Electronic ticketing system and method

• US 8,131,572 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2002
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Flash Seats LLC (Anschutz Company)
• Original Assignee: Flash Seats LLC (Anschutz Company)
• Inventors: Nakfoor, Brett
• Primary Examiner(s): Fischer, Andrew J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): OBEID, MAMON A
• Application Number:
  US10/320,287
• Publication Number:
  US 20030093387A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,368 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/65, 705/67, 705/72, 705/76, 705/80, 705/13, 705/37, 705/57, 705/5, 705/6, 235/380, 235/382, 235/382.5
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/33 using certificates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method of electronically exchanging tickets for an event in a secondary market from ticket sellers to ticket buyers located at remote terminals. The method comprises associating the tickets with the authentication data of the ticket seller, receiving from ticket sellers electronic asks comprising an ask quantity and an ask price, receiving from a ticket buyer an electronic bid comprising a bid quantity and a bid price, comparing the bid to the asks, completing a transfer of the tickets when the bid price equals the ask price and the ask quantity is equal to or greater than the bid quantity, and reassociating the tickets with authentication data of the ticket buyer. Also disclosed is a system for performing the method.

Claims

1. A method for providing access to an event after a paperless ticket exchange, the method comprising:

(a) in a ticketing system;

tracking a life cycle of an electronic ticket, the life cycle including any combination of;

electronic ticket setup, sale of the electronic ticket to a ticket owner but not used by the ticket owner, resale of the electronic ticket by the ticket owner to a subsequent ticket buyer, and trade of the electronic ticket by subsequent ticket buyers, each of the ticket owner and each subsequent ticket buyer being a respective ticket holder;

transferring ownership of the electronic ticket from one ticket holder to a subsequent ticket holder;

said transferring including allowing multiple changes in ownership of the electronic ticket as traded throughout the life cycle of the electronic ticket from setup through multiple transfers in ownership;

creating and electronically storing in the ticketing system an ownership record for the electronic ticket, the ownership record including ownership information identifying and authenticating a current ticket holder, the ownership record associating new respective ownership information each time ownership of the electronic ticket is transferred, and the ownership record indicating the tracked life cycle of the electronic ticket from ticket setup through multiple transfers of ownership of the electronic ticket, wherein ticket setup is before the sale of the electronic ticket to the ticket owner, and wherein the ownership information is a credit card number, as provided by a respective ticket holder to the ticketing system, the credit card number alone identifying and authenticating the respective ticket holder as the current ticket holder; and

(b) authorizing access to the event by (i) receiving, at a venue access point of the ticketing system, an instance of the ownership information identifying and authenticating the current ticket holder, the received instance being the credit card number as provided by the current ticket holder and thus free of use of a number specific to the ticketing system and by (ii) successfully comparing the received instance of the ownership information to the ownership information stored in the ownership record, the comparing being of the credit card number as provided by the current ticket holder and thus free of use of a number specific to the ticketing system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received instance of the ownership information identifying and authenticating the current ticket holder comprises ownership information identifying the current ticket holder that is not specific to the particular event.

3. A computer system for providing access to an event through a paperless ticket exchange, the system comprising:

a data center programmed to;

track a life cycle of an electronic ticket, the life cycle including any combination of;

electronic ticket setup, sale of the electronic ticket to a ticket owner but not used by the ticket owner, resale of the electronic ticket by the ticket owner to a subsequent ticket buyer, and trade of the electronic ticket by subsequent ticket buyers, each of the ticket owner and each subsequent ticket buyer being a respective ticket holder;

transfer ownership of the electronic ticket from one ticket holder to a subsequent ticket holder;

said transfer including allowing multiple changes in ownership of the electronic ticket as traded throughout the life cycle of the electronic ticket from setup through multiple transfers in ownership;

create and electronically store an ownership record of a ticketing system of the electronic ticket to an event;

electronically update the ownership record for the electronic ticket upon each occurrence of a transfer event transferring ownership of the electronic ticket from one ticket holder to a subsequent ticket holder, wherein said data center updates the ownership record with ownership information that identifies and authenticates a current ticket holder, such that the ownership record associates new respective ownership information each time ownership of the electronic ticket is transferred and the ownership record indicates the tracked life cycle of the electronic ticket from ticket setup through multiple transfers of ownership of the electronic ticket, wherein ticket setup is from a time period before the sale of the electronic ticket to the ticket owner, and wherein the ownership information is a credit card number or a cell phone number as provided by a respective ticket holder to the ticketing system, the data center programmed to use said credit card number or cell phone number alone and as provided by the respective ticket holder, to identify and authenticate the respective ticket holder as the current ticket holder; and

an access device connected to communicate with the data center, the access device programmed to grant access to the event based solely upon an instance of the ownership information received at the event, including the access device being programmed to compare the received instance of the ownership information to the ownership information stored in the ownership record, such that the data center and the access device use the credit card number or the cell phone number as provided by the current ticket holder and free of use of a number specific to the ticketing system.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the received instance of the ownership information comprises ownership information that identifies the current ticket holder and that is not specific to the particular event.

5. A method for providing access to an event after a paperless ticket exchange, the method comprising:

(a) in a ticketing system;

tracking a life cycle of an electronic ticket, the life cycle including any combination of;

electronic ticket setup, sale of the electronic ticket to a ticket owner but not used by the ticket owner, resale of the electronic ticket by the ticket owner to a subsequent ticket buyer, and trade of the electronic ticket by subsequent ticket buyers, each of the ticket owner and each subsequent ticket buyer being a respective ticket holder;

transferring ownership of the electronic ticket from one ticket holder to a subsequent ticket holder;

said transferring including allowing multiple changes in ownership of the electronic ticket as traded throughout the life cycle of the electronic ticket from setup through multiple transfers in ownership;

creating and electronically storing in the ticketing system an ownership record for the electronic ticket, the ownership record including ownership information identifying and authenticating a current ticket holder, the ownership record associating new respective ownership information each time ownership of the electronic ticket is transferred, and the ownership record indicating the tracked life cycle of the electronic ticket from ticket setup through multiple transfers of ownership of the electronic ticket, wherein ticket setup is before the sale of the electronic ticket to the ticket owner, and wherein the ownership information is a cell phone number provided by a respective ticket holder to the ticketing system, the cell phone number as provided by the respective ticket holder identifying and authenticating the respective ticket holder as the current ticket holder; and

(b) authorizing access to the event by (i) receiving, at a venue access point of the ticketing system, an instance of the ownership information identifying and authenticating the current ticket holder, the receiving being of the cell phone number as provided by the current ticket holder and thus free of use of a number specific to the ticketing system and by (ii) successfully comparing the received instance of the ownership information to the ownership information stored in the ownership record, the comparing being of the cell phone number as provided by the current ticket holder and thus free of use of a number specific to the ticketing system.

6. A computer program product providing access to an event after a paperless ticket exchange, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith;

the computer readable program code programming a computer to;

(a) in a ticketing system;

track a life cycle of an electronic ticket, the life cycle including any combination of;

electronic ticket setup, sale of the electronic ticket to a ticket owner but not used by the ticket owner, resale of the electronic ticket by the ticket owner to a subsequent ticket buyer, and trade of the electronic ticket by subsequent ticket buyers, each of the ticket owner and each subsequent ticket buyer being a respective ticket holder;

transfer ownership of the electronic ticket from one ticket holder to a subsequent ticket holder, said transferring including allowing multiple changes in ownership of the electronic ticket as traded throughout the life cycle of the electronic ticket from setup through multiple transfers in ownership; and

create and electronically store in the ticketing system an ownership record for the electronic ticket, the ownership record including ownership information identifying and authenticating a current ticket holder, the ownership record associating new respective ownership information each time ownership of the electronic ticket is transferred, and the ownership record indicating the tracked life cycle of the electronic ticket from ticket setup through multiple transfers of ownership of the electronic ticket, wherein ticket setup is before the sale of the electronic ticket to the ticket owner, and wherein the ownership information is a credit card number or a cell phone number, as provided by a respective ticket holder to the ticketing system, the credit card number or cell phone number alone identifying and authenticating the respective ticket holder as the current ticket holder; and

(b) authorize access to the event by (i) receiving, at a venue access point of the ticketing system, an instance of the ownership information identifying and authenticating the current ticket holder, the received instance being one of the credit card number and cell phone number as provided by the current ticket holder and thus free of use of a number specific to the ticketing system, and by (ii) successfully comparing the received instance of the ownership information to the ownership information stored in the ownership record, the comparing being of the credit card number or cell phone number as provided by the current ticket holder and thus free of use of a number specific to the ticketing system.