World wide web registration information processing system

• US 7,412,434 B1
• Filed: 01/10/2005
• Issued: 08/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panalogin LLC (Acacia Research Corporation), Customer Communications Group
• Original Assignee: Registrar Systems LLC (Continental Communications Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Peterson, Thad D., Klug, John R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Application Number:
  US11/032,750
• Time in Patent Office: 1,310 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 6, 707 9- 10, 707100-104, 705/1, 705/14, 705/44, 705 64- 67, 713200-202, 235 2- 3, 235 6- 7, 709200-203, 709223-232
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6272 by registering files or documents with a third party
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/922 Communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A World Wide Web registration processing system is disclosed for assisting World Wide Web users in registering at World Wide Web web sites. For each such user, the registration processing system includes a long term repository for the user'"'"'s web site registration information so that this information can be automatically transferred to a plurality of web sites to which the user may at time to time request to be registered. Further, the registration processing system provides the user with the capability to have a common user identification that may be used for accessing services at a plurality of web sites.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium containing a data structure for storing user registration information accessible by a registration web site, comprising:

at least one first data field for storing user registration information;

at least one second data field for storing a user identifier; and

at least one third data field for storing a user password;

wherein the contents of the first, second and third data fields are provided by the registration web site to a third party web site in order to authenticate a user input directing the third party web site to perform a given action; and

wherein the data structure is configured to facilitate the communication of the user registration information to the third party web site upon the third party web site communicating to the registration web site the user identifier and user password obtained from a user, and wherein the third party web site utilizes the received registration information to support the given action.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the given action further comprises a request to purchase and have physically delivered to a shipping address a good or service via the third party web site.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the given action further comprises a request to access a web page accessed via the third party web site.

4. A computer system for use in registering a user with one or more web sites comprising:

a network interface configured for use in establishing a network connection with a user client node; and

a network server configured for executing a registrar application program, wherein the registrar application program includes instructions for configuring the server to obtain user registration information from the user, associate a user identifier and user password with the user registration information, and provide the obtained user registration information to at least one third party web site upon the third party web site obtaining from the user the user identifier and the user password, and providing the obtained user identifier and user password to the registrar application program, wherein the user identifier and user password are utilized by the registrar application program to authenticate a request from the third party web site for the user registration information.

5. The computer system of claim 4 wherein the registrar application program includes instructions for configuring the network server to save the user registration information in a database.

6. The computer system of claim 4 wherein the registrar application program includes instructions for configuring the network server to communicate, upon user permission, the saved user registration information to the at least one third party web site.

7. The computer system of claim 6 wherein the user permission is established by the at least one third party web site communicating to the network server a user identifier and password associated with the user registration information.

8. The computer system of claim 4 wherein the registrar application program includes instructions for configuring the network server to save the user registration information in a database local to the user client node.

9. The computer system of claim 4 wherein the registrar application program includes instructions for configuring the network server to save the user registration information in a database accessible to the network server.

10. The computer system of claim 4 wherein the registrar application program includes instructions instructing the network server to provide a copy of the registrar application program to the user client node;

whereupon receipt of the registrar application program, the user client node executes the instructions provided in the registrar application program to obtain the user registration information.

11. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the registrar application program further includes instructions instructing the user client node to save the user registration information in a database.

12. The computer system of claim 11 wherein the database is accessible to the network server.

13. The computer system of claim 11 wherein the registrar application program further includes instructions instructing the user client node to communicate the user registration information to the at least one third party web site.

14. A method for facilitating the communication of information used to facilitate an on-line transaction by identifying a user to a node associated with an on-line merchant, comprising:

receiving, at a node having access to the information, from a node associated with an on-line merchant, a request for the information;

wherein the request includes a user identifier and password provided by a user to the node associated with an on-line merchant; and

communicating the information to the node associated with the on-line merchant, wherein the information includes at least basic, user registration information;

wherein the user identifier and user password are utilized by the node having access to the information to authenticate a request from the node associated with an on-line merchant for the information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the information includes a shipping address.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the a request is communicated directly from the node associated with an on-line merchant to the node having access to the information.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the information includes information useful in monitoring web site usage.

18. A method for identifying a user to an on-line merchant, comprising:

communicating, from a first networked node associated with an on-line merchant to a second networked node associated with an on-line registration database containing user demographic information, a request for the user demographic information which includes a user identifier and a password, wherein the user identifier and password have been previously provided to the first networked node by a user; and

in response to the request, receiving at the first networked node user demographic information communicated from the second networked node;

wherein the second networked node can access at least one database storing user demographic information and wherein at least one of the first and second networked nodes are connected to the Internet;

wherein the user identifier and user password are utilized by the second networked node to authenticate a request from the first networked node for the user registration information.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the user demographic information includes a shipping address.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the user demographic information saved by the second networked node is user accessible.

21. A method for communicating user information to one or more computers connected to the Internet, comprising:

receiving, at a server computer, identifying information from a user;

associating, at the server computer, at least one user identifier and password with the information;

upon a communication of the at least one user identifier from a user computer, associated with a user, to a merchant computer, associated with an on-line merchant, receiving at the server computer, from the merchant computer, a request for the information, wherein the request includes the user identifier provided by the user computer; and

upon validation, by the server computer, of the user identifier received from the merchant computer, communicating the information from the server computer to the merchant computer;

wherein user information received by the merchant computer facilitates an on-line transaction between the user and the on-line merchant.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the information includes delivery information.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the user identifier comprises an e-mail address associated with the user.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the user identifier further comprises a user password.

25. A method for registering on-line a first party with a third party by obtaining registration information associated with the first party from a data store associated with a second party, wherein at least a portion of the registration information is provided, at least in part, by the first party to the second party and relates to one or more users;

comprising;

receiving at the third party, from the first party, a user identifier and a password, wherein the user identifier and password are associated with registration information for the first party stored in the data store;

requesting by the third party, from the second party, the registration information wherein the request includes the user identifier and the password; and

upon validation of the user identifier and password by the second party, receiving at the third party, from the second party, the registration information;

wherein each of the parties are associated with a node having an Internet address.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the registration information received by the third party comprises a street address associated with the first party.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the registration information further comprises demographic information useful in monitoring usage of at least one web site.