Patent ID: 7415427

Claim:
A method of performing a negotiation on a computer network, said method comprising: initiating an auction, wherein said auction comprises at least one auctioneer and at least one bidder, said at least one auctioneer entering a Request For Quote (RFQ) to initiate said auction, said RFQ comprising a listing of at least one commodity, each said commodity associated with a listing of at least one public attribute; each of said at least one bidder responding to said RFQ; calculating a Pareto-Optimal point for said auction and determining whether said Pareto-Optimal point is satisfied for said auction; in response to determining that said Pareto-Optimal point for said auction is not satisfied, retaining those participants of said negotiation who are closest to said Pareto-Optimal point for a subsequent round of said negotiation; and identifying those participants that are moving closer to said Pareto-Optimal point; and in response to determining that said Pareto-Optimal point has been satisfied, terminating said negotiation and announcing a result of said negotiation.