Patent ID: 7558752
Filing Date: 2009-07-07
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. An online auction system comprising: an auction server; a market specification console coupled to the auction server over a network, wherein the market specification console configured to enable a market designer to specify a market phase for an auction, the market phase having a predefined termination time, and wherein the market specification console is configured to enable a market designer to define an auction allocation policy to govern the market phase; an auction module coupled to the auction server, the auction module configured to perform a transaction to automatically adjust a submitted bid for an item during an auction, wherein the submitted bid is associated with a trading identity, wherein the adjustment to the bid is based on the auction allocation policy, wherein the adjusted bid is to be compared with a plurality of competitive submitted bids to determine whether the adjusted bid is successful, each of the plurality of competitive submitted bids is associated with a plurality of competitive trading identities, wherein the submitted bid indicates an amount due for the item when the adjusted bid is successful, and wherein the submitted bid is a different value relative to the adjusted bid; a universal trading console configured to receive during the market phase of the auction a first bid for an item having a fixed quantity from a first trader over the network, wherein the first bid has a first bid price and a first bid quantity, the first bid being one of a plurality of bids from a plurality of traders during the market phase, wherein the first trader is one of the plurality of traders; a bid transformer configured to automatically adjust the first bid price received during the market phase of the auction from the first trader based upon the allocation policy associated, wherein the bid transformer coupled to the universal trading console via a network; a bid verifier configured to check the adjusted first bid price to verify that the first bid satisfies a set of bid criteria to determine whether the first bid is admitted for the market phase; and a clearer coupled to the auction server, the clearer configured to compare the adjusted first bid price with a plurality of admitted bids for the market phase, wherein the clearer is configured to select a plurality of successful bids from the plurality of admitted bids including the first bid and a second bid after the predefined termination time, the second bid having a second bid price and a second bid quantity, the second bid being from a second trader of the plurality of traders, the second trader being associated with a predefined group according to the allocation policy, wherein the clearer is configured to allocate a first quantity of the item for the first bid, wherein the clearer is configured to allocate a second quantity of the item for the second bid, the second quantity being no greater than a predefined percentage of the fixed quantity, the predefined percentage being associated with the group according to the allocation policy, the sum of the first quantity and the second quantity being no greater than the fixed quantity, the first bid price to indicate an amount due for the item, wherein the first bid price is a different value relative to the adjusted first bid price.