ICAP Patent Brokerage Announces Sale of an Automated System for Matching Buyers and Sellers on the Internet and for Providing Benefits to Communities of Users

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May 24, 2011, 01:52 ET

CHICAGO, May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ICAP Patent Brokerage, the intellectual property brokerage division of ICAP plc and the world's premier patent auction firm, is offering for sale a patent portfolio from Quantum Leap Research. The portfolio discloses an automated system for matching buyers and sellers on the Internet, as well as a scalable method, system, and apparatus for providing computer-accessible benefits to communities of users.

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Background

The described systems are also known as the Digital Marketplace Engine and the Collaboration Portal (the system). The System receives and automatically processes the selective requirements of both the buyers and sellers to facilitate optimal transactions. The result is "a more transaction-friendly environment" – an automated marketplace that facilitates the matching of buyers and sellers.

Key Characteristics & Benefits

This portfolio discloses an automated platform for performing marketing transactions and a collaboration portal.

The platform is an automated system that includes a method for automatically identifying a group of sellers offering products or services, matching them with customer preferences, and then providing a user-friendly software infrastructure for facilitating market transactions involving the two matched parties.
The system defines the various relationships and attributes of user requests and desired features to create an abstract representation (e.g., customer ID) of multiple buyers.
Similarly, the system creates a second abstract representation of multiple sellers based on product attributes, pricing values, market data and other offerings.
These abstract representations enable the system to generate multiple buyer and seller consortiums, organizing their respective requirements and offerings in a categorized format that enables simpler identification of matched products via software programs.
Additionally, the system performs the matching process by computing ratings for buyer satisfaction on a variety of appropriate attributes for available offerings.
The system then determines the quantity and pricing value requirements of each party within the desired constraints and associated relationships to provide the best set of matches available in the marketplace.
The end to end system processes involve receiving customer requests, defining various attributes and relationships, searching and identifying the matched products, and then transacting the best matched product among mutually agreed parties, which are performed on the same platform.
The disclosed system provides an automated platform that meets expectations of both sellers and buyers without increasing manual efforts or requiring the services of market consultants. The result is a more "transaction-friendly" environment.
The Collaboration Portal provides a framework for provisioning computer-accessible benefits for communities of users, and can efficiently and robustly distribute the processing in behalf of those users over a decentralized network of computers. The field of the invention generally encompasses enabling appropriate and desired communication among communities of users and organizations, and providing information, goods, services, opportunities, and connections among users and organizations.

Market Potential

This portfolio should be of interest to software service providers and entities involved in retail or online shopping, gaming, online trading, and eCommerce.

The disclosed techniques could be a backbone for group or community online shopping.
In the US, the overall web-influenced retail sales is estimated to be $1,409 billion, while the online retail sales market is expected to reach $250 billion by 2014.(1)

To learn more about the assets available for sale in this portfolio:

Contact Dean Becker, CEO of ICAP Patent Brokerage at [email protected].

About ICAP Patent Brokerage

ICAP Patent Brokerage is the intellectual property brokerage division of ICAP and the world's premier patent auction firm.

About ICAP

ICAP is the world's premier interdealer broker and provider of post trade services. The Group matches buyers and sellers in the wholesale markets in interest rates, credit, commodities, foreign exchange, emerging markets, equities and equity derivatives through voice and electronic networks. ICAP plc was added to the FTSE 100 Index on 30 June 2006. For more information go to www.icap.com.

(1) http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/08/forrester-forecast-online-retail-sales-will-grow-to-250-billion-by-2014/

SOURCE ICAP Patent Brokerage