Website Contest and Method

• US 20080140512A1
• Filed: 12/12/2007
• Published: 06/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Anthony Kyle Bruster
• Original Assignee: Anthony Kyle Bruster
• Inventors: Bruster, Anthony K.
• Application Number:
  US11/955,272
• Publication Number:
  US 20080140512A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0209 Incentive being awarded or redeemed in connection with the playing of a video game

Abstract

A method for conducting a contest over a network, the method that comprises displaying a plurality of spaces on a screen of a computer of a user, wherein the spaces are pre-designated for a contest answer that comprises a phrase, wherein the phrase comprises a plurality of letters, each letter corresponding to one of the spaces; revealing the letters in each space during a duration of the contest, the letters being revealed at time intervals during duration; receiving a user answer at a server computer, the contest answer being received from the computer of the user via a network; comparing the user answer with the contest to determine if the user answer is correct; determining a submission time of the user'"'"'s contest answer; and determining whether the user answer is a winning answer based on the determination of whether the user answer was correct and the submission time.

Claims

1. A method for conducting a contest over a network, the method comprising:

displaying a plurality of spaces on a screen of a computer of a user, wherein the spaces are pre-designated for a contest answer that comprises a phrase, wherein the phrase comprises a plurality of letters, each letter corresponding to one of the spaces;

revealing the letters in each space during a duration of the contest, the letters being revealed at time intervals during duration;

receiving a user answer at a server computer, the contest answer being received from the computer of the user via a network;

comparing the user answer with the contest to determine if the user answer is correct;

determining a submission time of the user'"'"'s contest answer; and

determining whether the user answer is a winning answer based on the determination of whether the user answer was correct and the submission time.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein displaying a plurality of spaces comprises displaying letters in each space.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the letters displayed in each space can be decoded as actual letters of the contest answer.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the letters displayed are not encoded for actual letters of the contest answer.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the contest answer comprises the phrase and at least one other piece of information, the other piece of information comprising a first publicized date, a first public source, an earliest author, and/or an earliest speaker of the phrase.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein revealing the letters comprises revealing letters in response to the user performing a predefined selected action.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the predefined selected action comprises submitting information to a poll or a survey.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the predefined selected action comprises clicking on a provided link.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein clicking on the provided link redirects the user to a webpage.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the webpage provides a hint to a letter or a word of the contest answer.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing an answer form at the user computer, wherein receiving the user answer comprises receiving a user answer in the form of the answer form.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the phrase comprises a plurality of words.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the phrase comprises a sentence.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the network comprises the Internet.