Price tags in data
AssigneeMsafe, Inc.
InventorsRan Bittmann, Alexander Grinshpun, Rafael Kiel, Yonathan Malachi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Incorporated in data is a price tag including price information about one or more service/product for trading by a customer. A charging agent associated with one or more network operators servicing the customer reads the price tag and if warranted, charges or credits the account(s) of the customer with the network operator(s) in accordance with the price information. In some cases the traded product(s) includes at least part of the data in which the price tag is incorporated.
Claims38
A method for trading at least one service or product between a merchant and a customer, comprising:
- the merchant, incorporating a price tag in data that relates to the tradable service or product and that is to be transmitted from the merchant to the customer, said price tag including price information for the at least one service or product and being incorporated in anticipation of the price information being registered if the trade is completed in a customer account with a network operator that provides access for the customer to a communication network;
- transmitting said data via said communication network;
- and
- the network operator or a charging utility associated therewith, intercepting said price tag and if the trade is completed, registering the price information in the customer account.
A method for evaluating whether to allow a charge or a credit for at least one service or product in a trade between a merchant and a customer, comprising:
- receiving data that relates to the traded service or product and that includes a price tag transmitted via a communication network said price tag including price information for the at least one service or product, and said price tag having been incorporated in said data in anticipation of said price information being charged or credited to a customer account with a network operator providing access for the customer to said communication network;
- reading said price tag;
- evaluating whether said customer account can support a charge or a credit for a sum of money represented by said price information;
- and
- if said customer account cannot support said charge for said sum represented by said price information, not allowing said charge for said sum.
A method for trading at least one service/product between a merchant and a customer, comprising:
- the merchant, incorporating a price tag in data that relates to the tradable service or product and that is to be transmitted from the merchant to the customer, said price tag including price information for the at least one service or product and being incorporated in anticipation of the price information being registered if the trade is completed in a customer account with a network operator that provides access for the customer to a communication network;
- transmitting said data via said communication network;
- a charging agent associated with said network operator intercepting said price tag, and recording a charge or a credit according to said price information in said customer account;
- a billing system associated with said network operator receiving the recorded charge or credit and settling said recorded charge or credit with the merchant.
A system for pricing a service or product tradable between a merchant and a customer, comprising:
- an incorporator utility for incorporating a price tag in data that relates to the tradable service or product to be transmitted from the merchant to the customer through a communication network, said price tag including price information for the at least one service or product and being incorporated in anticipation of charging or crediting a customer account with a network operator that provides access for the customer to said communication network, the churging or crediting, being based on said price information and occurring if the trade is completed.
A system for deciding whether to allow a charge for a service or product in a trade between a merchant and a customer, comprising:
- a reader for intercepting and reading a price tag that is incorporated in data relating to the traded service or product, said data being transmitted via a communication network, said price tag including price information for the traded service or product and having been incorporated in said data in anticipation of charging or crediting a customer account with a network operator providing access for the customer to the communication network based on said price information;
- and
- an evaluator for evaluating if said customer account can support a charge or a credit for a sum of money represented by said price information.
A method for selling content from a merchant of the content to a customer, comprising:
- the merchant, incorporating a price tag in data that includes the content, said price tag including price information for said content and being incorporated in anticipation of the price information being charged to a customer account with a network operator that provides access for the customer to a communication network;
- transmitting said data via said communication network;
- and
- the network operator or a charging utility associated therewith, intercepting said price tag and if the sale is completed, registering the price information in the customer account.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.