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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic transaction communication systems and more particularly to a system providing secure communications using means available on most telephone equipment, either POTS (plain old telephone system)
or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), for electronically supplying products to a distributor for sale in the open market.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In current and traditional product marketplaces, small sellers of goods are often restricted and in some cases eliminated from competition due to the presence of an uneven playing field. The primary problem facing the small seller of goods is
"shelf space" and more accurately, lack thereof. This is in part attributed to the number of goods being offered for sale exceeding the amount of physical shelf space available in retail outlets to fit the goods. As a result of having limited "shelf
space", retail or shelf owners have eliminated the majority of otherwise qualified products from the marketplace. Traditionally, those products with the highest turn-over rates have been most desirable for sale to retail owners or owners of "shelf
space." In order for a product to achieve rapid turn-over, it would have to be heavily marketed, advertised and supported, all of which reduce or eliminate the small provider's access to market its goods due to the expenses associated therewith.
The "chain store" phenomenon, i.e. franchises and the like, presents yet a further obstacle to small sellers. In order to access "shelf space" in large retail chain stores, product providers must negotiate complex contracts, guarantee
significant advertising, and provide large quantities of products with the proviso that much of the products may be returned to the provider if sales do not meet expectations. The net effect of the above is that the small manufacturer of hard or soft
goods is almost eliminated from the marketplace. The problem then exists of providing small sellers of goods efficient access to the marketplace.
With the advent of electronic transactions being conducted on the Internet transmission media, sellers and buyers can conduct commercial transactions without the need for physical shelf space. Prior art techniques have attempted to solve the
problems associated with conducting electronic commercial transactions on the Internet to a certain extent. However, there still remains the problem of whether the product purchased on the Internet comes from a legitimate source. In other words, the
identity of both parties, the buyer as well as the seller, is of utmost importance for the purpose of maintaining security in electronic commercial transaction. Therefore, the need exists to effectively identify the seller in order to effectuate
legitimate sales of products through electronic media.
Electronic commerce is currently largely based on encryption and digital signature technology as a means of identifying the buyer and seller in Cyberspace. With reference to the selling of code (information) in Cyberspace, Vinton Cerf, VP Data
Architecture at MCI, [Communication Week, Jul. 1, 1996, p. 63] stated: "How can I tell if the downloaded code comes from a legitimate source? Should I be using digital signatures? If the answer is yes, then a whole administrative structure is needed.
We are some time from having that in place."
Because of the ephemeral nature of addresses in Cyberspace, much effort is required to identify both parties to a transaction. This is due to the fact that Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are not tightly coupled to the real (physical) world and
also because addresses can be easily changed in Cyberspace due to the "postcard" like propagation over a packet network such as the Internet media. Prior art techniques have attempted to hide critical information using encryption schemes, and to provide
third party identification of participants. While possibly serving the needs of large corporations, such schemes do not scale well. That is, when millions of encryption keys must be distributed and accounted for, there must be a significant
administration structure in place.
These problems were addressed on behalf of the buyer by two copending U.S. patent applications entitled "SECURED ELECTRONIC RATING SYSTEM" filed on Jul. 19, 1996 by Klingman and "ON-LINE SECURED FINANCIAL TRANSACTION SYSTEM THROUGH ELECTRONIC
MEDIA" filed Jun. 7, 1996 by Klingman. These inventions solved the ephemeral nature of Cyberspace addresses by using Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) addresses, which are generally tied to physical locations in real space.
The inventions addressed the problem of security of information by using direct connection over the PSTN in place of packet ("postcard") transmission over the (open) Internet. As explained in aforementioned copending patent applications, prior
art financial systems are based on the Transport level in the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) seven layer architecture, while the Klingman inventions utilize financial systems coupled to the Physical layer in the OSI scheme. The resultant system
makes optimal use of two networks, the switched (PSTN) network, and the packet (Internet) network, to achieve low cost product presentation (TRY) and secure product transaction (BUY) and evaluation (SCORE). In addition there are beneficial ease-of-use
features associated with the use of these inventions. However, there remains the problem of how to assure that the product being sold came from a legitimate source particularly when the seller wishes to present his/her product in a traditional
"classified advertisement" setting but do so through electronic media.
As earlier stated, the more important problem, from the seller's perspective is the cost barrier that prevents small sellers from distributing their products in the most efficient channels of commerce--chain stores, etc.. While prior art
electronic commerce tends to lessen this aspect of the problem, there is still a considerable effort and expense associated with registering products for sale due to the requirements of encryption, authentication, and keys.
Moreover, while the buyer can purchase directly from the seller using the scheme taught in the TRY-BUY application, in actuality, the costs associated with each seller acquiring a 900 number and maintaining a 24-hour "presence" are likely to be
burdensome, particularly to small sellers, such that a "centralized" distribution scheme is desirable.
Accordingly, the need exists for a secure communications scheme to supply products for distribution and sale to the general public through electronic media thereby allowing small sellers to compete in the marketplace on an even playing field with
large-sized merchants while maintaining the identity of the seller to assure legitimacy of sale.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a secure commercial transaction system that uses state-of-the-art computer telcom to provide secure selling capability of goods.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system of the type described herein to register the source of the product being sold, i.e. the seller, with a distributor for ensuring legitimacy of the same.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system of the type described herein which uses the `900` numbering system or a similar system to assess and collect user tolls for registering products to be sold with a distributor.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system for performing commercial transactions wherein small sellers of product goods are afforded the same opportunity as other sellers to market their products to the general public.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a commercial transaction system wherein the accounting, billing and collecting funds may be managed by telco.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a commercial transaction scheme for offering a product for sale based upon a multi-network solution in which the distinction between switched and packet routing networks are used to
optimately partition functionality.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system wherein small-shop software developers can market their products to the public inexpensively.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a commercial transaction system for offering products for sale wherein the system employs point-to-point protocol (PPP), thereby allowing any hardware or operating system to negotiate a
common information transfer protocol with dissimilar hardware and operating systems software.
Briefly, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a remote communication system for facilitating secure electronic sales of products wherein a suitable seller input device in association with a local seller data transmission
system couples the seller to a packet network system for communicating to a remote receiver/decoder apparatus to download registration data to the seller system. Upon retrieving a telephone toll number from the remote apparatus, a telcom network
communication link for communicating the telephone number from the seller to the remote receiver allows the seller to upload the product that is to be offered for sale to the remote apparatus. The telcom connection, linking the seller system to the
remote apparatus may also include a 900 number billing system whereby a fee is assessed and charged at a rate determined by the toll connection provider after uploading the product.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments illustrated in the several figures of the
drawing.
IN THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention in conceptual diagrammatical form.
FIG. 2 shows the steps performed by a basic embodiment of the secure electronic selling system.
FIG. 3 shows another preferred embodiment that implements a "classified advertising" system.
FIG. 4 depicts the integration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with a TRY-BUY commercial transaction system and an electronic valuation system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now the to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows in conceptual diagrammatic form two channels for establishing communications between a seller and a remote system. As such, a seller subsystem 10 and a seller local connection 12 are coupled through
a switching system or network 14 and Internet transmission media 16 to a remote connection 18. Remote connection 18 in turn is coupled to a remotely located distributor subsystem 20. Distributor subsystem 20 accesses the seller identification list
storage location 22 wherein caller identification (caller ID) numbers associated with the seller subsystem reside. Seller subsystem 10 is additionally coupled through a SELL local telcom connection 24 to switching network 14 which is in turn coupled
through a SELL remote telcom connection 26 to distributor subsystem 20.
Typically, a seller subsystem 10 such as shown in the FIG. 1, is a personal computer (PC) that may be an IBM compatible PC including a monitor (not shown) for the purpose of viewing uploaded or downloaded software products. A seller subsystem
would typically further include hardware drivers, application software, plug-in hardware cards and controllers, etc. similar to those described in detail in a copending U.S. patent application entitled "On-Line Secured Financial Transaction System
Through Electronic Media" by Klingman filed on Jun. 7, 1996 herein incorporated by reference and hereinafter referred to as the "TRY-BUY application".
The hardware and drivers employed in seller subsystem 10 (in FIG. 1) are the same as those described in the user subsystem 10 disclosed in the TRY-BUY application. A distributor subsystem 20 may be implemented and maintained by a third party (a
distributor). Alternatively, the distributor subsystem may be programmed to operate automatically as a "classified advertisement" agency wherein the seller pays fees for its use. The system advertises the seller's product, but the sale of the product
is to buyers who pay the seller directly.
As discussed in the TRY-BUY application, seller subsystem 10 uses either ISDN lines or POTS lines to connect to the local connection 12 and the SELL local telcom connection 24. The local connection 12 is a WEB connection through the Internet
transmission media 16 which consists of many routers and switches and is a packet routing network structure. More detail regarding local connection is available in the TRY-BUY application. Internet media 16 connects the local connection 12 to the
remote connection 18. The SELL local telcom connection 24 on the other hand, is a direct telco connection through switching system 14 to the SELL remote telcom connection 26. The remote connection 18 and SELL remote telcom connection 26 connect to the
same interface layers as discussed in the aforementioned TRY-BUY application.
In fact, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) seller interface layers 29 shown on the left side of FIG. 1 which are the same as the OSI layers 27 on the right side of FIG. 1 are the same as those discussed in the TRY-BUY application. In prior
art schemes, the financial systems are based on interfacing to the Transport layer of the OSI seven-layer architecture whereas the financial system taught in the TRY-BUY application is coupled to the Physical layer of the OSI scheme. The latter approach
is similarly employed in the present invention wherein the resulting system makes optimal use of two networks, the switched public services telecommunication network (PSTN) network, and the packet (Internet) network to achieve low cost product
presentation and secure product transaction and evaluation thereby addressing the problem of security of information by using direct connection over the PSTN in place of packet ("Postcard") transmission over the (Internet). The present invention
utilizes the physical layer coupling to the financial system to minimize the cost and to ease the access to the distribution systems.
In FIG. 1, the path that is utilized to transfer products being sold from the seller subsystem 10 to the distributor server 20 is via a direct physical connection through the switched, secure, network 14 rather than through the open unsecure
packet network 16. Note that this approach requires neither encryption, digital signature authentication, nor an extensive administration in order to assure a legitimate source of the code, i.e. a legitimate seller. This is not to mean that "bad" code
cannot be distributed, but rather that the source of the code is identifiable using physical addresses (or IP addresses), rather than untraceable addresses as can be the case in prior art Cyberspace utilization. This level of traceability or
identification is further improved to legitimize the source as will be later described.
Given the practical requirement of centralized distribution, how is the seller to obtain "shelf space"? In effect, the simplest way is for the seller to "buy" shelf space on the electronic media. This can be accomplished in a manner as disclosed
in the TRY-BUY application in which the ultimate buyer acquires the products. The means by which this is accomplished focuses on the 900 number which is a toll numbering system offered by PSTNs and carriers, and also focus is placed on the "free"
distribution available via both 800 toll free numbering systems and the Internet transmission media.
Operation of the System
In FIG. 1, incorporated within the seller subsystem is an IBM PC clone or similar computer which is coupled to the distributor subsystem 20 via either the Internet transmission media 16 or using an 800 number telephone connection. Through the
Internet transmission media 16, the seller browses the net and locates a web site belonging to a distributor such as that offered by the distributor subsystem 20. Distributor subsystem 20 makes available to the seller registration/distribution software
wherein detailed description of the operation of the system including registration information and a description of the steps required to download the registration/distribution software is provided to a potential seller. Within the distributor system
20, this information is available at the distributor's web site, commonly referred to as web pages. An example of this is where the distributor's web site offers potential sellers instructions for downloading the registration software using FTP,
Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Explorer, or other widely available, easy-to-use, web browsers and the like. The distributor's portion of the preferred system software is written in JAVA to allow the seller the maximum choice of computer equipment. This
is so due to the platform independence offered by JAVA as disclosed in the TRY-BUY application.
Seller Registration
Referring again to FIG. 1, the seller, after studying the system description offered by the distributor decides to register his/her products on the Internet. The seller does so by downloading the registration software resident in the
distributor's subsystem 20 to the local subsystem 10 through the Internet transmission media 16 (or through an 800 toll free telephone connection). The hardware used to perform this downloading in the distributor's subsystem 20 and the seller's
subsystem 10 is the same as that described in the TRY-BUY application.
The preferred implementation of the registration software is in the form of a "plug-in" for Netscape Navigator, or other simple to use programs such as a self-extracting file. As indicated above, in FIG. 1, the seller interface layers 29 as well
as the distributor interface layers 27 are the same as those shown in FIG. 4 of the TRY-BUY application, respectively. Similarly, the hardware as well as the software drivers employed in seller's subsystem 10 remain the same as those described in the
TRY-BUY application. The preferred implementation shown in FIG. 1 uses ISDN connections to couple seller's subsystem 10 to the switching network 14 through connections 12 and 24. However, the system can also operate using POTS lines in the same fashion
as ISDN only at a slower connection and communication speeds.
Upon downloading the registration software form and information from the distributor's subsystem 20, the seller completes the registration form preferably off-line. Although the registration software may also be completed by the seller while the
seller remains on-line connected to the distributor's subsystem 20. The seller then dials a 900 telephone toll number available to the seller either from the distributor's web site or included with the downloaded registration information. The 900
number call is established by the seller to the distributor using the seller's subsystem 10, through the SELL local telcom connection 24 and through the switched system 14, to the SELL remote telcom connection 26 and finally to the distributor subsystem
20. The seller's subsystem 10 and the distributor's subsystem 20 begin a point-to-point (PPP) or multi-link point-to-point (PPP, BACP, MLP, etc.) negotiations in order to establish the 900 call. This may optionally include the use of passwords handled
by the password authentication protocol (PAP) or challenge/handshake authentication protocol (CHAP), both of which are commonly supported in PPP implementations.
After successful negotiations of the PPP protocol the EKOM registration system 34 included in the distributor subsystem 20 receives registration information provided by the seller from seller subsystem 10 and stores it. The EKOM registration
system 34 then records the seller's caller identification number (caller ID) which was presented to the distributor's subsystem during the initial set-up of the incoming 900 call but held in suspense by the distributor's subsystem until successful PPP
linkage. Caller ID numbers are a recently available feature, offered by telco for identifying a caller by providing the telephone number of the caller to the party receiving the call. This feature is optional to telephone users where the users are
given the choice of disabling or suppressing their caller ID feature through telco. In the present invention, the seller must choose to have this feature, otherwise, suppression of the seller's caller ID number will result in the software (residing
within the distributor's subsystem 20) to communicate to the seller that the 900 call will be rejected and the connection will be terminated. At this point, the seller must unsuppress his/her caller ID feature and retry the connection to register with
the distributor subsystem.
The caller ID which is now available on North American PSTNs provides a major security feature of the system that will allow call-back confirmation and will also allow the distributor's system to cross-check the seller's caller ID number with the
seller's telephone number, the latter being provided by the seller when the seller completes the registration form and uploads the same to the distributor subsystem. That is, upon a successful connection of the 900 telephone connection, the seller
subsystem 10 uploads registration data or information upon completion of the distributor's registration form through path 28 to the distributor's subsystem 20. Within the uploaded registration information, is included the seller's telephone number (if
requested by the distributor) and the seller's telephone number can be extracted from the registration information and cross-checked against the seller's caller ID number to verify the legitimacy of the source of the product being sold, i.e. the seller.
For this purpose, when the seller's caller ID number is first received by the distributor subsystem 20 during the 900 call set up, it is stored in seller's ID list storage location 22 within the distributor subsystem 20. The distributor's subsystem 20
downloads the registration form, which is built into the registration software initially downloaded through the Internet or 800 number connection, to the seller after PPP negotiations and caller ID recording. As earlier stated, the form that is
downloaded through the 900 toll connection to the seller is completed perhaps off-line to save time on the toll call (although this may not be necessary since toll calls are not necessarily time metered but can be flat fee). In any event, the seller
completes the registration form which requires at a minimum the following information:
Seller Name
Product Name
Seller's Tel #
Seller's Address
Seller's Password
Seller's Price of Product
Seller's Preferred Payment Plan
Seller's Product Description
Other information as appropriate
Possible Product Graphics
Seller's Agreement to Terms
Seller's HTML Web Link, if existent
Seller's "Demo" Applets or equivalent
As mentioned above, to ensure legitimacy of the seller, the seller's telephone number which may be more than one number, must match the seller's caller ID in order to successfully complete the registration. In addition, a password is included
for future communication between the seller and the distributor. As indicated above, the seller includes as a part of the registration information, input regarding the price of the product being sold and the seller/distributor terms and conditions
agreed upon by the parties.
Additionally, the liabilities of each party may be included in the terms and conditions of the seller/distributor agreement. For instance, the seller may be required to submit this product to a product evaluation system (or scoring system) such
as the one taught in a copending U.S. patent application by Klingman filed Jul. 19, 1996 and entitled "Secured Electronic Rating System" herein incorporated by reference. This scoring system taught in the aforementioned patent application (hereinafter
referred to as the scoring patent application) allows buyers feedback on purchased products. The seller is employing the present invention and completing the registration form supplied by the distributor, may be obligated to agree to abide by rules such
as covenant not to sue for libel or defamation based upon feedback provided by buyers of the product to the public on the Internet.
The seller's preferred payment plan with the distributor represents a choice of payment plans offered by the distributor such as mail payments or deposit to a seller's bank, etc. The distributor maintains information regarding the seller's
product in the catalog system 32 in FIG. 1 located within the distributor's subsystem 20. This information regarding the seller's product is later offered for viewing and studying by potential buyers as will become evident shortly. The seller may also
choose to maintain a web site on the Internet him/herself if so desired. In maintaining a web site 30 shown in FIG. 1 on the Internet, the seller may include further information regarding the product being offered for sale such as additional description
or various software versions of the same. The seller's web site 30 may be used as a source of providing any revisions or modifications later required to be made to the product by the seller. Potential buyers may directly link to the seller's web site
30 for further product information. The seller may have an interest in maintaining a web site in order to augment the product description provided by the distributor. The distributor will then provide a web link to the seller's web site 30 in order to
allow potential buyers to browse the seller's web site 30 for further and more extensive product information. As a caveat, the legal agreement between the seller and distributor should cover any such cross-linking arrangements between the distributor
and the seller. The seller's web site 30 may also include at the seller's option, a 900 BUY number for the purpose of purchasing the seller's products using the method taught in the TRY BUY patent application. In this connection, the 900 number is
provided at the seller's web site 30 instead of at the TRY server site such as disclosed in the latter patent application. Here again, the legal agreement between the seller and the distributor should clearly define these rights.
One of the features of the present invention includes automation of most all of the steps required in the seller's offering his product for sale in the open market. That is, once the seller registers his/her product by uploading the registration
information from the seller's subsystem 10 to the distributor subsystem 20, the distributor subsystem 20 receives and stores the registration information in EKOM registration system 34 and automatically generates product description information and the
like based upon the registration information provided by the seller. The generated product description is then stored in catalog system 32. The information automatically generated by the registration information received from the seller in the form of
product description may also be transferred to the seller's web site 30 if one is available.
The way in which the distributor system 20 automatically generates product information in the form of HTML web pages by extracting the product information included in the EKOM registration system 34, and adding the HTML "tags" as appropriate to
format the web page. Accordingly, it is important for the seller to provide an accurate product description (preferably covered in the legal agreement between the seller and the distributor) and that the description of the product to be in a pre-defined
format in accordance with the registration form's format. This will allow the distributor's software to extract the seller's information and, using HTML tags, to package it effectively for product advertising such as during the TRY connection disclosed
in the TRY-BUY application. The uploaded registration form information provided by the seller to the distributor's subsystem 20 may include graphics to allow advertising of the seller's product through the use of graphics and potentially JAVA applets.
The present invention allows for complete automation of the selling process with little or no human intervention.
System software written to link the seller to the distributor's system 20 allows the seller to call the distributor using path 28 which is through the seller's subsystem 10, local connection 12, and the Internet transmission media 16 to the
remote connection 18. The software included in the seller's subsystem 10 negotiates with the software included in the distributor's system 20 via PPP allowing for the downloading of the registration form. The registration form is then completed either
off-line or on-line and is uploaded upon completion from the seller's subsystem 10 to the SELL local telcom connection 24 through the switch system 14 to the SELL remote telcom connection 26 and finally to the distributor's system 20, where it is stored
in the EKOM registration system 34. This connection through path 28 is set up automatically by the system when the seller dials the 900 number and provides the registration form information. During the connection, the software included in the
distributor subsystem 20 cross-checks the seller's caller identification number received from the seller subsystem 10 with the seller's telephone number included in the registration form information provided by the seller subsystem 10.
The seller's product is then uploaded from the seller subsystem 10 through the same path 28 to the distributor subsystem 20 again with the use of system software. The software included in the distributor's system 20 automatically generates the
HTML pages for Internet web catalog advertising as may be needed if the teachings of the TRY-BUY patent application are employed.
Accordingly, the present invention offers maximum security via a direct connection through the switching network 14 using a 900 number, yet costs associated therewith are kept minimal in part due to the automation of the registration process,
broad market coverage of the product being sold via the Internet, product description generation as well as automated billing and collecting via the 900 number support system. While the seller initiates and has control of the steps and process employed
in the present invention, the distributor subsystem 20 is unmanned and fully automated, although the distributor must, of course, maintain the distributor's database included within the distributor's system 20, PSTN connections, Internet access and
secondary distribution of proceeds that derive from the sale of the products. With respect to the latter, if the seller and distributor have an agreement wherein the distributor is required to forward a percentage of the sale of each seller's product to
the seller, the distributor must keep accurate records of each sale of the product and to periodically remit payments to the seller. The distributor may further agree to have sales records be audited by the seller. The process of tracking sales of the
seller's product and remitting payments to the seller may be performed automatically by the software included in the distributor subsystem 20. Due to the software registration or automatic registration features of the present invention, the maintenance
required of the distributor subsystem 20 is independent of the number of sellers using or accessing the distributor subsystem 20.
In an alternate embodiment, the steps of which are shown in FIG. 2, a self-registering automated advertising system is provided to the seller. Most of the procedural steps are common to both a "classified advertising" system, and to the TRY-BUY
system. In classified advertising systems, the seller is buying advertising only; the sale is handled by the seller dealing directly with the buyer. In the TRY-BUY system, the distributor not only advertises the products for sale, but also stores and
delivers to the buyer, the product. In FIG. 2, the steps performed by the seller's subsystem 10 are outlined in the right side of the figure and the steps taken by the distributor subsystem 20 are presented on the left hand side of the flow chart in
FIG. 2. In the case where the seller wishes to sell a software product electronically, in step 50, the seller develops a software product for sale. In step 52 in FIG. 2 the seller writes a description of the product for the purpose of ultimately
uploading the same to the distributor. In step 54 the seller downloads registration form which may include terms and conditions of sale and forms supplied by the distributor. Included within the information that is downloaded from the distributor
subsystem is the 900 toll telephone number. Additionally, the communication link that is used to transfer or download information from the distributor subsystem to the seller in step 54 is via the Internet transmission media, a packet switching network
system. In step 56, the software on the seller's subsystem calls the 900 number that was provided by the distributor some time previously, such as during step 54.
The 900 communication connection is successfully established only when the seller has enabled his caller ID feature. If a seller chooses to suppress his caller ID feature, the 900 call and the registration of the seller's product will be
terminated. In other words, the system does not work without the caller ID feature of the seller enabled. Step 58 on the left hand of the figure indicates that the distributor system is listening in for any 900 number calls coming in from potential
sellers. Once the 900 number call has been established (this connection may further require a password i.e., an exchange of passwords that is used with PPP negotiations between the seller's system and the distributor's system to establish the 900 call
wherein the seller's password is verified with that of what is expected from the distributor. This introduces yet another layer of security to the preferred embodiment), in step 60, the distributor's system presents the seller with a form for completion
by the seller. Alternatively, the form could have been downloaded to the seller in step 54, from the distributor's web site. The seller completes the form, (and the seller could do this off-line) upon which the seller's system transfers or uploads the
completed form to the distributor's system.
In step 64, the distributor's system accepts the form and registers the seller in part by storing the seller's identification number. One of the ways in which the distributor system accepts the registration form or verifies the seller is by
comparing the incoming seller's caller ID number with the telephone number provided by the seller in the completed registration form in step 62. Upon verification of the registration information in step 66, once a confirmation is received from the
distributor's system by the seller's system, the seller uploads his/her goods to the distributor's system. In the event hard goods are to be sold, obviously the step of uploading of the product to the distributor is skipped. The distributor's system as
shown in step 68 stores the seller's product or goods. In step 70, the seller provides a description of the uploaded product to the distributor by uploading the same to the distributor, unless such information is in the completed form uploaded in step
62. Alternatively, the seller links to the product information and/or provides a demonstration version of the product being sold which is basically a simple test version of the product being sold to afford potential buyers an opportunity to try the
product before purchasing it. In other words, the seller in step 70, provides a description of the product being sold or sets up his/her own web site linking to the product information provided by the distributor or provides a demonstration version of
the software product being sold. In step 74, the seller has already uploaded the description of the product and perhaps a demonstration version during previous steps, therefore, the distributor's system automatically generates a web page based upon the
forms and/or description of the software product that the seller uploaded and does so using HTML code. This page may be the TRY web page that is placed in the TRY server in the TRY-BUY application for potential purchasers to access.
The TRY page is provided to the seller's system in step 76 and the seller reviews and approves the EKOM-generated, HTML-based TRY page. Upon approval of the TRY page in step 78, the distributor's system publishes the HTML TRY page on the web and
presents the same in a directory accessible by Internet users. Alternatively, if the seller in step 76 is dissatisfied with the TRY page as indicated in 80, the process flows back to step 70 where the seller provides additions or modifications to the
product description and/or links to the product information or provides a different demonstration software, and steps 74, 76 and 78 are performed as discussed above until the seller has approved a TRY page provided by the distributor's system.
In step 82, assuming the web site, including the TRY page is set up, the distributor's system tracks each sale made to buyers of the seller's products and issues payments to the seller upon performing an accounting of the sales. In step 84, the
seller waits for sales of his products and payments of the same, and in step 86 the seller optionally updates his/her web site product information.
In FIG. 2, on the left hand side of the drawing steps 58, 60, 64, 68, 72, 74, 78 and 82 are performed by the distributor's system. As indicated earlier, the distributor's system in this case is automated such that the distributor is not required
to perform any tasks manually. In effect, the steps shown in the left hand side of the FIG. 2 are performed automatically by the distributor's system. If steps 68 and 82 are omitted, then the system provides a self-registering automated classified
advertising system in which the seller performs exactly as described above and provides his/her product in the Internet marketplace to allow potential buyers to contact the seller directly. This is analogous to conventional newspaper classified
advertising. A key difference between conventional newspaper classified advertising and the method as described in FIG. 2 is that instead of paying the newspaper agency for advertising the products, the seller pays for the 900 toll number telephone
call, in his/her next phone bill. This system will work for software goods as well as hardware goods wherein the latter situation, the seller is provided with an order from the buyer and has to enter in this order through the 900 number call to the
distributor's system in order to input the same. While the present invention may be a stand alone invention used for either classified advertising and/or transactions through a distributor, it may nevertheless be combined with the teachings of the
TRY-BUY application and the scoring application to effectuate a frictionless system for electronic commerce, thus, enabling small producers of products to obtain shelf space in an optimal fashion at minimum cost. This allows buyers to access product
information or demonstration software over the | | |
