METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AN ONLINE LIVE AUCTION TO COMBINE FEATURES OF BOTH THE INTERNET AND TRADITIONAL, REAL WORLD AUCTIONS
First Claim
1. A computer implemented method in a live auction to allow bids by one or more remote bidders and by one or more onsite bidders, the method comprising:
- using a first computer;
processing bids, from one or more onsite bidders and from one or more remote bidders, for an item being auctioned at a live auction site;
wherein the processing of bids includes choosing as a starting bid in the onsite auction a highest bid from the bids from the one or more remote bidders; and
using a second computer;
transmitting to one or more remote bidders information pertaining to the item;
receiving bids for the item from the one or more remote bidders;
selecting, from the bids received from the one or more remote bidders, the second highest bid received by the remote bidders, plus a one bid increment amount provided by the seller of the item, as a bid for the item; and
transmitting to the one or more remote bidders information regarding the acceptance and rejection of the onsite and remote bids.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for conducting a live auction that combines various features of traditional and online auctions. According to one aspect of the present invention, the live auction includes a live, in-person auction component and a real-time online bidding environment component. Bidding information associated with an item in the online bidding environment is updated to reflect a current bid associated with the item in the live, in-person auction. During the live, in-person auction, a bid is be accepted from an online bidder in the online environment that reflects the online bidder'"'"'s bid price for the item. Subsequently, the system bids on behalf of the online bidder against other online bidders as well as one or more live bidders that are participating in the live, in-person. As such, the live auction enables real-time online bidding in a live, in-person auction.
101 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method in a live auction to allow bids by one or more remote bidders and by one or more onsite bidders, the method comprising:
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using a first computer; processing bids, from one or more onsite bidders and from one or more remote bidders, for an item being auctioned at a live auction site; wherein the processing of bids includes choosing as a starting bid in the onsite auction a highest bid from the bids from the one or more remote bidders; and using a second computer; transmitting to one or more remote bidders information pertaining to the item; receiving bids for the item from the one or more remote bidders; selecting, from the bids received from the one or more remote bidders, the second highest bid received by the remote bidders, plus a one bid increment amount provided by the seller of the item, as a bid for the item; and transmitting to the one or more remote bidders information regarding the acceptance and rejection of the onsite and remote bids. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device having embedded therein a set of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of the computer causes the computer to execute the following operations with respect to a live auction at an auction site:
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processing bids, from one or more onsite bidders and from one or more remote bidders, for an item being auctioned at the live auction site; wherein the processing of bids includes choosing as a stating bid in the onsite auction a highest bid from the bids from the one or more remote bidders; and transmitting to one or more remote bidders information pertaining to the item; receiving bids for the item from the one or more remote bidders; selecting, from the bids received from the one or more remote bidders, the second highest bid received by the remote bidders, plus a one bid increment amount provided by the seller of the item, as a bid for the item; and transmitting to the one or more remote bidders information regarding the acceptance and rejection of the onsite and remote bids. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system to allow, in a live auction, bids by one or more remote bidders and by one or more onsite bidders, the system comprising:
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a first computer subsystem to process bids, from one or more onsite auction bidders and from one or more remote bidders, for an item being auctioned at a live auction site; wherein the processing of the bids includes choosing as a stating bid in the onsite auction a highest bid from the bids from the one or more remote bidders; and a second computer subsystem to; transmit to one or more remote bidders information pertaining to the item; receive bids from the one or more remote bidders for the item; select, from the bids received from the one or more remote bidders, the second highest bid received by the remote bidders, plus a one bid increment amount provided by the seller of the item, as a bid for the item; and transmit to the one or more remote auction bidders information regarding the acceptance and rejection of the onsite and remote bids; the first and second computer subsystems operating under direction of an auctioneer.
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Specification