Method and system for facilitating secure electronic transactions with multiple merchants

• US 7,359,869 B1
• Filed: 07/14/2000
• Issued: 04/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Stamps.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Stamps.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Ananda, Mohan
• Primary Examiner(s): Gart; Matthew S.
• Application Number:
  US09/616,714
• Time in Patent Office: 2,832 Days
• Field of Search: 705/25, 705 26- 27
• US Class Current: 705/26.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A system for conducting electronic commerce comprising at least one client computer system, a vendor computer system and a merchant computer system, interconnected via the communication link. The client computer and the vendor computer system are configured to establishing a secure link communication between the client computer system and the vendor computer system and transmit transaction information between the client and vendor computer systems enabling a user at the client computer system to select and purchase, via the vendor computer system, items listed in at least the merchant computer systems by one or more merchants.

Claims

1. A method for providing secure, indirect electronic commerce transactions between a user and multiple merchants comprising:

establishing a secure communication link between at least one client computer system and a vendor computer system;

transmitting transaction information to said client computer system from said vendor computer system enabling a user at said client computer system to select for purchase, via said vendor computer system, items listed in a plurality of merchant computer systems without said user having direct access to said merchant computer systems;

receiving at said vendor computer system a first request from a client computer system concerning an item listed on a first of said merchant computer systems;

modifying at said vendor computer system said first request from said client computer system to said vendor computer system into a modified request from said vendor computer system to said merchant computer system;

sending said modified request from said vendor computer system to said merchant computer system;

receiving at said vendor computer system from said first merchant computer system a first response to said modified request, said first response comprising a merchant web page comprising one or more hyper-text links to said merchant computer system;

modifying said merchant web page at said vendor computer system into a modified web page;

wherein said modifying said merchant web page comprises;

replacing said one or more hyper-text links to said merchant computer system in said merchant web page with one or more hyper-text links to said vendor computer system in said modified web page; and

sending said modified web page from said vendor computer system to said client computer system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting step further comprises:

generating a purchase order for said item after said user'"'"'s selection of said item for purchase via said vendor computer system.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

obtaining payment from said user; and

transmitting payment to said first merchant on behalf of said user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said payment is obtained by an operator of said vendor computer system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of transmitting transaction information further comprises:

displaying one or more icons corresponding to said plurality of merchants at said client computer for user selection;

providing a listing of said items listed in said merchant computer system to said user at said client system computer via said vendor computer system, in response to said user selection of at least one of said one or more icons.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of modifying said merchant web page occurs automatically.

6. A method for performing secure, indirect electronic commerce between a user and multiple merchants comprising:

establishing a secure communication link between a client computer system and a vendor computer system;

transmitting transaction information to said client computer system from said vendor computer system enabling a user at said client computer system to obtain, via said vendor computer system, items listed in a plurality of merchant computer systems by one or more merchants without said user having direct access to said merchant computer systems;

monitoring at said vendor computer system requests from said client computer system for information regarding at least one of said listed items;

requesting by said vendor computer system transaction information regarding said at least one of said listed items from at least one of said merchant computer systems;

modifying at said vendor computer system a response comprising a merchant web page regarding said at least one of said listed items received by said vendor computer system from said at least one of said merchant computer systems;

wherein said modifying said response comprises;

modifying said merchant web page into a modified web page by replacing one or more hyper-text elements in said merchant web page comprising links to said at least one of said merchant computer systems with one or more hyper-text elements comprising links to said vendor computer system in said modified web page; and

sending said modified web page from said vendor computer system to said client computer for display to said user.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

generating a purchase order for said at least one of said listed items.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said vendor computer system forwards payment to said at least one of said merchant computer systems for said at least one of said listed items on behalf of said user.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said user makes payment to said vendor for said at least one of said listed items.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

displaying a merchant icon associated with at least one of said one or more merchants at said client computer system for selection by said user; and

in response to said selection by said user of said merchant icon, providing a list of items from at least one of said plurality of merchant computer systems to said user at said client computer system via said vendor computer system.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of modifying responses occurs automatically.

13. A vendor computer system having computer readable program code embodied therein for implementing a vendor server to enable secure, indirect electronic commerce between a user at a client computer system and one or more merchant servers, said program code configured to perform at least the steps of:

establishing a secure communication link between a client computer system and a vendor server;

transmitting transaction information to said client computer system from said vendor server enabling a user at said client computer system to select for purchase, via said vendor server, items listed in a plurality of merchant servers without said user having direct access to said merchant servers;

receiving at said vendor server a first request from a client computer system concerning an item listed on a first of said merchant servers;

modifying at said vendor server said first request from said client computer system to said vendor server into a modified request from said vendor server to said merchant server;

sending said modified request from said vendor server to said merchant server;

obtaining by said vendor server merchant content comprising a merchant web page for items listed for sale from said merchant server;

modifying said merchant web page at said vendor server into a modified web page by replacing hyper-text links to said merchant server in said merchant web page with hyper-text links to said vendor server in said modified web page;

sending said modified web page from said vendor server to said client computer system for presentation to said user.

14. The vendor computer system of claim 13, wherein said step of obtaining said merchant content comprises:

receiving at said vendor server a user request from said client computer system;

modifying at said vendor server said user request into a vendor request to said merchant server;

transmitting said vendor request from said vendor server to said merchant server; and

receiving at said vendor server from said merchant server a response comprising said merchant content.

15. The vendor computer system of claim 14, wherein said step of receiving said user request at said vendor server comprises receiving information for identifying said merchant server from a plurality of possible merchant servers.

16. The vendor computer system of claim 14, wherein said user request is an order request, and said step of modifying said user request into a vendor request to said merchant server comprises inserting vendor information into said order request.

17. The vendor computer system of claim 14, wherein said user request is one of:

a search request;

an order request; and

a selection request.

18. A secure electronic commerce system, comprising:

means for establishing a secure communication link between a client computer system and a vendor server;

means for transmitting transaction information to said client computer system from said vendor server enabling a user at said client computer system to select for purchase, via said vendor server, items listed in a plurality of merchant servers without said user having direct access to said merchant servers;

means for receiving at said vendor server a first request from a client computer system concerning an item listed on a first of said merchant servers;

means for modifying at said vendor server said first request from said client computer system to said vendor server into a modified request from said vendor server to said merchant server;

means for sending said modified request from said vendor server to said merchant server;

means for obtaining merchant content comprising a merchant web page from said merchant server;

means for facilitating the purchase by a user at said client computer system of items from said merchant server comprising;

means at said vendor server for creating a modified web page by replacing hyperlinks to said merchant server in said merchant web page with hyperlinks to said vendor server in said modified web page; and

means for sending said modified web page from said vendor server to said client computer system for presentation to said user.