Methods for executing commercial transactions in a network system using visual link objects
First Claim
1. A method for executing Internet based electronic commerce business transactions, comprising the steps of:
- in a vendor system connected to the Internet and associated with a vendor offering a business transaction,creating a visual link object representing a business transaction, whereina visual link object is a single self-contained entity and includes, as integral parts of the visual link object,a displayable image residing at the start of the visual link object and representing a business transaction,an appendix residing in the visual link object following the display image and containing information relating to the business transaction, including an encoded data block containing information relating to the business transaction sufficient for a buyer to complete the business transaction represented by the visual link object, whereby the business transaction may be completed by a buyer independently of the vendor system, anda postscript residing near the end of the visual link object and containing information relating to the visual link object, andcommunicating the visual link object representing the business transaction to a distributor system connected to the Internet and associated with a distributor presenting business transactions represented by visual link object to potential buyers,in the distributor system,communicating the visual link object representing the business transaction to a buyer system associated with a potential buyer, andin the buyer system,accessing the contents of the visual link object to recover the information residing in the appendix relating to the business transaction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for executing business transactions and transferring subscribed for and periodically updated information across networks by means of encapsulated, self contained visual link objects that include a displayable image representing the contents of the visual link object, a dataset forming the contents of the object, and additional information wherein the contents of a visual link object are determined by the nature of an intended transaction or the nature of the information to be distributed. Also described are apparatus and methods for creating and distributing graphical user interfaces for application programs, for customization of applications programs, and methods for multi-level encapsulation of visual link objects to protect the contents thereof from unauthorized access, together with alternate implementations of visual link objects.
264 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method for executing Internet based electronic commerce business transactions, comprising the steps of:
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in a vendor system connected to the Internet and associated with a vendor offering a business transaction, creating a visual link object representing a business transaction, wherein a visual link object is a single self-contained entity and includes, as integral parts of the visual link object, a displayable image residing at the start of the visual link object and representing a business transaction, an appendix residing in the visual link object following the display image and containing information relating to the business transaction, including an encoded data block containing information relating to the business transaction sufficient for a buyer to complete the business transaction represented by the visual link object, whereby the business transaction may be completed by a buyer independently of the vendor system, and a postscript residing near the end of the visual link object and containing information relating to the visual link object, and communicating the visual link object representing the business transaction to a distributor system connected to the Internet and associated with a distributor presenting business transactions represented by visual link object to potential buyers, in the distributor system, communicating the visual link object representing the business transaction to a buyer system associated with a potential buyer, and in the buyer system, accessing the contents of the visual link object to recover the information residing in the appendix relating to the business transaction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification