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 Title: |
US6029141:
Internet-based customer referral system
[ Derwent Title ]
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| Country: |
US United States of America
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| Inventor: |
Bezos, Jeffrey P.; Seattle, WA
Kaphan, Sheldon J.; Seattle, WA
Ratajak, Ellen L.; Seattle, WA
Schonhoff, Thomas K.; Seattle, WA
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| Assignee: |
Amazon.com, Inc., Seattle, WA
other patents from AMAZON.COM, INC. (737570) (approx. 33)
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| Published / Filed: |
2000-02-22
/ 1997-06-27
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| Application Number: |
US1997000883770
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| IPC Code: |
Advanced:
G06Q 30/00;
Core:
more...
IPC-7:
G06F 17/60;
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| ECLA Code: |
G06Q30/00A; G06Q30/00C;
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| U.S. Class: |
Current:
705/027;
705/010;
705/026;
Original:
705/027;
705/026;
705/010;
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| Field of Search: |
705/027,10,14,26
707/513
395/200.3,200.33,200.53,200.54,200.57
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| Priority Number: |
| 1997-06-27 |
US1997000883770 |
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| Abstract: |
Disclosed is an Internet-based referral system that enables individuals and other business entities ("associates") to market products, in return for a commission, that are sold from a merchant's Web site. The system includes automated registration software that runs on the merchant's Web site to allow entities to register as associates. Following registration, the associate sets up a Web site (or other information dissemination system) to distribute hypertextual catalog documents that includes marketing information (product reviews, recommendations, etc.) about selected products of the merchant. In association with each such product, the catalog document includes a hypertextual "referral link" that allows a user ("customer") to link to the merchant's site and purchase the product. When a customer selects a referral link, the customer's computer transmits unique IDs of the selected product and of the associate to the merchant's site, allowing the merchant to identify the product and the referring associate. If the customer subsequently purchases the product from the merchant's site, a commission is automatically credited to an account of the referring associate. The merchant site also implements an electronic shopping cart that allows the customer to select products from multiple different Web sites, and then perform a single "check out" from the merchant's site.
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| Attorney, Agent or Firm: |
Knobbe, Martens Olson & Bear, LLP ;
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| Primary / Asst. Examiners: |
Voeltz, Emanuel Todd; Kalinowski, Alexander
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| INPADOC Legal Status: |
Show legal status actions
Family Legal Status Report
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| Family: |
Show 3 known family members
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First Claim:
Show all 42 claims |
What is claimed is:
1. A method of selling items with the assistance of associates, the method comprising:
- providing a Web site system that includes a browsable catalog of items and provides services for allowing customers to electronically purchase the items;
- providing an associate enrollment system which allows users to electronically apply to operate as associates that select and recommend items from the catalog and refer customers to the Web site system in exchange for compensation;
- in response to a submission to the enrollment system by a user, assigning an associate identifier to the user and recording the associate identifier within a computer memory;
- electronically providing to the user instructions for generating hypertextual documents with item-specific links that, when selected by a customer, cause the user's associate identifier and an identifier of a recommended item to be transmitted to the Web site system in a request message;
- receiving a request message which contains an associate identifier and an item identifier and extracting the associate and item identifiers from the message, the request message generated by a computer of a customer in response to selection by the customer of an item-specific link provided by an associate in conjunction with a recommendation of the item;
- transmitting to the customer's computer a Web page which corresponds to the item identifier extracted from the request message;
- transacting a sale of the item and/or other items of the catalog with the customer through the Web site system;
- using the associate identifier extracted from the request message to identify the associate; and
- determining and recording within a computer memory compensation for the associate for the sale.
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| Background / Summary: |
Show background / summary
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| Drawing Descriptions: |
Show drawing descriptions
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| Description: |
Show description
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| Forward References: |
Show 417 U.S. patent(s) that reference this one
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| Foreign References: |
None
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| Other Abstract Info: |
DERABS G2000-223043
DERABS G2000-223043
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| Other References: |
Dialog file 16 (database PROMT(R)), No. 6016914, "BookSite launches version 3.0 of the popular electronic commerce web site.", Business Wire, 2 pages, Feb. 23, 1996.
Dialog file 16 (database PROMT(R)), No. 6296727, "Amazon.com introduces "Amazon.com Associates"--a new model for internet-based commerce." Business Wire, 3 pages, Jul. 18, 1996.
Can Mixing `Cookies` with Online Marketing be a Receipe for Heartburn? (Infoworld, vol. 18, No. 30), Jul. 22, 1996.
Real Time Travel Info Available Online (Dialog database file 9, document 01107096), Jan. 17, 1995.
Online Growth Virtually Untapped; PC Vendors Taking More Advantage of Booming Sales (Computer Retail Week vol. 4, No. 64, p. 160), Jun. 6, 1994.
Selected document from Books.com Web site describing Book Stacks Unlimited links partner program, downloaded and printed Jun. 20, 1997 and Jun. 23, 1997.
Selected documents from Incognito Cafe Web site describing several on-line bookstore links, undated (5 printed pages).
Resnick, P., Iacovou, N., Suchak, M., Bergstrom, P., and Riedl, J., GroupLens: An Open Architecture for Collaborative Filtering of Netnews. Proceedings of ACM 1994 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Chapel Hill, NC, pp. 175-186.
Balabanovic, M., and Shoham, Y., Fab: Content-Based, Collaborative Recommendation. Communications of the ACM, vol. 40., No. 3, (Mar. 1997) pp. 66-73.
(7 pages)
Cited by 25 patents
[ISI abstract]
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| Continuity Data: |
| Application Number | Filed | Notes |
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11961808 | | is a
division of |
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US1999000366931
| 1999-08-04 |
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US7337133 issued 2008-02-26 Internet-based customer referral system
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US1999000415124 | | is a
continuation of |
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>US1997000883770<
| 1997-06-27 |
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US6029141 issued 2000-02-22 Internet-based customer referral system
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US1999000366931 | | is a
continuation of |
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>US1997000883770<
| 1997-06-27 |
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US6029141 issued 2000-02-22 Internet-based customer referral system
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