Facilitating Electronic Exchange of Proprietary Information

• US 20100250454A1
• Filed: 06/07/2010
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Michael Daniel Powell
• Original Assignee: Michael Daniel Powell
• Inventors: Powell, Michael D.
• Application Number:
  US12/795,181
• Publication Number:
  US 20100250454A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/310
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0442 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data

Abstract

A method and apparatus effectuates bilateral commerce in ideas. An originator and user-driven on-line commercial network system is designed to facilitate idea submission, purchase, and licensing, and is easily adapted to business-to-business transfers of innovation as well as consumer-to-business transfers of innovation. The invention allows originators of ideas to communicate nondisclosing synopses of ideas globally to potential users, for users conveniently to search for relevant ideas and for users potentially to bind an originator to a limited duration license granting user the exclusive right to access and consider confidentially the originator'"'"'s fully disclosed idea. The invention also allows users to communicate confidentially or nonconfidentially unsolved problems or needs globally to potential originators, for originators conveniently to search for relevant unsolved problems or needs, and for originators to submit and communicate confidentially proposed solutions to the soliciting user.

Claims

1. A method of using a computer network to create an on-line forum where originators or users can post ideas or unmet need or unsolved problems comprising:

receiving and storing in the database a plurality of two-part descriptions each supplied by an originator or a user, each two-part description including a first-level element in the form of a basic description of each originator'"'"'s idea or each user'"'"'s unmet need or unsolved problem, and a second-level element in the form of a detailed description of each originator'"'"'s idea or each user'"'"'s unmet need or unsolved problem;

permitting users or originators, or both, to access and select without restriction only the first-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions; and

permitting users or originators, or both, to search the contents of the first-level and second-level elements of the two-part descriptions but disallowing visual access to the second-level elements.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the search results display or provide access to only the first level element and may be organized and displayed according to an associated relevancy rank.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first-level element is nonconfidential in the form of a searchable and accessible basic description, and the second-level element is confidential in the form of a searchable, but not accessible detailed description.

4. The method of claim 1 comprising:

providing selecting users with an option to access the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions that correspond to the selected first-level elements by electronically submitting to each selecting user a license agreement including a confidentiality provision and other previously supplied licensing terms; and

upon receipt of license acceptance, providing accepting users with unrestricted access on a confidential basis via the computer to the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions corresponding to the selected first-level elements.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the license agreement is a limited duration, exclusive license, and the method comprises:

upon receiving license acceptance by one selecting user, subsequently restricting other users from accessing both the first-level element and the second-level element, of the two-part description selected by the licensed user for the duration of the term of the exclusive license.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the license agreement is a limited duration, exclusive license, and the method comprises:

providing an originator with the option of specifying license terms which permit users to continue to access and select the nonconfidential first-level element, but not the confidential second-level element, of a selected two-part description for the duration of the license term.

7. The method of claim 6 comprising:

creating a queue of license accepting users seeking access to the selected, but license restricted second-level element.

8. The method of claim 7 comprising:

establishing a priority status for each user in the queue according to the time of license acceptance, with an earlier license acceptance time having priority over a later license acceptance time.

9. The method of claim 6 comprising:

permitting users to search and rank by relevancy without restriction the second-level elements of the database without permitting visual access to the second-level elements.

10. The method of claim 1 comprising:

enabling each originator to review the identity of each license requesting user and to either accept or reject the license request by each user.

11. A method of using a computer to facilitate and control sequential access to a two-level information database created by inputs supplied by originators comprising:

receiving and storing in the database a plurality of two-part descriptions each supplied by an originator, each two-part description including a nonconfidential first-level element in the form of a searchable and accessible basic description of an originator'"'"'s entry, and a confidential second-level element in the form of a searchable, but not accessible detailed description of each originator'"'"'s entry;

permitting users to access and select without restriction, only the nonconfidential first-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions;

providing selecting users with an option to access, search and review the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions that correspond to the selected first-level elements by electronically submitting to each selecting user a license agreement including a confidentiality provision;

receiving and storing in the computer an acceptance of the license agreement by each selecting user; and

upon receipt of license acceptance, providing accepting users with unrestricted access on a confidential basis via the computer to the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions corresponding to the selected first-level elements.

12. The method of claim 11 where the license agreement further comprises other previously supplied licensing terms.

13. The method of claim 11 comprising:

upon receiving license acceptance by one selecting user, subsequently restricting other users from accessing or searching both the first-level and second-level elements, of the two-part description selected by the licensed user for the duration of the term of the exclusive license.

14. The method of claim 11 comprising:

creating a queue of license accepting users seeking access to the selected, but license restricted second-level element.

15. The method of claim 14 comprising:

establishing a priority status for each user in the queue according to the time of license acceptance, with an earlier license acceptance time having priority over a later license acceptance time.

16. The method of claim 11 comprising:

enabling each originator to review the identity of each license requesting user and to either accept or reject the license request by each user.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the license agreement is a limited duration, exclusive license.

18. The method of claim 11 comprising:

upon receiving license acceptance by one selecting user, subsequently restricting other users from visually accessing the second-level element but permitting the other users to continue to access and select the first-level element for the duration of the license term.

19. A method of using a computer to facilitate and control sequential access to a two-level information database created by inputs supplied by originators comprising:

receiving and storing in the database a plurality of two-part descriptions each supplied by an originator, each two-part description including a nonconfidential first-level element in the form of a searchable and accessible basic description of an originator'"'"'s entry, and a confidential second-level element in the form of a searchable, but not accessible detailed description of each originator'"'"'s entry;

permitting users to access and select without restriction, only the nonconfidential first-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions;

providing selecting users with an option to access, search and review the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions that correspond to the selected first-level elements by electronically submitting to each selecting user a license agreement including a confidentiality provision;

receiving and storing in the computer an acceptance of the license agreement by each selecting user;

upon receipt of license acceptance, providing accepting users with unrestricted access on a confidential basis via the computer to the confidential second-level elements of the stored two-part descriptions corresponding to the selected first-level elements; and

upon receiving license acceptance by one selecting user, subsequently restricting other users from visually accessing the second-level element but permitting the other users to continue to access and select the first-level element for the duration of the license term.

20. The method of claim 19 comprising:

creating a queue of license accepting users seeking access to the selected, but license restricted second-level element.