Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Discount or incentive
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-19
2003-07-15
Champagne, Donald L. (Department: 3622)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Discount or incentive
Reexamination Certificate
active
06594639
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a method and system for awarding prizes over a communications network based on the call information of a winning communication.
2. Description of Related Art
Presently, in the field of long distance communications there exists a large amount of competition for customers between long distance service providers. Recently, dial-around services have become very popular as a way for customers to choose a long-distance service provider when placing a call. A dial-around service permits a user to dial a long-distance carrier code, prior to placing a call, which in turn selects a long-distance carrier service regardless of which company is the default long distance service provider for that terminal. Long distance phone service providers intensely compete for a large market share of customers using the dial-around services. Therefore, there is a need for new technology to distinguish a communication provider's service, and thereby attract a greater market share of customers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a method for awarding a prize over a communications network. The method includes generating a prize code based on call information of a prize winning call. The method further includes selecting a prize based on the prize code.
When a call is placed on a communications network, the call is initially determined to be either a winning or non-winning call. Winning calls are subsequently examined to generate a prize code from the call information of the call. Call information can include the location of the winning caller, the location of the party being called, the winning caller's characteristics, a duration of the winning call, time of day the winning call is placed and the like.
The prize code may further be determined based on a prize level which is an indication of the quality of the prize within a particular prize code range. The caller placing the winning call can be immediately notified of their prize during the winning call or notified at a later time and date.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4845739 (1989-07-01), Katz
patent: 5774870 (1998-06-01), Storey
patent: 5983196 (1999-11-01), Wendkos
patent: WO 93/05483 (1993-03-01), None
Brewer, Geoffrey, “The art of the dealer incentive”, Incentive, vol. 166 No. 4, Apr. 1992: 42-45.
Bansal Pradeep K.
Begeja Lee
Creswell Carroll W.
AT&T Corp.
Champagne Donald L.
Oliff & Berridge
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