| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 705140220 | Re-usable coupon | 17 |
| 20090287558 | Electronic Coupon Tracking - In accordance with one or more aspects of the electronic coupon tracking, a record of an electronic coupon that has been distributed to a user is maintained. An indication that the electronic coupon has been redeemed at a retailer via a mobile device is received, and redemption of the electronic is recorded. Additionally, an indication can be received that the electronic coupon has been redeemed by the user. In response to receipt of this indication, a rewards account corresponding to the user is credited with one or more points. | 11-19-2009 |
| 20100042490 | Electronic Coupon Distribution System - A method of secure electronic couponing is disclosed which includes a main server system, and a client system interconnected by a distributed computer network, such as the Internet. Coupon data and advertising data are encrypted to thereby reduce the likelihood that such data may be misused, such as by unauthorized duplication. In addition, the client system is identified by a user identification that is allocated and associated with user information collected from the user of the client system. The user information is indicative of one or more demographic characteristics of the user without being sufficiently personal to specifically identify the user, thus preserving privacy. An icon is provided which, when flashing, alerts the user to the fact that new coupons are available. | 02-18-2010 |
| 20100211447 | SEARCHING A DATABASE INCLUDING PRIORITIZING RESULTS BASED ON HISTORICAL DATA - Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are provided that include techniques for searching a database. One method includes receiving one or more input search terms and providing a database. The database maps at least one search term to at least one coupon. The method further includes identifying one or more coupons in the database based on the received input search terms. The method further includes selecting one or more coupons from the identified coupons. A given coupon can be selected based on a number of times the given coupon has been previously printed. A given coupon can also be selected based on a number of times the given coupon has been previously redeemed. The method further includes presenting one or more coupons to the user where the presented one or more coupons include the selected one or more coupons. | 08-19-2010 |
| 20120022930 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF A MEDIA DELIVERY SERVICES PLATFORM FOR TARGETING CONSUMERS IN REAL TIME - A media targeting system may be configured to coordinate media and manage media conflicts in its delivery to consumers. The media targeting system may in near real-time arbitrate between all offers assigned to a particular consumer or available to the consumer via one or more channels to ensure that a consumer only receives non-conflicting offers during particular time periods. The media targeting system may translate offers into a real-time, in-store loyalty environment including consumer real-time behavior assignment into traits in order to make a real-time offer assignment based on the traits. An application on a mobile device of a consumer may allow the consumer to share offers with other consumers via a bump of the consumers' mobile devices. | 01-26-2012 |
| 20120143666 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROCESSING COUPONS - Systems and methods for tracking and managing the distribution, activation, and redemption of online coupons are provided. In one aspect, the online coupon may be transmitted to one or more users as an electronic mail (“email”) coupon. A user may then act upon the online coupon to view, activate and redeem the incentive offered by the coupon. A user's actions in response to the online coupon, such as the viewing actions, activation actions, and redemption actions, may be tracked and managed to reduce the possibility of fraud or misuse, and to identify the efficacy of the incentives offered by the coupon. | 06-07-2012 |
| 20120303431 | Method and System for Establishing an Electronic Consumer-Merchant Forum with Efficient e-Coupon Access and Redemption - A merchant forum system is described that comprises a system of servers and databases connected to a network that can host a platform of merchants and facilitate electronic commerce between merchants and consumers. A merchant creates and stores a merchant profile and e-coupon campaign on the merchant forum system via a computer connected to the network. A consumer member accesses the merchant forum system to locate merchants and e-coupons offers via a computer or mobile device connected to the network. The merchant forum system passes data to a consumer member's mobile device representing an authentic e-coupon image having a moving image portion to permit expedient authentication and execution of transactions. A time limit on execution of the transaction and redemption of the authentic e-coupon image provides additional security. | 11-29-2012 |
| 20130030895 | UNLOCKING COUPON OFFERS - In an embodiment, a method comprises receiving an indication that a user selected social network data that is displayed, on a client device, concurrently with offer data that indicates a coupon offer; wherein prior to receiving the indication, the user of the client device is incapable of accessing the coupon offer; in response to receiving the indication that the user selected the social network data, allowing the user to access the coupon offer, and causing a message to be sent to each user of a plurality of users that are identified, in a social network, as connected to the user, wherein the message includes data about the coupon offer or a coupon provider that initiated the coupon offer; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices. | 01-31-2013 |
| 20130124283 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING ADVERTISEMENTS USING SOCIAL NETWORKS AND FINANCIAL TRANSACTION CARD NETWORKS - An exemplary method for distributing an offer to a mobile device includes identifying a location of a first mobile device, identifying offer preferences for a user of the first mobile device, and distributing the offer to the first mobile device. The offer is an offer for the purchase of goods or services, the offer meets the offer preferences of the user of the first mobile device, and the offer is encoded with a first offer identifier corresponding to the user of the first mobile device. | 05-16-2013 |
| 20130124284 | PROMOTION PROCESSOR AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - A data processing system employs a unique coded promotional vehicle to attract customers into retail establishments for the purchase of discounted goods. The promotional vehicle includes coupon styled graphics integrated with a code to allow data tracking by the store pursuant to purchases by that customer. The promotional vehicle is easier and less costly to distribute compared to the prior art, avoids cutting of coupons, and post purchase redemptions. The system further allows more targeted discounting at a lower cost, and substantially reducing fraud by eliminating post purchase coupon processing and redemption. Additionally, the system provides for selective deactivation of the code for each discount used by redemption of the vehicle without deactivating the code for the discounts not used so that the code may remain selectively active for future use. | 05-16-2013 |
| 20130144698 | PERMITTING GRANULAR DISTRIBUTION OF PRIVILEGES TO CONTEXTUAL COMMUNITIES - Methods and arrangements for the granular distribution of privileges to contextual communities. A user request for an active capability is assimilated. A code is generated which permits exercise of the active capability by the user and at least one secondary recipient. Execution of the active capability is permitted responsive to an attempt at executing the active capability by at least one taken from the group consisting of: the user and the at least one secondary recipient, and execution of the active capability is denied responsive to an attempt at executing the active capability by a recipient other than the user and the at least one secondary recipient. | 06-06-2013 |
| 20130211897 | REAL-TIME MOBILE DEMAND-SHAPING SYSTEM AND METHOD - A demand-shaping server, and method of shaping demand and an infrastructure incorporating the server or the method. In one embodiment, the server includes: (1) a sponsor interface configured to receive from a sponsor information regarding a time-sensitive deal and including a location at which the time-sensitive deal may be claimed and (2) a runner interface coupled to the sponsor interface and configured to transmit notices containing at least some of the information to mobile devices based on runner criteria associated therewith. | 08-15-2013 |
| 20140249903 | Non-contextual Information Collected and Transacted by Merchants and Consumers Thru POS and Mobiles - This disclosure relates to a different system and methods which is offered to consumers and merchants. It describes the affordability it provide by reducing the numbers of touch points required for consumers to recognize a discount through the redemption of coupons. Along with a system accessible by merchants for entering products on coupons for savings to consumers. It details the critical components required for a seamless and transparent method to enter, view, select, collect, and redeem multiple coupon offers in a single scan or swipe of a mobile device. | 09-04-2014 |
| 20140278874 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROMOTING DAILY DEALS - Systems and methods provide a variety of ways in which to generate and promote multi-merchant deals spanning multiple geographical regions and/or multiple industries. In deals involving merchants from two or more industries, customers may be provided with one ticket per person per industry. Any goods and/or services provided by the merchants from different industries are not intertwined with one another so as to form one experience. Further, in deals involving merchants from the same industry, the customer may be provided with a choice as to which merchant to redeem the goods and/or services. Likewise, in some examples, the customer may choose in which geographical region to receive the goods and/or services. | 09-18-2014 |
| 20140304048 | DESCENDING-PRICE AUCTION METHOD WITH PARTICIPATING FEE - A system and method is provided for a descending-price auction with participation fee. The present invention starts with the buying of participations by prospective buyers. The auction starts near the retail price and time duration is announced at the start of the auction within which each participant can bid for the asset for sale. The prospective buyers use their bought participations for bidding. The price is decreased by a predefined amount till the price reaches zero currency units after which it stays at zero and the time duration is reset. The whole process of the auction is repeated till the end of auction time and the last participant will be deemed the final buyer for the last low price. Other participants can also be compensated with other benefits according to the level of their participation in the auction. | 10-09-2014 |
| 20150046242 | System and Method of Gifting, Gift Sharing, and Gift Redemption - A system configured to promote goods and/or services from a business to a user via a network and an interface device of the user. The system provides a method to offer a gift from the business to the user, allow the user to transfer or share the gift with another user, and allow the user to redeem the gift at the business. The system also provides a method to obtain and transmit information related to the user to the merchant. | 02-12-2015 |
| 20160110749 | Method for Directly Issuing and Using Discount Coupon by Product Buyer Himself/Herself - The present invention relates to a “method for issuing and using a discount coupon”, in which a product seller can pay a predetermined deposit necessary for issuing the discount coupon to a discount coupon management server having a discount coupon issuing function and a consumer can extemporally issue and use a discount coupon related to a product when purchasing the product. The method comprises the steps of: a) accumulating, by a product seller, a predetermined deposit in the discount coupon management server; and b) accessing the discount coupon management server and issuing a predetermined discount coupon for a product which a product buyer wants to buy, by the product buyer himself/herself, the discount coupon having a predetermined discount price to be discounted within the deposit, wherein at least one predetermined discount coupon is issued within the deposit. Further, when the predetermined discount coupon is used before an expiration date after being issued, the deposit is reduced in proportion to an issue price of the discount coupon. Also, when the predetermined discount coupon is not used before the expiration date after being issued, the deposit is not reduced. | 04-21-2016 |
| 20160117711 | Method for Directly Issuing and Using Discount Coupon for Product Bought by Consumer Himself/Herself - The present invention relates to a method for directly issuing and using, by a consumer himself/herself, a discount coupon for a product, which the consumer has bought, in a discount coupon service used by consumers buying a product, or a system therefor. More particularly, the present invention relates to “a method for directly issuing and using, by a consumer himself/herself, a discount coupon for a product bought by the consumer,” in which not only can the consumer acquire and use a right to issue a predetermined discount coupon according to a product purchase history, but the consumer can also transfer and sell the discount coupon issued by the consumer himself/herself, to another person, so that the consumer can get more benefits. | 04-28-2016 |
