Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20020147659?dq=5,687,325
Timestamp: 2016-08-31 06:57:48
Document Index: 263827817

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 11', 'art 12', 'art 13', 'art 11', 'art 12', 'art 13']

Patent US20020147659 - Certified web site business - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA Web site serves as a portal to only certified Web sites where any products or services listed through these Web sites are certified as genuine. The Web site (named, for example, certified.com) assures the claims by verifying and obtaining strict guarantees from the client companies whose Web sites...http://www.google.com/patents/US20020147659?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20020147659 - Certified web site businessAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20020147659 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 09/828,796Publication dateOct 10, 2002Filing dateApr 10, 2001Priority dateApr 10, 2001Publication number09828796, 828796, US 2002/0147659 A1, US 2002/147659 A1, US 20020147659 A1, US 20020147659A1, US 2002147659 A1, US 2002147659A1, US-A1-20020147659, US-A1-2002147659, US2002/0147659A1, US2002/147659A1, US20020147659 A1, US20020147659A1, US2002147659 A1, US2002147659A1InventorsSe Hong, Marshall SchorOriginal AssigneeHong Se June, Schor Marshall I.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (1), Referenced by (11), Classifications (14), Legal Events (1) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetCertified web site business
US 20020147659 A1Abstract
A Web site serves as a portal to only certified Web sites where any products or services listed through these Web sites are certified as genuine. The Web site (named, for example, certified.com) assures the claims by verifying and obtaining strict guarantees from the client companies whose Web sites are listed in the certified.com Web site. The certification can be restricted to apply only to a portion of a client Web site. The invention solves the problem of lack of knowledge about the trustworthiness of Web sites by providing “checking” services that verify the claims made for a Web business. The checking is done via normal audit procedures, as is currently customary, and the keeping of records. The Web site is an Internet version of such assurances as UL listings and Good Housekeeping Seals of Approval so that customers can trust what they get from Web sites; however, the Web site goes beyond just putting a seal on a product or service. It clearly marks what claim about each item offered is certified. The client companies that list their business products pay certified.com fees for its certification of their Web site, and guarantee continued compliance with the certification by a contract with appropriate clauses in case of violations. Certified.com also generates revenue for advertisements on its Web page and hits made through its Web page search engine. Images(3) Claims(12)
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention generally relates to electronic business (e-business) and, more particularly, to a Web site through which customers may search for products and services that are certified regarding certain aspects of their business products and services. [0003] 2. Background Description [0004] When a person navigates through typical Web sites, there is little guarantee that the claims for the products or services that are advertised or offered are genuine as claimed. In “bricks-and-mortar” businesses, as contrasted with businesses on the Internet, certifications are provided by such institutions as Underwriter Laboratories (UL), Good Housekeeping, etc. These certifications assure consumers of the quality and claims of products to a certain degree. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a Web site which is a portal to only those Web sites that contain certified products or services customers desire to find. [0006] According to the invention, a Web site (named, for example, “certified.com”) is established and maintained by a certification service. This certification service may be a stand alone business or a service sponsored by an existing business. If an existing business, the name of that business may be incorporated into the Web site (say, “certified.ibm.com”) in order to induce or enhance customer trust in the certification service. The certification service assures the claims of a product or service provider by verifying and obtaining strict guarantees from the client providers (e.g., companies, individuals, etc.) whose Web sites and products or services are listed in the Web site. The certification can be restricted to apply only to a portion of a client provider Web site, product or service. In this way, the invention solves the problem of lack of knowledge about the trustworthiness of Web sites by providing “checking” services that verify the claims made by a Web business for its products or services. The checking is done via normal audit procedures, as is currently customary, and the keeping of records. [0007] The invention is an Internet version of such assurances as UL listings and Good Housekeeping Seals of Approval so that customers can trust what they get from Web sites; however, the invention goes beyond just putting a seal on a product or service. It clearly marks what claim about each item offered is certified. The client companies that list their business products pay certified.com fees for its certification of their Web site, and guarantee continued compliance with the certification by a contract with appropriate clauses in case of violations. Certified.com also generates revenue from advertisements on its Web page and hits made through its Web page search engine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0008] The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which: [0009] [0009]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the certified.com Web page and its connection via a server with a domain database; and [0010] [0010]FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing the business process flow according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION [0011] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram illustrating the certified.com Web page and its connection via a server with a domain database. The Web page is roughly divided into three parts: a central part 11 in which various advertisements are posted, a customer part 12 in which customers may search the Web site, or send e-mail to certified.com, and a provider part 13 in which client providers can register, log on, inquire about status, and obtain account information. [0012] In the central part 11, there is a word phrase “what we are” below the logo for certified.com which can be clicked on to link the user of the Web site to information about the company, what is being certified and recourse to a provider if a product or service fails to be as certified. There are several advertisements 14 1, 14 2 and 14 3 in this section, and each of these can be clicked on to activate hypertext links to pages that reveal more about the subject product or service, the features certified and information about the provider of the product or service. [0013] In the customer part 12, a search window 15 is provided in which a customer can enter a key word or phrase to be searched by a search engine. Once the key word or phrase has been entered into the window 15, the customer clicks on the word “Go” which causes the key word or phrase to be passed to a search engine implemented on a server 16. The customer can also send e-mail to certified.com by clicking on the phrase “e-mail to us”. Clicking on this will link to a page containing a form which can be filled in by the customer and then submitted to certified.com. [0014] The provider part 13 has four words or phrases, each of which can be clicked on by a provider to link to pages containing a form that the provider fills in and submits to certified.com to either register, log on to the site or obtain information. [0015] The server 16 is connected to a data base 17 which feeds the business process applications that reside in the certified.com's server. The search engine is for customers' (consumer clients) use. Activity monitoring and analysis provides information for the push engine. The push engine volunteers the offerings according to the estimated customer preferences. An invoice generator for the provider clients bills for certified services rendered. A dynamic Web page composition engine modifies the Web page based on information generated by the search engine and the push engine. [0016] The purpose of the Web site is to certify products and services. This certification is not a general seal of approval or recommendation; rather, it is a certification of the truth of certain claims made about a product or service. Among the things that can be certified are [0017] 1) the specifications of a product, [0018] 2) claims of authenticity made by the provider, [0019] 3) titles to a product or products, [0020] 4) service guarantees (performance, delivery time, repair time, etc.) made by the provider, [0021] 5) provider qualifications (certifications, licensed, insured, etc.) [0022] 6) price guarantees, [0023] 7) warrantees, and [0024] 8) merchandise return policy. [0025] Not all facts claimed are necessarily certified. Those which are certified are individually and explicitly specified. More particularly, what is certified is prominently highlighted in the Web page either by flashing entry or some easily spotted color or boundary. Highlighted entries in the Web page include hypertext links to information concerning the entries. Clicking on the entry will give the details of the certification including effective date and remedy in the case of violation. The agreement between certified.com and a client provider allows certified.com to directly rule on customer/provider disputes according to the terms and conditions established with the client provider. [0026] [0026]FIG. 2 shows the flow of the business process. The business method begins by solicitation of candidate providers in step 21. This solicitation may be by direct sales calls, media advertisements, telephone solicitations, or, as indicated by FIG. 1, the Web page of certified.com. A candidate provider responds in step 22 with a list of claims for its product or service which it desires to be certified. In step 23, a contract is established with the candidate provider which establishes the rights and liabilities between certified.com and the candidate provider. These include the fees payable to certified.com for verification of the candidate provider's claims for its product or service and posting of the verified claims on certified.com's Web page. It also establishes the remedies that certified.com can provide customers against the candidate provider for certification violations. Once the contract has been established, certified.com performs the claim verification in step 24. Those claims that are verified are posted in the domain Web data base 17 in step 25. Advertisements posted on the Web page will prominently indicate the certified claims for the provider's product or service. [0027] While the invention has been described in terms of a single preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS6658394 *Aug 8, 2000Dec 2, 2003Squaretrade, Inc.Electronic seals* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7653569 *Jan 26, 2010At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.Systems and methods for delivering advertisementsUS8196203 *Jun 5, 2012Symantec CorporationMethod and apparatus for determining software trustworthinessUS8595833 *Jun 4, 2012Nov 26, 2013Symantex CorporationMethod and apparatus for determining software trustworthinessUS9076151 *Feb 12, 2009Jul 7, 2015The Rubicon Project, Inc.Graphical certifications of online advertisements intended to impact click-through ratesUS20020152134 *Apr 12, 2002Oct 17, 2002Mcglinn Thomas A.System and method for protecting internet consumers and for certifying, identifying, segregating and locating traditional "brick and mortar" merchant businesses on the internetUS20070022296 *Jul 25, 2005Jan 25, 2007Gordon CaverlyElectronic data registry and certification system and methodUS20090327084 *Dec 31, 2009SiteScout CorporationGraphical certifications of online advertisements intended to impact click-through ratesUS20100077479 *Sep 25, 2008Mar 25, 2010Symantec CorporationMethod and apparatus for determining software trustworthinessUS20120246721 *Sep 27, 2012Symantec CorporationMethod and apparatus for determining software trustworthinessUS20140344144 *Sep 13, 2012Nov 20, 2014Monk Akarshala Design Private LimitedCertification of learning applications in a modular learning systemUS20150169782 *Dec 18, 2013Jun 18, 2015Dassault Systems Enovia Corp.Component Obsolescence Registry* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification705/26.35, 707/999.003, 705/26.62, 705/27.1International ClassificationG06Q30/06, G06Q30/02Cooperative ClassificationG06Q30/0641, G06Q30/0609, G06Q30/0625, G06Q30/02European ClassificationG06Q30/02, G06Q30/0609, G06Q30/0625, G06Q30/0641Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionApr 10, 2001ASAssignmentOwner name: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES, NEW YORKFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:HONG, SE JUNE;SCHOR, MARCHALL I.;REEL/FRAME:011732/0104Effective date: 20010403RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services