(12) United States Patent
`Moore et al.
`
`I lllll llllllll Ill lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll 111111111111111111111111111111111
`US006330575Bl
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`*Dec. 11, 2001
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`(54) WEB COMMERCE TOOL KIT FOR
`DISTRIBUTED PAYMENT PROCESSING
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Victor S. Moore, Boynton Beach; Glen
`R. Walters, Sebring, both of FL (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: International Business Machines
`Corporation, Armonk, NY (US)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`This patent issued on a continued pros(cid:173)
`ecution application filed under 37 CFR
`1.53( d), and is subject to the twenty year
`patent term provisions of 35 U.S.C.
`154(a)(2).
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/052,326
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Mar. 31, 1998
`
`Int. Cl.7 ...................................................... G06F 17/30
`(51)
`(52) U.S. Cl. ........................... 707/513; 709/223; 709/224
`(58) Field of Search ..................................... 707/513, 500,
`707/505, 506-507, 517, 515, 526; 705/1,
`22, 26, 27, 35, 44; 345/115, 326, 352, 146;
`709/200, 223-224, 201, 203, 101
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,835,914 * 11/1998 Brim .................................... 707/206
`
`5,895,454 * 4/1999 Harrington ............................. 705/26
`5,937,160 * 8/1999 Davis et al.
`.................... 395/200.33
`5 ,940,834 * 8/1999 Pinard et al.
`.. ... .... ... ... ... ... ... 707 /102
`5,963,924 * 10/1999 Williams et al.
`...................... 705/40
`5,983,245 * 11/1999 Newman et al.
`.................... 707/513
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Oliver et al., Netscape 2 Unleashed, Sams Net, p 261, Feb.
`1996.*
`U.S. application No. 09/052,316, Moore et al., filed Mar. 31,
`1998.
`International Telecommunication Union-ITU-T Recom(cid:173)
`mendation Q.703 (3/93) Specifications of Signalling System
`No. 7-Signalling Link.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner---Hosain T. Alam
`Assistant Examiner-Alford W. Kindred
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm---Fleit, Kain, Gibbons,
`Gutman & Bongini P.L.; Jon A Gibbons
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Methods and systems for designing a Web page, to be hosted
`on a Web page server. The development applications provide
`an object-oriented, template-driven interface for a customer
`or merchant to utilize in the design of a Web page or a
`complete Web site. The Web site produced allows the
`merchant to become a part of a distributed electronic com(cid:173)
`merce system or Internet commerce system for doing busi(cid:173)
`ness on the World Wide Web. The design tool can be
`implemented in a Java application or applet.
`
`24 Claims, 17 Drawing Sheets
`
`SHOP AT STORE SERVER
`
`502
`
`HYPERLINK TO STORE
`BUILDER SERVER VIA URL
`
`CREATE BUY PAGE
`
`B
`
`516
`
`518
`
`ESTABLISH SECURE LINK
`TO CUSTOMER
`
`GET CUSTOMER INFO.
`
`OPTIONAL: VERIFY CREDIT CARD.
`AUTHORIZE AMOUNT, TRANSFER FUNDS
`
`NOTIFY MERCHANT OF SALE AND
`SEND CONFIRMATION TO CUSTOMER
`
`522
`
`HYPERLINK TO TRANSACTION SERVER
`
`514
`
`B
`
`Page 1 of 27
`
`PRICELINE.COM LLC et al.
`Exhibit 1010
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 1of17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
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`Page 2 of 27
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 2of17
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 3of17
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`Page 4 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 4of17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
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`Page 5 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 5of17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
`START
`
`SHOP AT STORE SERVER
`
`HYPERLINK TO STORE
`BUILDER SERVER VIA URL
`
`CREATE BUY PAGE
`
`502
`
`506
`
`508
`
`HYPERLINK TO TRANSACTION SERVER
`
`514
`
`FIG. SA
`
`Page 6 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 6of17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
`ESTABLISH SECURE LINK
`TO CUSTOMER
`
`GET CUSTOMER INFO.
`
`516
`
`520
`
`OPTIONAL: VERIFY CREDIT CARD,
`AUTHORIZE AMOUNT, TRANSFER FUNDS
`
`NOTIFY MERCHANT OF SALE AND
`SEND CONFIRMATION TO CUSTOMER
`
`522
`
`FIG. 5B
`
`Page 7 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 7of17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
`The image libraries and page style layouts are partitioned into categories to simplify
`searching. These partitions fall on industry lines, such as dining, automotive. health care, and
`so on. Picking a category tells "Site Magic" what kinds of images and page stylGS are best
`suited for the topic of the web site being designed. This significantly reduces time spent
`searching "Site Magics" libraries. Of course, at any time this notebook tab can be visited
`again and another category chosen. without affecting any work previously completed.
`
`8 Automotive
`0 Computers and Electronics
`0 Dining
`0 Education
`0 Entertainment
`0 General
`0 Health Care
`0 Home Improvement
`0
`Legal
`0 Sports and Fitness
`
`-;:Ill~-
`
`'
`
`..
`
`FIG.6
`
`Page 8 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 8of17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
`0 Use Header
`
`YOUR .. ~
`LOGO .,A;,
`HERE.IBM
`
`A header image is optional. When used, the image appears at
`the top of each page. By def au It the image is placed far left. By
`clicking the radio buttons below, it can be moved to page center, or
`to the far right. In addition, the images size can be set (koopiing its
`aspect ratio fixed).
`
`Upload Image I Place 0 Left 0 c,mter 0 Right
`
`Image Size
`
`The page footer is also optional. It Includes an e-mail address and/or a llnk to
`another Internet web site. To define these resources, fill out the text boxes below. The
`footer appears at the bottom of all pages as clickable icons.
`0 Use Footer
`
`Enter WEB Site URL
`
`Enter E-MAIL Address
`
`FIG. 7
`
`Page 9 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 9of17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
`Each page has either a background color or image. The default
`is a light groy colored background. To select another color, click on
`the "Select Page Background" button below. A dialog will opo up
`with additional color choices. To select an image, click the
`"wallpaper" button on tho color dialog screen.
`
`Select Page Background I []
`
`'
`
`.
`
`Tho default page style is shown to the right. Blue squares
`represent images, green m.Jltimedia. and red dennotes text. To
`choose another style, click the "Select Page Style" button below.
`A dialog will pop up with additional page style choices.
`
`Seloct Page Style I
`
`Paage names are unique. To name this page, type the name in the text box below.
`Tho button "Add This Page" remains disabled until the name is uniquo. Click this
`Button to croote the page. The page appears as a new notebook tab.
`
`Page Name:
`
`Adds Time Page I
`
`FIG. 8
`
`Page 10 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 11,2001
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 10 0f 17
`Sheet 10 of 17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`US 6,330,575 B1
`
`
`
`FIG~ _9
`£50 $3
`
`Page 11 of 27
`
`Page 11 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 11,2001
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 11 0f 17
`Sheet 11 of 17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`US 6,330,575 B1
`
`
`
`FIG~ 10
`F156} $1?
`
`Page 12 of 27
`
`Page 12 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 11,2001
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 12 0f 17
`Sheet 12 of 17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`US 6,330,575 B1
`
`
`
`FIG~ 1.1
`F?G E?
`
`Page 13 of 27
`
`Page 13 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 11,2001
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 13 of 17
`Sheet 13 0f 17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`US 6,330,575 B1
`
`
`
`.FIG~ 12
`HQ, 12:
`
`Page 14 of 27
`
`Page 14 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`US. Patent
`
`Dec. 11,2001
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 14 0f 17
`Sheet 14 of 17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`US 6,330,575 B1
`
`
`
`13
`
`
`Page 15 of 27
`
`Page 15 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 15 of 17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
`STEP 1: SELECTING A PUBLISH HOST
`
`Here you trust select a host name for publishing your web site. If you're not sure what
`to put here, ask your administrator.
`
`Enter Publish Host:
`
`babylon5.bocaraton.ibm.com
`
`STEP 2: PUBLISHING THE SITE
`
`Once you have selected a host name. click the button below to actually publish the web
`site.
`
`STEP 3: CHECKING STATUS
`
`Publish
`
`FIG.14
`
`Page 16 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 16 of 17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
`m
`
`ij.,
`D
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`I
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`dlck lirn ···s~kgw1,~ml'' i>Uli•:iri '" $:-ti<lecl ,~ ba{>li,:;i1;;;•1<nd. Po:;:;!fa:m
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`~:I ineasun:: ami S!(iJ ($1,:i<:l\. ~;eep!r:,,:i !Jf1ln <f1\,${ &!~{; i"o::: spe~'~1~ttL
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`Page 17 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Dec. 11, 2001
`
`Sheet 17of17
`
`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
`f1G~ .lfi
`
`Page 18 of 27
`
`

`

`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`Not applicable.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`20
`
`1
`WEB COMMERCE TOOL KIT FOR
`DISTRIBUTED PAYMENT PROCESSING
`
`2
`Maine, whose URL is www.llbean.com). But the ability to
`host retail merchandise on the Web is not without difficul(cid:173)
`ties.
`It is difficult to integrate the major functions of electronic
`5 Web commerce. Three functions, in particular, are typically
`integrated in a retail Web site. The first function is the virtual
`presentation, using text, graphics, or otherwise, of a mer(cid:173)
`chant's products to customers. This is sometimes called the
`"electronic storefront" or "Web storefront," or in the case of
`1. Field of the Invention.
`10 a catalog merchant, the "electronic catalog." The second
`The present invention relates generally to computer net(cid:173)
`function is the maintenance of inventory, stock, pricing, and
`works and more particularly to methods and apparatus for
`availability of each product, as well as tracking sales and
`providing a scalable distributed Internet commerce system.
`revenues. The third function is performing the electronic
`transactions for payment in a secure environment, where the
`2. Description of the Related Art.
`15 collection of a customer's payment information, such as a
`Another U.S. Pat. Application dealing with related tech(cid:173)
`credit card, is performed. Typically, most electronic com(cid:173)
`nology has been filed on even date herewith. That applica(cid:173)
`merce sites integrate all three of these functions at one
`tion is entitled "A Method and Apparatus for Creating a
`physical site.
`Distributed Electronic Commerce System" by Victor S.
`Companies desiring to do business over the Web face
`Moore and Glen R. Walters and is assigned to International
`many problems. A first problem is the expense and com(cid:173)
`Business Machines ("IBM") with an IBM reference number
`plexity of setting up the necessary elements of an electronic
`of BC9-98-031 (referred to hereinafter as the "Distributed
`commerce server. This difficulty includes: (1) hosting of the
`Commerce System Patent").
`Web storefront; (2) maintenance of an inventory and finan-
`The World-Wide-Web ("Web") has become immensely
`cial database; and (3) the roll out of a secured Transaction
`popular largely because of the ease of finding information 25
`Server. The initial up-front cost is a significant barrier for
`and the user-friendliness of today's browsers. A feature
`most small businesses desiring to gain a presence on the
`known as hypertext allows a user to access information from
`Web. Therefore, a need exists to lower or even to eliminate
`one Web page to another by simply pointing (using a
`the high-cost barrier typically associated with setting up
`pointing device such as a mouse) at the hypertext and
`electronic commerce on the Web. The cost not only involves
`clicking. Another feature that makes the Web attractive is 30
`software design and implementation, and setting up the
`having the ability to process the information (or content) in
`necessary equipment, but the initial hardware investment
`remote Web pages without the requirement of having a
`capable of running all three elements of an electronic
`specialized application program for each kind of content
`commerce server for one business.
`accessed. Thus, the same content is viewed across different
`A second problem is meeting the requirement that the
`platforms. Browser technology has evolved to enable the 35
`Web storefront or Web catalog be constantly up-to-date.
`running of applications that manipulate this content across
`Many businesses pay dedicated personnel to update, create,
`platforms.
`and modify their Web sites. The cost of the service to
`The Web relies on an application protocol called HTML
`maintain a merchant's Web site can be significant. A need
`(Hyper-Text Mark Up Language), which is an interpretative
`exists to provide a merchant with the capability of easily
`scripting language, for rendering text, graphics, images, 40
`creating, modifying, and updating its own Web storefront.
`audio, real-time video, and other types of content on a Web
`A third problem is meeting the requirement that the Web
`compliant browser. HTML is independent of client operating
`storefront inventory and financial database must be main(cid:173)
`systems. Therefore, HTML renders the same content across
`tained and updated. Sales, advertised specials, and other
`a wide variety of software and hardware operating plat(cid:173)
`changes in pricing need to be reflected in the inventory
`forms. The software platforms include without limitation 45
`database. For many smaller businesses the requirement to
`Windows 3.1, Windows NT, Apple's Copeland and
`keep inventory and financial records electronically, not to
`Macintosh, and IBM'sAIX and OS/2, and HP Unix. Popular
`mention the requirement to be electronically connected to
`compliant Web-Browsers include without limitation
`their Web storefront, is too complex and too costly. Many
`Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Lynx,
`smaller businesses use simple written ledgers or standalone
`and Mosaic. HTML interprets links to files, images, sound 50
`software applications to control their inventories and
`clips, and other types of content through the use of hypertext
`finances. For merchants desiring to sell goods and services
`links. Upon user invocation of a hypertext link to a Web
`over the Internet, a need exists to be able to have their
`page, the browser initiates a network request to receive the
`inventory and finances maintained in a scalable fashion. In
`desired Web page.
`The use of electronic commerce on the Web is growing. 55 this way, as the business grows, the merchant can migrate
`from a pencil and ledger, through a stand-alone electronic
`A variety of traditional larger retailers and larger mail order
`database, up to a fully connected and automated database.
`catalog companies have been offering their goods for sale
`A fourth problem is meeting the requirement to automati(cid:173)
`electronically over the Web. Everything from the actual
`cally accept secure, electronic forms of payments. The need
`shopping to the determination of available inventory and the
`60 to have encryption and clearance software, secure server
`acceptance of payment is accomplished electronically. The
`hardware, and secure firewalls makes this requirement
`merchant's Web site or Web storefront handles all shopping,
`expensive. For merchants desiring to set up Web storefronts,
`selection, and acceptance of payment transactions automati(cid:173)
`a need exists to be able to scale electronic payments to meet
`cally. Unlike traditional storefronts, these automatic capa(cid:173)
`their needs.
`bilities enable a merchant to have its goods offered for sale
`A fifth problem is achieving the ability to advertise to
`twenty four hours a day, every day of the year (for an 65
`example of a traditional catalog company with its goods
`news groups and other Internet text-based users, as opposed
`available via the Web refer to L.L. BEAN of Freeport,
`to graphics-based users. Popular text-only viewers such as
`
`Page 19 of 27
`
`

`

`US 6,330,575 Bl
`
`3
`Lynx do not have graphical HTML capabilities. A need thus
`exists for merchants to be able to advertise anywhere and to
`process payment information even in text-only based elec-
`tronic commerce.
`As mentioned earlier, one of the concerns for a merchant 5
`desiring to do electronic commerce is the Web site devel(cid:173)
`opment. In the case of a large company that wants to have
`all three functions integrated into one Web site, these costs
`can easily exceed $1 million. In addition, even though the
`programming will usually not be done by the merchant, the 10
`merchant will have to devote substantial amounts of time to
`the layout design and to the review. These costs, in time and
`money, are significant. Smaller companies may opt to create
`their own Web sites. This undertaking can be quite difficult,
`however, for the merchant who is not a sophisticated com(cid:173)
`puter user. While it is relatively easy to create a Web site,
`without competent guidance the site may be poorly designed
`and therefore of little economic value. There is, therefore, a
`need for a development tool which simplifies the design,
`creation, and maintenance of a Web site for merchants.
`
`20
`
`4
`FIG. 8 is a screen for selecting a background and style for
`a Web page, according to the present invention.
`FIG. 9 shows various page styles for a Web page, accord(cid:173)
`ing to the present invention.
`FIG. 10 shows a single page style for a Web page,
`according to the present invention.
`FIG. 11 is a dialog box for an image style component,
`according to the present invention.
`FIG. 12 is a dialog box for a text style component,
`according to the present invention.
`FIG. 13 is a dialog box for a multimedia style component,
`according to the present invention.
`FIG. 14 is a screen for publishing a Web page, according
`15 to the present invention.
`FIG. 15 is a dialog box for a price Uniform Resource
`Locator ("URL"), according to the present invention.
`FIG. 16 is a Buy Page, according to the present invention.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`Briefly, according to the invention a method for designing
`a Web page, to be hosted on a Web page server, comprises:
`providing an object-oriented, template-driven interface for a
`customer to utilize in the design of the Web page. This
`allows the customer, through the use of the interface, to
`design the Web page. The method also comprises the step of
`publishing the Web page at a destination of the customer's
`choosing.
`Briefly, in accordance with another aspect of the
`invention, a method for designing a Web page for use in a
`distributed electronic commerce system is provided. The
`commerce system comprises a Web page server and a
`second server which are electrically coupled to each other,
`and the Web page server hosts the Web page. The method
`comprises: creating a link to the second server; designing the
`Web page such that the link can be embedded into the Web
`page; and embedding the link into the Web page.
`Briefly, in accordance with other aspects of the invention,
`computer readable media contain program instructions for
`implementing the above methods.
`Briefly, in accordance with other aspects of the invention,
`Web page design systems implement the above methods.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)
`FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a non-distributed
`electronic commerce system for the World Wide Web
`("WWW"), according to the prior art.
`FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a distributed
`electronic commerce system for the WWW, according to the
`present invention.
`FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of another distributed
`electronic commerce system for the WWW, according to the
`present invention.
`FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of another distributed
`electronic commerce system for the WWW, according to the
`present invention.
`FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of the functions that are 60
`performed in a typical shopping experience by a WWW
`customer using the distributed electronic commerce system
`depicted in FIG. 4.
`FIG. 6 is a screen depicting categories, according to the
`present invention.
`FIG. 7 is a screen for creating a header and footer for a
`Web page, according to the present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN
`EMBODIMENT
`1. Introduction and Overview
`Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a system 100, accord(cid:173)
`ing to the prior art, in which the three functions of product
`25 presentation, database management, and transaction pro(cid:173)
`cessing are contained in one server 108 and are, therefore,
`not distributed. The server 108 refers to a specific computer.
`These three functions are performed by the Web storefront
`106, the inventory and financial database 104, and the
`30 Transaction Server 102, respectively. An example of a
`provider of this type of non-distributed service is Net.Com(cid:173)
`merce. It is quite possible, however, to distribute the three
`functions amongst two or more separate servers.
`FIG. 1 also illustrates a functional diagram of a computer
`35 network for World Wide Web ("WWW") access from cus(cid:173)
`tomers 114, 116 to the server 108. Access to the server 108
`can be accomplished directly through a local Internet Ser(cid:173)
`vice Provider ("ISP") 110, or through an on-line service
`provider ("OLSP") 112 such as CompuServe, Prodigy, or
`40 America Online.
`In the Distributed Commerce System Patent, which is
`incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a dis(cid:173)
`tributed electronic commerce system. One method of dis(cid:173)
`tributing the electronic commerce functions is to separate
`45 out the function of the Transaction Server from the Web
`storefront and the inventory and financial database. Refer(cid:173)
`ring to FIG. 2, there is shown a system 200 containing a
`Transaction Processor 102 on one server (the Transaction
`Server 202), and a Web storefront 106 and inventory and
`50 financial database 104 both on a second server (the Store
`Server 204). This may be desirable, for instance, when the
`Web merchant desires to maintain its own Web storefront,
`whether due to the merchant's expertise, physical distance
`from the transaction service provider, or otherwise. Such a
`55 merchant could use any of the many hosting service pro(cid:173)
`viders such as CyberGate, Magg.Net, and UUNet.
`FIG. 3 shows a system 300 with a further distribution, in
`which the database 104 is not on-line. The dashed line in
`FIG. 3 indicates that the inventory and financial system may
`or may not be electrically connected to the server. A com(cid:173)
`puterized system could have an electrical interface to the
`server and not be located on the server itself. Alternatively,
`the inventory and financial system may be stand alone. This
`may be the case if the Web merchant does not have a
`65 computerized inventory and financial database system, or if
`the merchant has a computerized database system but simply
`does not have it connected to the server.
`
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`5
`Referring to FIG. 2, the Store Server 204 is a conventional
`HTTPd (Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol daemon). In the
`preferred embodiment, it is a Sun Microsystems's Java
`compliant HTTPd server running Java compliant supporting
`standard servlet interfaces such as Netscape Java Server 5
`software or Lotus Domino Go Java software. By using a
`Java compliant implementation, the same code can run on a
`variety of operating systems supporting the Java Virtual
`Machine including without limitation Solaris, Unix, AIX,
`OS/2, and Windows 95/NT operating systems.
`As an overview, and referring to FIG. 3, the Transaction
`Server 202 now does not host the Web storefront 106.
`However, the Transaction Server 202 need not store any of
`the inventory or financial data nor any other information on
`the product line of the merchant. All the information that the
`Transaction Server 202 needs in order to process a purchase
`(for example, from customer 114) is sent to it every time that
`a purchase is requested. The Transaction Server 202 verifies
`that the customer 114 wants to make a purchase of a specific
`"shopping basket" of products and prompts the customer
`114 for payment information. Either the merchant or the
`Transaction Server 202 can perform the tasks of credit card
`verification, authorization of the total purchase amount, and
`funds transfer. When the Transaction Server 202 has finished
`its tasks, it then provides the merchant with a status report 25
`of the transaction and the customer with a confirmation.
`The Web storefront 106 acts as the virtual store for the
`customer 114, and contains whatever information the mer(cid:173)
`chant has built into the Web-site (e.g. pictures, prices, search
`engines, etc.). There is provided, according to the present
`invention, a Development Tool for designing the Web store(cid:173)
`front 106. This tool greatly simplifies the task of creating the
`Web storefront initially and of modifying it and updating it.
`The Tool also ensures that the operation with the Transaction
`Server 202 is seamless for the customer 114.
`The Tool derives much of its utility from the fact that it
`contains a series of templates, tailored to different industries,
`for creating pages. The fields on these templates can be filled
`with text, or with images from clip art (also included with
`the tool) or can be tailored to suit a specific merchant's 40
`needs. The task is greatly simplified by the inclusion of a
`prompting mode in which the tool will actually step a user
`through the process. As an additional tailoring feature, the
`tool can be adapted to whatever "look and feel" the customer
`may desire. The customer may want to match the look and 45
`feel to that of other applications that the customer uses, or
`may simply feel more comfortable with another look and
`feel.
`The Tool, as either an applet which would run on top of
`a browser or as an application, would be downloaded from
`a Store Builder Server. Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown
`a distributed electronic commerce system 400 with a Store
`Builder Server 402. The merchant could download the Java
`wizard applet to build the pages for the Web storefront,
`which will reside on the Store Server 204. The Store Builder 55
`Server 402 would also contain Java servlets that would
`receive the HTML from the wizard applet for the storefront
`pages that the merchant designed and would build the store
`pages from this HTML. This, of course, would happen when
`the merchant initially designed the pages, or whenever the 60
`merchant updated or modified them. The servlet, on the
`Store Builder Server 402, would then publish the Web
`storefront pages wherever the merchant designates. The
`commerce system is thereby distributed even more, by
`separating (if desired) the tasks associated with designing 65
`the merchant's Web site. In alternate embodiments, the Tool
`could be downloaded from the Transaction Server 206 or
`
`6
`obtained on a CD ROM or other recordable medium. Amore
`detailed description of the Development Tool is given in
`section 5 of this disclosure, following a discussion of the
`operation and components of the distributed electronic com(cid:173)
`merce system of the Distributed Commerce System Patent
`mentioned earlier.
`2. Detailed Description of the Shopping Flow
`Referring to FIG. 5, flow diagram 500 illustrates the
`high-level functions that each of the servers (see FIG. 4), or
`10 each of the Web sites hosted thereon, performs in a typical
`shopping experience of a customer.
`The customer, using a browser, goes to the Store Server
`and begins shopping, that is, browsing the content of the
`Web storefront 502. When the customer finds a product that
`15 the customer would like to buy, he selects that product 504.
`The Store Server then jumps to the Store Builder Server by
`using a Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") 506. The URL,
`called a price URL, contains all of the relevant information
`on the product, and all the information necessary to build a
`20 "Buy Page." The relevant product information includes a
`picture of the product, the product's price, and a description
`of the product.
`The Store-Builder Server receives the price URL, which
`is encrypted, and a Java "Buy Page" servlet builds a Buy
`Page from the received HTML 508. The customer can now
`either accept by selecting the option that puts the product in
`the customer's "shopping basket," or cancel the buy 510. If
`the buy operation is canceled, then the customer is returned
`to the Store Server and can continue shopping. If the buy
`30 operation is accepted the Store Builder Server then presents
`the customer with his entire shopping basket up to that point,
`which the Store Builder Server creates and maintains. The
`customer can now delete items from the basket, change the
`quantities, "purchase" the entire basket, or return to the
`35 Store Server to continue shopping 512. It should be clear
`that the previous buy operation was equivalent to dropping
`the product in the shopping basket, and the purchase opera(cid:173)
`tion is equivalent to going to the check-out counter. The Java
`servlet that maintains the shopping basket could use any of
`a variety of means, including without limitation tracking the
`Web customer's browser address or prompting the customer
`for a name, for keeping track of which customer belongs to
`which basket.
`The customer leaves his shopping basket page by either
`making a purchase or continuing shopping. If the customer
`decides to make the purchase, he is hyperlinked to the
`Transaction Server 514. The Transaction Server, thus, is not
`involved until money is ready to be transferred. The Trans(cid:173)
`action Server, therefore, immediately establishes a secure
`50 link between itself and the customer's browser 516. Any
`security protocol could be used, but the secure sockets layer
`("SSL") protocol is preferred. After establishing a secure
`link, the Transaction Server prompts the customer for the
`necessary identification, delivery, and payment information
`518.
`In an alternate embodiment, the functions of establishing
`a secure link and getting the customer's payment informa(cid:173)
`tion could be done in the Store Builder Server. The Trans(cid:173)
`action Server would then receive this information from the
`Store Builder Server, in an encrypted form, and decrypt it.
`This would provide an embodiment in which the Transaction
`Server did not need to interact in real-time with the
`customer, but merely provide a confirmation if desired.
`The Transaction Server may, optionally, verify the credit
`card information, authorize the payment amount, and trans(cid:173)
`fer the funds to the merchant's account 520. The Transaction
`Server would do this by using a third party credit card
`
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`7
`clearinghouse such as IC Verify or Automated Transaction
`Services (ATS). The merchant need not request this service
`from the Transaction Server, however. Low-volume mer(cid:173)
`chants may prefer simply to be e-mailed (securely) or faxed
`the entire purchase order, and perform these functions
`themselves, thereby saving the associated cost that the
`transaction service provider would have charged.
`Additionally, the merchant may prefer to check his inventory
`before charging the customer.
`In either case, the Transaction Server will notify the 10
`me