U.S. patent application number 13/707561 was filed with the patent office on 2013-04-25 for compensation model for network services.
This patent application is currently assigned to BENEFICIAL INNOVATIONS, INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is Beneficial Innovations, Inc.. Invention is credited to Dennis J. Dupray, Sheldon F. Goldberg.
Application Number | 20130103468 13/707561 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40642994 |
Filed Date | 2013-04-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130103468 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Goldberg; Sheldon F. ; et
al. |
April 25, 2013 |
COMPENSATION MODEL FOR NETWORK SERVICES
Abstract
A compensation model is disclosed for compensating a network
service provider.
Inventors: |
Goldberg; Sheldon F.; (Las
Vegas, NV) ; Dupray; Dennis J.; (Golden, CO) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Beneficial Innovations, Inc.; |
Las Vegas |
NV |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
BENEFICIAL INNOVATIONS,
INC.
Las Vegas
NV
|
Family ID: |
40642994 |
Appl. No.: |
13/707561 |
Filed: |
December 6, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13310572 |
Dec 2, 2011 |
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13707561 |
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12357623 |
Jan 22, 2009 |
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13310572 |
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12167244 |
Jul 2, 2008 |
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12357623 |
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09502285 |
Feb 11, 2000 |
7496943 |
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13310572 |
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09105401 |
Jun 26, 1998 |
6183366 |
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09502285 |
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08759895 |
Dec 3, 1996 |
5823879 |
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09105401 |
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60947598 |
Jul 2, 2007 |
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60010703 |
Jan 26, 1996 |
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60010361 |
Jan 19, 1996 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.14 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20130101;
G06F 16/24539 20190101; G06Q 30/0212 20130101; G06Q 99/00 20130101;
G06Q 30/0255 20130101; G06F 16/24575 20190101; G06Q 30/0273
20130101; G06F 16/9574 20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14.14 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20120101
G06Q030/02 |
Claims
1. A method for compensating a service provider on a communications
network, comprising performing the following steps by computational
equipment: providing a service for a user to access via a first
network connection to the network, wherein the service includes
presentations that provide for interactivity between the user and a
network site for the service, the service being provided by the
computational equipment: (a) determining service data for providing
the service to the user, and (b) transmitting the service data to
user communication equipment in communication with the network site
via the first network connection; providing a criteria for the user
to satisfy when interacting with the service via the network,
wherein the criteria relates to a proficiency of the user in
interacting with the service; evaluating the proficiency of the
user in interacting with the service via the network according to
the criteria; charging the user a fee if the evaluation indicates
the user has not satisfied the criteria; if the evaluation
indicates that the user has satisfied the criteria, perform the
steps of: charging a reduced fee or no fee, and providing the user
with access to an instance of a prize-winning service not available
to the user unless the user satisfies the criteria; receiving on a
subsequent second network connection, after the user terminates the
first network connection, a user request to activate the service;
receiving first responsive information from the user communication
equipment via a transmission on the second network connection, the
first responsive information indicative of information stored on
the user communication equipment during the first network
connection for the service, the first responsive information
transmitted on the second network connection without the user
requesting the transmission thereof.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the prize-winning
service is free for the user.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the network service is provided
at a first site operated by the first operator, and, including:
receiving by at a second site, operated by a second operator, a
confirmation that the user has satisfied the criteria; and
determining by the second operator that the user is not required to
provide the fee.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of a plurality of users is
required to authorize an initial activation fee to access the
interactive network service.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein (a) an advertiser provides the
fee for the user, (b) the advertiser is selected by the user, and
(c) the advertiser sponsors the prize-winning service.
6. The method of claim 1 further including: obtaining third party
network site information from a communication station used by the
user to access the network; determining, using the third party
network site information, data related to network information
accessed by the user; determining an advertisement by using a
correspondence between subject matter of the advertisement and the
data.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the criteria includes the user
achieving a predetermined level of proficiency related to the
network service.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein if the user, after a given amount
of time, does not achieve the level of proficiency, the user the
fee is charged.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein during the prize-winning service,
the user also receives advertising related information.
10. The method of claim 1, further including a step of receiving a
design from the user for the network service, wherein the design is
selected from the group consisting of landscape designs, auto
designs, and house designs.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the network service and the
prize-winning service both are dependent upon a creation of a
musical composition or a video provided by the user.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the criteria includes a level of
proficiency by the user, wherein the level is determined by a
predetermined group of judges.
13. The method of claim 1, further including a step of providing
the user with a ranking of a second user that is participating in
the interactive network service.
14. The method of claim 1, further including obtaining information
related to Internet interactions by the user, including information
related to a plurality of websites visited by the user.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein said network service requires
that a user's funds are only retained by the service when the user
fails to satisfy a predetermined criteria related to the
service.
16. A method for compensating a network service provider,
comprising: providing a service for a network user to access;
establishing (i) a criteria for the user to satisfy through network
interactions with service, the user consenting to the criteria, and
(ii) a fee for the user, the user consenting to the fee; when the
user does not satisfy the criteria, charging the fee to the user;
when the user satisfies the criteria, providing the user with
access to the prize-winning service not available to the user
unless the user satisfies the criteria, and reducing the fee for
the service.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/310,572 filed Dec. 2, 2011, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/357,623 filed
Jan. 22, 2009, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/167,244 filed Jul. 2, 2008, which claims
the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
60/947,598 filed Jul. 2, 2007; the present application is also a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/502,285
filed on Feb. 11, 2000, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,496,943,
which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/105,401 filed Jun. 26, 1998, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.
6,183,366, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 08/759,895 filed Dec. 3, 1996, now issued U.S. Pat. No.
5,823,879, which claims the benefit of both U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/010,361 filed Jan. 19, 1996, and U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/010,703 filed Jan. 26,
1996; the entire disclosure of each of the above-identified
applications is hereby fully incorporated by reference as part of
the present application.
RELATED FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to method and system for
providing compensation to a network service provider via
advertising and user fees for services.
BACKGROUND
[0003] There are various techniques and strategies for providing
services/products to users via a network such as the Internet,
wherein the network nodes (e.g., websites) providing such
services/products receive compensation by a combination of revenue
streams, including: [0004] (a) advertising, and offering
free/reduced cost services/products as enticement for visiting the
network node (i.e., and wherein such offerings are, e.g.,
subsidized by third parties such as advertisers), and/or [0005] (b)
the sale of services/products for a profit by the entity operating
the network node. However, in many cases, it is difficult to
consistently entice network users to repeatedly visit the network
node and spend sufficient time at the node so that the volume of
user traffic at the network node, and the demographics of the users
trafficking the network node are sufficient to attract a
substantial number advertisers to advertise on the network node.
Accordingly, the revenue streams from (a) above may contribute only
marginally to the profitability of the entity operating the network
node.
[0006] The primary techniques or business models for enticing a
large number of repeated user visitations to a network node (e.g.,
website) is to provide an interactive informational service that
large numbers of users find repeatedly desirable and/or necessary.
Examples of such successful business models are Internet search
engine sites such as Google, social networking websites (e.g.,
www.facebook.com and www.myspace.com), various game websites, video
website (e.g., www.youtube.com), and music websites. However, due
to the competitiveness of network nodes for enticing users
virtually all entities operating commercial network nodes need all
the advantages and/or user enticements that are commercially
feasible to maintain profitable revenue streams. Thus, in addition
to providing free Internet searches, Google (as well as many other
Internet sites) provide other free services/products such as
browser toolbars, desktop search engines, notepads, pictures for
computer monitor background screens, free games, instructional
presentations (e.g., www.digg.com) and news reports. However, it
would be advantageous to provide users with additional incentives
for repeatedly visiting and expending additional time at a
particular network node, such as an Internet website, by providing
the capability to win cash prizes, free products or services,
and/or access to products or services that are restricted from use
by other users.
[0007] For at least some entities operating network (Internet)
nodes, their business models also may include receiving
compensation from users, wherein such compensation can be viewed
as: (i) an activation fee, (ii) a license or subscription fee to
use a service for, e.g., a predetermined amount of time, (iii) a
membership fee, and/or (iv) a predetermined payment from which
funds are withdrawn as the service is used such as in certain
Internet wagering games. Such entities and/or the nodes they
operate will be referred to hereinbelow as "user funded" nodes,
sites, websites, services, entities, etc. User funded sites
typically do not provide unrequested advertising to the users
funding the website, or will present advertisements that are deemed
very beneficial to a likely large number of the users funding the
site. Accordingly, advertising revenues from such sites can be
somewhat diminished. Some network site operators have developed a
hybrid business model wherein some of the services at their network
site are free to users, and the users are presented various types
of advertising which may or may not be demographically targeted to
the users, whereas other portions of the network site that are user
funded and have little if any advertising. Thus, advertising
revenue is derived from only the free services portion of the
network site. However, it would be advantageous for a network site
operator to be able to present more advertising and/or addition
user enticements such as coupons, or reduced cost services/products
to users funding the site to thereby generate, e.g., greater
advertising revenue.
[0008] In some contexts, user compensation, where the users fund
the site, may be considered illegal under the U.S. Federal Wire Act
and/or other U.S. Federal Acts such as the "Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006," ("UIGEA"). In particular, if the
service provided by the network site includes betting, wagering, or
other activity wherein there is a staking or risking of something
of value upon the outcome of a contest of others, a sporting event,
or a game subject to chance, upon an agreement or understanding
that the person or another person will receive something of value
in the event of a certain output occurring, then such U.S. laws may
prohibit such services and/or user compensation therefor. Although
such U.S. laws do not appear to be currently strictly enforced, the
potential threat of enforcement is problematic. Basically, in the
U.S. any service offered may be considered illegal to offer on a
network such as the Internet if a user: [0009] (1) provides
consideration (e.g., funding, a bet or wager) for the service,
[0010] (2) the service can be considered to involve risk to the
consideration provided by the user, and in particular, more risk
than user skill, and [0011] (3) something of benefit can be
obtained such as a prize (cash or otherwise). Note that for such
services to which UIGEA may be problematic (e.g., games of chance
such as poker, blackjack, bingo, lotteries, roulette, etc.), a
distinguishing characteristic that is different from games such as
chess and checkers is that in games of chance there are events in
an instance of the game wherein: (a) such events include risk for
the player winning or losing something of value (e.g., a bet or
wager) with another, and (b) the outcome of the event is not
dependent solely on objective information common to all players.
For example, a wager by a player in an online Internet chess game
may not be considered a game of chance since all events in a game
of chess are dependent solely on the objective common configuration
of the chess board at any point in the game. On the other hand, for
games such as poker, there is in any given game instance a
substantial amount of information that is not common to all players
(e.g., the unplayed cards in the card deck, and the cards in other
players' hands) which substantially impact events during the game
instance, and thereby substantially impact whether a player wins or
loses something of value. However, many so called games of chance
also include skill, and many individuals would assert a good deal
of skill. For example, there are champion poker and blackjack
players who will consistently win substantially more credits more
times than other players, and more than mere random chance would
indicate. Thus, such champions are prime anecdotal evidence that
pure chance does not dictate outcomes of such games. In particular,
it is believed that poker and blackjack (e.g., tournament blackjack
which requires a careful analysis of each contestant's bet as well
as an analysis of the cards each contestant is most likely to
receive) require substantial skill. Alternatively, games such as
purchasing lottery tickets and bingo are believed to require
virtually no skill, and are indeed dominated by random chance
outcomes.
[0012] To avoid violating the UIGEA, network sites offering games
of chance have been forced to: (a) locate outside of the U.S., (b)
wager points or tokens that have no intrinsic value, (c) play such
games without the possibility of winning a prize of monetary value,
and/or (d) play such games without the ability to wager at all.
However, each of these options are undesirable, and in the case of
(a) needlessly cause U.S. funds to be diverted to other countries.
Moreover, none of these appropriately address the fact that many
games of chance are substantially games of skill and should be
treated as such. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to be able
to provide services (e.g., games), wherein a user skill aspect of
the service is capable of being measured separately from random
chance events related to the service. More particularly, when the
service includes playing games of chance that include, e.g.,
generally recognized aspects of skill, it is desirable to play such
games legally in the U.S., wherein prizes of monetary value can be
won. For example, it is desirable for the skill portion of such
games to be separately measured and used to award prizes to players
having demonstrated a predetermined skill level.
[0013] Although Internet gaming in the U.S. is substantially done
by Internet sites that are located in foreign countries (since such
sites are then less subject to U.S. Federal laws), other games and
services may also be subject to such U.S. laws such as UIGEA. For
example, many "pay for play" games may be illegal under U.S.
Federal law if there is an enticement to win a prize, wherein,
e.g., a player pays a fixed amount upfront to play a game and
wherein there is the possibility for the player to win a prize,
e.g., a prize that is worth substantially more than the player's
pay for play entry fee. It is believed that such U.S. laws may be
enforced against any service having: (a) paying users and where
there is some degree of risk (as may be determined by a U.S. court)
is involved, and (b) where there is a prize that can be won wherein
the prize is worth more than the user paid upfront. Accordingly, it
would be advantageous to provide enticements to network (Internet)
users when playing games having upfront payments and that involve
prizes without violating such U.S. laws.
[0014] Referring particularly to Internet sites having free games
wherein game tournaments are provided, there can be a significant
problem with a user/player entering the same tournament multiple
times by entering under a multitude of different user names and
thereby significantly increasing his/her chances of winning the
tournament (and any corresponding prize). For example, even if
distinct email addresses are required for each tournament player,
it is relatively easy for a single user to obtain a plurality of
email accounts. Accordingly, since a person's email address is the
method usually used by a network site to determine whether an
entrant has previously registered, multiple entries by the same
person can significantly increase his/her odds of winning the
tournament. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to inhibit
tournament players of, e.g., free tournaments, from easily entering
such tournaments under multiple user names, and thereby inherently
reducing the attractiveness of the tournament to other users.
Moreover, since the revenue that the network site operator obtains
from the tournament is likely to be from offering advertising
and/or advertiser services/products that are based upon the number
of "distinct" users, it is problematic for the operator to assert
with any certainty to his/her advertisers that the advertisers' ads
are being presented to a sufficient number of distinct users. That
is, the ability of a game site operator to assure that the number
of players it represents to its advertisers is accurate and that
few, if any, entrants are duplicates has been problematic.
[0015] If and when there is a change in the law that allows on-line
gambling in the U.S., there remains the need to provide unique
methods of recruiting users to both free as well as pay for play
type games. Since a "free" game is one of the ways to attract
users, a combination of free and pay for play style games is
believed to be attractive to users and commercially viable for
network site operators. Thus, the problems addressed in this
disclosure will remain issues to be resolved, whatever the state of
the law.
[0016] The advantages identified hereinabove are provided by the
disclosure hereinbelow.
SUMMARY
[0017] The present disclosure is directed to a novel collection of
business techniques or business models (also referred to as a
"compensation model" herein) for addressing the problems, and
attaining the advantages, outlined in the Background section
hereinabove. In particular, the present disclosure describes a
method and system for receiving compensation for network (e.g.,
Internet) services, wherein such services may require users to pay
or fund a first service (e.g., a "user funded" service as described
in Background section hereinabove), and regardless of what elements
of risk (if any) are involved in performing or participating in the
user-funded service, such users may become eligible to legally win
a prize of, e.g., monetary value associated with an instance of a
service (this service referred to herein as a "prize-winning
service") once one or more proficiency criteria in the user-funded
service is demonstrated. Moreover, the present disclosure directed
to utilizing the user-funded service whether or not the
prize-winning service is available. In particular, the user-funded
service may be configured so that a user's funds are only retained
(or charged to the user) by the user-funded service when the user
fails to satisfy a predetermined criteria related to the service.
For example, if the service includes the playing of games, then the
user-funded service may only retain/charge the user when the user
does not play a minimum number of games, a minimum amount of time,
demonstrate a minimum indication of game proficiency (e.g.,
accumulate a minimum number of game points, beat one or more other
players--possibly robot players, place sufficiently high in a game
tournament, etc.). However, it is within the scope of the present
disclosure that other services, instead of games, may be provided
for the user-funded service and/or a related prize-winning service.
For example, such a service may be an Internet search engine, or an
instructional video site wherein a user is only charged for using
the service if, e.g., the user does not access the service
sufficiently frequently during a particular time period, or does
not interact with the service in a particular by the end of a
particular time period (e.g., the user does not contribute to an
appropriate product evaluation, does not contribute an appropriate
instructional video, does not contribute appropriate assistance to
other users, and/or does not contribute appropriate music
recommendations, etc.), then the user is charged a fee for
accessing the service, and/or a previously paid user fee is
refunded.
[0018] Regarding, the prize-winning service, such a service may be
operated by the same service as the user-funded service, or each
such service may be operated by separate operators, wherein user
participation in an instance of the prize-winning service may be
free to the user having established a proficiency/eligibility in
the user-funded service. Additionally, since the users competing
for prizes (in instances of the prize-winning service) are known,
e.g., via credit/debit card network transactions when paying for
the user-funded service, the present compensation model introduces
a greater measure of integrity or fairness into user competition in
that restrictions on a user participating, e.g., under aliases, to
thereby favorably skew odds in his/her favor of winning can be
enforced.
[0019] In a first collection of embodiments of the present
compensation model for receiving an opportunity to win prizes, each
of a plurality of users are required to provide an initial
activation fee or deposit to access a service (a user-funded
service herein, and which may be, e.g., a game or contest).
Subsequently, each of the users can obtain a refund of his/her
activation fee or deposit if and when the user, e.g., achieves a
certain or predetermined level of proficiency (i.e., skill) related
to the user-funded service. That is, after reaching such a level of
proficiency, the user's activation fee or deposit is returned to
the user. In one embodiment, exactly the user's activation fee or
deposit is returned, no more and no less. Note that if more than
the user's activation fee or deposit were returned, then the excess
amount might be legally considered as a prize in certain
circumstances, and thus problematic in the context of, e.g., U.S.
gaming laws. Moreover, the repaying of an amount that is less than
the user activation fee or deposit may also be problematic in that
the ability for the user to activate additional services (e.g., a
"prize-winning service"), wherein prizes of monetary value can be
won, may be considered as a service that the user has also paid for
as well.
[0020] In this first collection of embodiments, once the user has
attained a certain level of proficiency or skill in a particular
user-funded service, and the user's fee or deposit has been
returned, the user may be then eligible to win one or more prizes
of monetary value related to subsequent instance of the
prize-winning service without paying any further fees or deposits.
Accordingly, claims that there has been compensation
(consideration) paid to the network site operator for winning a
prize of monetary are believed (at least in some instances) to be
avoided. Thus, the initial activation fee or deposit may be
properly considered as a fee or deposit for the user gaining
expertise with the user-funded service (or, e.g., similar
services), and such consideration from the user to the site
operator is not at risk for winning a prize since such
consideration was used for a service for which no prizes of a
monetary value were offered, and user's fee or deposit is entirely
refunded when the user reaches an appropriate level of proficiency
or skill.
[0021] In another embodiment of the present compensation model,
users provide nothing of value initially to participate in the
user-funded service. Instead, a user(s) enters into an agreement
with the operator of the user-funded service, wherein the user(s)
agrees that, e.g., after a given amount of time (such as a week,
six weeks, or six months), if the user does not satisfy certain
service related criteria (e.g., one or more proficiency criteria),
then (and only then) will the user be charged for using the
service. Accordingly, the user may be required to provide credit
card information when registering to access the user-funded
service. However, no expense is incurred by the user unless the
agreed to one or more service related criteria are not satisfied.
Note that such service related criteria may be that the user
agrees, e.g., to access the service at a given frequency (e.g.,
once a day), to access the service for a given number of hours per
week, to sponsor at least one new service user per month, etc.
[0022] In some embodiments of the compensation model (including
some of the first collection described above), users having reached
a predetermined proficiency level (or satisfies certain service
related criteria) may pick and choose which from among a plurality
of instances of a prize-winning service (which may be an instance
of the user-funded service or another service) that are provided at
different times, or at different geographical (or network)
locations. Alternatively/additionally, such users may be able to
select from among additional instances of the prize-winning
services, wherein such instances are offered at substantially the
same time. Thus, a user having reached a particular proficiency
level (or satisfied certain service related criteria) in a
user-funded service may enter an instance of a free prize-winning
service for winning prizes immediately after demonstrating his/her
proficiency (or satisfying certain service related criteria), or
the user may elect to participate in such a prize-winning service
for winning prizes at a later date.
[0023] In some embodiments of the compensation model (including
some of the first collection described above), users may activate
or use the user-funded service as much as they desire (e.g., play
as many games as they desire), and/or take as long as they desire
(e.g., within a reasonable amount of time, e.g., six months or a
year) to demonstrate that they have reached an appropriate skill or
proficiency level for qualifying to participate in a corresponding
instance of a prize-winning service wherein there is an opportunity
to win prizes without the users risking anything of value (e.g.,
money). In some embodiments, users may be required to demonstrate
their proficiency (or satisfying certain service related criteria)
within, e.g., a predetermined time, and at the end of the
predetermined time all users will have their activation fees or
deposits refunded. However, only those users satisfying the
predetermined proficiency levels will be eligible to enter the
additional instances of the prize-winning service(s) for winning
prizes.
[0024] In some embodiments of the compensation model (including
some of the first collection described above), a user may
circumvent activating the user-funded service for demonstrating
his/her proficiency or skill by providing alternative evidence that
the user has the desired proficiency or skill to participate in the
free prize-winning service(s) that can result in the user winning a
prize(s) of monetary value. In particular, a user may show his/her
proficiency or skill by presenting evidence of such proficiency in
ways other than providing the activation fee or deposit and
participating in the user-funded service. In particular, in a
gaming context (e.g., game of chance also having an element of
skill), a user may provide evidence that he/she is proficient by
identifying, e.g., a casino or other establishment (or network
site) along with date that the user demonstrated an appropriate
level of proficiency in the user-funded service. For example, if
the user-funded service is the game of scrabble, and a user is able
to verify that he/she has won a well known scrabble contest, and/or
has a National Scrabble Association rating above a particular
value, then the user may be considered sufficiently proficient for
participating in a corresponding free prize-winning service such as
a scrabble contest or, e.g., another word related competition. In
one embodiment, such a user may be required to provide a deposit
for participating in the prize-winning service, and if the user
wins a prize then the user may have to provide his/her evidence of
proficiency before receiving the prize. Accordingly, if the
evidence cannot be verified, then his/her deposit is forfeited. In
one embodiment, when the user-funded service is a game of chance, a
user may assert that he/she has won, e.g., certain amount of money,
a tournament for the game of chance, or won a certain number of
games at a particular casino or during a particular time period as
a way of demonstrating his/her proficiency at the user-funded
service. Moreover, the network site operator may contract with one
or more casinos (online or otherwise) so that both the casino and
the operator's site each advertise one another's gaming services so
that players considered proficient at such a casino may be
automatically considered proficient on the operator's network site.
In addition, when the user-funded service is (or includes) a game,
a user may attain the predetermined level of proficiency by playing
against a software program (e.g., a robot) that is programmed to
play at at least a desired predetermined proficiency level.
[0025] In a second collection of embodiments, the present
compensation model requests users to provide an activation fee or
deposit for using a user-funded service, and once all users have
used the user-funded service as intended (e.g., played the required
number of games within a predetermined time period), all users have
their activation fees or deposits returned them, and additionally
those users demonstrating the most skill (e.g., by winning the most
games) are also provided with prizes in addition to receiving their
refunds. Note that a fundamental difference between the first and
second collections of embodiments is that in the first collection
of embodiments, the site operator has the opportunity to at least
recover some of his/her expenses for enhancing the skills or
proficiency of the users since it is likely that not all user's
will reach the predetermined proficiency level. However, in either
the first or second collection of embodiments, the upfront funding
(and/or providing credit card information for potentially charging)
for accessing the user-funded service is likely to deter a user
from duplicatively registering a large number of times and thereby
skewing the odds in the user's favor of winning a prize. In
particular, since each such registration may be by credit/debit
card, duplicate registrations in a user-funded service (for
eventually participating in an instance of a prize-winning service)
may be inhibited to a great extent by preventing registration (and
payment of the activation fee or deposit) from each user whose name
is identical (or substantially so) to another registered user at,
e.g., a same geographical (or network) address as provided by the
credit card information.
[0026] In one embodiment, the user-funded service and/or the
prize-winning service referred to hereinabove may be an online
Internet game service wherein the game(s) may be poker, chess,
checkers, monopoly, hearts, spades, euchre, canasta, blackjack,
scrabble, video games (e.g., war games), racing games (e.g., auto
racing games), trivia games, Internet search games and/or
investment games (e.g., stock market investment competitions). More
generally, such Internet games and/or contests may be single player
games (e.g., where a user plays against a network site or house),
multi-player games (e.g., multi-player Internet video/simulation
games, or games based on geographical locations of players), games
that include an element of chance (e.g., casino card games), board
games, and/or mystery solving games.
[0027] In one embodiment, the level of proficiency may be one or
more of: obtaining a predetermined number of points (e.g., chips in
one or more poker games), winning a certain number of game
instances (e.g., winning a predetermined number of scrabble games),
winning more games than another user (e.g., winning the most hearts
games in a hearts tournament), obtaining a predetermined number of
points from winning games against other players of a particular
skill level (e.g., winning chess games against chess players having
an Elo rating system above a particular rating), and/or beating a
predetermined number of players having a particular proficiency or
skill level.
[0028] In another embodiment, the user-funded service and/or the
prize-winning service referred to hereinabove may allow users to
compete in the creation of designs such as: landscape designs, auto
designs, house designs, etc. In another embodiment, the user-funded
service and/or the prize-winning service may allow users to compete
in the creation of musical compositions, user produced videos,
etc., wherein the level of proficiency is determined by, e.g., a
predetermined group of judges for judging user entries. In one
embodiment, the predetermined group of judges may be the users
themselves who have paid the activation fee or deposit. For
example, if the user-funded service includes a design or art
competition, then each user may register by agreeing to provide
credit card information which may be charged in the event that the
user's design/art is eliminated from the competition, and not
charged in the event that the user's design/art is not eliminated.
Moreover, user's whose design/art is not eliminated may then be
eligible to enter a free contest (design, art, or otherwise)
wherein one or more contestants may win prizes of substantial
value.
[0029] In one embodiment, the user-funded service may be provided
by a third party network site. For example, if a third party
website provides a service for which a proficiency level can be
determined, then once the users pay a fee (or agree to potentially
paying a fee) to the operator of the site providing the present
compensation model (for determining, monitoring and/or verifying
that users performed the service to a particular proficiency level
on the third party network site), the users reaching the particular
proficiency level (on the third party network site) then would be
allowed to win prizes in free instances of a prize-winning service.
Moreover, the prize-winning service may also be provided by a third
party site or a site owned or controlled by the operator of the
site providing the present compensation model. Thus, an operator
for a network site providing an embodiment of the compensation
model need not actually provide the user-funded service or the
prize-winning service. Accordingly, the operator of the
compensation model provides a brokering service for the user-funded
services and the prize-winning services.
[0030] In one embodiment, the activation fee referred to
hereinabove may be considered as a deposit, wherein such a user's
deposit is forfeited if the user does not reach the predetermined
level of proficiency (or satisfies certain service related
criteria), e.g., within a predetermined time limit, within a
predetermined amount of service activation (e.g., a number of games
played, or a number musical compositions submitted), or the
like.
[0031] In one embodiment, the determination of proficiency (or
satisfaction of certain service related criteria) for the
user-funded service may be assessed by the amount of time a user
has spent interacting with the user-funded service. For example,
regardless of whether a user has met a proficiency level (or
satisfaction of certain service related criteria) according to any
other measurement, the user may be assumed to have a sufficient
proficiency if the user has interacted with the user-funded
service, e.g., a predetermined amount of time, a predetermined
number service sessions, and/or a predetermined number instances of
the service (e.g., games played). Where the user-funded service
includes a game, a user may be deemed to have reached the
predetermined proficiency level if the user has won a predetermined
number of instances of the game, or placed above a certain portion
of the users in a ranking of the users, or won a predetermined
percentage of the games played once at least a certain number of
game instances have been played, or played a predetermined (likely
much larger) number of games, or played a predetermined amount of
time. Moreover, for each different level of proficiency
demonstrated (assuming, e.g., there are multiple levels of
proficiency monitored), the user may be allowed to activate a
prize-winning service for winning prizes associated with the level
of proficiency demonstrated.
[0032] In one embodiment, there may be more than one proficiency
level for users to attain. Thus, when a first proficiency level is
obtained, a user may opt to receive his/her activation fee or
deposit, and then participate in a corresponding instance of a
prize-winning service. Alternatively, the user may instead opt to
proceed to a second level of proficiency, and upon reaching such a
second level, opt for receiving his/her activation fee or deposit
(or at least the equivalent in products or services), and then
participate in a corresponding instance of a prize-winning service
for winning a more substantial prize. In one embodiment, a first
portion of a user's activation fee or deposit may be refunded at a
first proficiency level, and an additional portion may be refunded
at an additional proficiency level. Thus, users may be paid to
enhance their skills (or satisfy certain service related
criteria).
[0033] In one embodiment, the present compensation model may be
used in providing a network service (user-funded service and/or the
prize-winning service), wherein the users registering for the
service may become voting members for determining the proficiency
level for other registered users. For example, the user-funded
service (or instance thereof) may be a graphic design contest,
wherein each registered user can enter up to three designs, and
each member is allowed to vote once for no more than 10 designs not
submitted by the member. Accordingly, the members whose graphic
designs are voted to have obtained the predetermined proficiency
level, would have their activation fee or deposit returned, and
then be eligible to participate in, e.g., a free contest for
winning a prize (the free contest may be another graphic design
contest). Note that the proficiency level for the present
embodiment may be, e.g., receiving a predetermined percentage of
the votes (e.g., 5%), or receiving at least a predetermined number
of votes, or receiving enough votes to be one of a predetermined
number of top vote obtainers (e.g., the designs gathering the 100
highest numbers of votes).
[0034] Moreover, as discussed further hereinbelow, an important
aspect of at least some embodiments of the compensation model is
the fairness of a contest associated with the user-funded service
and/or the prize-winning service. For example, assuming names and
addresses of users paying the activation fee or deposit is checked
against other users that previously paid the activation fee or
deposit for duplicates, such a procedure can be used to prevent a
user from registering a large number of times and thereby distort
the user's chances of attaining a particular proficiency level
and/or subsequently winning a prize. In particular, requiring an
activation fee or deposit can substantially reduce a user receiving
an unfair advantage since when each user pays for each
registration, and the mechanism for such payment via a network
(Internet) transaction requires the user to identify him/herself
via, e.g., a credit card or a debit card. Additional/alternative,
identification may be by a cell phone or other phone number that is
acquired by the network site, wherein such additional information
may used to verify a user's identity.
[0035] In another embodiment, the user's activation fee or deposit
may be designated as a gift to a charity. Thus, the site operator
may not receive any compensation from the user-funded service.
[0036] In at least some embodiments of the compensation model,
network site operators may receive compensation for either or both
of the user-funded service and/or the prize-winning service from
advertisers whose advertisements are presented to users during
their participation in an instance(s) of the user-funded service
and/or the prize-winning service. In one embodiment, advertisers
for the user funded and/or prize-winning service instances may
sponsor one or more users to participate in the user funded and/or
prize-winning service. For example, a well known poker player, or
an especially proficient poker player, may be sponsored by an
advertiser to play in a free poker tournament for winning prizes,
and each poker hand won by a user from the well known poker player
(wherein, e.g., the well known player does not fold) may contribute
to the user winning a prize that is above and beyond merely winning
the poker hand. Additionally/alternatively, an advertiser may
sponsor a user, e.g., based on proficiency information of the
users, wherein the user's potential charges in the user-funded
service are paid (if necessary) by an advertiser selected by the
user. In one embodiment, instead of (or in addition to) paying an
activation fee or deposit, a user may select one or more
advertisers from which to receive advertising and/or from which not
to receive advertising. In the case where a user does not pay the
activation fee or deposit, e.g., when it is paid by an advertiser
or sponsor, the user may win prizes in the so called user-funded
service, and there need not be a separate prize-winning service
instance. For example, a beverage company might sponsor a prize of
free beverages for a year in an instance of a prize-winning
service, and the beverage company may provide the majority of the
ads presented during one or both of the user-funded service and/or
the prize-winning service instances. However, note that it may
still be advantageous for users to pay an activation fee or deposit
(or at least providing card/debit card information) in order to
reduce the possibility of a user receiving unfair advantage in
winning prizes as discussed hereinabove. Advertisers may provide
prizes throughout the game as well as provide a prize to the
ultimate winner(s).
[0037] In one embodiment, a game of skill is combined with a game
of risk so that the combination creates a new game requiring an
entrant to use skill to be recognized as a winner.
[0038] In one embodiment the users may choose the advertiser(s) or
the advertising area of interest that they desire to view. The
ability of a player to recall information in the advertising
presented during the contest may be used to determine the
winner.
[0039] In one embodiment, there may be a combination of a
charitable contribution and a deposit or payment that is for a
predetermined purpose e.g., paying for an item of information or
the ability to cast a vote.
[0040] In one embodiment, an organization for which the user is a
member may provide a deposit for a user-funded service to assist
the user in attaining a higher proficiency level e.g., a dating
service organization may provide its members with the opportunity
to learn and exhibit their proficiency in email etiquette via an
instance of a user-funded service.
[0041] In one embodiment, the present compensation model can be
used for providing more integrity to Internet chat rooms since
users would be required to pay an activation fee or deposit which
may be returned to the user after, e.g., there are fewer than a
predetermined number of complaints about the user.
[0042] Additional features and benefits of the present disclosure
are provided hereinbelow. The present SUMMARY section is not
intended to provide a comprehensive description of the novel
aspects provided herein. The claims provided hereinbelow are
intended to define the novel features for patent protection.
Moreover, to the extent that one of ordinary skill in the art can
modify and/or combine various aspects of the present disclosure,
such modifications and/or combinations are within the scope of the
present disclosure from which patent protection can be sought.
Accordingly, any operable novel combination of the embodiments of
the user-funded service (and its operation), the prize-winning
service (and its operation), and the compensation model (and its
operation) disclosed herein may be recited in the claims
hereinbelow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0043] FIG. 1 shows a high level diagram of one embodiment of the
compensation model which is accessible to users of the
Internet.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0044] Referring to FIG. 1, a compensation model network site 20 is
provided for coordinating and/or controlling both the associated
user-funded service(s) 24, and the associated prize-winning
services 28. Note that the user-funded service(s) 24 and the
prize-winning service(s) 28 may be incorporated into (more
generally, accessible via) the compensation model site 20, or
alternatively/additionally, such service(s) 24 and/or 28 may be
substantially independent of the compensation model site 20. In
particular, the service(s) 24 and/or 28 may be operated or
controlled by a different entity than the one that operates or
controls the compensation model site 20.
[0045] The compensation model site 20 further includes (or provides
access to) a registration module 32 for registering users 36 for
accessing both the user-funded service(s) 24 and the prize-winning
service(s) 28. The registration module 32 is interactive with each
user (via the corresponding user's network station 38) to be
registered via network 40 communications with the network interface
44. The registration module 32 interacts with each user 36 for
obtaining, e.g., user identification information, including name,
address, email address, date of birth, and credit/debit card
information. Additionally, the registration module 32 may request
additional user information such as the types of network services
in which a user 36 is interested in participating, e.g., games of
skill, games of chance, judged contests, development of user
expertise in some area, etc. The registration module 32 may use the
obtained registration information obtained from a potential user 36
to access the user database 48 for determining if there is a user
already registered that may identify the potential user 36. Note,
that data may be provided in the user information stored in the
user database 48 indicating whether there is the possibility that
the user has registered more than once with the compensation model
site 20. However, generally, such user information may be only used
to prevent the dispensing of a prize or winnings if it is
determined that a user 36 entered the same instance of a
prize-winning service under multiple user registrations.
[0046] The compensation model site 20 further includes (or provides
access to) a service related criteria satisfaction module 52 which
collects information on how each user 36 is progressing toward
satisfying constraints related to the one or more user-funded
services which the user 36 has committed to fulfilling. Such
service related criteria may be specific to the one or more
user-funded services 24 for which a user 36 has contracted. Such
user data regarding satisfaction of service related criteria may be
provided to the module 52 from a user-funded service 24 that the
user 36 is able to access. However, if such user-funded services 24
are incorporated into (or operated by the operator of the
compensation model site 20), then at least some of the generic
service related criteria (e.g., time interacting with a user-funded
service 24) may be tabulated directly by the module 52.
[0047] The compensation model site 20 also includes (or provides
access to) an advertising selection engine 56 for providing
advertising to be displayed at network stations 38 when user-funded
services and/or prize-winning services are being accessed by the
users 36 of the network stations 38. For user-funded services 24
and/or prize-winning services 28 incorporated into (or operated by
the operator of the compensation model site 20), such advertising
may be directly joined with service presentations prior to
transmission from the compensation model site 20 to a user network
station 38. However, for user-funded services 24 and/or
prize-winning services 28 incorporated into (or operated by the
operator of the compensation model site 20), such advertising may
be transmitted in a manner similar third party Internet advertising
agencies such as DoubleClick.RTM., wherein a service transmission
received at a user network station 38 may include information for
generating an additional request for advertising information from,
e.g., the compensation model site 20. Note that the advertising
selection engine 56 may select advertising from the advertising
database 60 for presenting to users 36, and such advertising
typically includes one or more hyperlinks that allow a user 36
viewing the advertising to activate the hyperlink and thereby
receive additional advertising information from typically a
corresponding advertiser's network site (e.g., Internet or website)
as one skilled in the art will understand. However, such additional
advertising information can also include alternative user interface
techniques for presenting at least portions of the additional
advertising information to the users 36. For example, such
additional advertising may be transmitted (e.g., joined with
service related information) so that when (if) a user 36 merely
positions his/her pointing device ("mouses over" with e.g., a mouse
or trackball) on or over a display of an advertisement, then
additional information is presented, and such additional
information may be particularly targeted to the user; e.g., a sale
of merchandise in which the user's profile indicates the user is
interested. In one embodiment, there may be a designated portion of
the user's network station display in which such additional
advertising information is presented when the user mouses over a
displayed advertisement. Such a designated portion may be similar
to a news stream across, e.g., top or bottom portion of the network
station display. In one embodiment, the advertising selection
engine 56 attempts to match advertisements in the advertising
database 60 with user profiles stored in the user database 48. A
description of such a matching operation is disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 6,712,702 fully incorporated herein by reference. Thus,
advertising may be targeted to selected users 36 according to their
interests, needs, life styles, etc.
[0048] The compensation model site 20 also includes a manager 64
for controlling and/or coordinating the exchange of information
between the users 36 and the modules 24, 28, 32, 52, and 56 of the
compensation model site 20. Moreover, the manager 64 may join
advertising to service presentations prior to transmission to a
user(s) 36. Thus, since each of the user-funded services 24 and the
prize-winning services 28 are likely to be interact with each of
the users 36 (via their corresponding network stations 38), the
manager 64 may use display frame data for determining how to join
selected advertising for display at a user's network station
38.
[0049] Regarding the user-funded service(s) 24 in more detail, this
module/network site may include a service related criteria
satisfaction module 68 for determining and monitoring the progress
of a user 36 toward satisfying the agreed to one or more criteria
in order to use the user-funded service for free (e.g., have the
user's service deposit refunded, or prevent the charging of a
credit/debit card of the user's). Thus, such a module 68 may
monitor a user's interactions with the user-funded service for,
e.g., an increase in proficiency of the user, an amount of time the
user interacts with the service, a frequency with which the user
interacts with the service, a number of submissions to the service
(such as art, music or informational submissions, etc.).
Accordingly, the module 68 may periodically provides the service
related criteria satisfaction module 52 with information on users'
individual progress. In particular, each module 68 provides the
service related criteria satisfaction module 52 with information
for identifying a user 36 that satisfied his/her service related
criteria, and information identifying a user 36 that did not
satisfy his/her service related criteria (and for which the user
should have to pay for accessing the user-funded service).
Accordingly, the user-funded service 24 provides service related
criteria satisfaction/dissatisfaction information to the manager 64
for storing in the user's data of the user database 48.
[0050] Regarding the prize-winning service(s) 28 in more detail,
each such service 28 provides one or more contests that qualified
users 36 may enter. Each such service 28 has at least one
associated user-funded service 24 from which users 36 that satisfy
the service related criteria for this associated service may elect
to participate in a contest offered by the prize-winning service
28. Each contest preferably provides prizes to winners of the
contest, and such prizes are of a sufficient value to motivate
users 36 to both satisfy the service related criteria, and then win
the contest. Each prize-winning service(s) 28 obtains its eligible
users 36 from the service related criteria satisfaction module 52
(via the manager 64). Moreover, the results of each contest (at
least identifications of the winners, but in some embodiments, also
those that did not win) are also communicated to the module 52 via
the manager.
[0051] Regarding the service related criteria satisfaction module
52, this module may determine whether a winner of a prize-winning
contest is eligible to collect his/her prize. In particular, the
module 52 may determine whether a winning user 36 has enter the
contest more than a legitimate number of times.
[0052] Regarding the user database 48, the database may include the
following fields for each user 36: [0053] (a) User 36
identification, including user legal name, a display name, user
address, email address, date of birth, credit/debit card
information. [0054] (b) Identification of each user-funded service
agreement to which the user is obligated to satisfy certain
criteria or pay for accessing the corresponding user-funded service
28, such identification including the amount that may be required
to be paid for the service, and the amount (if any) already paid.
[0055] (c) For each user-funded service agreement to which the user
is obligated, the amount (if any) paid/pledged by a sponsor (e.g.,
an advertiser) to allow the user 36 to access the user-funded
service. [0056] (d) For each user-funded service which the user is
accessing, an indication of his/her progress toward satisfying the
corresponding service related criteria. [0057] (e) Information
identifying the prizes that have been won by the user 36.
[0058] Regarding the services database 72, this database is
accessed by the prize-winning service(s) 28 (via the manager 64)
for adding information on prize-winning contests when they become
available for participation by users 36, and for deleting
information on prize-winning contests when such contests are no
longer available to be entered by users 36. Moreover, this database
may include information on the prizes of contests, e.g., how/who
provided a prize for a contest, the value of the prize, the number
of users 36 in the contest, the minimum and/or maximum number of
users 36 for the contest etc.
[0059] Regarding the advertising database 60, this database may
include advertiser information as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No.
6,712,702 fully incorporated herein by reference for a
corresponding advertiser database.
[0060] The following pseudo-code may be performed by an embodiment
of the compensation model 20 (together with one or more
corresponding user-funded service(s) 24 and/or one or more
corresponding prize-winning service(s) 28): [0061] Receive user
registration information via a network (e.g., the Internet or an
intranet) site for obtaining access to one or more services,
wherein (i) each user agrees to be bound to the rules for the
service(s) offered; (ii) the user provides identification
information to certify his/her identity; (iii) the user provides
financial information for compensating the operator of the site in
the event that the user does not appropriately satisfy certain
predetermined service related criteria. [0062] If one or more
advertisers contract to sponsor users by paying any potential fees,
allow advertisers to select the users for which they can assume the
obligation for paying any potential user fees. [0063] If a user is
selected by an advertiser for sponsoring, then present to the user
the advertiser's willingness to sponsor the user, and let the user
select from among one or more advertisers for being sponsored,
wherein advertising by the selected advertiser sponsor(s) is also
to be presented to the user when one of the one or more services is
accessed by the user. [0064] When the user accesses (interacts
with) one of the services, [0065] Determine advertising to present
to the user, wherein such advertising is determined based on: (i)
whether the user was sponsored by an advertiser(s), (ii) other
advertisers who have contracted to have advertising presented to
users (e.g., via a third party advertising entity such as
Doubleclick or Google). Note, user profiling can be performed for
determining advertisements to be presented. In particular, the
following user information may used for determining advertisements:
[0066] (a) Since the user is accessing a particular service(s) and
has gone to the trouble registering for the service(s), the user is
likely interested in advertisements related to the service(s) that
he/she can access via such registration; [0067] (b) The general
geographical location of the user is available in many contexts,
and in particular, for the Internet, wherein such geographical
location information can locate the user to a resolution of
approximately corresponding to zip code. One such service providing
such location enabling information is available from Quova at
www.quova.com, and the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,072,963 and
6,684,250 are fully incorporated herein by reference; [0068] (c) If
authorized/permitted, e.g., by the user, read the user's Internet
cookie file for identifying other network sites visited by the
user, and in particular, comparing various versions of the user's
cookie file for determining subject matter that may be frequently
accessed by the user, and thus using a correspondence between
subject matter of advertisements and the network sites visited by
the user; [0069] (d) Providing the user with, e.g., browser plug-in
software providing a capability to: (i) manually terminate a
currently presented advertisement, e.g., the user may provided with
a graphical button that may be clicked on so that the user can
activate the plug-in to terminate a particular advertisement from
being presented (and/or re-presented), or (ii) "select an
alternative" advertising category, wherein the user is allowed to
select advertising categories from which advertising is to be
received. Thus, if the user receives a beverage advertisement, the
user may select alternative advertisement related to automobiles;
[0070] (e) Monitoring how the user interacts with the service(s)
for which he/she registered.
TABLE-US-00001 [0070] .smallcircle. Monitor the user's progress
toward satisfying the agreed to service related criteria; and If
the user satisfies the service related criteria then { Inform the
user of such satisfaction; Identify the user as being eligible for
entering one or more (if any) instances of prize-winning services;
Store data identifying that the user has satisfied the service
related criteria; If the user has paid upfront for any portion of
the service then { Determine how to refund/reimburse the user for
his payment (e.g., credit card refund, providing the payment for a
different service, etc.); Refund/reimburse the user; } Else { /*
The user has not paid for any portion of the service */ If a
sponsor(s) paid for (is obligated to pay for) at least a portion of
the user's service fee then { Inform each sponsoring advertiser of
such satisfaction of the service related criteria; Store data
indicating that the sponsor does not have to pay for the service; }
If the user is obligated to pay for the service then Store data
indicating that the user does not have to pay for the service; } If
the current service being accessed can be continued to be accessed
by the user then { If there is a next more advanced level of the
service then { Ask the user if he/she wishes to advance to the next
level of the service; Advance the user if requested to do so,
otherwise do not; } } Else /* the user has not satisfied the
service related criteria */ Periodically (e.g., every week) inform
the user of his/her unsatisfied service related criteria;
.smallcircle. Monitor any time constraints within which the service
related criteria must be satisfied; e.g., If a time constraint has
expired, then { Inform the user of such expiration, and that he/she
has not satisfied all the service related constraints; If the user
has not satisfied the service related criteria then { Identify the
user as being ineligible for entering one or more (if any)
instances of prize-winning services corresponding to the
user-funded service for which the service related criteria are
applicable; Store data indicating that the user has not satisfied
the service related criteria; If the user has paid upfront for any
portion of the service then Release the payment for use by the
operator of the site; Else { /* The user has not paid for any
portion of the service */ If a sponsor(s) paid for (is obligated to
pay for) at least a portion of the user's service fee then { Inform
each sponsoring advertiser of such non- satisfaction of the service
related criteria; Store data indicating that the sponsor must pay
for the user's access to the user- funded service; } If the user is
obligated to pay for the service then Charge the user's credit card
for any remaining portion of the service fee still remaining
unpaid; } } For each prize-winning service instance available DO {
.smallcircle. Determine users that are eligible to access the
prize-winning service instance, this step including: For each user
whose eligibility is known, e.g., due the user satisfying the
related criteria for an associated user- funded service instance DO
Notify the user that he/she can enter the prize-winning instance;
For each request from user's requesting entry into the prize-
winning instance DO { If the user is known to have satisfied the
service related criteria for an associated instance of a user-
funded service instance then Enter the user into the prize-winning
service instance; Else { If other users can enter then Determine
and store the user's qualification information for entering the
prize-winning instance; } } .smallcircle. Conduct the prize-winning
service instance. }
[0071] Email notification may be used to notify a user of where the
user stands in satisfying service related criteria for an instance
of a user-funded service (e.g., a game), and/or for an instance of
a prize-winning service instance. Moreover, such notification may
be transmitted to the user's phone or cell phone. Additionally, an
Internet feed and/or instant message may be used to also allow a
user to access the user-funded and/or prize-winning service (e.g.,
blackjack, poker, and/or chess). For example, a user might play a
game while in a motor vehicle, and might even receive prizes or
some type of "comps" for playing. Voice recognition may also be
used to allow the playing of games in an efficient manner, e.g., in
a motor vehicle or other environment where the user's communication
device available for receiving speech/voice commands (e.g., a
mobile phone). For instance, if a user is playing blackjack while
in a motor vehicle, words and/or phrases such as "hit me" or "fire"
may be used, since it is well within the state of voice recognition
technology to readily recognize such simple phrases.
[0072] For a service (e.g., a game) being offered on a network,
such as the Internet, wherein the interactions are essentially
verbal by the user, the network site providing the service, in one
embodiment, may user speech recognition processing and may also use
text analysis processing. Text analysis processing is for
recognizing a textual conversion of spoken dialogue for determining
the actions requesting to be performed by a user. The text analysis
functionality of the network site preferably includes identifying
words and/or phrases and/or sentences that instruct the network
site (e.g., a website) that then takes predetermined actions, and
in performing such actions, the network site provides feedback to
the user verifying the action(s) performed, either prior to or
immediately after the action(s) is to be performed. For a user to
play a game substantially verbally, game plays may be made by the
user via spoken text or speech and such speech is translated into a
stream of text transmitted to the network site, the network site
then performs text analysis for determining a next game
configuration requested by the user. Upon determining the likely
user request, the network site then preferably acknowledges to the
user the action(s) to be performed, and requests confirmation from
the user to perform the action (e.g., the game play).
[0073] In one embodiment the network site may instruct the user
regarding the words, phrases and or sentences which the network
site recognizes for performing actions such as game plays (or other
actions for other services). Alternatively/additionally, the user
may be able to use conventional speech without the network site
providing predetermined speech patterns that the user must provide
for the network site to perform particular actions. Accordingly,
the network site processes user input and attempts to determine
standard actions that are typically spoken to perform the service.
For example, in blackjack when playing a game substantially
verbally, the user may use the following phrases without being
taught or without these phrases being specified by a blackjack
playing website: "hit, stand, stay, double down, split, surrender"
whereas in poker, the words "raise, ante, fold, see you" may be
standard.
[0074] The present method and system for receiving compensation for
network services provides numerous benefits over prior art business
models for receiving compensation, including the following
benefits. [0075] (a) The present compensation model provides
incentives for users to increase their skills at the service (e.g.,
playing a game, designing a landscape, teaching the user to fly an
airplane, teaching the user how to invest in the stock market,
etc.). [0076] (b) It is believed that even small fees will cause
users to disproportionately increase their interest in using the
service since users have a invested interest in the service, and
can be get their investment back if they enhance their skills.
Accordingly, the present compensation model pays users to become
more skilled, and it is believed that users will recognize the
benefits of the present compensation model for them, and thus
develop greater loyalty to the network site using the present
compensation model. [0077] (c) It is believed that users will
tolerate advertising being presented even though they have paid for
the service since there is the expectation that the service is
ultimately free when they satisfy certain service related criteria
(e.g., reach a particular proficiency level) for them to not be
charged and/or their activation fee or deposit to be refunded.
Thus, the operator of the network site can obtain advertising
revenue and user revenues for the same service. [0078] (d) By
requiring users to be responsible for paying an activation fee or
deposit (which may be as low as, e.g., $1 or less), users must
identify themselves, e.g., via a credit or debit card or some other
financial transaction instrument. Accordingly, for a service such
as a game tournament with the subsequent opportunity to win
substantial prizes, duplicate entries by a user may be detected.
That is, in using a credit or debit card, a user is required to
input his/her name, address, and credit card number. Accordingly, a
user having the same last name, and the same address as another
user, may be asked for additional information for distinguishing
the two users such as whether the user is male or female, and/or
date of birth. Moreover, all users may be requested to declare that
they have only entered such a tournament once, and when a user wins
a prize, the present compensation model may perform additional
checks for further assuring that the user has not entered multiple
times. Accordingly, the use of such financial transaction
information for providing greater integrity and fairness to the
service (particularly, competitive services such as games or
contests) is believed to be an important benefit of the present
compensation model. Moreover, perceptions of integrity can be
extremely important for network sites and the services they provide
since the inherent lack of personal contact between communicating
parties is not particularly conducive to assuming a service is
impartially or fairly operated. [0079] In an alternative
embodiment, some services may not require rigidly monitoring or
assuring a single entry per user to a particular service (or
instance thereof). Accordingly, in such circumstances, the
activation fee or deposit may be increased to a level that
generally inhibits a user from activating the service under
multiple identifications or aliases since both a separate
activation fee or deposit would be required for such user
identification or alias. [0080] (e) The use of proficiency levels
can add integrity or fairness when users are in competition with
one another. For example, before a user enters such a service
multiple times for substantially increases his/her odds of winning
(free) prizes, the user would have to demonstrate a particular
proficiency level under each of the user's aliases. Thus, the
demonstration of proficiency levels may be, by itself, a deterrent
to a user entering such a service multiple times. [0081] (f) The
present compensation model can provide additional revenue to the
operator of a network site since at least some users, if not most
of the users, may not satisfy certain service related criteria
(e.g., reach the predetermined proficiency level), and accordingly,
the operator retains the users' activation fees or deposits. [0082]
(g) The service related criteria (e.g., proficiency level) can be
adjusted and/or tailored to the needs of the operator of the
network site. For example, an operator of a network site that
derives (or intends to derive) its revenues from advertising may
set the service related criteria (e.g., proficiency level) for the
service, e.g., a game (or games), at a sufficiently high level so
that users activating the service are exposed to a large number of
ads while attempting to satisfy the service related criteria (e.g.,
reach the proficiency level). Moreover, if the service related
criteria includes, e.g., a length of time the service must be
activated/utilized, and/or a predetermined number of service
instances activated (e.g., a number of game instances played), then
the operator has greater assurance that the advertisement
expectations of the operators advertisers will be satisfied.
Furthermore, if the service related criteria is sufficiently high
such that many of the users do not satisfy the service related
criteria, then the site operator retains the users' activation fee
or deposit. [0083] Alternatively, if the operator wishes to derive
revenue from offering coupons of advertisers, and/or inexpensive
items of advertisers, then the service related criteria may be made
low enough so that most users satisfy the service related criteria,
and subsequently the users may be given the option of selecting one
or more coupons and/or sponsor items in addition to, or in lieu of
all or a portion of their activation fee or deposit. Moreover,
since users satisfying the service related criteria will be
provided with the opportunity to win additional, e.g., more
substantial, prizes for free, users are likely to tolerate
subsequent advertising during instances of the service for which
such additional prizes may be won. Additionally, user selection of
particular coupons and/or items as part of their refund (and/or in
addition to their refund) provides additional information about the
users, and such information can be associated with the users'
identities for presenting to such users additional advertising,
coupons, and/or sponsor products/services that is likely to be of
interest to the user.
[0084] If a fee is to be returned or refunded, instead of the fee
being returned immediately, such fee may also be transferred by
either the player or the site to another game, website, or another
entity as agreed or as set forth in a predetermined agreement an
operator of a network site providing (at least a portion) of the
services for the compensation model.
[0085] In one embodiment, the user activation fee or deposit may be
reduced if the user is identified by one or more other users as a
user that motivated them to register for a user-funded service.
[0086] The advertising necessary to inform potential users of a
network site that utilizes the present compensation model may be
spread by word of mouth, and/or various social networking sites.
However, to facilitate awareness of such network sites, ads for
such network sites may be placed upon disposable mats. In
particular, such mats may be provided in dressing rooms and other
locations where people are concerned about their feet touching a
floor due to concerns for cleanliness or the fear of contracting a
foot disease/infection. Such mats may have a water repelling
surface on at least one of the sides and a germicide provided on
the surface on the side that the user is to place his or her feet.
Advertising may be placed upon at least one of the mat sides. The
mats may be precut to a size large enough for a person's feet to
avoid touching a floor's surface or the mat may be dispensed by
using an "endless" roll--or a roll from which many mats may be
dispensed with the aid of perforations at various locations in the
roll so that advertising mats may be used in said dressing rooms.
Alternatively, such foot mats may be available in a plurality of
sizes (e.g., similar to shoe sizes). Moreover, such foot mats may
be secured to a person's foot via straps that adhesively adhere to
one another or to the mat. The mats may be provided at little or no
cost. Embodiments of such mats may be also used for "place mats"
upon which food may be placed. The advertising mats may also be
made of a material and size that allows them to adhere to shirts or
other material such as bed sheets. Additionally, such advertising
may be provided in the form of stencils for placement upon bedding
or wearing apparel, wherein such bedding or apparel may be provided
at little or no cost to the public and/or a third party.
[0087] The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented
for purposes of illustration and description. Further, the
description is not intended to limit the invention to the form
disclosed herein. Consequently, variation and modification
commiserate with the above teachings, within the skill and
knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present
invention. The embodiment described hereinabove is further intended
to explain the best mode presently known of practicing the
invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the
invention as such, or in other embodiments, and with the various
modifications required by their particular application or uses of
the invention.
* * * * *
References