Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Finance
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-31
2002-06-25
Millin, Vincent (Department: 2164)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Finance
C235S380000, C235S379000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06411940
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of billing for commercial transactions over the Internet.
The Internet is a vast worldwide interconnection of computers and computer networks. The Internet does not consist of any specific hardware or group of connected computers, rather it consists of those elements that happen to be interconnected at any particular time. The Internet has certain protocols or rules regarding signal transmission and anyone with the proper hardware and software can be part of this interconnection.
At present, the technical and financial requirements for connecting directly to the Internet are beyond the resources of most individuals and thus new businesses known as Internet access providers have proliferated. These providers invest in the equipment needed to provide access to the Internet for subscribers who pay the providers a fee for the access. Providers include companies whose only business is to offer connection to the Internet, as well as on-line services such as Compuserve, American On-Line, and Prodigy. In addition, telephone companies and cable television companies have announced plans to provide Internet access. A party desiring to connect to the Internet by means of a provider typically connects via a modem over a telephone network to the provider's equipment which then connects the party, through the provider's equipment, to the Internet.
Although the origin of the Internet was for military use, today the primary users of the Internet are civilian. There is great activity at present attempting to utilize the Internet as a channel of commerce.
Many vendors advertise their products and services over the Internet and solicit orders from Internet users for these wares. While the preferred mode of payment is by credit card, there is great reluctance to transmit credit card account information over the Internet because of lack of security. Moreover, in situations wherein the transaction amount is small—from pennies to a few dollars—it is not economically feasible to use a credit card transaction. There is a need to be able to ensure that commercial transactions over the Internet are at least as secure as conventional transactions over the telephone, through the mails, and with on-line services where credit cards and/or billing accounts are used for purchases. Similarly, there is a need to be able to handle on the Internet a large number of small-sized transactions, similar to what is done by telephone companies for conventional telephone service.
The lack of security and the lack of a means to bill for small transactions are the biggest obstacles to commercial use of the Internet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The main object of the present invention is to create a new business opportunity for telephone companies, cable television companies, existing Internet access providers, and companies offering financial services by creating a way for them to offer to their subscribers a method of securely buying and selling gods and services of any value over the Internet.
Another object of the present invention is an Internet billing method which is cost effective for transactions having transaction amounts ranging from pennies to a few dollars.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a secure method of billing commercial transactions over the Internet.
A further object of the present invention is an Internet billing method which is simple to use from both the customer's point of view and that of vendors on the Internet.
Yet another object of the present invention is a billing method which can be used by a large number of existing Internet users without requiring major changes in how the users customarily behave and conduct commercial transactions.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by an Internet billing method in accordance with the present invention. A provider establishes an agreement with a customer, and a second agreement with a vendor, wherein the provider agrees with the customer and the vendor to bill for products and services purchased over the Internet by the customer from the vendor. Associated with the customer agreement are one or more billing accounts to which purchases may be charged. Associated with the vendor agreement are one or more methods of remitting funds to the vendor. The provider creates access to the Internet for the customer through the provider's equipment. When the customer orders a product of service over the Internet from the vendor, the provider obtains transactional information transmitted between the customer and the vendor including a transaction amount relating to the ordered product or service and the provider then bills the transaction amount to a customer billing account and remits a portion of the transaction amount to the vendor.
Which accounts are used may be specified in the agreements made between the provider and the customer and between the provider and the vendor, or may be specified in the transactional information. If specified in the transactional information, the selection of account can be made by referencing the type of account (e.g., “VISA”, “phone bill”), or the position of that account on a predetermined list (e.g., “the 3rd account”), and does not require that any actual account numbers be transmitted.
By the use of this method, there is no need for the customer to transmit over the Internet any information containing any of the customer's billing account numbers thereby maintaining the security of that information.
The present invention, in a preferred embodiment, is a method of providing merchants with the ability to offer their customers secure transactions for the purchase of goods and services of any value over the Internet, without the need for the customer to transmit any credit card or other account numbers over the Internet, without the need for the customer to sing up with any additional provider of services, and without the need to change the manner in which most customers currently use the Internet.
In accordance with the present invention, a customer desiring to purchase goods and services over the Internet has prearranged access to the Internet through the services of an Internet access provider. Such providers can be, for example, companies whose only business is to offer connection to the Internet, companies which offer on-line computer services, one of which is connection to the Internet, cable television companies, or telephone companies. In arranging for access with such a provider, the customer has agreed with the provider on a method of payment which is, for example, by billing, or charge to a credit card, or charge to an account of the user which could be an account specific to the Internet or could be a more general account, such as an on-line computer services account, a cable television account, a telephone account, or a bank account.
Once the prearrangements have been completed, using the provider's service to connect to the Internet typically involves calling a telephone number of the provider and being automatically connected through the provider's equipment to the Internet.
Once the connected to the Internet, the customer can browse around until an item is located that the customer wishes to purchase, at which time the customer will follow the instructions created by the vendor, exchange transactional information, and ultimately agree to purchase something by taking an appropriate action. In the course of making the purchase, the means of delivery of the goods or service will be established. Depending on the type of goods, delivery can be made, for example, by mail (e.g., in the case of a purchase of a book), by courier service (e.g., in the case of a purchase of flowers), or by electronic transmission over the Internet (e.g., in the case of delivery of an electronic newsletter or piece of software). The remaining element of the purchase transaction is the manner in which the customer pays the vendor.
In accordance with the present invention, the provi
Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells LLP
Felten Daniel S.
Millin Vincent
Netcraft Corporation
Schaefer, Esq. Ira J.
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