Patent Application
20090112712
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to method and system for requesting opinions, information and/or analysis.
2. Related Applications
This application is related to an application entitled “A Method and System For Requesting Prior Art From the Public in Exchange for a Reward” (Attorney Docket No. 21233/0208018-US0) filed concurrently herewith, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wall Street investors rely on receiving information and analysis of daily investment and other information to execute trades in time frames of hours or even minutes. For example, the financial community is interested in the validity of patents in making investment decisions. Similarly, the validity of patent portfolios for public companies can affect stock prices, and knowledge about the validity of patents is applicable to valuing the company that owns the patents.
When the analysis of the information requires additional information from third parties, traditional research procedures are normally employed. These procedures involve contacting a relevant third party, such as outside analyst firms or one or more individuals with specific expertise in the area of interest. The information, which is to be analyzed, is outsourced to the firm or person and a response, for example immediate feedback or an in depth analysis of the outsourced information, is returned. This process can be repeated either serially or in parallel any number of times to increase the likelihood of receiving additional information that is both accurate and timely.
However, in almost all instances, the firms and persons whom the investor can access are limited to those known to the investor and possibly known to the investor's business contacts. The process is further limited by the time constraints placed on receipt of the additional information or analysis, which imposes a limit on the number of personal contacts (and their contacts) that can be accessed to insure timely receipt. A processing approach that can be implemented, for example, involves giving the information, which is to be analyzed to an investment bank or analyst form to garner the broader resources of large institutions. As an alternative, if the information is valuable and similar analyses are replicated for the investor's overall investment arena, the investor can hire a third party research provider or an expert in the field with substantially similar credentials to provide continuing related information or analysis. The above-mentioned procedures are useful in obtaining high quality people to provide on time and high quality analysis of various topics. However, these traditional research approaches have the limitations of predefined accessible contacts and time constraints.
Third party research providers accessed by investors have attempted to solve this limitation by gathering together a pool of experts in various disciplines to provide their subscribing investors with access to these individuals for consultation on information within their field of expertise on a timely basis. These sources of information and the analysis they provide increase the odds that the investor will receive high quality information. However, this traditional structure is limited to consultants who do not participate directly in the market determined value of the information they provide nor the market determined revenues of the information exchange.
In some instances members of the public have been requested to send relevant information to a central source, in this case, a company, which was sued for patent infringement. More particularly, Netscape presented a request on a web site which it hosts called mozilla.org (the text is available as of Feb. 10, 2000 at http://www.mozilla.org/legal/wangsuit.html) for prior art to defend against a patent infringement action by Wang (based on U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,669). The request was therefore made available to visitors of Netscape's mozilla.org web site. Visitors were asked to respond by providing prior art to invalidate the patent claims on a gratuitous basis. As of Feb. 10, 2000, Netscape reported that the case settled. The payment to the consultants who responded either was gratuitous or a fixed fee.
Another company, Bounty Quest, had a web site offering payments to those who can prove or disprove patent claims and providing a means to settling patent disputes between companies. The company hoped to exploit the concerns of those who feel that the US Patent Office is failing to serve the new economy. Bounty Quest encouraged scientists, engineers, professional researchers or any people with specialized knowledge to find evidence critical to issues of patent validity and share this information with companies involved in patent disputes. Bounty Quest essentially created a human search engine of knowledgeable “Bounty Hunters” who tracked down this type of fugitive information for fixed cash rewards. Bounty Quest rewards started at $10,000 and went higher than $1 million, depending on the value of the information as predetermined and set forth as a fixed monetary amount in the “bounty”.
This invention taps into the best minds in the world to provide the highest quality analysis or answer to a set of facts or a question that is posed by a subscriber where the reply is time sensitive and for a fee for a response which can consist of either or both of fixed and variable components.
In an embodiment of the invention, individuals employed in a common field, such as Wall Street investors, subscribe to a service that sends information from the subscribers to experts in various fields for analysis in response to one or more specific questions. The information, which can be a specific or general question, a set of facts, a recent political event, etc. is broadcast to experts worldwide for an analysis in return for a finder's fee. A web site platform is provided for the exchange of information and communications between the subscribers, who provide the requests for information, and the experts who prepare the analysis or answers to the submitted question. The web site host (hereinafter “host”) also provides for the exchanges and communication between the worldwide experts and the subscribers. The host can also support communications directly between subscribers and experts.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a further incentive is provided to the experts and subscribers based on an auction of advanced notice of a finder's fee search answer where the auction bidders are the subscribers.
In another embodiment of the invention, a fixed monetary reward in the amount of, for example, $5,000 or $10,000 can be offered as an incentive for the experts to turn their immediate attention to the question being considered.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the subscribers can rank the answers they receive, for example, on a scale of 1 to 10 or any other ranking system appropriate to provide easily executed feedback from the subscribers in a quantifiable manner, which can function as a basis for revenue bonuses for distribution to the best performing experts.
In a still further embodiment of the invention, additional incentives can be provided to subscribers or institutions which employee subscribers motivate them to provide timely rankings, and thus encourage full participation in the ranking system. For example, one or more subscribers who have input the highest percentage of rankings entered can be awarded individual bonuses that can be related to the host's profitability.
In an additional embodiment of the invention, incentives can be provided to institutions to encourage their members or employees to participate as subscribers or experts in the information exchange.
In another embodiment of the invention, the host's profits can be distributed in various percentages to the host company. The institutional experts can be encouraged to be the investors in the host company since the investors will have the greatest incentive to have their members participate.
In another embodiment, the questions can be distributed to the subscribers before the search announcement, e.g., one hour before the search announcement, to allow the subscribers to judge the value of the process that is to begin, i.e., whether the information sought in the search would be valuable to them. Also, the replies or partial replies submitted by the experts can be distributed to the subscribers before the answer announcement to the public to allow subscribers to hedge or make trades before the information becomes public. In one embodiment the questions can be presented for the subscribers to bid for in auction for notice in advance of other subscribers with a percentage of the auction bid being given as additional compensation to the expert(s) providing the insurer(s).
The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, the preferred features of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other systems and methods for carrying out the same purposes as the present invention. In the present invention, alternate equivalent embodiments may employ, whether in whole or in part, firmware and software. Further, elements of various embodiments can be combined. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.
The foregoing and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claim, and the accompanying drawings in which:
The application of the inventive information exchange to various subject matters as disclosed herein is without limit. It can be implemented, for example, as a resource for questions on patent law. In this context, the experts will be professionals and non-professionals in the patent field. As institutional experts, patent departments of law schools, patent or technology departments of universities, law firms, patent analysis companies, and patent law or technology research companies can be used. As individual experts, professors or employees affiliated with these institutions, patent law students, technology interested professionals or individuals can be used. Clearly, the subject matter of interest is not restricted to any one or group of subjects, but applies to various legal, technology or data sectors relevant to any issue. It may be implemented by submitting questions to multiple subsets of experts who can use any identifiable source of information to generate responses to the questions.
The invention is particularly useful to the investment subscribers, such as Wall Street investors, because financial markets are very sensitive to new relevant information. When the area of interest relates to the financial community, the present invention may be implemented through a single exchange or multiple exchanges, each devoted to a different subject matter. An information exchange according to the present invention will be provided with hardware and software system 610 as shown in
Also connected to network 612 is web site 616, in which an embodiment of this invention is implemented. Web site 616 posts one or multiple prior art requests.
Since web site 616 is also connected to network 612, users 615,715 can access web site 616 from any computer 614,714 throughout the world having appropriate network access and software, such as a web browser. In alternative embodiments, users 615, 715 can gain access to web site 616 or the business supporting it, including web site 616 employees, from other mechanisms, such as E-mail outside web site 616, facsimile or telephone.
Various hardware devices can operate web site 616. Such devices are a design choice which are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and do not limit this invention. For example, a web server 617 can service users 615, 715 of web site 616, including storing and operating the applications, screen displays and images for web site 616 as well as the sub-systems for operating web site 616, etc. Also, a database server 619 can store databases requests, users 615, 715 responses, rewards and all other programs and data to support web site 616, etc. A mail server 618 also can be included in order to communicate E-mail between users 615, 715 and web site 616. Additional web servers, database servers and mail servers can be added to support an increased load on web site 616. Also, web site 616 can be generated, operated, updated and administered by a computer 620 that connects to servers 617, 618 and 619 supporting web site 616. Computer 620 operates based on a processor 622 under the control of a program. For ease of reference, such processing will hereinafter be indicated by the use of the term “Computer 620.” Computer 620 also includes memory 624 (including one or more storage elements, such as a hard disk or RAM; additional memory can be added). Computer 620, processor 622 and memory 624 are used to access servers 617, 618 and 619 and run the software necessary for generating and maintaining web site 616. Computer 620 can also process communications between user 615, 715 and employees of web site 616, such as, for example, E-mail using mail server 618, facsimile or telephone, etc. In addition, computer 620 can be implemented in one or more computers such as, for example, computers 614, 714. Other alternative communications between users 615, 715 and the employees of web site 616 such as, for example, postal mail, facsimile, outside computer 620, etc. are also contemplated as within this invention. In addition, many other hardware configurations known in the art can be used to implement this invention.
It is understood that the application of the disclosed information exchange system 610 complies strictly with all United States and international laws involving the dissemination of information in general and financial information in particular. The system can implement specific processes to prevent the distribution of insider information, confidential information or information limited by contract to a third party vis-à-vis experts.
The experts can be qualified for participation based on executing a contract not to disclose any illegal, confidential or third party owned information or information which they otherwise are encumbered from disclosing (hereinafter, non-public information). In one embodiment, a focus for qualifying experts can be those professionals who owe a separate ethical or professional duty not to divulge any non-public information. For issues that relate to the financial environment, any additional processes available as part of the best practices on Wall Street can be employed to address this issue. Institutional experts can be required to implement an internal compliance process for their member or employee experts before the information can be submitted to the host for processing. The experts can be cleared for participation in the information exchange based on their agreement not to divulge illegal information or information which is illegal to divulge.
Referring to
As shown in
The host 616 that operates the information exchange can employ an in-house staff to monitor questions and also to provide fundamental answers where possible to questions on various subject matters. For example, patent lawyers or financial analysts on staff can provide basic information and/or verify or build upon answers from experts. When steps are hereinafter referred to as being executed by the host or exchange, it includes employees or those affiliated with the exchange with authority to make the described decisions. The host implements a process by which it determines within one hour whether the answers to the questions submitted (alone or in combination with in-house expertise) would be valuable enough to the subscribers to be worth distribution to the experts (step 104). The experts can also be enlisted to submit preliminary data or draft answers which may be improved in substance or presentation by the actual search, in order to give the exchange host some additional, although incomplete information as to whether a question under development is likely to have an answer valuable enough for distribution to subscribers. If the valuable response standards are met, processing is then returned to
In
If the processing is returned to step 16 in
In
When the winning bid is posted, any adjustment to the finder's fee, if the finder's fee includes a percentage of the auction-winning amount, is also posted (step 212). It is here noted that an automatic fee analysis engine, i.e., software that sets the fee based on a variety of factors, can determine the fee. In an alternative embodiment, the winning bid(s) are not posted (not shown). Processing is then returned to step 22 in
Returning to
The auction processing for an answer is shown in
Returning to step 26 of
Regardless of the source of the question, once approved and the auction process completed, the host posts and/or distributes the question to the experts. The exchange then gathers the responses to the question by the experts and determines whether there are winning answer(s) (step 58). In this embodiment, the monitoring phase step 14 is implemented so that an answer is available for distribution. At advanced auction duration, the exchange posts the answer(s) to the auction winners (step 60) first. At the general distribution duration, the exchange posts the answer(s) to all of the subscribers (step 62).
The rankings for the source(s) of the answers are then executed by the exchange (steps 64 and 66,
In
Returning to
In
In practicing the invention, individuals employed in a common field, such as Wall Street investors, subscribe to the service run by the host or exchange. It then sends requests for information, in the form of one or more specific questions, from the subscribers to experts in various fields for analysis. The information, which can be a specific or general question, a set of facts, a recent political event, etc. is broadcast to experts worldwide for an analysis in return for a finder's fee. A web site platform is provided for the exchange of information and communications between the subscribers who provide the requests for information and the experts who prepare the analysis or answers to the submitted question
Typically time-sensitive questions critical to investment decisions are presented on the web site. One or more of the host, subscribers and/or experts can initiate the questions. Experts provide answers to the questions. The host selects the best answer or combination of answers, posts them and pays a finder's fee to the source expert(s). The finder's fee can be a fixed monetary amount and/or include a variable component tied to the quality of the information, profitability of the host or other variable incentives. For example, revenue stream bonuses can be distributed on a question basis where an expert provides an answer that results in an increase in the profitability of the host or exchange, such as, for example, a surge of new subscribers.
A further incentive can be provided to the experts and subscribers based on an auction of advanced notice of the finder's fee search answer with the auction bidders being the subscribers. There can be two or more distributions of the answer for this embodiment, one or more advanced distributions and another general distribution. The finder's fee can include a percentage of the auction-winning bid. For example, where the time frame for providing an answer to the subscribers generally is 3 hours from the announcement of the question, (although the time frame can be shorter or longer, e.g., days or weeks, the duration does not limit the scope of the invention) advance notice of 2 hours is provided to the top auction bidder, top limited number of auction bidders (for example, 2 or 3), or the advanced notice can be varied as a function of the top limited number of auction bidders (for example, the top bidder receives 2 hours advanced notice, runner up 1.5 hours and third 1 hour).
A fixed monetary reward in the amount of, for example $5,000 or $10,000 can be offered as an incentive for the experts to turn their immediate attention to the question being considered. The auction bid amounts can have minimums, e.g., $5,000 or $10,000. The auction-winning bid can then be provided in whole or part as a component of the finder's fee amount. For example, the total amount can be distributed as 30% for the host and 70% for the expert. The auction bidding can be posted to stimulate further bidding. In contrast, all bidding can be withheld from distribution to any of the participants, experts or subscribers.
In an embodiment of the invention, the subscribers can rank the answers they receive, for example, on a scale of 1 to 10 or any other ranking system appropriate to providing easily executed feedback from subscribers in a quantifiable manner to provide a basis for revenue bonuses to high performing experts. On some periodic basis, for example, quarterly or yearly, the expert(s) with the highest rankings can receive an added incentive bonus, for example, a percentage of the host's profits (such as 5% or 7%). The rankings and/or revenue stream to date can be posted on the web site to stimulate expert participation (this information can be provided to the experts or only the subscribers). Other levels of bonuses can be provided to experts to spur on participation on a more general basis. For example, any expert who provides a minimum number of answers ranked at 7 or higher can participate in a periodic lottery for a percentage of the host's profits. In contrast, all information about periodic rankings can remain private. To continue with the example of 5% or 7% for the highest-ranking expert, the lottery can allocate a smaller percentage such as 1%, 2% or 3%.
Further incentives can be provided to subscribers to provide timely rankings to encourage full participation in the ranking system. For example, one or more subscribers with the highest percentage of rankings input, may receive individual bonuses that can be related to the host's profitability.
Further incentives can also be provided to institutions to encourage their members or employees to participate in the information exchange. For example, the institution with affiliated experts whose experts receive the cumulative highest rankings compared to any individual expert and/or a combination of experts from another institution may receive an added incentive bonus, for example, a percentage of the host's profits (such as 5% or 8%).
The investors in the host company and the winning institutional experts can be the same entity. An example of distribution of the host's profits can be, for example, for the host company, for investors in the host company, ranking winning institutional experts and ranking winning individual experts: 70%, 20%, 8% and 2% or 70%, 20%, 5% and 5%; or 70%, 18%, 7% and 5% (these are exemplary, any percentage combinations are within the scope of the invention). These are merely exemplary and can be modified to any combination including the host company receiving a smaller percentage than any one or more of the other participants in the revenue stream. Subscribers providing rankings also can participate in a percentage of the exchange or host's revenues, for example, 1%, 2% or 5% et al. Where the investors in the host company and winning institutional experts are the same entity as investors, they will have the greatest initial incentive to have their members participate. In such a case the host itself need not make a profit and all the profit can go directly or indirectly to ranking winning institutions and winning individual experts without any investor percentage. In such an event the investors do not participate in a percentage of the company profits. Also, the host's profits can be higher or a greater share than that given to institutional experts and individual experts.
The time frames for processing a single finder's fee search can begin with the announcement of the search to the experts and a request for information about whether any expert can produce a response in the timeframe for distribution to the subscribers. If the host is satisfied that a response is forthcoming, the search announcement can be given to subscribers to start an auction. For example, the search announcement and questions can be distributed to the subscribers with one hour time limit to judge the value of the answers or partial answers submitted to determine whether a valuable answer will be available should the question be distributed to subscribers. If the host determines that a valuable answer will be forthcoming, the question can be sent to the experts with a general distribution to all subscribers of, for example, 3 hours. This can be particularly applicable during the early phases of the exchange to ensure that subscribers who rely on the distribution of an answer at the end of the question duration receive valuable information. In this case, the 1-hour can be applied prior to the posting of the question to the subscribers so that the total duration from initial introduction of the question to the experts is 4 hours and to the subscribers is 3 hours in this embodiment. The time periods can vary and these examples are merely exemplary and do not limit the scope of this invention.
Around the same time, the auction can be announced, with a duration of one hour, for distribution of the answer(s) in advance of the general subscription distribution. To continue with the 3-hour time frame from announcement to subscribers until general distribution example, the advanced notice can be 2 hours or varied depending on the auction structure for top winners to get the same or varied distributions. These times can be expanded or contracted (for example, the best answer(s) in 15 or 30 min.) as a function of maximizing the information and/or timeliness of any information in the answer. Multiple distributions also can be built in for initial answers (e.g., 15 or 30 min.) followed by more developed answers according to specific time frames or on an ongoing basis. The auction structure can be built into any of the distribution structures. For example: the auction can be for a 15 min. answer as advanced notice with the auction duration of 10 min.; or the auction can be for 5 min. advanced distribution of ongoing answer(s) with the first distribution at 10 min. after a 5 min. auction etc. The structure of the auction and general distribution can be driven by the value of the information at issue and by maximizing the exchange structure for profit to all those involved in the revenue streams. The finder's fee search structure can also be implemented without an auction component. The distribution can include a single best answer or a combination of answers from various experts.
There are many alternatives for the payment of finder's fees and allocation of rankings. For example: where the answer is a combination of multiple responses from experts, primary and secondary parts can be identified and the finder's fee can go to the primary answer with the additional information being secondary; the finder's fee can be divided and apportioned to the primary and secondary experts; the ranking for the answer(s) can be broken down into rankings for each contributor or applied to each of the experts to give secondary experts with more focused points the benefit of providing more narrow information as an adjunct to primary information; or, for a single or primary expert for an answer, a minimum finder's fee can be guaranteed (for example, $5,000) and for a secondary expert, a smaller finder's fee can be guaranteed and the secondary expert can gain the benefits of additional ranking opportunities separately or in combination with the primary expert.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the exchange can facilitate personal exchanges generally between experts and subscribers (for example, in later phases of the exchange implementation) or on a consulting basis. These personal interactions can result in additional opportunities for ranks, such as for example, double ranking points for personal appearances, whether a meeting or triple points for presentations with a percentage of income earned directly from the subscriber being paid to the exchange. Where the incentive of bonus revenue distribution is high enough based on the rankings system, personal contact can be facilitated and will profit the exchange.
Experts also can provide time sensitive information, analyses and/or answers for investment decisions of the host. The host can then determine whether to market the information for the expert depending on the quality of the analysis. The host can present it as a question to stimulate the generation of the highest quality information. The host can initiate questions based on, for example, an important news event on Wall Street that must be analyzed to provide subscribers with the highest quality analysis upon which to base their investment decisions. Experts can initiate questions based on information they deem to be relevant to investors. The answers to questions can be required by the host to be provided on a time critical time frame, so the experts can gain an advantage in providing an answer to a question that they pose. Subscribers can initiate questions that are of particular importance to them. The derivation of questions from all sources enhances the robust nature of the exchange.
The host also can add specific news blasts with general information.
As the system matures and becomes more robust and answers are readily available to questions, the host can reduce monitoring or enable the exchange of information to occur on a free market basis, to the extent that any alternative structures comply with all applicable United States and international laws.
he reward amounts and percentages and the time frames provided herein are merely exemplary and can be scaled up or down without limit with the objective of balancing profitability for the host with monetary levels sufficient to maximize time critical participation of individuals and institutions and the quality of the answers.
None of the examples of structure or implementation of finder's fee searches is intended to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, they are exemplary of the numerous and varied implementations of the finder's fee search and incentives to optimize the generation of time critical information, including or omitting the auction component and any or all of the additional incentive components discussed herein.
While there has been described herein the principles of the invention, it is to be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended, by the appended claims, to cover all modifications of the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
