WO2000041121A1 - Method and arrangement for issuance and management of digital coupons and sales offers - Google Patents

Method and arrangement for issuance and management of digital coupons and sales offers Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2000041121A1
WO2000041121A1 PCT/US1999/015650 US9915650W WO0041121A1 WO 2000041121 A1 WO2000041121 A1 WO 2000041121A1 US 9915650 W US9915650 W US 9915650W WO 0041121 A1 WO0041121 A1 WO 0041121A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
coupon
offer
digital
digital coupon
internet
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1999/015650
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Arthur Michael Keller
Sanjai Tiwari
Original Assignee
Ccrewards.Com
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ccrewards.Com filed Critical Ccrewards.Com
Publication of WO2000041121A1 publication Critical patent/WO2000041121A1/en

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Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00Commerce
    • G06Q30/02Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of electronic commerce.
  • the present invention discloses an arrangement and methods for creating, distributing and authenticating digital coupons.
  • the Internet is a global interconnection of computer networks that share a common set of protocols. Most computers on the global Internet use the Transport Control Protocol layer and the Internet Protocol layer commonly referred to as TCP/IP. By sharing a set of nonproprietary well-defined communication protocols, the Internet allows almost any computer system to communicate with any other computer system.
  • FTP file transfer protocol
  • NTP network news protocol
  • SMTP simple mail transport protocol
  • HTTP hypertext transport protocol
  • HTML hypertext markup language
  • the WWW quickly became a new mass media system for information distribution. With the help of advertising support, thousands of news and information web sites have been created.
  • HTML and HTTP standards have been amended to handle two- way communication. Specifically, a user can be presented with a "form" that can be filled-in and send back to a server. Using processing system often known as Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts, a server can obtain information from a person browsing its pages.
  • CGI Common Gateway Interface
  • a method of distributing digital coupons is disclosed.
  • An Internet retailer that wishes to issue coupons or other offers to selected consumers defines a particular offer.
  • a coupon issuer will create a digitally signed coupon and associated entries in a coupon registry.
  • the digital coupons are distributed to potential consumers.
  • the digital coupons may be stored in the consumer's personalized coupon wallet until such digital coupons are used.
  • the digital coupon may direct the consumer to the Internet retailer's web site using a URL within the coupon.
  • the designated web site's URL may include an identifier that identifies the digital coupon to the seller. In a preferred embodiment, the identifier is encrypted to prevent forgery.
  • the Internet retailer's web site may contact the coupon registry to verify that the digital coupon is valid.
  • Figure 1 illustrates a conceptual diagram of one embodiment of a digital coupon.
  • Figure 2 illustrates the flow of information between a consumer, an Internet retailer, a digital coupon issuer, and a coupon manager.
  • Figure 3 illustrates how a jointly issued manufacturer/retailer digital coupon may be issued and verified.
  • Figure 4A illustrates an embodiment of how a single manufacturer digital coupon may be used with multiple retailers that use the same discount code.
  • Figure 4B illustrates an embodiment of how a single manufacturer digital coupon may be used with multiple retailers wherein each multiple retailer uses a different discount code.
  • Figure 4C illustrates an embodiment of how a manufacturer digital coupon may be used with associated retailer coupons.
  • Internet based commerce has been one of the fastest growing industries in the late 1990's. Almost every retailer has been pressured to offer some type of Internet based commerce system in order to compete with a large contingent of upstart "Internet only" retailers. Due to the fast growth of the Internet commerce field, the number of Internet retailers has become very large. In order to distinguish themselves from the crowd of Internet retailers, many Internet retailers are heavily pursuing advertising, promotion, and marketing techniques. Many traditional advertising and marketing techniques can be used to promote Internet commerce sites. For example, many Internet retailers have heavily invested in radio, television, and newspaper advertising to promote their Internet commerce sites. However, other types of advertising and marketing techniques cannot be applied so easily. For example, traditional paper discount coupons cannot be used to promote an Internet commerce site.
  • the consumer cannot present a traditional paper discount coupon to an Internet retailer since the consumer never actually physically contacts the retailer. Instead, the entire transaction between the retailer and consumer consists of the transfer of information across a communication link. Since coupons are an effective advertising and marketing technique, it would be desirable to provide a system that allows coupons to be used at Internet commerce sites.
  • the present invention introduces methods and apparatus for implementing a digital coupon system for Internet based commerce.
  • a coupon issuer which could be the seller or a third party service, creates a collection of unique digital coupons for an offer that are digitally signed to prevent forgery.
  • the digital coupons are then distributed to consumers. Consumers may present the digital coupons to the coupon issuer to obtain additional information. The consumers may also present the coupons to vendors that will honor the coupons.
  • each digital coupon may be limited in use or duration.
  • each digital coupon has a unique identifier that refers to an entry in a coupon registry database.
  • the coupon registry database contains the constraints on coupon use in a formal language.
  • the coupon registry database is also used to record when coupons are presented and/or used. Thus, for example, if a digital coupon can only be used only once, a recorded usage will prevent future usage. Furthermore, a description of the coupon's limitations of use must be available to the consumer as desired.
  • the digital coupons must describe their benefit to the consumer.
  • each digital coupon contains and/or refers to a natural language description of what the coupon is good for.
  • the digital coupons must describe to the seller the offer made available to the consumer.
  • the coupon registry database contains a formal language description of the offer that may be presented to the seller.
  • the coupon contains an offer description usable by the seller.
  • the consumer must have an easy way to specify that the coupon is to be used.
  • the digital coupon contains a uniform resource locator (URL) that contains the unique coupon identifier. The URL brings the consumer to a specified web page at the seller's web site either directly or indirectly through coupon issuer's web site.
  • URL uniform resource locator
  • each digital coupon should be unique, descriptive, and unable to be forged.
  • Figure 1 conceptually illustrates one example of a digital coupon form that may be used to meet these goals. (The coupon is actually just an encoded digital value.) However, it should be noted that the primary goal of creating a digital coupon including a unique identifier (serial number) in a manner that prevents forgery might be implemented in other manners.
  • the digital coupon 100 includes descriptive text or other data 131. That descriptive text 131 may describe the digital coupon offer to the consumer that receives the digital coupon 100.
  • the digital coupon 100 further includes a coupon identifier field 150.
  • the identifier field 150 uniquely identifies each individual digital coupon.
  • the digital coupon is sealed with a digital signature 170 that cannot be forged.
  • the digital signature 170 can be used to authenticate the digital coupon.
  • the coupon identifier field 150 may be encrypted in order to protect the digital coupon 100 from being forged.
  • a symmetrical "secret key” encryption or asymmetrical "public key” encryption system may be used to perform the encryption.
  • the coupon identifier field 150 is encoded in a robust format such as Base64 that only uses 7-bit characters. In this manner, email systems that do not handle 8-bit characters will not harm the robustly encoded coupon identifier field 150.
  • the coupon identifier field 150 carries several fields used to identify the coupon.
  • the coupon identifier field 150 comprises four fields: a seller identifier, an offer identification field, a coupon serial number, and random number field. These four fields are defined as follows.
  • a first field in the coupon identifier field 150 is a seller identification (Seller ID) field 181.
  • the seller identification field 181 uniquely identifies a particular entity that is offering or will redeem the digital coupon 100.
  • the seller identification field 181 contains a unique seller identification value that was assigned to the selling entity that is participating in the digital coupon system.
  • a second field that may be included in the coupon identifier field 150 is an offer identification (Offer ID) field 183.
  • the offer identification field 183 uniquely identifies a particular offer that the seller is honoring.
  • the offer identification field 183 contains a unique offer identification value that was assigned to the seller's coupon offer.
  • a third field that may be included in the coupon identifier field 150 of the digital coupon 100 is a coupon serial number 185.
  • the coupon serial number 185 uniquely identifies the digital coupon. Thus, when digital coupons are offered, each individual digital coupon may be tracked individually.
  • a fourth field that may be included in the coupon identifier field 150 of the digital coupon 100 is a random number field 189.
  • the random number field 189 provides additional protection against cryptographic attacks on the digital coupon 100. Specifically, if a digital coupon only consisted of the identification field 181, the offer identification field 183, and the coupon serial number 185 and an attacker knows the seller identification field 181 is constant, the offer identification field 183 is constant, and the coupon serial number 185 is monotonically changing, then a cryptographic attack on the digital coupon would be simplified. By adding a random number field 189 that contains a random number, the cryptographic strength of the coupon is increased.
  • the coupon identifier field 150 is placed into a uniform resource locator (URL) that points directly at a web page associated with the particular offer.
  • the URL will include the coupon identifier field 150 such that the web site can obtain specific information about the coupon being presented.
  • the coupon may include the following URL: http://www.InternetStore.com/coupons/index.html7Djiea8erj3Fnwogn8djsSJjdiIjIE83
  • the "Djiea8erj3Fnwogn8djsSJjdiIjIE83Hg" portion represents the Base64 encoded version of the coupon identifier field 150.
  • a URL allows the web server located at http://www.InternetStore.com/ to identify the digital coupon being presented.
  • the www.InternetStore.com server passes the "Djiea8erj3Fnwogn8djsSJjdiIjIE83Hg" encoded to a coupon registry that contains detailed information about the coupon offer.
  • the coupon identifier field 150 may be stored by a web browser "cookie".
  • the web browser cookie is designated for use by InternetStore.com.
  • the web browser cookie contains an internal offer code that is recognized or understood by the electronic commerce seller.
  • Another URL in the digital coupon may bring the consumer to a web site of the coupon issuer.
  • the web site on the coupon issuer's computer system 230 ( Figure 2) may present another link that brings the user to the seller's web site at a location designated by the Internet retailer. This situation may arise if the consumer wants to know more about the offer from coupon issuer before contacting the Internet retailer. It is then logical for the consumer to access the coupon issuer's web site to obtain additional information about the offer. From the coupon issuer's web site, the consumer may be referred to the Internet retailer's web site.
  • Digital coupons may include one or both of coupon issuer's URL and the seller's URL.
  • the digital coupon system consists of three main elements: a digital coupon registry, a digital coupon wallet, and a digital coupon acceptor.
  • Figure 2 illustrates an overall view of the data flow of one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 2 illustrates three computer systems coupled to the Internet 200.
  • a first computer system 230 is associated with a coupon issuing entity.
  • the coupon issuing entity issues digital coupon as the request of various retailers.
  • the coupon issuing entity maintains the digital coupon registry that contains information about all the issued coupons.
  • a second computer system 211 is associated with a consumer that may receive, and store digital coupons in a digital coupon wallet.
  • a third computer system 223 is associated with an Internet retailer.
  • the Internet retailer may request the issuance of digital coupons.
  • the Internet retailer later honors issued digital coupons using the digital coupon acceptor.
  • the Digital Coupon Registry is associated with a coupon issuing entity.
  • the most important aspect of the digital coupon system of the present invention is the digital coupon registry.
  • the coupon registry is the combination of the coupon database 231 and a set of programs that may run on computer system 230 for creating digital coupons, issuing digital coupons, and verifying digital coupons.
  • an Internet retailer decides to issue a coupon
  • the retailer determines the description of an offer to make available to one or more consumers.
  • the Internet retailer provides the coupon description information to the coupon issuing entity.
  • the Internet retailer provides the coupon description information across the Internet along data flow 291 to computer system 230 associated with the coupon registry.
  • the information may be delivered either electronically or manually, in natural language, in text, MIME, HTML, code, symbol, or other attachments, and/or in a formal language.
  • the coupon issuer Upon receiving coupon description information, the coupon issuer will create individual coupons, one for each potential consumer.
  • the coupon issuer registers the created digital coupons in a coupon database 231 along data flow 292.
  • the Internet retailer may create the individual digital coupons and provide detailed information about such coupons to the coupon issuing entity such that the digital coupons may be placed into the coupon database 231.
  • the embodiment of Figure 2 illustrates the coupon database 231 at the coupon issuer's site, either the Internet retailer or coupon issuer may maintain a coupon registry.
  • the coupon database 231 contains information about each coupon offer that has been created and the associated coupons that have been issued. In one embodiment, the following items of information are maintained for each offer:
  • Offer name A name for the coupon offer.
  • Offer ID A unique identification for the coupon offer.
  • Seller ID A unique identification of the associated Internet retailer.
  • Offer URL A URL that the Internet retailer associated with the offer. This can be used to locate the offer record.
  • Offer description A description for the coupon offer. This description may be a code, an offer description in a formal language, a short program such as a
  • Offer Start Date The first day that the coupon will be honored.
  • Offer Expiration Date The last day that the coupon will be honored.
  • Transferable May the coupon be passed along?
  • Offer limit The number of times the coupon may be used.
  • Encryption Key(s) One or more encryption keys used to seal associated digital coupons.
  • the coupon database 231 may maintain the following items of information for each digital coupon that is issued:
  • Coupon Serial Number A unique identifier for the coupon.
  • Offer ID A unique identification for the coupon offer.
  • Seller ID A unique identification of the associated Internet retailer.
  • Customer ID An identifier for the customer the received the offer.
  • Encrypted Coupon Field If the digital coupon uses an encrypted field, then this field in the database record contains a copy of the encrypted coupon field from the digital coupon. This copy of the encrypted coupon field can be used for locating the coupon record if no information other than the encrypted coupon field is available.
  • Number of times viewed The number of times that the coupon was viewed. This field may be used to specify the number of times that the coupon was viewed on a web site.
  • This field specifies if the coupon was "clipped" and saved by a consumer.
  • the coupon may be clipped by activating a web page button that transfers the digital coupon to a digital coupon wallet of the user.
  • the transfer may consist of placing the digital coupon into the user's account, emailing the coupon to the user, or other distribution mechanism.
  • Number of times presented The number of times that the coupon was presented.
  • Presentation Information Specific Information on each coupon presentation such date, time, web site, customer identifiers, etc.
  • Number of times used The number of times that the coupon has been used.
  • Usage Information Information on transaction usage such as transaction identifiers, customer identifiers, transaction dates, etc.
  • Distribution Information Information on how the coupon was distributed.
  • the digital coupon may be distributed to potential customers.
  • the coupon issuer will distribute the individualized digital coupons to a selected set of consumers.
  • a coupon may be distributed by the coupon issuer based upon a description of the potential consumer desired by the Internet retailer. For example, the Internet retailer may describe an ideal customer's purchase history. Such a purchase history can be maintained by the system described in the provisional patent application entitled "Method And Arrangement For
  • Coupon distribution may be performed using any combination of buyer preferences, purchase history, coupon history, demographics, geographies, or other information available to the Internet retailer or the coupon issuer.
  • a particular digital coupon may be distributed by the coupon issuer based on the user specifications provided by a user that registers with a web site on the digital coupon issuer's computer system 230. The user may modify such a registration such that other digital coupons may be issued. Furthermore, a potential consumer may dynamically request a digital coupon. For example, a potential consumer may access a web site on the coupon issuer's computer system 230 and request all the available coupons meeting a particular criterion such as product type or seller.
  • the coupon issuer may distribute a digital coupon across the Internet along data flow 293 to a consumer that uses computer system 211.
  • a digital coupon may be issued by email, downloaded from a web site, or otherwise electronically distributed to the coupon recipient. Furthermore, it may be distributed on a physical media format such as a compact disc (CD), or by any other digital distribution system.
  • CD compact disc
  • the consumer that uses computer system 211 may store the digital coupon locally in a digital coupon wallet.
  • the digital coupon wallet stores digital coupons locally on the consumer's computer system 211.
  • the digital coupons may be sent to potential customers as email messages, downloaded from a web site, cut & paste from a web site, or otherwise electronically distributed to potential consumers as appropriate.
  • the digital coupon wallet may be an account in the coupon issuer' s computer system 230.
  • a database of consumers is maintained by the coupon issuer. Each consumer has a record that indicates the coupon activity of that consumer.
  • the consumer' s database record may specify the coupons viewed by the consumer, the coupons currently held by the consumer, the coupons that the consumer redeemed, and the type of coupons the coupon consumer is interested in, etc.
  • the consumer at computer system 211 may access digital coupons in his/her digital coupon wallet across the Internet via the World Wide Web.
  • the digital coupon wallet should provide a number of useful features. First, the wallet must make it easy to clip and store new digital coupons. Next, the consumer should be able to view the stored digital coupons. Ideally, the consumer will be able to search the coupon wallet for specific types of coupons. After a consumer has located a desired digital coupon in the coupon wallet, the consumer should be able to present the coupon to an appropriate retailer. As disclosed in this document, one preferred method is to embed a URL that points to a web page for presenting the digital coupon within the digital coupon itself. Presenting the coupon allows the consumer to obtain additional information about the specific terms of the digital coupon offer. Finally, the consumer should be able to use the digital coupon from the digital wallet. Using the coupon entails initiating a transaction that will take advantage of the offer presented in the digital coupon.
  • a consumer having a digital coupon may choose a coupon from the coupon wallet and presents the digital coupon to the appropriate Internet retailer along data flow 294.
  • the digital coupon may contain a URL that includes the information about the coupon.
  • the URL may contain an encoded value that includes a unique coupon identifier, a seller identifier, and an offer identifier.
  • This URL may bring the consumer to the Internet retailer's web site at a location designated by the Internet retailer.
  • this event is recorded in the coupon registry.
  • the URL may bring the user to a web page that provides the user with a display of additional offers.
  • the web page may list products related to the special offer (cross-sells).
  • the web page may also present more expensive higher quality items for purchase (up-sells).
  • the coupon allows the Internet retailer to establish or maintain a relationship with the consumer.
  • the Internet retailer When a consumer presents a digital coupon to an Internet retailer, the Internet retailer employs a coupon acceptor to obtain information about the digital coupon from the coupon registry.
  • the Internet retailer sends a request electronically along data flow 295 to the coupon registry containing the digital coupon's coupon identifier field 150.
  • the digital coupon registry decrypts the coupon identifier field 150 to obtain the coupon's serial number, the seller identifier, and the offer identifier.
  • the digital coupon registry looks up the digital coupon in the coupon database 231 along data flow 296.
  • coupon registry look-up and subsequent coupon verification checks can occur at the Internet retailer's site if the Internet retailer's site maintains the coupon registry.
  • a copy of the coupon registry may exist at both the Internet retailer's site and the coupon issuer's site.
  • the coupon registry database may be kept synchronized incrementally, in batches, or in combinations thereof.
  • the consumer 211 may communicate with a coupon issuer's computer system 230 to present or obtain a coupon.
  • the coupon is validated by the coupon issuer's computer system 230 and the coupon's presentment or clipping is recorded in the coupon registry 231.
  • the consumer's web browser (on computer 211) may then be redirected to the Internet retailer's web site 223.
  • the offer code can be transmitted to the Internet retailer as part of the URL when redirecting the consumer's web browser or stored as a cookie on the consumer's web browser.
  • the coupon register Using the coupon's serial number, the seller identifier, and the offer identifier, the coupon register locates the appropriate coupon record from the coupon database 231. The digital coupon registry then increments the "Number of times presented" field since the coupon has been presented.
  • the coupon register locates the appropriate offer record from the coupon database 231.
  • the digital coupon registry will compare the number of times used field from the coupon record against the Offer limit in the offer record to determine if the coupon has already reached its maximum use limit. If the coupon has already been used upon to its maximum limit, then the Internet retailer's computer system 223 will be informed along data flow 298 that the coupon is not valid.
  • the Internet retailer's computer system 223 can decide how to handle the situation.
  • the Internet retailer's computer system 223 may decide to honor the coupon, suggest another offer, provide another coupon, present a cross-sell web page for related products, offer the product at the normal price, etc.
  • the digital coupon registry will also compare the start and expiration date of the offer in the offer record against the current date to determine if the coupon is being presented in the coupon's valid period. If the coupon has been presented too early or has expired, then the Internet retailer's computer system 223 will be informed along data flow 298 that the digital coupon does not need to be honored. Again, the Internet retailer's computer system 223 can decide how to handle the situation. The Internet retailer's computer system 223 may decide to honor the coupon, suggest another offer, provide another coupon, present a cross-sell web page for related products, offer the product at the normal price, etc.
  • the coupon registry 230 can enforce that the coupon is not given to another consumer. Specifically, the digital coupon registry may compare the Customer ID in the coupon record against the Internet retailer's identifier for the consumer 211 to determine if the coupon is being presented by an entity other than the entity that received the digital coupon. If the digital coupon is nontransferable, then the Internet retailer's computer system 223 can decide how to handle the situation. The Internet retailer's computer system 223 may decide to honor the coupon, provide a coupon to this particular customer, suggest where the coupon may be obtained, offer the product at the normal price, etc.
  • the digital coupon registry also obtains the terms of the offer from the offer record in the offer database.
  • the terms of the offer may be presented to the Internet retailer's computer system 223 when the Internet retailer has decided to accept the coupon.
  • the terms of the offer may be passed from the coupon issuer's computer system 230 directly to the Internet retailer's computer system 223. In this manner, the coupon issuer's computer system 230 may transfer secret codes, such as airline discount fare codes, to the retailer's computer system 223 without allowing the consumer to view the secret code.
  • the description of the coupon offer may take many different forms.
  • the offer description may simply comprise an offer code or symbol that is entered into the transaction system of the Internet retailer's computer system 223.
  • the offer description may also comprise an offer statement in defined formal language that allows many different types of offers to be created. The defined offer statement would be parsed by the Internet retailer's computer system 223 and then honored.
  • the offer description comprises a program that implements the terms of the offer.
  • the offer description may be a Java program that adjusts the terms of purchase agreement.
  • the Internet retailer will acknowledge the coupon transaction and notify the coupon registry of such usage along data flow 299. If there is a disruption along the communication path between the Internet retailer's computer system 223 and the coupon registry system 230, then an acknowledgment of digital coupon usage may be placed into a persistent queue or batched together for periodic transfer, such as overnight. In this manner, the coupon registry system 230 will eventually be informed of the digital coupon transaction.
  • the coupon registry system 230 will modify the coupon's record in the coupon database 231 along data flow 300 to indicate that the coupon has been used.
  • the Internet retailer's computer system 223 may provide information about the transaction such as a transaction identifier, a customer identifier, a transaction date, and any other information that would be useful for later historical analysis.
  • An acknowledgement (not shown) may be sent back to the Internet retailer's computer system 223. Note that notification to the coupon registry that the coupon has been used is really only necessary if the coupon has limited use, e.g., once or some other fixed number of times.
  • the digital coupon system can be used to service coupons on a connected network, such as the Internet.
  • the digital coupon system may also be adapted to handle intermittently connected networks.
  • Digital coupons may be stored in portable devices, such as cellular phones ( Figure 2, 213), personal digital assistants (PDAs), or Smart Cards. Digital coupons may be presented to physical retailers using wireless communication systems 215 using such portable devices. Digital coupons may be validated by the seller sending the coupon identifier (Figure 1, 150) to coupon registry over a network and obtaining a response ( Figure 2, 291).
  • portable devices such as cellular phones ( Figure 2, 213), personal digital assistants (PDAs), or Smart Cards.
  • Digital coupons may be presented to physical retailers using wireless communication systems 215 using such portable devices.
  • Digital coupons may be validated by the seller sending the coupon identifier (Figure 1, 150) to coupon registry over a network and obtaining a response (Figure 2, 291).
  • a digital coupon may be validated using the digital signature ( Figure 1, 170).
  • the seller validates the coupon using a public key associated with the coupon registry or distributor. If the digital coupon contains all information necessary for the seller to determine the coupon's validity and meaning, then the seller may not need to communicate with the coupon registry to validate the coupon. If the portable device holding the digital coupon has a secure mechanism to prevent coupon replication and to mark the digital coupon as used, then the seller can enforce coupon usage limits. Specifically, the portable device can indicate the number of times the coupon is used. When the digital coupon is used more than a predetermined number of times, the coupon may be deleted from the portable device.
  • Manufacturer Coupons
  • the digital coupon system can be used to service retailer coupons.
  • the digital coupon system may also be adapted to handle manufacturer coupons.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a conceptual diagram of such an embodiment.
  • Such joint retailer/manufacturer digital coupons would be offered by the manufacturer but would require the retailer to honor the coupon at the retail level.
  • the manufacturer in agreement with a retailer, issues a joint manufacturer/retailer digital coupon 301.
  • the manufacturer/retailer digital coupon 301 may bring the consumer to the retailer's web site 303.
  • the coupon registry 305 validates the digital coupon. The manufacturer would then later pay the retailer for the number of coupons that were redeemed.
  • the manufacturer digital coupon could include a URL that brings the consumer to the manufacturer's site.
  • the manufacturer's web site could contact the coupon registry to inform the coupon registry that the digital coupon was presented.
  • the coupon registry could then perform the standard coupon validations to ensure the coupon is valid (check the expiration date, the number of times used, etc.)
  • the manufacturer's web site could present a web page that includes a list of hyperlinks to retailers that will honor the digital coupon. After viewing the coupon offer, the consumer would then select one of the hyperlinks to access an Internet retailer that will honor the coupon.
  • FIG 4A illustrates a conceptual diagram of such an embodiment.
  • the manufacturer coupon 401 could bring the consumer to the manufacturer's web site 402. From the manufacturer's web site 402 or at some other web site, such as near the coupon registry 405, the consumer could pick from a number of hyperlinks to different retailers. When the consumer picks a hyperlink, the user proceeds to the selected Internet retailer's web site (403 or 404 as illustrated in Figure 4A).
  • the hyperlink should include the coupon identifier such that the digital coupon can be accessed. From the Internet retailer's web site (403 or 404), the consumer can consummate a transaction that uses the digital coupon. Since this embodiment uses only one coupon, all the Internet retailers must honor the same coupon code value.
  • FIG. 4B illustrates a conceptual diagram of such an embodiment.
  • the manufacturer coupon 421 could bring the consumer to the manufacturer's web site 422. From the manufacturer's web site 422, the consumer could pick from a number of hyperlinks to different retailers. When the consumer picks a hyperlink, the user proceeds to the selected Internet retailer's web site (423 or
  • the hyperlink should include the coupon identifier of the manufacturer coupon such that the digital coupon can be accessed from the coupon registry 425.
  • the consumer can consummate a transaction that uses the digital coupon. If the user initiates a transaction with the digital coupon, the retailer will request a verification of the coupon. Based upon the verification request, the coupon registry 425 will respond with a specific offer code for the specific retailer. Specifically, the coupon registry
  • mapping table that stores different offer codes for the different Internet retailers. In this manner, multiple different Internet transaction processing systems can be accommodated.
  • the coupon registry 425 can identify requests from different Internet retailers in a number of ways.
  • the verification request is accompanied by a specific retailer code.
  • the coupon registry 425 then tailors its response based upon that specific retailer code.
  • the coupon registry 425 examines the source IP address (or other source designation code) from the request to determine which retailer is making the request. The coupon registry 425 then tailors its response based upon that source designation code.
  • FIG. 4C illustrates a conceptual diagram of such an embodiment.
  • the manufacturer coupon 451 could bring the consumer to the manufacturer's web site 452. From the manufacturer's web site 452, the consumer could pick from a number of hyperlinks to different retailers.
  • the consumer picks a hyperlink the user proceeds to the selected Internet retailer's web site (453 or 454 as illustrated in Figure 4C).
  • the hyperlink ideally includes the coupon identifier for the manufacturer coupon such that the digital coupon can be accessed from the coupon registry 465.
  • the Internet retailer's web site (453 or 454) then requests the associated retailer coupon.
  • the coupon registry 465 will provide the associated retailer coupon so that the coupon transaction may proceed using the Internet retailer's web site with the associated retailer's coupon (463 or 464).
  • the hyperlink may request the coupon issuer to dynamically create a retailer coupon.
  • a retailer coupon Such an embodiment is illustrated by the dashed lines of Figure 4C.
  • Such an embodiment can be implemented by hyperlinking to the coupon issuer's web site with the manufacturer coupon identifier and a retailer identifier code.
  • the coupon issuer's web site creates a retailer coupon in the coupon registry 465 and then automatically routes the consumer to the Internet retailer's web site with the coupon (463 or 464).
  • the related retailer coupon includes the terms of the manufacturer's offer in a format specific to the particular Internet retailer.
  • the related coupon may reference the manufacturer coupon in the "Related manufacturer coupon" field.
  • a transaction using the related retailer coupon may commence in the manner set forth in the previous section. If a transaction is consummated, then the digital coupon registry will modify both the retailer coupon and the manufacturer coupon to indicate that both coupons (which refer to the same offer) have been used.
  • a digital coupon system can be used as an effective advertising and marketing system for obtaining customers by providing special offers.
  • a digital coupon system may be used to provide other advantages.
  • the digital coupon system of the present invention can be used to gauge the relative effectiveness of different advertising or marketing campaigns. For example, an Internet retailer may create an offer and a set of associated coupons. The Internet retailer may then launch two different marketing campaigns wherein individual digital coupons are distributed.
  • the Internet retailer should distribute a portion of the issued coupons with the first marketing campaign and another portion of the issued coupons with the second marketing campaign.
  • the coupons should be randomly distributed across the target population. Later, the Internet retailer can gauge the relative success of the two marketing campaigns by comparing the usage of the coupons issued under the two campaigns.
  • Internet retailer can also examine a number of other activities. For example, Internet retailer can examine the number of coupons that were viewed on a web site. Furthermore, the Internet retailer can examine the number of digital coupons that are clipped or saved by consumers. In addition, the Internet retailer may determine the number of digital coupons that were presented by customers to retail web sites.
  • the digital coupon system of the present invention can also be used to determine the interested audience for a particular product or offer. For example, an Internet retailer may create an offer and a set of associated digital coupons. The Internet retailer then distributes the digital coupons to potential customers whose demographic information (age range, gender, income, etc.) is known. The digital coupon distribution may be performed using any combination of buyer preferences, purchase history, coupon history, demographics, geographies, or other information available to the Internet retailer or the coupon issuer.
  • the Internet retailer can heuristically determine the best target audience by comparing the usage of the distributed digital coupons issued under the two campaigns. Again, it should be noted that consummated transactions are not needed since the Internet retailer can also examine the number of digital coupons that were viewed (on a web site), clipped or saved, or presented by the various potential customer groups.

Abstract

A method of distributing digital coupons is disclosed. An Internet retailer that wishes to issue coupons or other offers to selected consumers defines a particular offer. At Internet retailer's direction, a coupon issuer (which may be directly operated by the Internet retailer) will create a digitally signed coupon (301) and associated entries in a coupon registry (305). The digital coupons are distributed to potential customers. The digital coupons may be stored in the consumer's coupon wallet until such digital coupons are used. When the consumer is ready to use a digital coupon, the digital coupon may direct the consumer to the Internet retailer's web site (303) using a URL within the coupon. The designated web site's URL may include an identifier that identifies the digital coupon to the seller. In one embodiment, the identifier is encrypted to prevent forgery. The Internet retailer's web site (303) may contact the coupon registry (305) to verify that the digital coupon is valid. The consumer interacts with the Internet retailer directly to identify products of interest or to purchase them. If and when the digital coupon is used, the Internet retailer makes a record (309) of such use.

Description

Method And Arrangement For Issuance And Management Of Digital Coupons And Sales Offers
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority based on the provisional application filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office having serial No. 60/115,242, filed on January 7, 1999, entitled "Method and Arrangement for Issuance and Management of Digital Coupons and Sales Offers".
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of electronic commerce. In particular the present invention discloses an arrangement and methods for creating, distributing and authenticating digital coupons.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The Internet is a global interconnection of computer networks that share a common set of protocols. Most computers on the global Internet use the Transport Control Protocol layer and the Internet Protocol layer commonly referred to as TCP/IP. By sharing a set of nonproprietary well-defined communication protocols, the Internet allows almost any computer system to communicate with any other computer system.
The Internet and its predecessor, the ARPANET, has existed in some form since 1969. It was used mainly by scientists and engineers until relatively recently. In the late 1980's and early nineties when personal computer systems became powerful enough to handle networking, a wider audience of users began using the Internet. Initially, most users used the Internet for file transfer, discussion groups, and email using the file transfer protocol (FTP), the network news protocol (NNTP), and the simple mail transport protocol (SMTP), respectively.
One particular transport protocol known as the hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) was created for sharing hypertext markup language (HTML) documents. The HTTP and HTML enabled the creation of simple to use but media rich documents that could easily be "browsed". By linking together HTML documents located on various servers throughout the world using embedded hyperlinks, a "World Wide Web" (WWW) of interconnected hypertext documents was created. Due to the simple, yet powerful nature of HTML and HTTP, the World Wide Web (WWW) portion of the Internet has grown into the most popular form of Internet communication.
The WWW quickly became a new mass media system for information distribution. With the help of advertising support, thousands of news and information web sites have been created.
The HTML and HTTP standards have been amended to handle two- way communication. Specifically, a user can be presented with a "form" that can be filled-in and send back to a server. Using processing system often known as Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts, a server can obtain information from a person browsing its pages. These interactive techniques have been used to create commercial WWW sites that can perform financial transactions. Thus, the Internet has become the new frontier of commercial commerce.
Internet based commerce has been growing at an exponential rate. However, Internet commerce still needs additional improvements to gain mass-market acceptance. Therefore, new methods of offering and performing Internet based commercial transactions and promotions would be desirable. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method of distributing digital coupons is disclosed. An Internet retailer that wishes to issue coupons or other offers to selected consumers defines a particular offer. At Internet retailer's direction, a coupon issuer will create a digitally signed coupon and associated entries in a coupon registry. The digital coupons are distributed to potential consumers. The digital coupons may be stored in the consumer's personalized coupon wallet until such digital coupons are used. When the consumer is ready to use a digital coupon, the digital coupon may direct the consumer to the Internet retailer's web site using a URL within the coupon. The designated web site's URL may include an identifier that identifies the digital coupon to the seller. In a preferred embodiment, the identifier is encrypted to prevent forgery. The Internet retailer's web site may contact the coupon registry to verify that the digital coupon is valid. The consumer interacts with the Internet retailer directly to identify products of interest or to purchase them. If and when the digital coupon is used, the Internet retailer makes a record of such use. Other objects, features, and advantages of present invention will be apparent from the company drawings and from the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art, in view of the following detailed description in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a conceptual diagram of one embodiment of a digital coupon.
Figure 2 illustrates the flow of information between a consumer, an Internet retailer, a digital coupon issuer, and a coupon manager.
Figure 3 illustrates how a jointly issued manufacturer/retailer digital coupon may be issued and verified.
Figure 4A illustrates an embodiment of how a single manufacturer digital coupon may be used with multiple retailers that use the same discount code.
Figure 4B illustrates an embodiment of how a single manufacturer digital coupon may be used with multiple retailers wherein each multiple retailer uses a different discount code. Figure 4C illustrates an embodiment of how a manufacturer digital coupon may be used with associated retailer coupons.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Methods and arrangements for creating, distributing and authenticating digital coupons are disclosed. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, specific nomenclature is set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in order to practice the present invention. For example, the present invention has been described with reference to the global Internet. However, the same techniques can easily be applied to other types of electronic commerce systems and networks, including wireless networks.
Internet Commerce Promotion
Internet based commerce has been one of the fastest growing industries in the late 1990's. Almost every retailer has been pressured to offer some type of Internet based commerce system in order to compete with a large contingent of upstart "Internet only" retailers. Due to the fast growth of the Internet commerce field, the number of Internet retailers has become very large. In order to distinguish themselves from the crowd of Internet retailers, many Internet retailers are heavily pursuing advertising, promotion, and marketing techniques. Many traditional advertising and marketing techniques can be used to promote Internet commerce sites. For example, many Internet retailers have heavily invested in radio, television, and newspaper advertising to promote their Internet commerce sites. However, other types of advertising and marketing techniques cannot be applied so easily. For example, traditional paper discount coupons cannot be used to promote an Internet commerce site. Specifically, the consumer cannot present a traditional paper discount coupon to an Internet retailer since the consumer never actually physically contacts the retailer. Instead, the entire transaction between the retailer and consumer consists of the transfer of information across a communication link. Since coupons are an effective advertising and marketing technique, it would be desirable to provide a system that allows coupons to be used at Internet commerce sites.
Digital Coupons
The present invention introduces methods and apparatus for implementing a digital coupon system for Internet based commerce. In the digital coupon system of the present invention, a coupon issuer, which could be the seller or a third party service, creates a collection of unique digital coupons for an offer that are digitally signed to prevent forgery. The digital coupons are then distributed to consumers. Consumers may present the digital coupons to the coupon issuer to obtain additional information. The consumers may also present the coupons to vendors that will honor the coupons. Digital Coupon Goals
To effectively deliver digital coupons, it has been determined that the digital coupons should meet the following criteria: a. The digital coupons may not be forged (hence, the coupons are digitally signed). b. Each digital coupon may be limited in use or duration. In one embodiment, each digital coupon has a unique identifier that refers to an entry in a coupon registry database. The coupon registry database contains the constraints on coupon use in a formal language. The coupon registry database is also used to record when coupons are presented and/or used. Thus, for example, if a digital coupon can only be used only once, a recorded usage will prevent future usage. Furthermore, a description of the coupon's limitations of use must be available to the consumer as desired. c. The digital coupons must describe their benefit to the consumer. Hence, each digital coupon contains and/or refers to a natural language description of what the coupon is good for. d. The digital coupons must describe to the seller the offer made available to the consumer. In one embodiment, the coupon registry database contains a formal language description of the offer that may be presented to the seller. In another embodiment, the coupon contains an offer description usable by the seller. e. The consumer must have an easy way to specify that the coupon is to be used. In one embodiment, the digital coupon contains a uniform resource locator (URL) that contains the unique coupon identifier. The URL brings the consumer to a specified web page at the seller's web site either directly or indirectly through coupon issuer's web site.
A Digital Coupon Implementation
This document describes many techniques that may be used to implement a digital coupon system. However, not all the techniques described in this document are required to implement a digital coupon system.
Digital Coupon Format
As set forth in the previous section, each digital coupon should be unique, descriptive, and unable to be forged. Figure 1 conceptually illustrates one example of a digital coupon form that may be used to meet these goals. (The coupon is actually just an encoded digital value.) However, it should be noted that the primary goal of creating a digital coupon including a unique identifier (serial number) in a manner that prevents forgery might be implemented in other manners. In the illustration of Figure 1, the digital coupon 100 includes descriptive text or other data 131. That descriptive text 131 may describe the digital coupon offer to the consumer that receives the digital coupon 100.
The digital coupon 100 further includes a coupon identifier field 150. The identifier field 150 uniquely identifies each individual digital coupon.
In one embodiment, the digital coupon is sealed with a digital signature 170 that cannot be forged. The digital signature 170 can be used to authenticate the digital coupon. Furthermore, the coupon identifier field 150 may be encrypted in order to protect the digital coupon 100 from being forged. A symmetrical "secret key" encryption or asymmetrical "public key" encryption system may be used to perform the encryption. In one embodiment, the coupon identifier field 150 is encoded in a robust format such as Base64 that only uses 7-bit characters. In this manner, email systems that do not handle 8-bit characters will not harm the robustly encoded coupon identifier field 150. The coupon identifier field 150 carries several fields used to identify the coupon.
In one particular embodiment, the coupon identifier field 150 comprises four fields: a seller identifier, an offer identification field, a coupon serial number, and random number field. These four fields are defined as follows.
A first field in the coupon identifier field 150 is a seller identification (Seller ID) field 181. The seller identification field 181 uniquely identifies a particular entity that is offering or will redeem the digital coupon 100. The seller identification field 181 contains a unique seller identification value that was assigned to the selling entity that is participating in the digital coupon system.
A second field that may be included in the coupon identifier field 150 is an offer identification (Offer ID) field 183. The offer identification field 183 uniquely identifies a particular offer that the seller is honoring. The offer identification field 183 contains a unique offer identification value that was assigned to the seller's coupon offer.
A third field that may be included in the coupon identifier field 150 of the digital coupon 100 is a coupon serial number 185. The coupon serial number 185 uniquely identifies the digital coupon. Thus, when digital coupons are offered, each individual digital coupon may be tracked individually.
A fourth field that may be included in the coupon identifier field 150 of the digital coupon 100 is a random number field 189. The random number field 189 provides additional protection against cryptographic attacks on the digital coupon 100. Specifically, if a digital coupon only consisted of the identification field 181, the offer identification field 183, and the coupon serial number 185 and an attacker knows the seller identification field 181 is constant, the offer identification field 183 is constant, and the coupon serial number 185 is monotonically changing, then a cryptographic attack on the digital coupon would be simplified. By adding a random number field 189 that contains a random number, the cryptographic strength of the coupon is increased.
In one embodiment, the coupon identifier field 150 is placed into a uniform resource locator (URL) that points directly at a web page associated with the particular offer. Ideally, the URL will include the coupon identifier field 150 such that the web site can obtain specific information about the coupon being presented. For example, the coupon may include the following URL: http://www.InternetStore.com/coupons/index.html7Djiea8erj3Fnwogn8djsSJjdiIjIE83
Hg wherein the "Djiea8erj3Fnwogn8djsSJjdiIjIE83Hg" portion represents the Base64 encoded version of the coupon identifier field 150. Such a URL allows the web server located at http://www.InternetStore.com/ to identify the digital coupon being presented. Specifically, the www.InternetStore.com server passes the "Djiea8erj3Fnwogn8djsSJjdiIjIE83Hg" encoded to a coupon registry that contains detailed information about the coupon offer. In one embodiment, the coupon identifier field 150 may be stored by a web browser "cookie". The web browser cookie is designated for use by InternetStore.com. In another embodiment, the web browser cookie contains an internal offer code that is recognized or understood by the electronic commerce seller.
Another URL in the digital coupon may bring the consumer to a web site of the coupon issuer. The web site on the coupon issuer's computer system 230 (Figure 2) may present another link that brings the user to the seller's web site at a location designated by the Internet retailer. This situation may arise if the consumer wants to know more about the offer from coupon issuer before contacting the Internet retailer. It is then logical for the consumer to access the coupon issuer's web site to obtain additional information about the offer. From the coupon issuer's web site, the consumer may be referred to the Internet retailer's web site. Digital coupons may include one or both of coupon issuer's URL and the seller's URL.
Digital Coupon System
To create and use digital coupons, the present invention introduces an entire digital coupon system. The digital coupon system consists of three main elements: a digital coupon registry, a digital coupon wallet, and a digital coupon acceptor. Figure 2 illustrates an overall view of the data flow of one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 illustrates three computer systems coupled to the Internet 200. A first computer system 230 is associated with a coupon issuing entity. The coupon issuing entity issues digital coupon as the request of various retailers. The coupon issuing entity maintains the digital coupon registry that contains information about all the issued coupons. A second computer system 211 is associated with a consumer that may receive, and store digital coupons in a digital coupon wallet. A third computer system 223 is associated with an Internet retailer. The Internet retailer may request the issuance of digital coupons. The Internet retailer later honors issued digital coupons using the digital coupon acceptor. The Digital Coupon Registry
The most important aspect of the digital coupon system of the present invention is the digital coupon registry. The coupon registry is the combination of the coupon database 231 and a set of programs that may run on computer system 230 for creating digital coupons, issuing digital coupons, and verifying digital coupons.
When an Internet retailer (such as the Internet retailer that runs an Internet commerce site on computer system 223) decides to issue a coupon, the retailer determines the description of an offer to make available to one or more consumers. The Internet retailer provides the coupon description information to the coupon issuing entity. In one embodiment, the Internet retailer provides the coupon description information across the Internet along data flow 291 to computer system 230 associated with the coupon registry. The information may be delivered either electronically or manually, in natural language, in text, MIME, HTML, code, symbol, or other attachments, and/or in a formal language.
Upon receiving coupon description information, the coupon issuer will create individual coupons, one for each potential consumer. The coupon issuer registers the created digital coupons in a coupon database 231 along data flow 292. In an alternate embodiment, the Internet retailer may create the individual digital coupons and provide detailed information about such coupons to the coupon issuing entity such that the digital coupons may be placed into the coupon database 231. Although the embodiment of Figure 2 illustrates the coupon database 231 at the coupon issuer's site, either the Internet retailer or coupon issuer may maintain a coupon registry.
The coupon database 231 contains information about each coupon offer that has been created and the associated coupons that have been issued. In one embodiment, the following items of information are maintained for each offer:
Offer name: A name for the coupon offer.
Offer ID: A unique identification for the coupon offer.
Seller ID: A unique identification of the associated Internet retailer.
Seller URL: A URL that the Internet retailer associated with the offer. This can be used to locate the offer record. Offer description: A description for the coupon offer. This description may be a code, an offer description in a formal language, a short program such as a
Java program, or other description of the offer. Offer Start Date: The first day that the coupon will be honored. Offer Expiration Date: The last day that the coupon will be honored. Transferable: May the coupon be passed along? Offer limit: The number of times the coupon may be used. Encryption Key(s): One or more encryption keys used to seal associated digital coupons.
In one embodiment, the coupon database 231 may maintain the following items of information for each digital coupon that is issued:
Coupon Serial Number: A unique identifier for the coupon.
Offer ID: A unique identification for the coupon offer.
Seller ID: A unique identification of the associated Internet retailer.
Customer ID: An identifier for the customer the received the offer.
Encrypted Coupon Field: If the digital coupon uses an encrypted field, then this field in the database record contains a copy of the encrypted coupon field from the digital coupon. This copy of the encrypted coupon field can be used for locating the coupon record if no information other than the encrypted coupon field is available.
Number of times viewed: The number of times that the coupon was viewed. This field may be used to specify the number of times that the coupon was viewed on a web site.
Clipped: This field specifies if the coupon was "clipped" and saved by a consumer. The coupon may be clipped by activating a web page button that transfers the digital coupon to a digital coupon wallet of the user. The transfer may consist of placing the digital coupon into the user's account, emailing the coupon to the user, or other distribution mechanism.
Number of times presented: The number of times that the coupon was presented.
Presentation Information: Specific Information on each coupon presentation such date, time, web site, customer identifiers, etc.
Number of times used: The number of times that the coupon has been used.
Usage Information: Information on transaction usage such as transaction identifiers, customer identifiers, transaction dates, etc.
Related manufacturer coupon: Information on related manufacturer coupons.
Distribution Information: Information on how the coupon was distributed.
It should be noted that not all the fields described are required and that other fields may be incorporated to provide additional functionality.
Once a digital coupon has been created and registered, the digital coupon may be distributed to potential customers. The coupon issuer will distribute the individualized digital coupons to a selected set of consumers.
The decision to distribute a particular coupon to particular consumer may be made based on a number of different reasons. A coupon may be distributed by the coupon issuer based upon a description of the potential consumer desired by the Internet retailer. For example, the Internet retailer may describe an ideal customer's purchase history. Such a purchase history can be maintained by the system described in the provisional patent application entitled "Method And Arrangement For
Collecting And Using Post Internet Sales Information" filed on and hereby incorporated by reference. Coupon distribution may be performed using any combination of buyer preferences, purchase history, coupon history, demographics, geographies, or other information available to the Internet retailer or the coupon issuer.
A particular digital coupon may be distributed by the coupon issuer based on the user specifications provided by a user that registers with a web site on the digital coupon issuer's computer system 230. The user may modify such a registration such that other digital coupons may be issued. Furthermore, a potential consumer may dynamically request a digital coupon. For example, a potential consumer may access a web site on the coupon issuer's computer system 230 and request all the available coupons meeting a particular criterion such as product type or seller.
The Digital Coupon Wallet
Once a particular coupon recipient has been identified, the coupon issuer may distribute a digital coupon across the Internet along data flow 293 to a consumer that uses computer system 211. A digital coupon may be issued by email, downloaded from a web site, or otherwise electronically distributed to the coupon recipient. Furthermore, it may be distributed on a physical media format such as a compact disc (CD), or by any other digital distribution system.
The consumer that uses computer system 211 may store the digital coupon locally in a digital coupon wallet. In one embodiment, the digital coupon wallet stores digital coupons locally on the consumer's computer system 211. In such an embodiment, the digital coupons may be sent to potential customers as email messages, downloaded from a web site, cut & paste from a web site, or otherwise electronically distributed to potential consumers as appropriate.
In an alternate embodiment, the digital coupon wallet may be an account in the coupon issuer' s computer system 230. In such an embodiment, a database of consumers is maintained by the coupon issuer. Each consumer has a record that indicates the coupon activity of that consumer. For example, the consumer' s database record may specify the coupons viewed by the consumer, the coupons currently held by the consumer, the coupons that the consumer redeemed, and the type of coupons the coupon consumer is interested in, etc. In such an embodiment, the consumer at computer system 211 may access digital coupons in his/her digital coupon wallet across the Internet via the World Wide Web.
In both a local (consumer's computer system) based digital coupon wallet or a remote (coupon issuer's computer system) based digital coupon wallet, the digital coupon wallet should provide a number of useful features. First, the wallet must make it easy to clip and store new digital coupons. Next, the consumer should be able to view the stored digital coupons. Ideally, the consumer will be able to search the coupon wallet for specific types of coupons. After a consumer has located a desired digital coupon in the coupon wallet, the consumer should be able to present the coupon to an appropriate retailer. As disclosed in this document, one preferred method is to embed a URL that points to a web page for presenting the digital coupon within the digital coupon itself. Presenting the coupon allows the consumer to obtain additional information about the specific terms of the digital coupon offer. Finally, the consumer should be able to use the digital coupon from the digital wallet. Using the coupon entails initiating a transaction that will take advantage of the offer presented in the digital coupon.
The Digital Coupon Acceptor
A consumer having a digital coupon may choose a coupon from the coupon wallet and presents the digital coupon to the appropriate Internet retailer along data flow 294. As previously set forth, the digital coupon may contain a URL that includes the information about the coupon. Specifically, the URL may contain an encoded value that includes a unique coupon identifier, a seller identifier, and an offer identifier. This URL may bring the consumer to the Internet retailer's web site at a location designated by the Internet retailer. In one embodiment, when the consumer chooses or views a coupon, this event is recorded in the coupon registry. The URL may bring the user to a web page that provides the user with a display of additional offers. For example, the web page may list products related to the special offer (cross-sells). The web page may also present more expensive higher quality items for purchase (up-sells). Thus, the coupon allows the Internet retailer to establish or maintain a relationship with the consumer.
When a consumer presents a digital coupon to an Internet retailer, the Internet retailer employs a coupon acceptor to obtain information about the digital coupon from the coupon registry. In one embodiment, the Internet retailer sends a request electronically along data flow 295 to the coupon registry containing the digital coupon's coupon identifier field 150. The digital coupon registry decrypts the coupon identifier field 150 to obtain the coupon's serial number, the seller identifier, and the offer identifier. The digital coupon registry then looks up the digital coupon in the coupon database 231 along data flow 296.
In an alternate embodiment, coupon registry look-up and subsequent coupon verification checks can occur at the Internet retailer's site if the Internet retailer's site maintains the coupon registry. In yet another alternate embodiment, a copy of the coupon registry may exist at both the Internet retailer's site and the coupon issuer's site. In such an embodiment, the coupon registry database may be kept synchronized incrementally, in batches, or in combinations thereof.
As an alternative to communication between the Internet retailer's computer system 223 and the coupon issuer's computer system 230, the consumer 211 may communicate with a coupon issuer's computer system 230 to present or obtain a coupon. The coupon is validated by the coupon issuer's computer system 230 and the coupon's presentment or clipping is recorded in the coupon registry 231. The consumer's web browser (on computer 211) may then be redirected to the Internet retailer's web site 223. In such an embodiment, the offer code can be transmitted to the Internet retailer as part of the URL when redirecting the consumer's web browser or stored as a cookie on the consumer's web browser.
Using the coupon's serial number, the seller identifier, and the offer identifier, the coupon register locates the appropriate coupon record from the coupon database 231. The digital coupon registry then increments the "Number of times presented" field since the coupon has been presented.
Using the coupon's seller identifier and the offer identifier, the coupon register locates the appropriate offer record from the coupon database 231. The digital coupon registry will compare the number of times used field from the coupon record against the Offer limit in the offer record to determine if the coupon has already reached its maximum use limit. If the coupon has already been used upon to its maximum limit, then the Internet retailer's computer system 223 will be informed along data flow 298 that the coupon is not valid. The Internet retailer's computer system 223 can decide how to handle the situation. The Internet retailer's computer system 223 may decide to honor the coupon, suggest another offer, provide another coupon, present a cross-sell web page for related products, offer the product at the normal price, etc.
The digital coupon registry will also compare the start and expiration date of the offer in the offer record against the current date to determine if the coupon is being presented in the coupon's valid period. If the coupon has been presented too early or has expired, then the Internet retailer's computer system 223 will be informed along data flow 298 that the digital coupon does not need to be honored. Again, the Internet retailer's computer system 223 can decide how to handle the situation. The Internet retailer's computer system 223 may decide to honor the coupon, suggest another offer, provide another coupon, present a cross-sell web page for related products, offer the product at the normal price, etc.
If the coupon registry 230 is informed when a coupon is used along with the Internet retailer's identifier for the consumer 211, then the coupon registry can enforce that the coupon is not given to another consumer. Specifically, the digital coupon registry may compare the Customer ID in the coupon record against the Internet retailer's identifier for the consumer 211 to determine if the coupon is being presented by an entity other than the entity that received the digital coupon. If the digital coupon is nontransferable, then the Internet retailer's computer system 223 can decide how to handle the situation. The Internet retailer's computer system 223 may decide to honor the coupon, provide a coupon to this particular customer, suggest where the coupon may be obtained, offer the product at the normal price, etc.
The digital coupon registry also obtains the terms of the offer from the offer record in the offer database. The terms of the offer may be presented to the Internet retailer's computer system 223 when the Internet retailer has decided to accept the coupon. The terms of the offer may be passed from the coupon issuer's computer system 230 directly to the Internet retailer's computer system 223. In this manner, the coupon issuer's computer system 230 may transfer secret codes, such as airline discount fare codes, to the retailer's computer system 223 without allowing the consumer to view the secret code.
The description of the coupon offer may take many different forms. The offer description may simply comprise an offer code or symbol that is entered into the transaction system of the Internet retailer's computer system 223. The offer description may also comprise an offer statement in defined formal language that allows many different types of offers to be created. The defined offer statement would be parsed by the Internet retailer's computer system 223 and then honored. In one embodiment, the offer description comprises a program that implements the terms of the offer. For example, the offer description may be a Java program that adjusts the terms of purchase agreement.
If the consumer and the Internet retailer consummate the digital coupon modified transaction, the Internet retailer will acknowledge the coupon transaction and notify the coupon registry of such usage along data flow 299. If there is a disruption along the communication path between the Internet retailer's computer system 223 and the coupon registry system 230, then an acknowledgment of digital coupon usage may be placed into a persistent queue or batched together for periodic transfer, such as overnight. In this manner, the coupon registry system 230 will eventually be informed of the digital coupon transaction.
The coupon registry system 230 will modify the coupon's record in the coupon database 231 along data flow 300 to indicate that the coupon has been used.
In one embodiment, the Internet retailer's computer system 223 may provide information about the transaction such as a transaction identifier, a customer identifier, a transaction date, and any other information that would be useful for later historical analysis. An acknowledgement (not shown) may be sent back to the Internet retailer's computer system 223. Note that notification to the coupon registry that the coupon has been used is really only necessary if the coupon has limited use, e.g., once or some other fixed number of times.
Wireless Coupons
As set forth above, the digital coupon system can be used to service coupons on a connected network, such as the Internet. However, the digital coupon system may also be adapted to handle intermittently connected networks.
Digital coupons may be stored in portable devices, such as cellular phones (Figure 2, 213), personal digital assistants (PDAs), or Smart Cards. Digital coupons may be presented to physical retailers using wireless communication systems 215 using such portable devices. Digital coupons may be validated by the seller sending the coupon identifier (Figure 1, 150) to coupon registry over a network and obtaining a response (Figure 2, 291).
Alternatively, a digital coupon may be validated using the digital signature (Figure 1, 170). In one embodiment, the seller validates the coupon using a public key associated with the coupon registry or distributor. If the digital coupon contains all information necessary for the seller to determine the coupon's validity and meaning, then the seller may not need to communicate with the coupon registry to validate the coupon. If the portable device holding the digital coupon has a secure mechanism to prevent coupon replication and to mark the digital coupon as used, then the seller can enforce coupon usage limits. Specifically, the portable device can indicate the number of times the coupon is used. When the digital coupon is used more than a predetermined number of times, the coupon may be deleted from the portable device. Manufacturer Coupons
As set forth above, the digital coupon system can be used to service retailer coupons. However, the digital coupon system may also be adapted to handle manufacturer coupons.
Joint Manufacturer/Retailer Digital Coupons
One method of offering manufacturer coupons is to offer joint retailer/manufacturer digital coupons. Figure 3 illustrates a conceptual diagram of such an embodiment. Such joint retailer/manufacturer digital coupons would be offered by the manufacturer but would require the retailer to honor the coupon at the retail level. Specifically, the manufacturer, in agreement with a retailer, issues a joint manufacturer/retailer digital coupon 301. The manufacturer/retailer digital coupon 301 may bring the consumer to the retailer's web site 303. When the coupon is used, the coupon registry 305 validates the digital coupon. The manufacturer would then later pay the retailer for the number of coupons that were redeemed.
Manufacturer Digital Coupons
Another method of offering manufacturer coupons is to issue coupons directly from the manufacturer. The manufacturer digital coupon could include a URL that brings the consumer to the manufacturer's site. The manufacturer's web site could contact the coupon registry to inform the coupon registry that the digital coupon was presented. The coupon registry could then perform the standard coupon validations to ensure the coupon is valid (check the expiration date, the number of times used, etc.) After validating the coupon, the manufacturer's web site could present a web page that includes a list of hyperlinks to retailers that will honor the digital coupon. After viewing the coupon offer, the consumer would then select one of the hyperlinks to access an Internet retailer that will honor the coupon.
A Single Manufacturer Digital Coupon with Single Offer Code
One method of implementing a manufacturer coupon is to use a single manufacturer coupon that is the same for all participating retailers. Figure 4A illustrates a conceptual diagram of such an embodiment. As illustrated in Figure 4A, the manufacturer coupon 401 could bring the consumer to the manufacturer's web site 402. From the manufacturer's web site 402 or at some other web site, such as near the coupon registry 405, the consumer could pick from a number of hyperlinks to different retailers. When the consumer picks a hyperlink, the user proceeds to the selected Internet retailer's web site (403 or 404 as illustrated in Figure 4A). The hyperlink should include the coupon identifier such that the digital coupon can be accessed. From the Internet retailer's web site (403 or 404), the consumer can consummate a transaction that uses the digital coupon. Since this embodiment uses only one coupon, all the Internet retailers must honor the same coupon code value.
A Single Manufacturer Digital Coupon with Multiple Offer Codes
Another method of implementing a manufacturer coupon is to use a single manufacturer coupon that is viewed differently by the various participating retailers. Figure 4B illustrates a conceptual diagram of such an embodiment. As illustrated in Figure 4B, the manufacturer coupon 421 could bring the consumer to the manufacturer's web site 422. From the manufacturer's web site 422, the consumer could pick from a number of hyperlinks to different retailers. When the consumer picks a hyperlink, the user proceeds to the selected Internet retailer's web site (423 or
424 as illustrated in Figure 4B). The hyperlink should include the coupon identifier of the manufacturer coupon such that the digital coupon can be accessed from the coupon registry 425.
From the Internet retailer's web site (423 or 424), the consumer can consummate a transaction that uses the digital coupon. If the user initiates a transaction with the digital coupon, the retailer will request a verification of the coupon. Based upon the verification request, the coupon registry 425 will respond with a specific offer code for the specific retailer. Specifically, the coupon registry
425 should include a mapping table that stores different offer codes for the different Internet retailers. In this manner, multiple different Internet transaction processing systems can be accommodated.
The coupon registry 425 can identify requests from different Internet retailers in a number of ways. In one embodiment, the verification request is accompanied by a specific retailer code. The coupon registry 425 then tailors its response based upon that specific retailer code. In another embodiment, the coupon registry 425 examines the source IP address (or other source designation code) from the request to determine which retailer is making the request. The coupon registry 425 then tailors its response based upon that source designation code. A Single Manufacturer Digital Coupon with Related Retailer Coupons
Another method of implementing a manufacturer coupon is to use a single manufacturer coupon that is associated with one or more retailer coupons. Figure 4C illustrates a conceptual diagram of such an embodiment. As illustrated in Figure 4C, the manufacturer coupon 451 could bring the consumer to the manufacturer's web site 452. From the manufacturer's web site 452, the consumer could pick from a number of hyperlinks to different retailers. When the consumer picks a hyperlink, the user proceeds to the selected Internet retailer's web site (453 or 454 as illustrated in Figure 4C). The hyperlink ideally includes the coupon identifier for the manufacturer coupon such that the digital coupon can be accessed from the coupon registry 465. The Internet retailer's web site (453 or 454) then requests the associated retailer coupon. The coupon registry 465 will provide the associated retailer coupon so that the coupon transaction may proceed using the Internet retailer's web site with the associated retailer's coupon (463 or 464).
In one embodiment, the hyperlink may request the coupon issuer to dynamically create a retailer coupon. Such an embodiment is illustrated by the dashed lines of Figure 4C. Such an embodiment can be implemented by hyperlinking to the coupon issuer's web site with the manufacturer coupon identifier and a retailer identifier code. The coupon issuer's web site creates a retailer coupon in the coupon registry 465 and then automatically routes the consumer to the Internet retailer's web site with the coupon (463 or 464).
Note that usage for the Internet retailer's coupon corresponding to the manufacturer's coupon should be linked together directly or indirectly, so enforcement of the number of times a coupon may be used can be enforced. The related retailer coupon includes the terms of the manufacturer's offer in a format specific to the particular Internet retailer. The related coupon may reference the manufacturer coupon in the "Related manufacturer coupon" field.
A transaction using the related retailer coupon may commence in the manner set forth in the previous section. If a transaction is consummated, then the digital coupon registry will modify both the retailer coupon and the manufacturer coupon to indicate that both coupons (which refer to the same offer) have been used.
Uses For A Digital Coupon System
It is obvious that a digital coupon system can be used as an effective advertising and marketing system for obtaining customers by providing special offers. However, a digital coupon system may be used to provide other advantages.
Measuring Advertising Campaign Effectiveness
The digital coupon system of the present invention can be used to gauge the relative effectiveness of different advertising or marketing campaigns. For example, an Internet retailer may create an offer and a set of associated coupons. The Internet retailer may then launch two different marketing campaigns wherein individual digital coupons are distributed.
To compare the different marketing campaigns, the Internet retailer should distribute a portion of the issued coupons with the first marketing campaign and another portion of the issued coupons with the second marketing campaign. The coupons should be randomly distributed across the target population. Later, the Internet retailer can gauge the relative success of the two marketing campaigns by comparing the usage of the coupons issued under the two campaigns.
Note that consummated transactions need not occur since the Internet retailer can also examine a number of other activities. For example, Internet retailer can examine the number of coupons that were viewed on a web site. Furthermore, the Internet retailer can examine the number of digital coupons that are clipped or saved by consumers. In addition, the Internet retailer may determine the number of digital coupons that were presented by customers to retail web sites.
Targeting Audience Selection
The digital coupon system of the present invention can also be used to determine the interested audience for a particular product or offer. For example, an Internet retailer may create an offer and a set of associated digital coupons. The Internet retailer then distributes the digital coupons to potential customers whose demographic information (age range, gender, income, etc.) is known. The digital coupon distribution may be performed using any combination of buyer preferences, purchase history, coupon history, demographics, geographies, or other information available to the Internet retailer or the coupon issuer.
After distributing a set of digital coupons in this manner, the Internet retailer can heuristically determine the best target audience by comparing the usage of the distributed digital coupons issued under the two campaigns. Again, it should be noted that consummated transactions are not needed since the Internet retailer can also examine the number of digital coupons that were viewed (on a web site), clipped or saved, or presented by the various potential customer groups.
The foregoing has described methods and arrangements for creating, distributing, authenticating, and using digital coupons. It is contemplated that changes and modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art, to the materials and arrangements of elements of the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMSWe claim:
1. A method of distributing special offers to consumers, said method comprising: defining an offer; storing information about said offer in an offer record in a database, said offer record including an offer identifier; creating a digital coupon including an identifier field, said identifier field including said offer identifier; and locating said offer record in said offer record database when a consumer presents said digital coupon to an Internet retailer.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising: presenting an offer description from said offer record to said Internet retailer.
3. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein presenting an offer description from said offer record comprises transmitting said offer description from said offer record to said Internet retailer without allowing said consumer to view said offer description.
4. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein presenting an offer description from said offer record to said Internet retailer comprises responding to an electronic coupon validation request from said Internet retailer.
5. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein presenting an offer description from said offer record to said Internet retailer comprises transmitting a discount code to said Internet retailer.
6. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein presenting an offer description from said offer record to said Internet retailer comprises transmitting a formal language description of said offer.
7. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein presenting an offer description from said offer record to said Internet retailer comprises transmitting a program that implements said offer.
8. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said identifier field further includes a seller identifier.
9. The method as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising: encrypting said identifier field.
10. The method as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising: digitally sealing said digital coupon.
11. The method as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising: recording said presentation of said digital coupon to said Internet retailer.
12. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said identifier field further includes a coupon serial number.
13. The method as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising: verifying said digital coupon by examining said offer record in said database.
14. The method as claimed in claim 13 wherein verifying said digital coupon comprises examining an expiration field in said offer record to determine if said digital coupon has expired.
15. The method as claimed in claim 13 wherein verifying said digital coupon comprises examining a digital seal in said digital coupon to ensure said digital coupon was not forged.
16. The method as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising: distributing said digital coupon to at least one customer.
17. The method as claimed in claim 16 wherein distributing said digital coupon to at least one customer comprises emailing said digital coupon to said customer.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17 wherein said customer stores said digital coupon in a digital wallet on a computer system associated with said customer.
19. The method as claimed in claim 16 wherein distributing said digital coupon to at least one customer comprises placing said digital coupon in a digital wallet account associated with said customer.
20. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said offer includes a single offer code that can be used by multiple Internet retailers.
21. The method as claimed in claim 1 , said method further comprising: storing said identifier field in a cookie of a web browser.
22. The method as claimed in claim 21 wherein said cookie is designated for use by said Internet retailer.
23. A method of distributing special offers to consumers, said method comprising: defining an offer; creating a digital coupon, said digital coupon including information about said offer, said digital coupon including an identifier field that comprises a coupon serial number; and storing information about said digital coupon in a digital coupon record in a coupon database; and distributing said digital coupon to a potential customer.
24. The method as claimed in claim 23, said method further comprising: accepting a presentation of said digital coupon at an Internet retailer web site.
25. The method as claimed in claim 23, said method further comprising: digitally sealing said digital coupon.
26. The method as claimed in claim 23 wherein said identifier field further includes a seller identifier.
27. The method as claimed in claim 23 wherein said including information about said offer comprises an offer identifier.
28. The method as claimed in claim 27 wherein said offer identifier s used to locate an offer record in an offer database.
29. The method as claimed in claim 23 wherein said identifier field is encrypted.
30. The method as claimed in claim 23, said method further comprising: recording said presentation of said digital coupon to said Internet retailer web site.
31. The method as claimed in claim 24, said method further comprising: processing a transaction that honors said offer associated with said digital coupon.
32. The method as claimed in claim 31 , said method further comprising: recording said transaction that honors said offer associated with said digital coupon.
33. The method as claimed in claim 24, said method further comprising: verifying said digital coupon by examining said coupon database.
34. The method as claimed in claim 33 wherein verifying said digital coupon comprises determining if said digital coupon has already been used.
35. The method as claimed in claim 24, said method further comprising: storing an identifier of said potential customer in said record in said coupon database.
36. The method as claimed in claim 35, said method further comprising: verifying that said potential customer initiated said presentation of said digital coupon at an Internet retailer web site by examining said identifier of said potential customer in said record in said coupon database.
37. The method as claimed in claim 23, said method further comprising: storing said identifier field in a cookie of a web browser.
38. The method as claimed in claim 37 wherein said cookie is designated for use by said Internet retailer.
39. A method of distributing special offers to consumers, said method comprising: distributing at least one digital coupon, said digital coupon including a serial number; and accepting presentation of said digital coupon at an Internet web site; and recording said presentation of said digital coupon.
40. The method as claimed in claim 39 wherein said a first set of digital coupons are distributed with a first marketing campaign and a second set of digital coupons are distributed with a second marketing campaign, said method further comprising: comparing a first number of presentations of digital coupons distributed with said first marketing campaign with a second number of presentations of digital coupons distributed with said second marketing campaign.
41. The method as claimed in claim 39 wherein said serial number is encrypted.
42. The method as claimed in claim 39 wherein said digital coupon is digitally sealed.
43. The method as claimed in claim 39 wherein said serial number is recorded in a database.
44. The method as claimed in claim 39 wherein said digital coupon further comprises a uniform resource locator (URL) for opening said Internet web site.
45. The method as claimed in claim 39 further comprising: storing a record of said digital coupon in a coupon database.
46. The method as claimed in claim 45 further comprising: verifying said digital coupon by locating said record of said digital coupon in said coupon database.
47. A method of distributing special offers to consumers, said method comprising: defining a manufacturer offer from a manufacturer; storing information about said manufacturer offer in an offer record in a database, said offer record including an offer identifier; creating a digital coupon including an identifier field, said identifier field including said offer identifier.
48. The method as claimed in claim 47 further comprising: placing a uniform resource locator (URL) in said digital coupon, said uniform resource locator pointing to a web site associated with said manufacturer.
49. The method as claimed in claim 47 wherein said manufacturer presents a web page with a set of hyperlinks for at least one Internet retailer when a consumer presents said digital coupon to said manufacturer.
50. The method as claimed in claim 49 wherein said digital coupon includes an offer code that may be used by any of said Internet retailers.
51. The method as claimed in claim 49 wherein each of said hyperlinks point to an Internet retailer web page that allow said digital coupon to be used.
52. The method as claimed in claim 51 wherein each of said Internet retailer web pages makes a request for information from a coupon registry about said offer and said coupon registry responds with a specific offer code for a specific Internet retailer that made said request.
53. The method as claimed in claim 52 wherein said specific offer code is based upon a specific Internet retailer code included in said request.
54. The method as claimed in claim 52 wherein said specific offer code is based upon source identifier code that identifies said specific Internet retailer making said request.
55. The method as claimed in claim 54 wherein said source identifier code comprises a source Internet Protocol address.
56. The method as claimed in claim 47, said method further comprising: storing said identifier field in a cookie of a web browser.
57. The method as claimed in claim 56 wherein said cookie is designated for use by said manufacturer.
58. A method of distributing special offers to consumers, said method comprising: defining an offer; storing information about said offer in a digital coupon in a portable computer device, said information about said offer defining terms of said offer; presenting said digital coupon to a vendor; and securely marking said digital coupon as used when said vendor honors said offer.
59. The method as claimed in claim 58 wherein said presenting is performed across a wireless link.
60. The method as claimed in claim 58, said method further comprising: validating said digital coupon using a digital signature.
61. The method as claimed in claim 56 wherein said digital signature is validated using a public key.
62 The method as claimed in claim 58, said method further comprising: deleting said digital coupon when said coupon is used more than a predetermined number of times.
63. A method of distributing special offers to consumers, said method comprising: defining an offer; storing information about said offer as a digital coupon in a digital coupon wallet; and displaying a said digital coupon upon request by a user.
64 The method as claimed in claim 63, said method further comprising: recording said display of said digital coupon in a coupon registry.
65 The method as claimed in claim 63, said method further comprising: presenting said digital coupon to a vendor upon selection by said user; and recording said presentation of said digital coupon in a coupon registry.
PCT/US1999/015650 1999-01-07 1999-07-09 Method and arrangement for issuance and management of digital coupons and sales offers WO2000041121A1 (en)

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