Method and apparatus for ordering goods, services and content over an internetwork

• US 20060085287A1
• Filed: 11/03/2005
• Published: 04/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SertintyONE Corp.
• Original Assignee: eCharge Corporation
• Inventors: Huang, Jun, Hutchison, Robin B., Begg, Iain M., Fleming, George A., Heinrichs, Denis N., Linkletter, P. Carl, Hagman, Darren W., Dominguez, Roberto, Maydaniuk, Michael T.G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,606,737 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/16 Payments settled via telecommunication systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3829 involving key management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4012 Verifying personal identification numbers [PIN]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1403 Architecture for metering, charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1421 Indication of expected costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1428 Invoice generation, e.g. customization, lay-out, database processing, algorithms for calculating the bill or formatting invoices as WWW pages invoicing in general G06Q30/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1439 time-based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1446 inter-operator billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1453 Methods or systems for payment or settlement of the charges for data transmission involving significant interaction with the data transmission network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1457 using an account
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1471 : splitting of costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1482 : involving use of telephony infrastructure for billing for the transport of data, e.g. call detail record [CDR] or intelligent network infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 : wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/06 : for supporting key management in a packet data network cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management H04L9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 : Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 : Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8207 : Time based data metric aspects, e.g. VoIP or circuit switched packet data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0176 : Billing arrangements using internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 : Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 : Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7813 : Time based data, e.g. VoIP or circuit switched packet data

Abstract

A billing system that allows a consumer to order products from computers connected to the Internet, wherein the consumer is automatically billed for the ordered good or service by its telephone service provider. When a consumer orders a product over the Internet, a plug-in component of the consumer'"'"'s computer establishes an Internet connection to a billing server. A billing server component transfers an encrypted version of the product to the plug-in component. The plug-in component then disconnects from the Internet and establishes a point-to-point (PPP) connection with the billing server. During the PPP connection, the billing server component transfers an access key assigned to the order to the plug-in component so that the plug-in component may decrypt the product. The consumer is charged a unit rate or “drop-charge” for the product by the telephone service provider when the PPP connection is established using a premium telephone number assigned and administered by the telephone service provider.

Claims

1. A method for ordering a product over an intemetwork of computer systems, wherein the product is ordered by a consumer from a computer connected to the intemetwork and supplied by a server connected to the internetwork, the method comprising:

(a) establishing a connection between the computer and the server via the intemetwork of computer systems;

(b) transferring a transaction identification from the server to the computer, wherein the transaction identification identifies the product ordered and the computer ordering the product;

(c) terminating the connection between the computer and the server via the intemetwork of computer systems;

(d) establishing a direct connection between the computer and the server;

(e) transferring the transaction identification from the computer to the server to identify the product ordered and the computer ordering the product; and

(f) transferring an access key assigned to the product ordered and the consumer ordering the product from the server to the computer that is used to claim the product ordered by the consumer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(a) while the computer is connected to the server via the internetwork of computer systems, transferring an encrypted version of the product from the server to the computer; and

(b) after transferring the access key from the server to the computer, claiming the product ordered by the consumer by decrypting the encrypted version of the product using the access key.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the direct connection between the computer and the server is established via a telephone link administered by a telephone service provider so that when the direct connection between the computer and the server is established, the telephone service provider automatically charges for the telephone link and the product ordered.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the telephone link is associated with a 900 telephone number.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the direct connection between the computer and the server is terminated before the access key is transferred if the transaction identification is not transferred from the computer to the server within a predetermined time interval.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection between the computer and the server via the intemetwork of computer systems is terminated before the transaction identification is transferred, if the order of the product is denied.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the access key is generated at random.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the access key is selected from a list of predetermined access keys.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the direct connection between the computer and the server is terminated before the access key is transferred if the order of the product is denied.

10. A method for ordering a product over an intemetwork of computer systems, wherein the product is ordered by a consumer'"'"'s computer connected to the intemetwork, the method comprising:

(a) establishing a premium telephone connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and a billing server connected to the intemetwork; and

(b) during the premium telephone connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and the billing server;

(i) providing the consumer'"'"'s computer with access information comprising an access identification to a designated communication session between the consumer'"'"'s computer and a merchant server connected to the intemetwork, a password for claiming the ordered product, and a locator for the ordered product identifying the location of the ordered product on the merchant server connected to the internetwork;

(ii) establishing the internetwork connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and the merchant server using the access information; and

(iii) transferring the ordered product from the merchant server to the consumer'"'"'s computer.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

(a) terminating the premium telephone connection the consumer'"'"'s computer and the billing server; and

(b) calculating a charge for the ordered product based on a predetermined rate and the duration of the premium telephone connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and the billing server.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

after the premium telephone connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and the billing server is terminated,

(a) transferring a request to deny the order for the product from the billing server to the merchant server via an internetwork connection between the billing server and the merchant server; and

(b) prohibiting further transfer of the ordered product to the consumer'"'"'s computer.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

prior to establishing the premium telephone connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and the billing server,

(a) establishing an internetwork connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and the billing server;

(b) transferring an order for the product from the consumer'"'"'s computer to the billing server; and

(c) transferring a premium telephone number associated with the ordered product from the billing server to the consumer'"'"'s computer, wherein the premium telephone number is used to establish the premium telephone connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and the billing server.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

prior to establishing the intemetwork connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and the merchant server, transferring access information for the ordered product from the billing server to the consumer'"'"'s computer via the premium telephone connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and the billing server, wherein the access information includes the locator the password, and the access identification

15. The method of claim 14, wherein establishing the intemetwork connection between the consumer'"'"'s computer and the merchant server comprises:

(a) locating the merchant server and ordered product with the locator transferred to the consumer'"'"'s computer by the billing server;

(b) obtaining access to the consumer'"'"'s computer to the designated communication session identified by the access identification; and

(c) providing the password to the merchant server.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the premium telephone connection is established by dialing a 900 telephone number.