U.S. patent application number 10/603347 was filed with the patent office on 2004-02-26 for internet billing method.
This patent application is currently assigned to NETCRAFT CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Egendorf, Andrew.
Application Number | 20040039699 10/603347 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 23985643 |
Filed Date | 2004-02-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040039699 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Egendorf, Andrew |
February 26, 2004 |
Internet billing method
Abstract
An Internet billing method comprises establishing an agreement
between an Internet access provider and a customer, and an
agreement between the Internet access provider and a vendor,
wherein the Internet access provider agrees with the customer and
the vendor to bill the customer and remit to the vendor for
products and services purchased over the Internet by the customer
from the vendor. The provider creates access to the Internet for
the customer. When the customer orders a product or service over
the Internet from a vendor, transactional information transmitted
between the customer and the vendor is also transmitted to the
provider. The provider then bills the transaction amount to the
customer and remits a portion of the transaction amount to the
vendor, keeping the differential as a fee for providing the
service. As a result of this method, there is no need for any
customer account numbers or vendor account numbers to be
transmitted over the Internet, thereby maintaining the security of
that information.
Inventors: |
Egendorf, Andrew; (Lincoln,
MA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Clifford Chance US LLP
200 Park Avenue
New York
NY
10166-0153
US
|
Assignee: |
NETCRAFT CORPORATION
|
Family ID: |
23985643 |
Appl. No.: |
10/603347 |
Filed: |
June 25, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10603347 |
Jun 25, 2003 |
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09975839 |
Oct 11, 2001 |
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09975839 |
Oct 11, 2001 |
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09568925 |
May 11, 2000 |
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6351739 |
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09568925 |
May 11, 2000 |
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09057230 |
Apr 8, 1998 |
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6188994 |
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09057230 |
Apr 8, 1998 |
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08499535 |
Jul 7, 1995 |
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5794221 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/40 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 20/02 20130101;
G06Q 20/105 20130101; G06Q 20/40 20130101; G06Q 30/0601 20130101;
G06Q 20/16 20130101; G06Q 30/04 20130101; G06Q 40/04 20130101; G06Q
20/102 20130101; G06Q 30/0613 20130101; G06Q 20/108 20130101; G06Q
20/04 20130101; G06Q 30/0633 20130101; G06Q 20/12 20130101; G06Q
20/14 20130101; G06Q 20/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/40 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An Internet billing method comprising the steps by an Internet
access provider of: establishing a billing agreement with at least
one customer and a remitting agreement with at least one vendor to
bill a billing account of the at least one customer for products
and services purchased over the Internet by the at least one
customer from the at least one vendor and to remit to the at least
one vendor; connecting the at least one customer to the Internet;
obtaining transactional information over the Internet from
communications over the Internet between the at least one customer
and the at least one vendor related to a purchase over the Internet
by the at least one customer from the at least one vendor, wherein
the transactional information includes a transaction amount;
billing the transaction amount to the billing account of the at
least one customer; and remitting a portion of the transaction
amount to the at least one vendor.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising after the
step of obtaining the transactional information and before the step
of billing the transaction amount: obtaining approval from a party
other than the customer to bill the transaction amount to the
billing account of the least one customer.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the approval is
obtained from the provider.
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the approval is
obtained from a third party.
5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the approval is
obtained over the Internet.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the approval is
obtained during communications between the at least one customer
and the at least one vendor.
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the billing account is
one of a credit card account, a bank account, a telephone number
account, a cable television account, and an on-line services
account.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of
establishing the billing agreement comprises establishing a
specification for selecting a billing account to which the
transaction amount is billed.
9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of
establishing the billing agreement comprises specifying a plurality
of billing accounts and wherein the transactional information
includes identification of one of the plurality of billing accounts
to which the transaction amount is billed without specifying an
account number.
10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the billing account is
an account with the provider.
11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the billing account is
an account with a third party.
12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of remitting
comprises sending money.
13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of remitting
comprises crediting a vendor account.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the vendor account is
one of a credit card merchant account, a bank account, a telephone
number account, a cable television account, and an on-line services
account.
15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the step of
establishing the remitting agreement comprises establishing a
specification for selecting a vendor account to which a portion of
the transaction amount is remitted.
16. The method according to claim 13, wherein the step of
establishing the remitting agreement comprises specifying a
plurality of vendor accounts and wherein the transactional
information includes identification of one of the plurality of
vendor accounts to which the transaction amount is billed without
specifying an account number.
17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the vendor account is
an account with the provider.
18. The method according to claim 13, wherein the vendor account is
an account with a third party.
19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transactional
information does not include the billing account number to which
the transaction amount is billed.
20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transactional
information does not include any account number.
21. An Internet billing method comprising the steps by a vendor of:
establishing a remitting agreement with at least one Internet
access provider to remit to the vendor a portion of a transaction
amount billed to a billing account of at least one customer of the
at least one Internet access provider for products and services
purchased over the Internet by the at least one customer from the
vendor; exchanging transactional information over the Internet with
the at least one customer related to a purchase over the Internet
by the at least one customer from the vendor, wherein the
transactional information includes a transaction amount; delivering
the purchased product or service to the at least one customer; and
receiving the portion of the transaction amount from the at least
one Internet access provider.
22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the step of receiving
comprises receiving money.
23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the step of receiving
comprises receiving a credit to a vendor account.
24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the vendor account is
one of a credit card merchant account, a bank account, a telephone
number account, a cable television account, and an on-line services
account.
25. The method according to claim 23, wherein the step of
establishing the remitting agreement comprises establishing a
specification for selecting a vendor account to which the portion
of the transaction amount is remitted.
26. The method according to claim 23, wherein the step of
establishing the remitting agreement comprises specifying a
plurality of vendor accounts and wherein the transactional
information includes identification of one of the plurality of
vendor accounts to which the portion of the transaction amount is
remitted.
27. The method according to claim 23, wherein the vendor account is
an account with the at least one provider.
28. The method according to claim 23, wherein the vendor account is
an account with a third party.
29. The method according to claim 21, wherein the transactional
information does not include the billing account number to which
the transaction amount is billed.
30. The method according to claim 21, wherein the transactional
information does not include any account number.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a method of billing for
commercial transactions over the Internet.
[0002] 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.
[0003] 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.
[0004] 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.
[0005] 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.
[0006] 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
[0007] 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 goods and
services of any value over the Internet.
[0008] 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.
[0009] Still another object of the present invention is to provide
a secure method of billing commercial transactions over the
Internet.
[0010] 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.
[0011] 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.
[0012] 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 or 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.
[0013] 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.
[0014] 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.
[0015] 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 sign up with any
additional provider of services, and without the need to change the
manner in which most customers currently use the Internet.
[0016] 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.
[0017] 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.
[0018] Once 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.
[0019] In accordance with the present invention, the provider has
made arrangements with vendors who wish to sell goods and services
over the Internet to the customers of the provider. The provider
agrees to do the billing associated with such sales for the
vendors, and as part of the agreement, the provider and the vendor
have agreed on the manner in which the provider will remit funds to
the vendor. Examples of payment include payment by check, credit to
the vendor's credit card merchant account, or credit to another
account of the vendor's, such as the vendor's cable television
account, telephone account, or bank account. The account of the
vendor to be credited need not be with the provider. The
arrangements that are made will depend on the vendor's desires and
the capabilities of the provider. For example, if the vendor
anticipates many small transactions and the provider is a telephone
company, they can agree that the provider will credit the vendor's
existing telephone account for amounts under some nominal amount
and credit the vendor's credit card merchant account for larger
amounts. If the vendor anticipates large transactions, then they
may agree that the provider will pay by check or direct credit to
the vendor's bank account.
[0020] In a typical transaction in accordance with the present
invention, from the customer's point of view all use of the
Internet appears to be conventional. Depending upon the
prearrangements made between the provider and the customer and
between the provider and the vendor, the customer can charge a
purchase, for example, to a credit card, to a cable television
account, to a telephone account or to a bank account. The account
of the customer to be billed need not be with the provider. For
example, the customer may be using one telephone company as an
access provider and a second telephone company as a telephone
service provider and the account to be billed is that with the
second telephone company. The customer specifies which account is
to be billed by an indication to the provider, but neither the
customer nor the vendor has to transmit any account numbers over
the Internet, because it is the provider, not the vendor, who
submits the charge to the credit card company, the cable television
company, the telephone company, or to another account of the
customer, or who debits the bank account of the customer, and the
provider already has been given, during the course of making
prearrangements with the customer and the vendor, the appropriate
account numbers of both the customer and the vendor. The provider
sends this information to the appropriate party, and may do so by
the same secure means customarily used for similar transactions not
made over the Internet.
[0021] From the vendor's point of view, the transaction is as
secure as a transaction made over the telephone with a credit card.
If the vendor wishes, the vendor may verify with the provider that
the address supplied by the customer for shipment of the goods has
been authorized by the customer in the same manner in which such
verification would be made for the same transaction made over the
telephone with a credit card. In addition, because such a
verification does not require the transmission of any account
numbers of the customer, the verification can be done over the
Internet as part of the transaction transmission itself if the
provider and the vendor have prearranged to do so.
[0022] From the provider's point of view, the provider is made
aware that the customer has authorized the charge by monitoring the
data being sent over the Internet through the provider's equipment
between the customer and the vendor. This can be done, for example,
by specifying a specific code which, when sent between the customer
and the vendor, indicates to the provider that a transaction has
been completed. When the customer has made a purchase, the provider
charges the transaction amount to the agreed account of the
customer and remits the agreed portion of that amount to the
vendor, keeping the differential as the provider's charge for
making the service available.
[0023] These and other features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description of the invention with reference to the attached
drawings, wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for carrying out the
billing method according to the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of one embodiment of the method
according to the present invention; and
[0026] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of another embodiment of the method
according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] Referring to FIG. 1, a system for carrying out the method of
the present invention is shown. In that system, the Internet is
shown schematically as network 1 to which providers 2, 9, vendors
5.1-5.n, 6.1-6.n and 8.1-8.n, and customers 4.1-4.n and 10.1-10.n
(where n is an integer to indicate a range from one to many) are
connected in different ways.
[0028] Provider 2 is connected to access network 3 and the Internet
1 and provides access to the Internet 1 for customers 4.1-4.n and
vendors 6.1-6.n connected to access network 3. Access network 3 can
be a telephone network, a cable television network, an on-line
services network such as Compuserve, American On-Line, or Prodigy,
or a private Internet access network. Similarly, provider 9 is
connected to access network 7 and the Internet 1 and provides
access to the Internet 1 for customers 10.1-10.n and vendors
8.1-8.n. Vendors 5.1-5.n access the Internet directly by their own
equipment.
[0029] In accordance with the method shown in the flow chart of
FIG. 2, for example, in step 11 provider 2 establishes agreements
with vendors 5.1-5.n who are connected directly to the Internet,
with vendors 6.1-6.n who access the Internet via access network 3
and provider 2, and with vendors 8.1-8.n who are connected to the
Internet 1 via access network 7 and provider 9, to bill customers
4.1-4.n for goods and services purchased by them over the Internet
from vendors 5.1-5.n, 6.1-6.n and 8.1-8.n. Provider 2 also agrees
to remit a portion of the collected money back to the vendors.
Provider 2 also establishes an agreement with each of customers
4.1-4.n. These agreements provide that the provider will bill the
customer for goods and services purchased by them over the
Internet. The billing will be done to billing accounts established
in connection with the agreements. The billing accounts can be, for
example, credit card accounts, telephone accounts, cable television
accounts, on-line services accounts, or bank accounts. The accounts
need not be with the provider if the provider has a billing
agreement in place with the party with whom the account was
established.
[0030] As part of the services of the provider to customers
4.1-4.n, the customer is connected to the Internet 1 in step 12 at
a desired time, typically by making contact via modem. Once
connected to the Internet, the customer can interface with any one
of vendors 5.1-5.n, 6.1-6.n and 8.1-8.n in order to find out about
products or services offered by those vendors.
[0031] When one of customers 4.1-4.n makes the decision to order a
product or service from one of vendors 5.1-5.n, 6.1-6.n and
8.1-8.n, in step 13 an exchange of transactional information occurs
between the customer and the vendor. This exchange may include
identifying information relating to the customer, such as the
customer's Internet address, information relating to the products
or services to be purchased, including the transaction amount, the
manner and time of delivery, and a reference number to identify the
order. The vendor or the customer also can produce a verification
code signifying that a transaction has been completed which can be
received by provider 2.
[0032] In step 14, the transactional information is obtained by
provider 2. The communication can be a separate transmission by the
vendor or the customer to provider 2, or provider 2 can extract the
information from the exchange of information taking place between
the customer and the vendor through equipment of provider 2.
Provider 2 can then send verifying information to one or both of
the customer and vendor to indicate that the transaction has been
approved, if approval of a third party, such as credit card
company, is required. Most importantly, the entire transaction
takes place without the need of communicating the customer's credit
card or other account number over the Internet 1.
[0033] The product or service is delivered to the customer in step
15 and the appropriate customer account is billed by provider 2 in
step 16. Provider 2 then remits the agreed payment in the
appropriate manner to the vendor in step 17, keeping the
differential as a service charge for the services rendered by
provider 2. Steps 15, 16 and 17 may be performed in any order.
[0034] As can be seen from FIG. 1, the method according to the
present invention can be carried out in many ways. For example,
referring to FIG. 3, vendor 5.1 in step 21 can establish remitting
agreements with provider 2 and provider 9 to remit to vendor 5.1 a
portion of a transaction amount billed to the billing account of
any one of customers 4.1-4.n and 10.1-10.n.
[0035] Similarly, each of vendors 6.1-6.n can establish a remitting
agreement with provider 9 for transactions carried out over the
Internet between each of vendors 6.1-6.n and customers
10.1-10.n.
[0036] A customer connects to the Internet in step 22. The customer
exchanges transactional information with the vendor in step 23 and
the vendor delivers a product or service to the customer in step
25, either before or after the vendor receives remittances from the
provider in step 27.
[0037] In accordance with another feature of the present invention,
prior to the billing of the transaction amount to the account of
the customer, and after obtaining the transactional information,
the provider can obtain approval from a third party to bill the
transaction amount to the billing account. This is particularly
true in the case where the billing account is a credit card account
or a bank account. In that instance, approval must be obtained from
a third party, i.e., the bank issuing the credit card or with whom
the bank account was established. Where the account is with the
provider, approval would be obtained from the provider itself. In a
preferred embodiment of the present invention, the approval can be
obtained over the Internet and most preferably during the
communication between the customer and the vendor.
[0038] In accordance with a further feature of the present
invention, the customer can specify a particular billing account,
for example, a credit card account, a bank account, a telephone
number account, a cable television account or an on-line services
account at the time that the billing agreement is established with
the provider. The specification can provide that one account will
be used for certain transactions, and a different account for other
transactions, for example, a telephone account for transactions
less than $5.00, and a bank account for transactions of at least
$5.00. Thereafter, whenever the transaction amount is to be billed,
it will be billed to that specified billing account. Alternatively,
the customer can specify a plurality of billing accounts, for
example, an AMEX account, a VISA account, a Mastercard account at
the time that the billing agreement is established. When the
transactional information is communicated, it will include an
identification of which of those plurality of billing accounts the
customer wants billed, without, however, specifying the account
number of the account. Thus the customer can merely indicate the
account by the "brand" name AMEX, VISA or Mastercard or the
customer can identify it as the first account, second account or
third account on a list previously established with the
provider.
[0039] As noted above, the billing account is not necessarily with
the provider, that is, it can be with a third party such as a bank
issuing a credit card, or a bank at which the customer has a bank
account. Alternatively, the provider can be a first telephone
company, but the billing account can be with a second telephone
company and charged by the first telephone company to the telephone
number account of the customer with the second telephone company,
as is customarily done in connection with conventional
telecommunications services.
[0040] In accordance with the invention, the remitting can be by
means of sending money or by crediting a vendor account such as a
credit card merchant account, a bank account, a telephone number
account, a cable television account or an on-line services
account.
[0041] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the step
of establishing the remitting account comprises specifying a
particular vendor account to which the portion of the transaction
amount will be remitted. The specification can provide that one
account will be used for certain transactions, and a different
account for other transactions, for example, a telephone account
for transactions less than $5.00, and a bank account for
transactions of at least $5.00. In an alternative embodiment of the
present invention, the step of establishing the remitting agreement
comprises the vendor specifying a plurality of vendor accounts to
which a portion of the transaction account can be remitted. Thus
when the transactional information is communicated, the vendor can
identify which one of the plurality of vendor accounts the amount
is to be remitted to without, however, specifying the specific
account number.
[0042] The vendor account can be an account with the provider or an
account with a third party such as a credit card merchant account,
or bank account, with a bank, or a cable television account with a
cable television company.
[0043] It is understood that the embodiments described hereinabove
are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of
the invention. It is realized that various changes, alterations,
rearrangements and modifications can be made by those skilled in
the art without substantially departing from the spirit and scope
of the present invention.
* * * * *