Patentseed

Google’s patent application for “MULTIPLE PARTY ON-LINE TRANSACTION” describes a method for making a purchase involving multiple individuals.  For example, you and your boss, where you need a product for work and your boss needs to make or approve the actual purchase.  

The summary describes the invention in this way.

“One method includes the actions of receiving a role associated with one or more parties involved with a purchase transaction, receiving a routing rule associated with the purchase transaction, the routing rule defining how the purchase transaction is routed among the one or more parties, and processing the purchase transaction based on the role of each party and the routing rule.”

The patent application’s first Claim reflects this.  Are there no other systems doing this today?  Perhaps a B2B procurement system?

eBay is undoubtedly the champion of selling used goods.  Those who follow Amazon closely know all too well that Amazon launched their own online auction system and failed miserably.  Well, it looks like Amazon may be ready to do battle once again.  Amazon recently filed a continuation patent application (12/332,246) which has a priority date that goes as far back as Oct 2001.  The invention is for marketplace where users can sell to one another.  Sort of like a classifieds, but with a twist.  The marketplace is tied into their catalog system, which is pretty much Amazon’s primary model. 

The images do a pretty good job of describing the system.  For example, say you own a Canon SD1100IS and would like to sell it.  You can search for the product on Amazon and click to sell yours.  This will add a link to your used camera (which will be listed in the marketplace) from the Canaon SD1100IS page in the catalog.  You set a price and specify the condition.  Future visitors to the catalog page will see the link and may follow it to the marketplace and purchase your used camera.  Also interesting is the ability for buyers to post that they are willing to buy it used and post the price and condition they are looking for.  This is then also linked from the catalog page.  Could this be a better way to sell used?  It’s already available for merchants selling used, but will it work for user to sell used goods like eBay does?

This patent application by Google may be on to something.  As we’re all intricately aware, Google has done more than anyone else to capitalize off PPC (pay per click).  Their patent application, 11/948,171 brings the same concept to telephone calls.  As coined in the patent application, advertisers would be charged based on a “cost-per-call amount.”  Here’s how the “cost-per-call” advertisement works.  Let’s say an advertiser has a phone number for consumers to place an order, and let’s call this a “second telephone number.”  The “first telephone number” is a number created for an advertisement that is associated with the “second telephone number” - i.e., calls to the “first telephone number” are forwarded to the “second telephone number.”  When an ad is displayed, and somebody calls the “first telephone number,” Google is able to track this call and charge the advertiser the “cost-per-call.”  To prevent call fraud, Google also discusses the concept of a “call-through event” which would make sure that the advertiser wasn’t charged for more than say 5 phone calls from the same number.

Have you ever installed the Skype plug-in which recognizes phone numbers whether you’re browsing the web or reading email, and lets you call via Skype immediately?  Well, eBay is applying a similar concept for making payments.  We just covered eBay’s patent application for sending payment over a social network last week.  Not surprisingly, they appear very focused on making their payment system ubiquitous.

In one embodiment of their recent patent application 11/940,403, you’ll be able to right click on an email address and have the option to send payment to that individual.  Simple enough, right?  Just be sure you don’t misclick and accidentally send money to that random email address.

If your massive multiplayer gaming character is more popular than you are, Sony’s patent application 12/360,070 may be of great interest to you.  It looks like Sony will be making it much easier for you to capture video clips of your game play and posting to your website.  The patent application covers:

• Manually or automatically triggering the start of a recording.  Automatic triggering can occur by a criteria you specify.
• Capturing the video prior to the start trigger (which is cached for this purpose) and after the end trigger.
• Uploading to a blog, web page, or social networking site

The figures reveal what the application might look like.  As seen in one of the figures, this could be a universal video capture application across all of Sony’s games.

Google is always getting smarter.  Expect them to know the sentiment of a company, product, and you soon.  “Sentiment is generally measured as being positive, negative, or neutral.”  Knowledge of sentiment is valuable data, especially to a CMO and Wall Street analysts.  But how can a machine determine sentiment?  One good way is Google’s patent application 11/844,222. 

Today, sentiment is calculated based on identifying positive and negative words expressed in a document about a particular entity.  This however doesn’t capture the full story.  For example, while “low power” may be a negative word for electric cars, it would be a positive word for laptops.  And that same “low power” might mean little to nothing if the entity were a restaurant. 

Google’s answer is to produce a “domain-specific sentiment classifier for classifying sentiment expressed by documents in a specified domain.”  By doing so, Google can more intelligently generate a sentiment score.  If Google can get this right, it will be a golden tool for good PR companies and a thorn in the side for bad PR companies.

In a financial rut?  Well, why not ask your facebook network for some financial support?  Or better yet, does a friend owe you money?  Then what better way to get paid than by announcing it on Facebook?  Okay, perhaps we’re citing misuses for eBay’s “Payment Processor” social network application as mentioned in patent application 11/935,139.   We’re sure there are advantages to using a “Payment Processor” application within a social network.  Anyone care to throw in their two cents?

But we do like eBay’s sense of humor.  Being bitten by a zombie should take the shock out of seeing a $350,000 request for payment from your buddy.

We’re suckers for sci-fi concepts, so when we see the word “holographic”, we’re immediately sold. And it’s usually even more newsworthy when the patent applicant is Microsoft. Unfortunatley, patent application 11/935,549 did disappoint a little. The patent application discloses a method and system for a virtual meeting, where holographic images are used. The novelty appears to be the ability to control whether a particular holographic image is privately viewable or publicly viewable. Here’s an example Sony provides:

“Based on the private setting, user A as a virtual image within the meeting space will not be viewable by user B. The user or invitee virtual image privacy or public setting can be useful in a situation in which a superior wants to monitor a meeting without changing or affecting meeting flow or user demeanor. Thus, user A, user B, user C, and speaker X can be monitored within the virtual meeting space by a boss in order to gain a real and uninfluenced insight on the virtual meeting and/or users invited thereto.”

Simply put, your virtual meeting may be monitored for quality purposes.

Sony apparently doesn’t think so. Rather than having just static images, Sony aims to bring “moving images” (i.e., video). It’s not clear exactly how they plan on presenting this data to end-users, but Sony’s patent application 11/935,098 reveals how they plan on capturing the “moving images” and associated meta-data. The idea of comparing an area throughout time (day vs. night, different seasons, different years, etc.) is discussed. The patent application states: “In this fashion, a user of the geographical map service may also see a video recording made on a certain location or a number of locations during different seasons.” Not sure how video is an advantage here though. The application goes on to state: “Moreover, if the recording is made from a vehicle in motion, the user of the service interested in getting driving instructions from the interactive map service may also get a much better idea about how to drive…” We’re not completely sold.  Good luck Sony.