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To: GRC who wrote (567)	8/28/1998 3:49:00 PM
From: GRC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2004

More claim analysis of patents. Following up on my earlier post about the claims, independent claim 6 also claims the client (buyer) computers. Thus, claim 6 (and claims 7-17 which depend from it) are not infringed by most e-commerce vendors. Claim 18, below, is a method claim. This claim appears to be broader, and the buyer's computers aren't part of the infringement, rather use of them is part of the infringement. Also, I think the language is structured so that the seller infringes, not the buyer. That's important since buyer's wouldn't pay a license, and you can't effectively sue the buyers. Generally the claim relates to buying something over the internet with a charge card or bank debit. The important issue is will e-commerce will require real-time authorization of credit card charges (as opposed overnight or an hour delayed)? Why? Also, the claim has some security language. I don't know enough about SSL to know if that works as the claim describes. Could someone explain the way SSL works? My comments follow each claim paragraph. 18. A method of effecting sales over a network sales system comprising a plurality of buyer computers and a plurality of merchant computers interconnected by a public packet switched communications network, said method providing for real-time authorization of purchase transactions and comprising the steps of: COMMENT: This just sets up the environment in which the method occurs. It doesn't matter who owns the computers, anyone who performs the method infringes. It does require real-time approval. Thus, one way around this would be delayed, i.e. not real time debiting. One question is how important is real time authorization? If shipping occurs the following day, why not wait and authorizing over night? Does anyone have an idea as to how important real time is to e-commerce? It may be important for downloads, but what about real goods? CLAIM storing digital advertisements in a database; receiving a user inquiry at one of said buyer computers and, in response to said user inquiry, selecting one of said merchant computers, and transmitting a network request from said one of said buyer computers thereto over said public packet switched communications network; COMMENT: All these 2 steps require is storing data and having the user request be sent over the internet. It seems all e-commerce would meet this limitation. CLAIM communicating one of said digital advertisements from one of said merchant computers to said one of said buyer computers over said public packet switched communications network in response to said network request from said buyer computer; COMMENT: This requires the ad to be sent to the buyer, again, all e-coomerce would do this. CLAIM displaying said one of said digital advertisements at said one of said buyer computers, and, in response to a user request, transmitting over said public packet switched communications network from said one of said buyer computers to one of said merchant computers a purchase message, and causing a payment request, comprising a payment amount, to be transmitted over said public packet switched communications network into a payment system comprising a financial authorization network external to said public packet switched communications network, in order to initiate authorization of purchase of a product having real monetary value advertised in said one of said digital advertisements and in order to initiate recordation of information pertaining to said payment request and an authorization in a settlement database; and COMMENT: The buyer sees the ad (web page), and a purchase request is sent (an order form). The seller sends a payment request in response to the order form. The payment request goes over the net to a private network (such as a banks). This initiates settlement (money transfer). CLAIM receiving said purchase message at one of said merchant computers, and causing said product to be sent to a party conditioned on said purchase transaction having been authorized in real time by said financial authorization network external to said public packet switched communications network, based on an external credit card account or an external demand deposit account having sufficient credit or funds of real monetary value available to a principal making said payment, and conditioned on at least one message transmitted over said public packet switched communications network in connection with said purchase transaction not being a replay of a message previously transmitted over said public packet switched communications network; COMMENT: The seller sends the product to the buyer if the payment was authorized in real time. This seems to be one way around, not real time authorization. Also, there is a redundancy check to make sure the same order isn't processed twice. CLAIM said payment request comprising at least one digital signature of components that include components derived from said payment request, at least one of which digital signatures protects said payment request from forgery, including authenticating an identity of one of a plurality of principals as an originator of said payment request, at least one of which digital signatures protects said payment request from replay attack, and at least one of which digital signatures is computed based on a principal-specific secret key. COMMENT: SSL - does SSL meet this definition? If so, most vendors would meet it. If not, then any vendor using SSL would avoid infringement. Any comments are welcome, particularly on the real-time and SSL issues.