US 7,066,383 B2Granted

System for marketing leisure activity services through prepaid tickets

AssigneeUTIX Group Corporation

InventorAnthony G. Roth

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Abstract

One-time-use tickets containing a unique identification code that allow for prepayment of entertainment or personal services are distributed and sold. When a ticket is sold, it is activated by the seller notifying a ticket information manager of its sale, at which time the ticket's unique identification code is recorded by the ticket information manager. Part of the sale price is transferred by the vendor to an account maintained by a ticketing program manager. Ticket-holders present the ticket for redemption of the particular service from an agreed service provider. The service provider verifies the ticket's validity by checking with the ticket information manager that the ticket's unique identification code is valid and that the ticket has been activated. While the purchase price of the ticket is fixed, service providers will receive their agreed payment price from the ticketing program manager's account when a ticket user redeems a ticket regardless of whether that price is higher or lower than the ticket purchase price.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A method for provision of prepaid services, comparing the steps of:

(a) distribution and sale of one-time-use tickets, each possessing a substantially unique identification code and representing an initial value to be remitted for a single use of a desired service, each said ticket to be valid for a single use at any one of a plurality of service providers;
(b) purchase of at least one said ticket by a customer;
(c) activation of said ticket by a seller thereof, said activation comprising communication with a ticket information manager that a particular ticket has been sold and validation by the ticket information manager of the unique identification code of the ticket;
(d) transfer of a predetermined amount from the purchase price in favor of a ticketing program manager;
(e) presentation of the ticket by a ticket-holder to one of the plurality of service providers for redemption in exchange for a single use of the desired service from said one of the service providers, said one of the service providers being selected by the ticket-holder among the plurality of service providers;
(f) wherein the ticket is redeemable at any one of said plurality of service providers for said single use, although a price debited for said service by at least certain of said service providers is different from a price debited by others of said service providers for the same said service;
(e) confirmation by the service provider of the ticket's validity with the ticket information manager;
and
(h) payment by the ticketing program manager, at the price debited for said service by said one of said service providers, in favor of the service provider for the single use of the service;
further comprising (i) permitting optional purchase of additional incremental credit above a base ticket value on the ticket by the customer, said purchase comprising communicating an additional purchased value to the ticketing program manager and payment in favor of the ticketing program manager therefore, and presentation of the ticket by a ticket-holder to one of a plurality of service providers in exchange for use of the provider's service where the price debited for said service by said service provider can be higher than the base ticket value, wherein said additional incremental credit is also useable to redeem services from the service provider when the ticket is presented for use on a given occasion, and
wherein the ticket user can check a ticket status with the ticket information manager through a telephone connection to an interactive voice response processor having access to stored ticket data and where the ticket user is not given the monetary value associated with the ticket but the number of incremental credits purchased to date.

8 more elements

A prepaid services account management system, comprising:

(a) a data processing platform associated with a merchant payment network;
(b) means for receiving from a ticket distributor and storing for access by the data processing platform, a communication identifying a ticket with a substantially unique identification code;
(c) wherein the data processing platform comprises at least one processor programmed for comparing the identification code with a list of such codes for tickets that have been distributed by a ticketing program manager;
(d) a database memory accessible to the data processing platform for storing information indicating that a ticket with a particular said code has been purchased, and also for storing an indication of whether the ticket has been redeemed;
(e) means for receiving from a service provider that is an authorized participant in the merchant payment network, a communication identifying a ticket with a unique identification code;
(f) a database memory for storing an inclusion list identifying among all service providers that are authorized participants in the merchant payment network, a subset of participants that are authorized service providers for at least one service;
(g) at least one processor programmed for comparing a unique identification code received from a source provider with a list of codes for tickets that have been sold and accessing the database memory;
(h) means for communicating with a service provider that is in the inclusion list and to whom a ticket has been presented for redemption that the ticket with said identification code is validly redeemable for a single use of a desired service, wherein said service provider is selected by ticket-holder among said subset of participants of the inclusion list, and marking the data base memory to shown that the ticket has been used a single time;
and
(i) wherein the processor is programmed to credit the service provider for redemption of the ticket and to signal refusal if the database indicates that the ticket is not properly redeemable as presented, and
wherein a ticket-holder can check a ticket's status with the ticket information manager by access to an Internet site connected to a processor coupled to stored ticket data, and wherein the processor is programmed to report a number of incremental units associated with the ticket, while refraining from reporting an associated purchase value thereof.

8 more elements

A prepaid services account management system, comprising:

(a) a data processing platform associated with a merchant payment network;
(b) means for receiving from a ticket distributor and storing for access by the data processing platform, a communication identifying a ticket with a substantially unique identification code;
(c) wherein the data processing platform comprises at least one processor programmed for comparing the identification code with a list of such codes for tickets that have been distributed by ticketing program manager;
(d) a database memory accessible to the data processing platform for storing information indicating that a ticket with a particular said code has been purchased, and also for storing an indication of whether the ticket has been redeemed;
(e) means for receiving from a service provider that is an authorized participant in the merchant payment network, a communication identifying a ticket with a unique identification code;
(f) a database memory for storing an inclusion list identifying among all service providers that are authorized participants in the merchant payment network, a subset of participants that are authorized service providers for at least one service;
(g) at least one processor programmed for comparing unique identification code received from a service provider with a list of codes for tickets that have been sold and accessing the database memory;
(h) means for communicating with a service provider that is in the inclusion list and to whom a ticket has been presented for redemption that the ticket with said identification code is validly redeemable for a single use of a desired service, wherein said service provider is selected by a ticket-holder among said subset of participants of the inclusion list, and marking the database memory to show that the ticket has been used a single time;
and
(i) wherein the processor is programmed to credit the service provider for redemption of the ticket and to signal refusal if the database indicates that the ticket is not properly redeemable as presented, and
wherein the ticket user can check a ticket's status with the ticket information manager through a telephone connection to an interactive voice response processor having access to stored ticket data, and wherein the processor is programmed to report a number of incremental units associated with the ticket, while refraining from reporting an associated purchase value thereof.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/827,737Filed 20 Apr 2004
Published: US 2005/0230468 A120 Oct 2005
Granted: 27 Jun 2006
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

G06F 7/00
Methods or arrangements for processing data by operating upon the order or
G06Q 20/10
Payment architectures: specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
G06Q 20/20
Payment architectures: point-of-sale [POS] network systems
G06Q 20/28
Payment schemes or models: pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"