Patent ID: 8195569

Claim:
An electronic bazaar operating on a distributed, electronic network, comprising: an advertiser personal information agent (PIA), accessible to a seller by way of a networked device, configured to advertise one or more products or services for trade, the advertiser PIA also configured to send over the network one or more items of personal information regarding the seller and one or more rules governing processing of the seller's personal information items; a buyer PIA, accessible to a buyer by way of a networked device, configured to shop for the products or services for trade, the buyer PIA also configured to send over the network one or more items of personal information regarding the buyer and one or more rules governing processing of the buyer's personal information items; a product database for storing product information concerning the products or services for trade, the product database being accessible to the buyer and advertiser PIAs; and an electronic broker computer program, residing on at least one networked server connected to the network, for providing trusted processing of one or more trade interactions between the buyer and advertiser PIAs where the trade interactions involve an exchange of personal information items between the buyer and advertiser PIAs, the electronic broker computer program including: means for maintaining the privacy and integrity of the personal information and rules provided by the buyer and advertiser PIAs, and means for allowing only a trusted process to securely access the personal information and rules from the buyer and advertiser PIAs to ensure that the rules are satisfied before the trade interactions for the products or services for trade are processed.