Patent ID: 7792707

Claim:
A system to control overtime in an auction, comprising: a processor configured to: define a first time interval corresponding to at least a portion of time during which bids are submitted to the auction for a first lot defined at least in part by a buyer, a second time interval, and a first closing time for the first lot, wherein the first closing time is at least initially defined as a specified scheduled closing time; determine that at least one new bid for the first lot is received during the first time interval, the at least one new bid being received within a triggering interval; determine a correlation between a rank of the at least one new bid and a rank of at least one other bid previously received for the first lot; and extend the first closing time using the second time interval if the correlation between the at least one new bid and the at least one other bid satisfies a trigger criterion that is based on a rank of the at least one new bid and the at least one other bid; and a memory coupled to the processor and configured to provide the processor with instructions; wherein the first closing time corresponds to an end of the first time interval if the first closing time is not extended, and the first closing time corresponds to an end of the second time interval if the first time interval is extended.