Systems and methods for pricing and selling digital goods

• US 20060178980A1
• Filed: 10/28/2005
• Published: 08/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Inventors: Wright, Andrew K., Hartline, Jason D., Goldberg, Andrew V.
• Granted Patent: US 7,933,829 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

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.

Claims

1-11. -11. (canceled)

12. A method for vending a digital file, the method including:

receiving a plurality of bids, each bid being submitted by a bidder, and each bid having a bid value;

assigning a weighting factor to each bid, the weighting factor being based, at least in part, on the bid value;

selecting a first bid from the plurality of bids, the first bid having been submitted by a first bidder;

selecting a second bid from the plurality of bids, the second bid being selected in a manner that is dependent, at least in part, on the weighting factor assigned to the second bid;

performing a comparison of the value of the first bid with the value of the second bid;

using the results of the comparison to determine whether to vend a copy of the digital file to the first bidder; and

sending a copy of the digital file to the first bidder.

13. A method as in claim 12, in which selecting the second bid from the plurality of bids comprises randomly selecting a bid from the plurality of bids, wherein the probability of selecting any given bid in the plurality of bids is proportional to the bid'"'"'s weighting factor.

14. A method as in claim 12, in which the weighting factor for each bid is proportional to the bid'"'"'s value in relation to the values of the other bids in the plurality of bids.

15. A method as in claim 14, in which the weighting factor for each bid is proportional to the bid value divided by the highest bid value in the plurality of bids.

16. A method as in claim 12, in which the number of copies of the digital file to be vended is not specified in advance of receiving the plurality of bids.