System and method for an on-line industry auction site
First Claim
1. A system for conducting and facilitating transactions in a commodity goods marketplace or industry, comprising:
- an auction site for conducting and facilitating transactions in a selected industry, the auction site connected to a global computer network and accessible via a standard Web browser, wherein the auction site enables private auctions;
a pre-qualifier for pre-qualifying users, wherein after successful pre-qualification, a user is granted access to a private auction on the auction site;
a message notifying delivery component for automatically sending electronic messages to users, the electronic messages notifying the users of information specific to an auction, wherein time of day information is presented in a user'"'"'s local time zone;
an auction representative interface for;
(1) posting an auction to the auction site by an authorized auction representative, (2) creating users, (3) managing users, and (4) initiating invitations to users to join a scheduled auction; and
a user interface for;
(1) selecting an auction on the auction site, where a list of auctions from which a user selects an auction comprises auctions to which the user has been invited, (2) bidding for an item in a selected auction, wherein a bid is valid if it meets a predetermined criteria, the predetermined criteria comprising a determination of whether (a) the bid is made within a selected time interval, (b) a numerical difference between the bid and a current winning bid is greater than a selected threshold, and (c) the bidding user is authorized, and wherein only valid bids are accepted by the auction site;
(3) viewing previous bids in a selected auction, where for a viewed bid, information used to identify the user who placed the viewed bid remains hidden to other users, but is open to authorized auction representative personnel, and (4) enabling a first user to “
auto bid”
during an auction, where an auto bid allows the first user to specify a maximum bid above a current bid, and increases the first user'"'"'s bid by a pre-specified minimum bid up to the specified maximum bid when a second user outbids the first user, wherein, if presented in the user interface, time of day information is presented in a user'"'"'s local time zone.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for providing an on-line auction, which may be part of a larger on-line community, for conducting and facilitating transactions in a commodity goods marketplace or industry. An embodiment of the present invention provides a World Wide Web (“Web”) based auction site for conducting and facilitating transactions in an industry. The auction-based model allows a supplier to sell or buy goods closer to a real market price than the current method of offering the commodity via telephone, facsimile, or electronic mail (e-mail). The users receive automatic e-mails notifying them of the status of an auction. E-mails and on-line screens show time of day information in a user'"'"'s local time zone. The end time of auction is automatically extended when there is activity close to the prescheduled end time. Both forward and reverse auctions are enabled.
150 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A system for conducting and facilitating transactions in a commodity goods marketplace or industry, comprising:
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an auction site for conducting and facilitating transactions in a selected industry, the auction site connected to a global computer network and accessible via a standard Web browser, wherein the auction site enables private auctions;
a pre-qualifier for pre-qualifying users, wherein after successful pre-qualification, a user is granted access to a private auction on the auction site;
a message notifying delivery component for automatically sending electronic messages to users, the electronic messages notifying the users of information specific to an auction, wherein time of day information is presented in a user'"'"'s local time zone;
an auction representative interface for;
(1) posting an auction to the auction site by an authorized auction representative, (2) creating users, (3) managing users, and (4) initiating invitations to users to join a scheduled auction; and
a user interface for;
(1) selecting an auction on the auction site, where a list of auctions from which a user selects an auction comprises auctions to which the user has been invited, (2) bidding for an item in a selected auction, wherein a bid is valid if it meets a predetermined criteria, the predetermined criteria comprising a determination of whether (a) the bid is made within a selected time interval, (b) a numerical difference between the bid and a current winning bid is greater than a selected threshold, and (c) the bidding user is authorized, and wherein only valid bids are accepted by the auction site;
(3) viewing previous bids in a selected auction, where for a viewed bid, information used to identify the user who placed the viewed bid remains hidden to other users, but is open to authorized auction representative personnel, and (4) enabling a first user to “
auto bid”
during an auction, where an auto bid allows the first user to specify a maximum bid above a current bid, and increases the first user'"'"'s bid by a pre-specified minimum bid up to the specified maximum bid when a second user outbids the first user,wherein, if presented in the user interface, time of day information is presented in a user'"'"'s local time zone. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for enabling transactions in a commodity goods marketplace or industry, comprising:
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posting, by an authorized user (auction representative), an auction to an auction site for conducting and facilitating transactions in a selected industry, the auction site connected to a global computer network and accessible via a standard Web browser, wherein the auction site enables private auctions, and wherein posting further comprises scheduling the auction;
creating users, by an auction representative, on the auction site, each user being a member of at least one group, wherein each group has access to at least one selected auction, and wherein a user has access to auctions associated with a user'"'"'s group, but does not have access to auctions not associated with the user'"'"'s group, and wherein users are for pre-qualified before being granted access to a private auction on the auction site;
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managing users, by an auction representative, for adding, modifying and deleting users from the auction site and selected auctions;
initiating invitations to users to join a scheduled auction; and
automatically notifying users of auction events by sending electronic messages to the appropriate users, wherein time of day information in the message is presented in a user'"'"'s local time zone.
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22. A method for conducting and facilitating transactions in a commodity goods marketplace or industry, comprising:
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posting, by an authorized user (auction representative), an auction to an auction site for conducting and facilitating transactions in a selected industry, the auction site connected to a global computer network and accessible via a standard Web browser, wherein the auction site enables private auctions, and wherein posting further comprises scheduling the auction;
creating users, by an auction representative, on the auction site, each user being a member of at least one group, wherein each group has access to at least one selected auction, and wherein a user has access to auctions associated with a user'"'"'s group, but does not have access to auctions not associated with the user'"'"'s group, and wherein users are for pre-qualified before being granted access to a private auction on the auction site;
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managing users, by an auction representative, for adding, modifying and deleting users from the auction site and selected auctions;
initiating invitations to users to join a scheduled auction;
automatically notifying users of auction events by sending electronic messages to the appropriate users, wherein time of day information in the message is presented in a user'"'"'s local time zone;
selecting an auction on the auction site, by a bidding user (bidder) where a list of auctions from which the bidder selects an auction comprises auctions to which the bidder has been invited and granted access;
bidding for an item in a selected auction, by a bidder, wherein a bid is valid if it meets a pre-determined criteria, the predetermined criteria comprising a determination of whether (a) the bid is made within a selected time interval, (b) a numerical difference between the bid and a current winning bid is greater than a selected threshold, and (c) the bidding user is authorized, and wherein only valid bids are accepted by the auction site;
viewing previous bids in a selected auction, where for a viewed bid, information used to identity a bidder who placed the viewed bid remains hidden to other bidders, but is open to authorized auction representatives; and
enabling a first bidder to “
auto bid”
during an auction, where an auto bid allows the first bidder to specify a maximum bid above a current bid, and increases the first bidder'"'"'s bid by a pre-specified minimum bid up to the specified maximum bid when a second bidder outbids the first bidder,wherein, if presented to a bidder, time of day information is presented in the bidder'"'"'s local time zone. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification