Patent ID: 7650294

Claim:
A computer implemented system for managing and processing supply and demand information for participants in an equipment market, the system comprising: a data processor programmed to receive and store electronically received data comprising public information and private information, in a relational database in an electronic storage medium, wherein said relational database comprises a published information portion, a community information portion, and private information portion, and the computer implemented system assigns the information identified as private information an unique requirements reference number and stores the information in the private information portion; wherein the private portion comprises private demand information of a system user and is selectively accessible to other users of the system; and wherein the public portion comprises public supply information and public demand information and is accessible to all system users; a business logic engine comprising computer readable program code executed on a host computer wherein the business logic program code comprises: a search engine for selectively retrieving data from the database; and an interface engine for communication between a system user and the data processor and the business logic engine whereby the business logic engine operates on data processed by the data processor and the interface engine displays results of operation by the business logic engine; a communications engine for enabling demand side subscribers to post public information, private information, or combinations thereof, comprising equipment demand requirements and receive responses from at least one designated group of supply side system users or all supply side system users and simultaneously and for enabling supply side system users to post public information, private information, or combinations thereof, comprising equipment supply information and respond to equipment demand postings from at least one designated group of demand side subscribers or from all demand side subscribers; and wherein the equipment market comprises drilling and production equipment for oil and natural gas.