Patent Application
20220027971
The present disclosure is generally related securely distributing funds. More specifically, the present disclosure is directed to securely distributing commissions and data relating to commissions earned by members of a multilevel marking organization.
A Multilevel marketing (MLM) commission payment system is a sales methodology used by some direct sales companies, which may be used to encourage existing distributors to recruit new distributors who are paid a percentage of their recruits' sales. The recruits are “downline” of the distributors. The term “downline” is used to describe sellers of products that have been sponsored by a sponsor (i.e. a sponsee of the sponsor) to sell products. The term “upline” is used to refer to sellers of products that sponsored a given sponsee. As such, sponsors are distributors that are upline from their sponsees and sponsees are distributors that are downline from their sponsors. Terminology used in the art refer to a recruit or a new person (i.e. distributor) sponsored by a sponsoring user is downline of the newly sponsored person, where the sponsoring user is “upline” of the newly sponsored person. Such persons or distributors also make money through direct sales of products to customers. Amway, which sells health, beauty, and home care products, is an example of a well-known direct sales company that uses multilevel marketing.
Multilevel marketing (MLM) has been found to be a legitimate business sales methodology if participants receive something of value for their participation in an MLM organization. Even though Amway has a pyramid like structure where sponsors may receive more benefits than new recruits, Amway has been judged to be a legitimate organization because all participants receive the benefit of purchasing products at a competitive price. One problem with some MLM organizations referred to as “pyramid schemes” is when new recruits do not receive any benefit based on just joining the MLM organization. One characteristic of a MLM “pyramid scheme” versus a legitimate MLM organization is that in a “pyramid scheme” new recruits receive benefits based primarily from signing up other new participants. Thus, money received from the new recruits only pays people above them or at the top of the organization rather than new recruits or others who actually perform work (e.g. the selling of products). As such, a “pyramid scheme” is also characterized by paying sponsors rather than individuals that perform the work. This is why “pyramid schemes” are illegal. These “pyramid schemes” involve taking advantage of people by pretending to be engaged in legitimate multilevel or network marketing activities, when their greater focus is on recruitment rather than on product sales.
One issue in determining the legitimacy of a multilevel marketing company is whether it sells its products primarily to consumers or to its members who must recruit new members to buy their products. If it is the former, the company is likely a legitimate multilevel marketer. If it is the latter, it could be an illegal pyramid scheme.
Each MLM company dictates its own specific financial compensation (or commission) plan for the payout of any earnings to their respective distributors. Compensation may be in the form of commissions that require a participant to enter a contract, pledging exclusivity in participation to the MLM company paying the commissions. Currently MLMs require that users become members in order to distribute a product and these users have no way to allow anonymous buyers to be part of a member's multilevel marketing group from which commissions may be earned. Compensation plans of MLMs pay out to participants typically from two primary possible revenue streams. The first is paid out from commissions of sales made by the participants directly to their own retail customers. Retail customers are not tracked or known by the MLM company therefore MLM companies cannot substantiate either their existence or their sales volume individually or collectively. The second is paid out from commissions based upon the wholesale purchases made by other distributors below the participant who have recruited those other participants into the MLM; in the organizational hierarchy of MLMs, these participants are referred to as one's downline distributors.
MLM salespeople (distributors) are, therefore, expected to sell specific MLM company products directly to end-user retail consumers by means of relationship referrals and word of mouth marketing, but most importantly they are incentivized to recruit others to join the company's distribution chain as fellow salespeople so that these can become downline distributors.
Currently, no large financially successful MLM salesperson (distributor) can earn commissions of any significance or take full advantage of a commission compensation plan without personally recruiting others into their downline.
All MLM compensation companies permanently place new recruits in a tree structure for calculating commissions. Once placed, all sales made by that distributor from their personal purchases, or from new recruits they sponsor, generate commissions only for their sponsor and upline, regardless of all future products sold.
MLM companies offer goods or services offered specifically and exclusively by them. The large markups required for payment of commissions necessitate MLM companies to limit what products they can offer such that they will be financially indifferent regarding which product a distributor chooses to buy.
MLM companies currently have a “pay to play” requirement. Distributors are required to make monthly purchases, and/or meet downline group sales volumes to qualify for commissions. Thus the mode, median and average purchase size of a Distributor in MLMs is virtually equal to this minimum qualification requirement and no greater.
Distributors only qualify for commissions if they have purchased a minimum threshold of products offered exclusively by the MLM company as set forth by an MLM company's commission program rules.
Currently, in order to join an MLM organization, there is an initiation fee, which may be a barrier against those that just wish to refer a single product they like. Current multi-level marketing (MLM) systems do not take full advantage of the internet and how consumers can influence other consumers to make purchases. Also, current MLM systems do not incorporate incentivizing users of a multilevel marketing system by offering a dynamic commission tree. In addition, there is no current MLM system that utilizes the money or funds dedicated to discounts or coupons to be reincorporated into a multilevel marketing system to incentive consumers to make purchases and advertise the product that they purchased. Thus, there is a need to provide users a method to join an MLM for free, being simple to use and allow the MLM commissions provided to purchasers, provided by the sellers to allow the purchasers to market the seller's products.
Currently, a company that is not utilizing an MLM structure for paying commissions for sales, cannot introduce one without developing a compensation plan specific for their company, following the methodology outlined above, and thus requiring them to become and subsequently adhere to applicable MLM law.
Current MLM organizations also do not allow their members to create marketing materials that may help motivate other individuals to join the MLM organization or to motivate members to purchase products offered for sale by the MLM organization. What are needed are new types of systems and apparatus that allow MLM members create and share marketing materials. What are also needed is the ability to propagate sales of products without the need for participants to identify themselves.
Further, there is currently no systematic way for consumers to promote any brand of preference outside the MLM industry and be paid in an MLM commission methodology without subjecting themselves to a contractual signup, initiation fees, minimum recurring purchases sales, volume requirements, recruiting, exclusivity, and permanent tree placement (resulting in only upline distributors earning commissions).
This system has value because it allows users to become a part of the MLM system simply by clicking a referring link and buying the product. What are needed are systems where a user does not need to be referred to be able to refer the product to others. In addition, users can propagate the product without ever identifying themselves and collecting their commission. What
Further, there is currently no systematic way for data associated with an MLM organization to be secured. What are also needed are new methods and systems that protect user identity and commissions paid to users over time.
The presently claimed invention is directed to methods that may be implemented as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium where a processor executes instructions out of a memory. In a first embodiment, a method of the present disclosure includes storing received commission data at a first block of a database followed by storing data that includes a pointer that points to a private key. The private key and a public key may have been generated based on the receipt of the commission data. This method may also include allowing a processor to receive the pointer and the public key such that the processor may request the commission data. Next, the pointer may be received from the processor based on a sale of a product associated with the commission data and the processor may be allowed to receive the commission data after the private key is accessed and after the first block of the database is accessed. Commissions may then be authorized for distribution based on the sale of the product and the receipt of the commission data by the processor.
In a second embodiment, a processor executing instructions out of a memory may implement the presently claimed method. Here again the method may include storing received commission data at a first block of a database followed by storing data that includes a pointer that points to a private key. The private key and a public key may have been generated based on the receipt of the commission data. This method may also include allowing a processor to receive the pointer and the public key such that the processor may request the commission data. Next, the pointer may be received from the processor based on a sale of a product associated with the commission data and the processor may be allowed to receive the commission data after the private key is accessed and after the first block of the database is accessed. Commissions may then be authorized for distribution based on the sale of the product and the receipt of the commission data by the processor.
Methods consistent with the present disclosure allow purchasers of a product to become a product distributor as part a multi-level marketing (MLM) organization. Once a person has purchased an item (a product or service) via their user device, they may be allowed to share information associated with the item with other user devices. Data that identifies commissions paid to user distributors of an MLM organization may be secured at chains of data blocks that store encrypted data, each data block may be secured with a unique key. Several computers may communicate with each other when products are sold by members of an MLM organization. A third party network computer may send information to a “blockchain computer” that stores commission data and a computer that administrates functions of the MLM system may communicate with the blockchain computer when product sale commissions are identified and distributed.
This process may allow users to select products offered for sale by the MLM organization after which hyperlinks may be generated that associate a universal resource locator (URL) with item identification and referral information. When a user device accesses the hyperlink, that user device may access a computer that collects data regarding user access. This computer may then redirect the user device to a webpage identified by the URL that sells the item. When a user purchases the product, commissions may be paid out to a set of related distributors that previously purchased the product. These distributors may be related by referral information that is a chain or tree of distributor users that each referred information for purchasing the item to another one of the user/distributors that are part of the same chain or tree of distributor users. Data that identifies commissions paid based on product sales may be securely stored at a blockchain computer and user data may be secured at a computer that administrates operations of an MLM organization.
This may be accomplished by providing materials to potential buyers that allow those potential buyers to quickly link to product offerings. This may include associating a product with a hyperlink and with one or more users that participate in multilevel marking activities, when new users or new products are enrolled as part of an MLM organization.
The present disclosure is also directed to a system and method to allow sellers of products to enroll an individual product in a multilevel marketing (MLM) type commission system (system), where a good or service (i.e. product) is offered by any vendor and sold to a first purchaser—who at the time of the purchase becomes a system user (or registered user/participant/distributor). This user has a code tied to the specific product(s) offered by the participating vendor. The code may be shared by this first user passively (by a purchase) or actively (by request) to a new buyer. The code share makes the new buyer a user of the system. The new user, like the first, will be allowed to purchase the product and provide advertisements to other purchasers. Commissions paid to respective downline purchasers for a single product may be limited by a preset number of defined levels. After a product is purchased, commissions are paid out to each respective purchaser according to the defined commission levels. A wave of creating and recreating users may be based on purchases and linking them together may be part of an iterative process. Remuneration on this specific product is paid to all or numerous users linked together in the system, each time a purchase is made. The links may be unique and fixed to each good or service being referred.
Once a new buyer purchases a product, that new user may also be assigned a unique code that may be considered a child code of a parent code that is assigned to a user that provided the new buyer with materials that promote the purchase of the product that they purchased. The parent code may be shared by a first user passively (by a purchase) or actively (by sending a request) to the new buyer. This type of code sharing makes the new buyer a user of the system. The new user, like the first user, will be allowed to purchase the product and provide advertisements to other purchasers. New users may also be allowed to create new product offerings. Commissions paid to respective upline or downline purchasers for a single product may be limited by a preset number of defined levels. The commissions may be identified in encrypted datablocks stored at a database accessible by a blockchain computer.
After a product is purchased, commissions may be paid out to each respective purchaser according to the defined commission levels. This may include an administration computer securely communicating with a blockchain computer. A wave of creating and recreating users may be based on purchases and linking them together as part of an iterative process. Remuneration on this specific product is paid to all or numerous users linked together in the system, each time a purchase is made. The links may be unique and fixed to each good or service being referred. Payments may be distributed directly into a back account of a user, as credits to a mobile device, as credits to a credit/cash/debit card, may be distributed using a form of cryptocurrency, or may be distributed by other means.
Administration computer 105 includes processor 110, memory 115, communication interface 120, and database(s) 125. User computing device 130 includes processor 135, memory 140, and communication interface 145. Third party network computer 150 includes processor 155, memory 160, communication interface 165, and database(s) 170. A user user device 130 may interact with a user interface (not illustrated in
Processor 110 of administration network computer 105 may execute instructions from one or more software modules when functions associated with the registration of new products and users, the sale or distribution of marketing materials, or when commissions are distributed to users that act as distributers (or sales representatives) of products. When software program code executed by processor 110 is organized as a set of multiple different software modules, those modules may include an administration network base module, an administration network calculation module, an administration network commission module, an administration network advertising module, an administration network product enrollment module, a hyperlink creation module, and a hyperlink tracker module. Computers 105 of an administration network may include or access one or more databases that may include an administration database, a compensation database, a hyperlink database, and a landing page database.
A user or distributor may refer to the non-salaried workforce selling the company's products or services, while the earnings of participants of an MLM organization may be associated with a pyramid-shaped or binary compensation commission system. A product may refer to an article or substance that is manufactured or refined for sale. A service may refer to a system supplying a public need such as transport, communications, or utilities such as electricity or water. A service may be an act of dealing with a customer in a store, restaurant, or hotel by taking their orders, showing, or selling them goods. Additionally, a service may be work that someone does or time that someone spends working for an organization, or a business that offers a particular type of help or work.
The administration network computer 105 may accept sellers (third parties), where a “single product tree” multi-level marketing method is formed, comprising the steps of, providing at least one product, providing an MLM system with a seller's commission structure, and providing at least one seller of a product with its associated commission structure. The term “single product tree” or “product tree” refers to a unique structure for associating distributors of an MLM organization where products are used to identify relationships between distributors and commissions paid to related distributors. This “single product tree” structure allows for a particular user to be considered a sponsor or any other user based on that user sending promotions to other users to purchase a product that those other users were not previously associated with.
The administration network computer 105 may also provide a plurality of buyers/distributors, allow the at least one first seller to enroll a product to the MLM system, and allow at least a first buyer/distributor to purchase the product. Other functions that may be performed by the administration network computer 105 include allowing the at least the first buyer/distributor to advertise the product to other potential buyers/distributors and allowing at least a second buyer/distributor to buy the advertised product. Here a third (3rd) party computer may set a commission structure for a product, may enroll the product into the MLM system, Interactions between respective computers may allow the first, second and so on purchasers/distributors to purchase and advertise the product.
Instructions of an administration network product enrollment software module may allow users to create a first referral code that may be stored at a database 125 of
In some embodiments, administration network computer 105 may store buyer/distributors commission in a blockchain database to prevent theft. For example, the administration network may have a public key and the buyer/distributor may have a private key that when used in combination allows the buyer/distributor to extract their commission. This may include executing instructions of an administration network commission software module that may continuously poll for the data that relates to user purchases. This process may include sending requests to a 3rd party network computer 150 and receiving data associated with providing commissions. In some instances, an upline may refer to the MLM distributors that recruits work for as salespeople to sell the products or services. A downline may refer to the recruits the MLM distributors are able to secure as participants in the MLM system.
Functionality of a landing webpage may be invoked after a referral or set of marketing materials are displayed on a display of a user device. These materials may include a universal resource locator (URL) or an embedded URL that when selected results in a browser of the user device to receive content of the landing webpage. Here, a code may be entered by a user to gain a discount or that code may be automatically provided to the landing webpage and the user device may be sent a discount offer to purchase a product. This offer may be displayed on a display of the user device and a user by interacting with their user device may order the product. Once purchased and potentially after the user receives the ordered product, commissions may be paid to upline members of an MLM organization that are associated with the user that purchased the product. Marketing materials provided to users via their user devices may include various types of media, such as photos, videos, text, sounds, haptics, online product descriptions, etc. for enhanced marketing.
Once products have been enrolled with a commission structure, the administration network computer 105 may allow the purchasers/distributors to receive a commission based upon the seller's product commission structure. A distributor may refer to the non-salaried workforce selling the company's products or services. Here the earnings of the participants may be derived from a pyramid-shaped or binary compensation commission system. The term product may refer to articles or substances manufactured or refined for sale. Product may refer to an individual product, a line of products such as unique brand and model of cold medicine, or a group of products such as all power tools.
A service may refer to a system supplying a public need such as transport, communications, or utilities such as electricity or water. A service may also be an act of dealing with a customer in a store, restaurant, or hotel by taking their orders, showing, or selling them goods. Additionally, a service may be work performed by a person or may relate to an amount of time that someone spends working for an organization or business that offers a particular type of help or work. The system 100 of
In another example, a first MLM distributor that performs a sale may receive a higher percentage than a second distributor that sponsored the first MLM distributor, and a third MLM distributor that signed up the second MLM distributor may receive a lower commission than the commission received by the second MLM distributor for the sale. Distributors in an MLM tree may be referred as “downline” or “upline” distributors depending on where different users rank on the MLM tree.
For example, a first user that sponsors (MLM distributor) a second user is “upline” from the second user (MLM distributor) and the second user is “downline” from the first user in the MLM tree. Furthermore, any user/distributor that the second user sponsored would be considered downline from the second user and could be downline from the first user as well for a given MLM product tree. When a “single product tree” structure is used to identify commissions, users that are downline from the second user may not be downline from the first user based on the second user purchasing and advertising products not associated with the first user. When the first user purchases the product initially advertised by the second user, the second user may be considered upline of the first user after the first user for this product. Because of this, the second user is not relegated to always be downline from the first user just because the first user originally sponsored the second user to become an MLM distributor.
An MLM system which may be referred to as network marketing, may be a business model that depends on person-to-person sales by independent representatives, who may work from their home. A network marketing business may require the independent representatives to build a network of business partners or salespeople to assist with lead generation and closing sales. An end of life of MLM tree may refer to the end of the MLM tree in which the commission tree may be restructured or eliminated. For example, further participants in the MLM may not receive a commission, the commission tree may “start up” (be reinitiated from a starting point) again, or the commission tree may be restructured in some other way. An existing MLM system may refer to currently existing or established companies that use the sales strategies to encourage existing distributors to recruit new distributors who are paid a percentage of their recruits' sales.
The administration network computer 105 may perform data security functions as well as functions associated with operation of an MLM algorithm that may calculate user compensation. Administration network computer 105 may be able to connect to a software application store, like the “Apple App Store,” where a program application can be downloaded from. Data security may refer to the process of protecting data from unauthorized access and data corruption throughout its lifecycle. Data security may include data encryption, tokenization, and key management practices that protect data across all applications and platforms. An MLM algorithm may refer to a calculation performed using a compensation decay rate to calculate the commissions for downline participants.
A set of commission program instructions may cause a computer processor 110 at the administration network computer 105 to continuously poll for user data (e.g., data of a user who may be a product purchaser or product distributor) from another processor executing a set of discount program instructions at a third party network computer 150. Once the processor 110 of the administration network computer 105 receives the user data and commission data, commissions may be calculated using the commission program instructions. These commissions may be calculated based on data stored at blockchain database 185. Downline and upline commissions for the other users (product purchasers/distributors) within the MLM tree may be paid. The administration network compensation database may be included within the administration database 125 of
An upline may refer to the MLM distributors that recruits work for as salespeople to sell the products or services. A downline may refer to the recruits the MLM distributors are able to secure as participants in the MLM system. Downline MLM trees may go across country boundaries and commissions may be paid out for an MLM tree even though the participants in the MLM tree may not reside in the same country. The commissions may be calculated for the appropriate exchange rate to ensure participants are paid in their residing countries currency in the correct amount.
A processor executing the commission program instructions may continuously poll for user data from the third party network computer 150. The administration network computer 105 may then receive the user data from the third party network computer 150. Then the administration network computer 105 may determine whether the user entered a code. If the user did enter a code, the processor at the administration network computer 105 may extract the code and then access the administration network compensation database to identify one or more different spheres of influence or potential product purchasers/distributors levels. Such a code may have been received from user device 130 based on user inputs. A sphere of influence for a given product may be associated with a chain of upline and downline distributors that sold a particular product, where each downline user may have been sponsored to sell the product by an upline user.
The processor 110 at the administration network computer 105 may also associate a code for each of the different spheres of influence. The administration network computer 105 may then extract or identify a corresponding commission for the code that was retrieved from in the administration network compensation database. This may include communicating with blockchain network computer 175 based on the code being associated with a pointer that points to blockchain network computer 175, for example. Data may be retrieved from the blockchain database 185 that results in retrieving data associated with paying commissions. The administration network computer 105 may then send the commission to the user (purchaser/distributor) via communication interface 120 and the Internet or cloud 190. The administration network computer 105 may track profits and payments as well as track taxes for users enrolled in the MLM system. The tracking of profits and payments may refer to the MLM system tracking the profits of the MLM and tracking the payments or commissions paid out to participants. The tracking of taxes may refer to tracking the commissions provided to participants for tax purposes. Then the administration network computer 105 may also compare the extracted code to data stored at an administration network code database that may store a list of users and code sent to followers. This administration network code database may be the same database as the administration database 125 of
The administration network computer 105 may then compare the extracted sphere of influence or potential purchaser/distributor to data stored at the administration network compensation database. The administration network computer 105 may then use the extracted sphere of influence data to extract a corresponding commission from the administration network compensation database. The administration network computer 105 may then send the commission to an upline user. If the user did not enter a code, the administration network computer 105 may then initiate a set of administration network advertising program instructions.
The administration database 125 may store data received from various third parties (various sellers) that are part of a set of MLM trees. This data may contain an item ID, description of the item, an original cost of the item, a discount for the item, a cost of the item with the discount, a compensation plan decay rate, and a link to the item. An advertising link may refer to a link that directs a consumer to a product, service or good. Alternatively, this information may be stored at blockchain database 185 and be securely accessed by administration network computer 105.
Table 1 table displays data that may be stored at the administration database 125 of
The administration database 125 may store data that the administration network computer 105. This data may be accessed when communicating events with the downlines and uplines, providing dynamic incentives or rewards for a product, distributing marketing materials, providing banking referrals, or distributing materials for suggestive selling, etc. Here, communicating events with downlines and uplines may refer to sending information relating to advertising events to participants of an MLM system. Dynamic incentives and rewards for a product may refer to incentives or rewards that are continuously updated for a product. Marketing materials may refer to a means of marketing, advertising or promotional materials developed by or for license (or subject to licensee's approval) that promote the sale of the licensed product, including but not limited to, television, radio and online advertising, point of sale materials (e.g., posters, counter-cards), packaging advertising, print media, and all audio or video media. Banking referrals may refer to a structured flow of collecting and organizing referrals for banks. Businesses who have been unsuccessful in a credit application process with a bank may be asked for their permission to have their financial information passed to designated finance platforms who can contact the business in a regulated timeframe. Suggestive selling may refer to a sales technique where an employee asks a customer if they would like to include an additional purchase or recommends a product which might suit the client.
As mentioned above user device 130 may include a memory 140, a processor 135, and a communication interface 145. The processor 135 of user device 130 may execute instructions out of the memory 140 when a user of user device 130 registers as a member of an MLM organization. Other tasks that a user may perform on user device 130 could include, identifying or connecting with other user devices (e.g. follower user devices), preparing advertisement information to share with follower user devices, receiving advertisement information prepared by other users, accessing product promotions at the third party network computer 150, and purchasing products based on offerings received from the third party network computer 150. Each of the tasks performed by user device 130 may include sending and receiving communications with the administration network computer 105, the third party network computer 150, or other user devices. Promotions prepared at a particular user device may be shared with other user device via administration network computer 105, third party network computer 150, a social media network computer, or directly from one user device to another. User devices may also be required to download and install an application program from an application store, such as the “Apple App store” as part of a process for registering as a member of an MLM organization.
The user device communication interface 145 of
As discussed above the third party network computer 150 of
Payment may or may not be made online. Business in this context may be defined as an order placed by the buyer or price and terms of sale negotiated. E-commerce shopping cart may refer to a software used in E-commerce to assist visitors to make purchases online. Upon checkout, instructions of the software may cause a processor to calculate a total of the order, including shipping and handling, taxes and other parameters the owner of the site has previously set. Retailer may refer to a person or business that sells goods to the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption rather than for resale. Product discounts may refer to a reduced price or something being sold at a price lower than that item is normally sold for. It is a reduction to a basic price for a good or service. Large box stores may refer to a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores, offers a variety of products to its customers. The term sometimes refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store, and which may be referenced as a supercenter, superstore, megastore, etc. These stores achieve economies of scale by focusing on large sales volumes. Because volume is high, the profit margin for each product can be lowered, which results in very competitively priced goods. The term “big-box” is derived from the store's physical appearance.
The third party network communication interface 165 of
The third party network discount program instructions may be executed by a computer processor 155 after being initiated by a set of third party network base program instructions. These instructions may cause the processor 155 at the third party network computer 150 to prompt a user device for a discount code and to compare a received code to data stored at a third party network third party database 170. When a code received from a user matches data stored at the database 170, a discount for the selected item may be applied and an order for a product may be processed.
The communications network 190 of
Table 2 illustrates exemplary sets of compensation data that may be stored at a database accessible by administration network computer 105 of
Processor 110 of the administration network computer 105 of
Table 2 cross-references sales of a cold medicine that has product identifier of 456812 sold by third (3rd) party vendor Vons. Table 2 also cross-references different spheres of influence with specific pointers and specific codes or links. The data of table 2 may be associated with purchases of a same type of cold medicine (456812) by a first, a second, a third, and a fourth user where each of these user are associated with a different sphere of influence. Here a first user may have recommended the cold medicine to the second user, the second user may have recommended this cold medicine to the third user, and the third user may have recommended the cold medicine to the fourth user. Each of these respective users may be associated with a chain of users and different spheres of influence and commissions may be paid out according to the compensation decay rate when a downline user purchases the cold medicine. Here users closest to a user that purchases the product may receive a largest commission.
Commissions paid out to respective users may calculated based on data stored at the blockchain database 185 of
In some embodiments, the compensation database data may include a lottery structure for how the commissions are paid to users or freelancers. In some embodiments, such a lottery may refer to a process or things whose success or outcome is governed by chance. A means of raising money by selling number tickets and giving prizes to the holders of numbers drawn at random. Here, freelancers may refer to a person who works as a writer, designer, performer, contractor, or the like. Such freelancers may sell work or services by the hour, by the day, by the job, etc., rather than working on a regular salary basis for one employer.
Table 3 illustrates a set of data referred to herein as “landing page” data. This data cross-references an item identifier (ID) with an item name, a vendor (e.g. a 3rd party vendor), and a universal resource locator that points to a website of the vendor where an item (e.g. a product or service) is offered for sale. This landing page data may be stored in a landing page database or may be stored as landing page data stored at a database that stores various different types of data accessible by an administration network computer, such as database 125 of administration computer 105 of
The product data received in step 210 may be a selection received from a user device of a user that distributes or wishes to distribute a product. In such an instance, after a user purchases a particular product, that user may be allowed to act as a distributor of that product. This user may become a distributor by identifying the product after which this new distributor may be allowed to share marketing materials related to that product with other user devices. Methods consistent with the present disclosure may store and track sales of this product based on the marketing efforts of this new distributor such that commissions may be paid to this new distributor and potentially to other related distributors of that product.
Next in step 220 of
When determination step 230 identifies that data associated with the item ID identified in step 220 is not stored as hyperlink database data, a process for creating a new entry at the database may be initiated. The process of creating entries in the database may include generating a hyperlink in step 250 of
This referral code may be referred to as a “child code” that may be generated whenever a particular user or user device orders a particular product a first time. Because of this, the process of generating the hyperlink may also include generating a child code that may be stored as a referral code with hyperlink database data. After step 250 of
These child codes discussed above may be generated by various methods, such as using a random number generator, for example from a seed that may include a portion of the product ID. A child code may alternatively be generated from product data or a hash of product data. When a random number generator is used to generate a child ID, the child ID may be required to have a minimum length in order to limit the likelihood of generating a child code that has already been used. A hash of product data may be generated from using any combination of a product name, the product ID, user information, or other data. Generated child codes may also be checked to see that no other identical child code is stored at the database in step 250. In an instance where a particular child code has already been used, another child code may be generated.
Newly generated child codes may be associated with one or more parent codes that are associated with a chain of users that purchased a particular product. For example, a child code may be associated with a parent code of a first upline user that sent marketing materials to a user device associated with the child code and this child code may be associated with a second upline user that sponsored the first upline user to purchase a product associated with these child and parent codes. When a new child code is generated for a new user, users upline of that new user may be paid commissions according to a commission schedule. As such, the first and the second upline user associated with the product and a child code may receive commissions based on a new user purchase. Also, whenever a particular user purchases a product they may be provided with a discount and users that are upline of that user may receive commissions.
Some products may also be associated with a plan that automatically initiates products to be purchased after a time period has expired. For example, disposable products such as razor blades may be automatically generated each month based on a plan that a user participates in. Here each time a recurring purchase is made, commissions may be distributed to users that are part of a particular tree of related users that each purchased those razor blades.
When determination step 230 identifies that the received product ID matches data stored at the database, program flow may move to determination step 240 that identifies whether the received product data includes another item ID that needs to be reviewed. When yes, program flow may also move back to step 220 where another item ID may be identified in the landing page product data. When determination step 240 identifies that there is not another item ID to review, program flow may move back to step 210 of
After a new entry has been created in the database, a new hyperlink may be generated. The generation of this new hyperlink may include combining the URL that identifies a landing page associated with the product ID with the product ID and with the child code generated in step 250. Hyperlinks stored at the database of the administration network may include a concatenated set of information that includes the URL, the product ID, and the child code. A generated hyperlink may be compatible with any format used in the art and may cross-reference items for sale (goods or services) and with addresses of webpages where sellers may of relevant items may be offered for sale by way of a seller computer that may provide an application program interface (API) for users to interact with. The process of generating a new hyperlink may include modifying a URL that identifies a webpage hosted by a 3rd party computer, as discussed above.
Data stored at a 3rd party network database may include all or some of the information included in table 1 and may also include a topline commission and a landing page URL. Much of this data may have been entered by an administrator that operates the 3rd party network computer 150 of
Functions that track activity of users that select a generated hyperlink may also be tracked by a computer such as administration computer 105 of
Table 4 illustrates an exemplary set of data that may be used to track the activities of products sold by various individual distributors. A first row of table 4 includes a series of column headers that are used to cross reference item identifying numbers (IDs), product names, parent codes, child codes, user identifiers (IDs), and specific generated hyperlinks (URLs). Note that the rows 2-4 of table 4 include information that identifies sales of a type of cold medicine. First of all, a user with user ID “Kwik” purchased cold medicine with item ID of 456812. This first user is associated with child code ai9ufy6HE4. Since this first user was a first user of a new user product tree selling cold medication with item ID 456812, no parent code is associated with this purchase. The hyperlink in the second row of table 4 identifies an administration computer “Kwik,” a third party seller/store of “Vons,” product ID 456812, and child code ai9ufy6HE4.
The hyperlink in the third row of table 4 may have been provided to a user device belonging to a prospective buyer of the cold medicine assigned item ID 456812. The user device of this prospective buyer may have received marketing materials prepared by the user assigned with user ID “Kwik.” Later when this prospective buyer purchases the cold medicine, this prospective buyer may be assigned user ID HF4875 and child code LmPwRESpH. Since this prospective buyer in now an actual buyer, they may be considered a new member of a multilevel marketing tree associated with parent ID ai9Ufy6He4 (that belongs to user ID “Kwik”). Based on this chain of events, a person with user ID “Kwik” may receive a commission based on the sale of the cold medicine to a person with user ID HF4875.
The data stored in the third row of table 4 is a record of a chain of sales as this third row of data indicates that the person assigned user ID HF4875 purchased cold medicine 456812 based on a referral made using code ai9ufy6HE4. The parent code included in this third row being the same as the child code of the second row of table 4 may be used to identify which users should receive commissions for sales that they sponsored. Note also that the hyperlink included in the third row of table 4 identifies the “Kwik” administration computer, the “Vons” third party seller, the cold medicine product name, the cold medicine product ID, and the child code LMPwRESpH. In an instance when this hyperlink is used to sell the cold medicine with product ID 456812 to another new user, users associated with user ID HF4875 and user ID Kwik may each receive commissions based on this new sale.
Table 4 also tracks the sale of other products associated with other item IDs, parent codes, child codes, user IDs, and hyperlinks. Parsing of this information may be done to identify particular users that have or that should receive commissions. Note that user with code sZa2q6jDuo is credited with selling couch 123789 to buyers with child codes IvOdgpFsJ5 and ogV1LAwT50. Note also that the buyer with child code IvOdgpFsJ5 does not have a user ID based on the not applicable/available (N/A) identifier being listed as a user ID.
Note also that user with user ID Kwik purchased table saw 789654, that a buyer with child code gO5HfVMC purchased this same type of table saw, and that the buyer with child code gO5HfVMC is also associated with selling that same type of table saw to a user with user ID VY0093 and child code z4jjna7t3c.
Each of the upline distributors/users may receive commissions identified based on parsing of respective child codes, related parent codes, and item identifier codes. For example, a user assigned user ID Kwik may receive commissions for the cold medicine purchased by users associated with both user ID HF4875 and YD9483 and a user associated with user ID HF4875 may receive a commission based on the user associated with user ID YD9483 purchasing the cold medication. Here again, commissions further from the actual purchase may be reduced or paid out based on a commission schedule.
A sale of a product associated with the selected hyperlink may then be processed. This may include forwarding the user device to a computer of a third (3rd) party vendor that receives information from the user device indicating that the owner of the user device wishes to purchase the product. As mentioned above, this 3rd party computer may receive cookie information stored at the user device when user activity is tracked. In such an instance, the 3rd party vendor computer may send information to the administration computer indicating that the sale of the product has been completed. The data received from the 3rd party vendor may identify the child code, an identifier of the user device that was used to purchase the product or service, a user ID, or some combination of data associated with the sale. In yet other instances, the administration computer itself may administrate the sale of the product without forwarding the user device to a 3rd party vendor computer.
After a new buyer purchased the product, information relating to the sale of the product or service may be received and a code associated with the sale may be identified in step 330 of
After step 350 or when step 340 identifies that the new buyer does not want to receive a user ID, program flow may move to step 360 where a new child code is generated. Step 360 may also include generating an updated hyperlink that may point to the administration computer, that identifies a 3rd party vendor computer, that identifies the product or service, and that includes the new child code. Next in step 370 data stored at the database may be updated to include an item ID, the child code, the user ID, a generated hyperlink, and possibly a parent code. Step 370 may store information that associates an item ID, a product name, the associated parent code, the newly generated child code, a user ID (when appropriate), and the newly generated hyperlink. After step 370, program flow may move back to step 310 where an additional communication may be received from a user device. While not illustrated in
Step 410 may include actions not illustrated in
To accomplish the redirection of step 440, the administration computer may direct the browser of the user device to access a webpage hosted by a 3rd party computer and that third party computer may send an offering to purchase the product to the user device of the user. This 3rd party computer may access the cookie information when tracking user activity. After this the user may by way of the browser at the user device purchase the product. When a user purchased the product the 3rd party computer may receive funds associated with the purchase and may arrange for the product to be provided to the user (by way of delivery or pick up for example). Either after the user agrees to purchase the product or after the user receives delivery of the product, the 3rd party computer may send purchase validation information to the administration computer such that commissions may be provided to eligible product distributors/users. Here the purchase validation may be associated with a user based on cookie information retrieved from a user device by the 3rd party computer.
The redirection process performed by the administration computer may alternatively include sending information that identifies the item ID, the child code, the user ID, and possibly other information to the 3rd party computer. The information sent to the 3rd party computer would allow the 3rd party computer to provide information that verifies the purchase and that allows the administration computer to identify the particular product commission tree that the purchase is associated with. Alternatively, information provided to the 3rd party computer may be simply a transaction number or hash of data that the third party computer could send back to the administration computer such that the administration computer can identify the particular product commission tree that the purchase is associated with. Such a transaction number could be a random number or a number that is incremented for each respective potential purchase. When a hash is used, that hash could be a hash of the user item/product ID, the child code, and the user ID discussed above. The steps discussed above performed by the 3rd party computer could alternatively be performed by the administration network computer or could be performed by another computer at an administration computer network.
After step 440, program flow moves to determination step 450 where identifies whether purchase validation information has been received from a 3rd party computer, from another computer at the administration computer network, or from process at the administration network computer. When validation information has been received, program flow may move to step 460 where the validation information is cross-references with data associated with the product and with the query received in step 410. In certain instances, program flow could continue checking to see if purchase validation information has been received by iteratively implementing determination step 450. Alternatively, whenever a purchase validation is received, data included in a set of received purchase validation information may be used to cross-reference a validated purchase with other data. Step 460 of
Here again the distribution of commissions may include parsing a product tree using product identifying information, parent codes, child codes, and user IDs as required. This process may include accessing data stored at a blockchain database to identify a commission schedule that may have been provided by a 3rd party vendor. After step 470 program flow may move back to step 410 where another query may be received.
In certain instances, the 3rd party network computer 150 of
Data stored at a database 170 of third party computer 150 of
Marketing materials may refer to a means of marketing, advertising or promotional materials developed by or for license (or subject to licensee's approval) that promote the sale of the licensed product, including but not limited to, television, radio and online advertising, point of sale materials (e.g. posters, counter-cards), packaging advertising, print media and all audio or video media. Airline sky miles may refer to a loyalty program offered by airlines and/or credit cards. Typically, consumers accumulate a set amount of miles based on how much is spent on a ticket or a credit card and are also known as frequent flyer miles or travel points.
Next, in step 530, a private key associated with the pointer may be identified and data may be accessed. The data accessed may include one or more of a commission amount, a commission schedule (e.g. decay rate), sphere of influence data, product identifying information, and/or purchase information. The accessed data may be stored at a block of a blockchain and either data included in the read request, stored at the block of the blockchain, or both may be decrypted using the private key. A public key may have been provided to a processor of the administration computer such that the administration computer can encode data sent to the blockchain computer. In such an instance, the pointer may include clear (unencrypted) text where other information may be encrypted.
After step 530, program flow may move to step 540 where commission data may be provided to an administration computer. Next, the program flow may move back to step 510 to identify whether an additional read or write request has been received. The commission data provided to the administration computer may also be encrypted.
When determination step 510 identifies that a write request has been received, program flow may move to step 550 where a new block in a blockchain is created or a new blockchain is created. This write request may have been received from a third (3rd) party computer that provides data for storage at blocks of a blockchain. Data sent between the 3rd party computer and the blockchain computer may also be encrypted. After step 550, program flow moves to step 560 where data is written to the new data block or blockchain. This may be written to the blockchain database 185 of
Table 5 illustrates data that may be stored in a database that identifies specific private keys that are pointed to by specific pointers. The data of table 5 may be stored at the private key database 180 and the blockchain database 185 of
Table 5 also includes data that identifies a chain of commission levels that may be paid to related users when a downline user purchases a product. The number 456812 as shown in table 1 may identify a product of a cold medicine that has a commission decay rate of 50%. The pointer 456812-Point1 may be associated with a first user that purchased cold medicine 456812 and that promoted the sale of that cold medicine to a second user associated with pointer 456812-Point2, who in turn purchased the cold medicine and promoted the sale of the cold medicine to a third user associated with pointer 456812-Point3. Each subsequent user associated with each subsequent pointer may have received promotional materials to buy cold medicine 456812, may have bought the cold medicine, and may have passed promotional materials to other users who also bought the cold medicine 456812. Commission amounts paid to upline users reduce the farther away a downline user is from a particular upline user. When a user associated with 456812-Point2 purchases cold medicine 456812, a user associated with 456812-Point 1 will receive a commission of $0.55. Similarly, when a user associated with pointer 456812-Point7 purchases the cold medicine, a user associated with 456812-Point6 will receive a commission of $0.55; a user associated with 456812-Point5 will receive a commission of $0.27; a user associated with 456812-Point5 will receive a commission of $0.14; a user associated with 456812-Point4 will receive a commission of $0.07; a user associated with 456812-Point3 will receive a commission of $0.03; and a user associated with 456812-Point2 will receive a commission of $0.02. Each of these commissions follow the commission decay rate of 50% beginning at a commission of $0.55 and ending at a commission of $0.02. Note that according to this commission schedule, users that are more than 5 levels away from a user a purchases cold medicine 456812 will not receive a commission for that purchase.
Note that the blockchain database may store numbers that specifically identify a commission paid out in a currency (i.e. dollars). Alternatively, the blockchain database may store an initial commission, a decay rate, and possibly a number of commission levels. This initial commission, decay rate, and number of commission level data may be used to calculate commissions that should be paid to specific users when a downline user purchases a product.
Each chain of
Each block in a blockchain database may store the public key associated with a block, which when prompted by a blockchain network computer may provide either, the ability for a 3rd party network computer to write new product and commission structure data to the blockchain database. Commission data may be provided to an administration network computer to identify or calculate commissions that should be paid to particular users.
Referring back to the data of table 2. The data of table 2 cross-references a cold medicine (456812) with spheres of influence, pointers, and codes or links. As discussed above the codes or links of table 2 may uniquely identify specific related users (or user payment information) that purchased the cold medicine identified with identifier (ID) 456812. Here again these related users may have shared promotional materials after they purchased the cold medicine and each of these related user may have purchased the cold medicine. When a particular user of this chain of users purchases the cold medicine a pointer associated with that user may be accessed and sent to a blockchain network computer and the blockchain network computer may provide commission data to the administration computer as discussed in respect to
The components shown in
Mass storage device 730, which may be implemented with a magnetic disk drive or an optical disk drive, is a non-volatile storage device for storing data and instructions for use by processor unit 710. Mass storage device 730 can store the system software for implementing embodiments of the present invention for purposes of loading that software into main memory 720.
Portable storage device 740 operates in conjunction with a portable non-volatile storage medium, such as a FLASH memory, compact disk or Digital video disc, to input and output data and code to and from the computer system 700 of
Input devices 760 provide a portion of a user interface. Input devices 760 may include an alpha-numeric keypad, such as a keyboard, for inputting alpha-numeric and other information, or a pointing device, such as a mouse, a trackball, stylus, or cursor direction keys. Additionally, the system 700 as shown in
Display system 770 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, an electronic ink display, a projector-based display, a holographic display, or another suitable display device. Display system 770 receives textual and graphical information, and processes the information for output to the display device. The display system 770 may include multiple-touch touchscreen input capabilities, such as capacitive touch detection, resistive touch detection, surface acoustic wave touch detection, or infrared touch detection. Such touchscreen input capabilities may or may not allow for variable pressure or force detection.
Peripherals 780 may include any type of computer support device to add additional functionality to the computer system. For example, peripheral device(s) 780 may include a modem or a router.
Network interface 795 may include any form of computer interface of a computer, whether that be a wired network or a wireless interface. As such, network interface 795 may be an Ethernet network interface, a BlueTooth™ wireless interface, an 802.11 interface, or a cellular phone interface.
The components contained in the computer system 700 of
The present invention may be implemented in an application that may be operable using a variety of devices. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media refer to any medium or media that participate in providing instructions to a central processing unit (CPU) for execution. Such media can take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile and volatile media such as optical or magnetic disks and dynamic memory, respectively. Common forms of non-transitory computer-readable media include, for example, a FLASH memory/disk, a hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM disk, digital video disk (DVD), any other optical medium, RAM, PROM, EPROM, a FLASH EPROM, and any other memory chip or cartridge.
While various flow diagrams provided and described above may show a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternative embodiments can perform the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).
The functions performed in the processes and methods may be implemented in differing order. Furthermore, the outlined steps and operations are only provided as examples, and some of the steps and operations may be optional, combined into fewer steps and operations, or expanded into additional steps and operations without detracting from the essence of the disclosed embodiments.
The present disclosure claims priority benefit of U.S. provisional patent application 63/049,856 filed on Jul. 9, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63049856 | Jul 2020 | US |
