Apparatus and method for merchant-to-consumer advertisement communication system

US6343274B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Hewlett-Packard Company, L.P. · US

Inventors

• William G. McCollom · Fort Collins, US
• Robert King Ables · Drake, US
• Jacqueline Ann Bray · Fort Collins, US
• Carolyn Soberalske Cotten · Hotchkiss, US
• Martin R Fink · Palo Alto, US
• Shane Douglas Meyer · Windsor, US
• Silvi Kiisk Steigerwald · Fort Collins, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 11, 1998
• Grant date: Jan 29, 2002
• Expiry date: Sep 11, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q30/0273
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

An apparatus and method provide privacy for the consumer identity and protects information concerning advertisements accessed by the consumer while still providing marketing and demographic statistics to the merchant regarding those advertisement accesses. A consumer user interface provides the consumer easy control over what advertisements the consumer is receiving and allows the consumer to easily subscribe and unsubscribe from advertisements from either particular merchants or categories of products and services. A commerce server receives the request for services from the consumer user interface program and provides the requested advertisements from specific merchants or from selected categories.