online includes a process for custom services, a commodity process and a collaborative workspace on a website. The process for custom services includes the posting by a buyer of specific criteria for a desired service, the bidding by a seller to perform the service, and the selection of a seller by the buyer. The commodity process includes the posting by a seller of a service offering, the posting by the buyer of requirements for the purchase of the service offering, and the purchase of a service offering by the buyer. The commodity process may also include an optimization process that provides the buyer with an optimized list of service offerings. The collaborative workspace includes communication tools, a file structure, workbenches and project management tools used by the buyer and seller for facilitating the setup, development and release of one or more services.
159 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method of fulfilling projects comprising:
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accepting project postings from one or more buyers; allowing a seller to browse through the project postings and to make a bid on a project; allowing a buyer to accept the bid from the seller; creating an online collaborative workspace for a project that is accessible by both the buyer and the seller, wherein the online collaborative workspace is created prior to the buyer receiving the bid from the seller; and maintaining the accessibility of the online collaborative workspace when the online collaborative workspace is not being accessed by the buyer and the seller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer implemented method of fulfilling projects comprising:
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accepting project postings from one or more buyers; allowing a seller to browse through the project postings and to make a bid on a project; allowing a buyer to accept the bid from the seller; creating an online collaborative workspace for a project that is accessible by both the buyer and the seller; maintaining the accessibility of the online collaborative workspace when the online collaborative workspace is not being accessed by the buyer and the seller; and generating a user specific page, wherein the user specific page; allows a user to be both a selling entity and a buying entity of services; allows the user to initiate selling activities including posting a fix price service offer and bidding on at least one request for proposal (RFP) from buyers; and allows the user to initiate buying activities including posting a RFP and browsing through service offers from sellers. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification