Patent US20060271481 - Systems and methods for making conditional purchase requests

Claims

1. A method for making a conditional sale of content online, wherein the content conveys information related to production or development activities for an event, product or service, the method comprising:

providing a network site accessible over a communication network from remote computers;

receiving, from a vendor of the content, pre-defined criteria that must be satisfied before the vendor is obligated to cause the content to be produced, wherein the pre-defined criteria includes an aggregate threshold volume of conditional purchases that must be made by a plurality of different buyers for at least one of the content, event, product or service;

displaying commercial terms relating to making a conditional purchase for at least one of the content, event, product or service, to the buyers over the network site, wherein the commercial terms include one or more vendor-defined prices associated with the conditional purchase;

receiving conditional purchase requests for at least one of the content, event, product or service, from the plurality of buyers over the network site, each of said conditional purchase requests including credit or debit account information from a buyer and specifying a conditional purchase amount that includes at least one of the vendor-defined prices, and in response to each conditional purchase request, executing an authorize-only credit or debit transaction using credit or debit account information from the buyer, wherein the authorize-only credit or debit transaction conditionally binds the buyer to make a purchase associated with at least one of the content, event, product or service, only upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria; and

upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, automatically charging a credit or debit account of each buyer that made one of said conditional purchase requests, and obligating the vendor to cause at least the content to be produced;

following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria and during the production or development activities, making the content available to each buyer that made one of said conditional purchase requests; and

wherein the conditional purchase amounts specified in the conditional purchase requests include vendor-defined prices that are independent of an aggregate volume of conditional purchases made by the buyers.

2. The method of claim 1:

wherein the pre-defined criteria comprise criteria that must be satisfied before the vendor is obligated to cause the content and at least one of the event, product or service, to be produced; and

wherein, upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, the vendor is obligated to cause the content and at least one of the event, product or service, to be produced.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining, by the vendor, a period for a buyer to conditionally purchase at least one of the content, event, product or service over the network site.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the pre-defined criteria comprise criteria that must be satisfied before the vendor is obligated to cause the content and an event to be produced, and after the credit or debit account of a buyer is charged, the buyer is issued a ticket for the event.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein, after the credit or debit account of a buyer is charged, the buyer is issued a receipt confirming the purchase of at least one of the content, event, product or service.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the vendor offers to conditionally sell a plurality of content items, each content item having its own pre-defined criteria, the vendor becoming bound to produce only those content items that achieve the pre-defined criteria.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing for a secure area of the network site, the secure area including a private account page accessible by a vendor that has created an account with the network site.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the vendor may view, within the secure area, information updated to reflect the completion of a transaction.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the vendor may view the status of the progress toward satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria with respect to at least one of the content, event, product or service, on the vendor's private account page.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the vendor may create a listing of information for new content, or a new event, product or service on a new page accessible by the vendor from the vendor's private account page, the information displayed on the network site and sales of the new content, or new event, product or service completed.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein information concerning a future content item is accessed using a public area of the network site; a secure area of the network site is accessed for entering credit or debit account information in order to make a conditional purchase request, the method further comprising transmitting the credit or debit account information to a credit or debit account company over the network.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising accessing the secure area of the website, the secure area permitting the buyer to create an account page.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the completion of a purchase transaction is confirmed on the buyer's account page.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the buyer may view the status of the progress toward satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria for a content item of interest on the buyer's account page, but only to the extent permitted by the vendor.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the buyer receives the content online through an area of the network site associated with the content on the network site or through a cable, satellite, or other digital network.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the production or development activities concern production or development of a product comprising an artistic work, and the content corresponds to efforts of a creator of the artistic work to produce the artistic work.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the production or development activities concern production or development of a product comprising a non-fiction work, and the content corresponds to efforts of a creator of the non-fiction work to produce the non-fiction work.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the production or development activities concern production or development of a product comprising an interactive video game, and the content corresponds to efforts of a creator of the video game to produce the video game.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the production or development activities concern production or development of a product comprising a comic book, and the content corresponds to efforts of a creator of the comic book to produce the comic book.

20. A system for making a conditional sale of content online, wherein the content conveys information related to production or development activities for an event, product or service, the system comprising:

a network site accessible over a communication network from remote computers;

means for receiving, from a vendor of the content, pre-defined criteria that must be satisfied before the vendor is obligated to cause the content to be produced; wherein the pre-defined criteria is an aggregate threshold volume of conditional purchases that must be made by a plurality of different buyers for at least one of the content, event, product or service;

means for displaying commercial terms relating to making a conditional purchase for at least one of the content, event, product or service, to the buyers over the network site, wherein the commercial terms include one or more vendor-defined prices associated with the conditional purchase;

means for identifying the content to the buyers over the network site, and receiving an agreement from the vendor to make the content available to each buyer in exchange for the conditional purchase during a time period following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria and during said production or development activities, wherein said production or development activities commence after satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria;

means for receiving conditional purchase requests for at least of the content, event, product or service, from the plurality of buyers over the network site, each of said conditional purchase requests including credit or debit account information from a buyer and specifying a conditional purchase amount that includes at least one of the vendor-defined prices;

means, responsive to each conditional purchase request, for executing an authorize-only credit or debit transaction using credit or debit account information from the buyer, wherein the authorize-only credit or debit transaction conditionally binds the buyer to make a purchase associated with at least one of the content, event, product or service, only upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria; and

means, responsive to the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, for automatically charging a credit or debit account of each buyer that made one of said conditional purchase requests and obligating the vendor to cause the content to be produced;

means for making the content available to each buyer that made one of said conditional purchase requests following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria and during the production or development activities; and

21. The system of claim 20, further comprising, means for defining, by the vendor, a period for a buyer to make a purchase of at least one of the content, event, product or service over the network site.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the predefined criteria comprise criteria that must be satisfied before the vendor is obligated to cause the content and an event to be produced, and, further comprising means for issuing a ticket for the event to a buyer after the credit or debit account of the buyer is charged.

23. The system of claim 20 further comprising means for issuing a receipt confirmation for at least one of the content, event, product or service, to a buyer after the credit or debit account of the buyer is charged.

24. The system of claim 20 further comprising means for monitoring the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria and displaying information relating to the pre-defined criteria over a private account page.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein the production or development activities concern production or development of a product comprising an artistic work, and the content corresponds to efforts of a creator of the artistic work to produce the artistic work.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein the production or development activities concern production or development of a product comprising a non-fiction work, and the content corresponds to efforts of a creator of the non-fiction work to produce the non-fiction work.

27. The system of claim 20, wherein the production or development activities concern production or development of a product comprising an interactive video game, and the content corresponds to efforts of a creator of the video game to produce the video game.

28. The system of claim 20, wherein the production or development activities concern production or development of a product comprising a comic book, and the content corresponds to efforts of a creator of the comic book to produce the comic book.

29. The system of claim 20:

wherein the pre-defined criteria comprise criteria that must be satisfied before the vendor is obligated to cause the content and at least one of the event, product or service, to be produced; and

wherein, upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, the vendor is obligated to cause the content and at least one of the event, product or service, to be produced.

30. A computer useable medium and computer readable code embodied on the computer useable medium for making a conditional sale of content online wherein the content conveys information related to production or development activities for an event, product or service, the computer readable code comprising code which, when executed by a processor, performs the following steps:

providing a network site accessible over a communication network from remote computers;

receiving, from a vendor of the content, pre-defined criteria that must be satisfied before the vendor is obligated to cause the content to be produced, wherein the pre-defined criteria is an aggregate threshold volume of conditional purchases that must be made by a plurality of different buyers for at least one of the content, event, product or service;

identifying the content to the buyers over the network site, and receiving an agreement from the vendor to make the content available to each buyer in exchange for the conditional purchase during a time period following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria and during said production or development activities, wherein said production or development activities commence after satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria; receiving conditional purchase requests for at least one of the content, event, product or service from the plurality of buyers over the network site, each of said conditional purchase requests including credit or debit account information from a buyer and specifying a conditional purchase amount that includes at least one of the vendor-defined prices, and in response to each conditional purchase request, executing an authorize-only credit or debit transaction using credit or debit account information from the buyer, wherein the authorize-only credit or debit transaction conditionally binds the buyer to make a purchase associated with the at least one of the content, event, product or service only upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria; and

upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, automatically charging a credit or debit account of each buyer that made one of said conditional purchase requests and obligating the vendor to cause at least the content to be produced;

31. The computer useable medium and computer readable code of claim 30 wherein a buyer has a vendor-defined period to purchase at least one of the content, event, product or service, over the network site.

32. The computer useable medium and computer readable code of claim 30 further comprising computer useable medium and computer readable code for monitoring the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria.

33. A method for making a sale of content online wherein the content conveys information related to production or development activities for an event, product or service, the method comprising:

providing a network site accessible over a communication network from remote computers;

receiving, from a vendor of the content, pre-defined criteria that must be satisfied before the vendor is obligated to cause the content to be produced, wherein the pre-defined criteria is an aggregate threshold volume of conditional purchases that must be made by a plurality of different buyers for at least one of the content, event, product or service; the vendor having an option to agree to cause the content to be produced even though the pre-defined criteria have not been satisfied;

displaying commercial terms relating to making a conditional purchase for at least the content, event, product or service to the buyers over the network site, wherein the commercial terms include one or more vendor-defined prices associated with the conditional purchase;

receiving conditional purchase requests for at least one of the content, event, product or service from the plurality of buyers over the network site, each of said conditional purchase requests including credit or debit account information from a buyer and specifying a conditional purchase amount that includes at least one of the vendor-defined prices, and in response to each conditional purchase request, executing an authorize-only credit or debit transaction using credit or debit account information from the buyer, wherein the authorize-only credit or debit transaction conditionally binds the buyer to make a purchase associated with at least one of the content, event, product or service only upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria or upon the vender exercising the option; and

upon the vendor exercising the option to cause the content to be produced even though the pre-defined criteria have not been satisfied, automatically charging a credit or debit account of each buyer that made one of said conditional purchase requests and obligating the vendor to cause at least the content to be produced;

following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria or exercise of the option, and during the production or development activities, making the content available to each buyer that made one of said conditional purchase requests; and

34. A method for making a conditional sale of a plurality of linked content items online, wherein each of the linked content item conveys information related to production or development activities for a different event, product or service, the method comprising:

providing a network site accessible over a communication network from remote computers;

receiving, from a vendor of the plurality of linked content items, pre-defined criteria that must be satisfied before the vendor is obligated to cause a subset of the plurality of linked content items to be produced, wherein the pre-defined criteria specify buyer demand parameters that determine which, if any, of the subset of the plurality of linked content items that the vendor is obligated to cause to be produced; wherein the subset includes less than all of the plurality of linked content items;

displaying commercial terms relating to making a conditional purchase for one of the linked content items to the buyers over the network site;

identifying each of the linked content items to the buyers over the network site, and receiving an agreement from the vendor to make the subset of linked content items available to each buyer of a linked content item in the subset in exchange for the conditional purchase of a linked content item in the subset during a time period following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria and during said production or development activities, wherein said production or development activities commence after satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria;

receiving conditional purchase requests for each of the linked content items from the plurality of buyers over the network site, each of said conditional purchase requests being associated with one of the linked content items, each of said conditional purchase requests including credit or debit account information from a buyer and specifying a conditional purchase amount, and in response to each conditional purchase request, executing an authorize-only credit or debit transaction using credit or debit account information from the buyer, wherein the authorize-only credit or debit transaction conditionally binds the buyer to make a purchase for the linked content item associated with the conditional purchase of the buyer only upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria for the linked content item associated with the conditional purchase of the buyer;

upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria associated with each linked content item in the subset, automatically charging a credit or debit account of each buyer that made one of said conditional purchase requests associated with each linked content item in the subset, and obligating the vendor to cause each linked content item in the subset to be produced; and

following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria associated with each linked content item in the subset, and during the production or development activities associated with each item of linked content for which the pre-defined criteria were satisfied, making the linked content items in the subset available to each buyer that made one of said conditional purchase requests associated with each linked content item for which the pre-defined criteria were satisfied.

35. A method for conducting a fundraising event online in order to raise funds for supplying a charitable good or service to one or more beneficiaries, the method comprising:

providing a network site accessible over a communication network from remote computers;

receiving, from a sponsor of the event, pre-defined criteria corresponding to an aggregate threshold level of interest in the event;

displaying terms relating to the event to a plurality of participants over the network site, and a description of content relating to production, development or delivery of the charitable good or service to the one or more beneficiaries that the sponsor will make available to each participant in exchange for a conditional payment commitment during a time period following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria and during production, development or delivery of the charitable good or service to the one or more beneficiaries;

receiving conditional payment commitments for the fundraising event from the plurality of participants over the network site, each of said conditional payment commitments including credit or debit account information from a participant and specifying a conditional payment commitment amount, and in response to each conditional payment commitment, executing an authorize-only credit or debit transaction using credit or debit account information from the participant, wherein the authorize-only credit or debit transaction conditionally binds the participant to make a payment associated with the event only upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, wherein the predefined criteria corresponds to an aggregate threshold amount of conditional payment commitments that must be made for the event by the plurality of different participants; and

upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, automatically charging the credit or debit accounts of the participants that made said conditional payment commitments the conditional payment commitment amounts specified in the conditional payment commitments;

following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria and during production, development or delivery of the charitable good or service to the one or more beneficiaries, making the content relating to the development or delivery of the charitable good or service available to each participant that made a conditional payment commitment; and

wherein the conditional payment commitments amounts specified in the conditional payment commitments include amounts that are independent of an aggregate amount of conditional payment commitments made for the fundraising event.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein no goods or services are provided to the participants upon satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria.

37. A method for making a conditional sale of a novelty item associated with an event or an artistic work, the method comprising:

providing a network site accessible over a communication network from remote computers;

receiving, from a vendor of the event or artistic work, pre-defined criteria that must be satisfied before the vendor is obligated to cause the novelty item, event or artistic work to be produced, wherein the pre-defined criteria includes an aggregate threshold volume of conditional purchases that must be made by a plurality of different buyers for at least one of the novelty item, event or artistic work;

displaying commercial terms relating to making a conditional purchase for at least one of the novelty item, event or artistic work, to the buyers over the network site, wherein the commercial terms include one or more vendor-defined prices associated with the conditional purchase; identifying the novelty item to the buyers over the network site, and receiving an agreement from the vendor to provide the novelty item to each buyer in exchange for the conditional purchase upon satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria;

receiving conditional purchase requests for at least one of the novelty item, event or artistic work, from the plurality of buyers over the network site, each of said conditional purchase requests including credit or debit account information from a buyer and specifying a conditional purchase amount that includes at least one of the vendor-defined prices, and in response to each conditional purchase request, executing an authorize-only credit or debit transaction using credit or debit account information from the buyer, wherein the authorize-only credit or debit transaction conditionally binds the buyer to make a purchase associated with at least one of the novelty item, event or artistic work, only upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria; and

following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, providing the novelty item to each buyer that made one of said conditional purchase requests; and

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the novelty item is a t-shirt, and the event corresponds to a concert featured on the t-shirt.

39. The method of claim 37, where the novelty item is a t-shirt, and the artistic work is an album featured on the t-shirt.

40. The method of claim 37, where the novelty item is a hat, and the artistic work is a comic book.

41. A method for conducting a fundraising event online in order to raise funds for producing a journalistic work, the method comprising:

providing a network site accessible over a communication network from remote computers;

receiving, from a sponsor of the journalistic work, pre-defined criteria corresponding to an aggregate threshold level of interest in the journalistic work;

displaying terms relating to production or development of the journalistic work to a plurality participants over the network site, and a description of content relating to the journalistic work that the sponsor will make available to each participant in exchange for a conditional payment commitment during a time period following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria;

receiving conditional payment commitments for the journalistic work from the plurality of participants over the network site, each of said conditional payment commitments including credit or debit account information from a participant and specifying a conditional payment commitment amount, and in response to each conditional payment commitment, executing an authorize-only credit or debit transaction using credit or debit account information from the participant, wherein the authorize-only credit or debit transaction conditionally binds the participant to make a payment associated with the journalistic work only upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, wherein the predefined criteria corresponds to an aggregate threshold amount of conditional payment commitments that must be made for the journalistic work by the plurality of different participants; and

following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, making the content relating to the journalistic work available to each participant that made a conditional payment commitment; and

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the content comprises updates to a news story that are provided to the participants upon satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria.

43. A method for conducting a fundraising event online in order to raise funds for at least one traveler to take a trip, the method comprising:

providing a network site accessible over a communication network from remote computers;

receiving, from the at least one traveler, pre-defined criteria corresponding to an aggregate threshold level of interest in the trip;

displaying terms relating to funding of the trip to a plurality of participants over the network site, and a description of content relating to the trip that the at least one traveler will make available to each participant in exchange for a conditional payment commitment during a time period following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria;

receiving conditional payment commitments for the trip from the plurality of participants over the network site, each of said conditional payment commitments including credit or debit account information from a participant and specifying a conditional payment commitment amount, and in response to each conditional payment commitment, executing an authorize-only credit or debit transaction using credit or debit account information from the participant, wherein the authorize-only credit or debit transaction conditionally binds the participant to make a payment associated with the trip only upon the satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, wherein the predefined criteria corresponds to an aggregate threshold amount of conditional payment commitments that must be made for the trip by the plurality of different participants; and

following satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria, making the content relating to the trip available to each participant that made a conditional payment commitment; and

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the content comprises travel updates about the trip that are provided to the participants upon satisfaction of the pre-defined criteria.

Patents

Systems and methods for making conditional purchase requests

Claims

Drawings