Patent ID: 7454378
Filing Date: 2008-11-18
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method for operating an offer matching system comprising the following steps: (a) receiving from a first participant a first description of a first offer; (b) associating the first offer with a first identifier, the first identifier not associated with any offer other than the first offer; (c) if the first description did not disclose the first identifier, sending the first identifier to the first participant in a manner that discloses to the first participant that the first identifier is associated with the first offer; (d) receiving from a second participant a description of a second offer; (e) the offer matching system's executing the first offer at least in part against the second offer in accordance with a set of rules that govern the operation of the offer matching system; (f) receiving from a first disclosee a first request for information, the first request includes the first identifier, wherein wherein the first condition is selected from the group consisting of: (g) selecting a third offer that satisfies a second condition, the second condition comprising a requirement selected from the group consisting of: (h) in response to the first request, and without the offer matching system's determining that the first request is from a person entitled to receive confidential information concerning the third offer, sending to the first disclosee a first data item concerning the third offer, whereby the first disclosee, which already possesses information which discloses that the first related person satisfies the first condition, gains possession of information which discloses that the first data item concerns the third offer which satisfies the second condition.