Method and architecture for multi-level commissioned advertising on a computer network
US6289318A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 24, 1999 |
| Grant date | Sep 11, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 24, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q30/0239
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and architecture for rewarding a merchant that operates a server on a computer network, and in particular on the Internet, when a consumer accesses the server and later access a server of a paying merchant, i.e. a merchant who has agreed to provide a reward to one or more of the merchants the consumer accessed on the way, in tracing a course through the network, to accessing the paying merchant. The invention involves having a service operate servers, on the computer network, that automatically distribute any reward provided by a paying merchant. The method is not intended to reward all merchants visited by a consumer on the way to a paying merchant; it distributes rewards only approximately, trading off accuracy for a lower burden of computation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.