Patent ID: 7340428

Claim:
A method for conducting an auction for a sponsor, comprising: receiving score computation information, at an auction system computer, for computing respective composite scores for respective bids submitted to the auction, the score computation information for computing a composite score comprising: a selection of a plurality of categories as evaluation criteria for the bid; a setting of parameters for each of the selected categories; and a weight specified for each of the selected categories; receiving a bid from one or more participants, the bid including bid information corresponding to the selected categories; calculating a weighted value for each one of the selected categories based on the parameters and weight for each of the selected categories and the bid information; determining the composite score for each received bid based on the weighted values for each of the selected categories; and identifying the bid having the highest composite score, wherein at least one of the selected categories is set to a value provided by the sponsor, and wherein the at least one of the selected categories set to a value provided by the sponsor relates to an evaluation of the participant by the sponsor, wherein the step of receiving a bid from one or more participants comprises: receiving values corresponding to the selected categories before the bid is submitted; calculating a weighted value for each one of the selected categories based on the parameters and weight for each of the selected categories and the received values; determining the composite score based on the weighted values for each of the selected categories; and displaying the composite score to the participant from which the values were received before the bid is submitted.