Managing an electronic seal of certification

Abstract

Systems and methods for managing a seal of certification including compliance with requirements for such a seal of certification in electronic commerce including an online marketplace, particular sectors of an online marketplace and a web site and dynamic display of a media object representative of such a seal of certification and systems and methods for applying, customizing, displaying and administering such seals of certification.

1 . A computer-implemented method of determining continued compliance of an online entity doing business in electronic commerce, the method comprising: 
 executing software instruction to monitor an attribute of the online entity;    executing a compliance software process on a certification system to determine ongoing compliance of the online entity based at least in part on the monitored attribute; and    executing software instructions to automatically take an action with the certification system with respect to dynamically displayed electronic media based upon the determination.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein executing instructions to automatically take an action comprises automatically controlling whether the media object is displayed based on the determined compliance of the online entity.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic media comprises a seal of certification.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the online entity is a seller and the electronic media represents buyer protection offered by a third party for transactions with the seller.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the third party comprises one of: 
 a seal provider,    a payment provider,    an online marketplace, or    an insurance company.    
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic media represents buyer protection.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the online entity is a seller and the electronic media represents a seller guarantee.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic media represents a money back guarantee.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic media represents verification of the online entity to sell within a particular sector of the online marketplace having a plurality of sectors.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the particular sector is one of a travel sector, an automotive sector, a jewelry sector, a real estate sector or an industrial sector.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein executing a compliance process comprises applying a rule set to compute a score representative of a degree of compliance by the online entity based on the monitored attribute.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising dynamically updating the rule set.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the rule set is periodically updated.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the rule set is based at least in part on another party's risk of dealing with the online entity in the electronic commerce.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the taking appropriate action comprises dynamically controlling display of the electronic media is based at least in part on the computed score.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein automatically taking the appropriate action comprises the certification system automatically escalating to an action selected from a group consisting of a manual process and an automated process depending upon the score.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising overriding at least a part of the rule set based on the score.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein applying a rule set comprises applying a rule set that computes the score based at least in part on a behavior of the online entity in connection with an online dispute resolution system.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein automatically taking the action comprises automatically revoking approval for the online entity with the certification system.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein monitoring comprises receiving feedback regarding the online entity from another party in the electronic commerce for use as the attribute of the online entity.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic commerce comprises an electronic marketplace, a search engine or a website.  
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining compliance of the online entity based at least in part on feedback from the electronic commerce in response to activities of the online entity in the electronic commerce.  
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the attributes include at least one of a history of behavior of the online entity with respect to the electronic commerce, a country of residence, one or more categories of sales, feedback from a marketplace, or feedback from online sales activity.  
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein automatically taking the appropriate action comprises automatically requiring an increased level of verification for the attributes.  
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 1 , 
 wherein monitoring comprises detecting an increase in sales activity in the electronic commerce by the online entity, and    wherein automatically taking the appropriate action comprises automatically requiring an increased level of verification for the online entity in response to the detected increase in sales activity in the electronic commerce.    
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 1 , 
 wherein monitoring comprises detecting an increase in a number of online disputes associated with the online entity, and    wherein automatically taking the appropriate action comprises automatically requiring an increased level of verification for the online entity in response to the detected increase in online disputes.    
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 receiving a request for approval of online entity;    first determining compliance of the online entity using a first rule set based at least in part of based on compliance of the online entity with requirements for a seal of certification;    approving or denying the request based upon the first determination;    if approved, monitoring attributes of the online entity;    second determining compliance of the online entity using a second rule set based at least in part on the attributes of the online entity in the electronic commerce; and    automatically taking the appropriate action based upon the second determination.    
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising dynamically displaying the electronic media as a media object representative of a seal of certification.  
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 28 , further comprising dynamically updating the media object with the certification system based upon the determination.  
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 28 , further comprising displaying the media object on a website associated with the online entity.  
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 28 , further comprising displaying the media object in association with an individual listing in an online marketplace.  
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising controlling the display of the electronic media on an item-by-item level for a set of items offered in the electronic commerce by the online entity.  
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein displaying further comprises displaying the electronic media to include identifiers for the items.  
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 receiving a selection from the online entity that specifies one or more items from a plurality of items offered in the electronic commerce by the online entity; and    displaying the electronic media in association with those selected items in response to the selection.    
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 continuously updating by the ongoing compliance process a current status of the online entity in a database of the certification system;    confirming in real-time a current status of the online entity in the database in response to a certification request; and    displaying the electronic media in a customized manner based upon criteria in the database.    
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein displaying the electronic media comprises dynamically displaying a seal of certification having information specific to the online entity.  
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the information comprises at least one of a marketplace identification or a business name for the online entity.  
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein displaying the electronic media comprises dynamically displaying information specific to a specific program within an online marketplace.  
   
   
       39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the information specifies a particular sub-marketplace of the marketplace.  
   
   
       40 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein displaying the electronic media comprises dynamically displaying information specific to programs displayed through a search engine.  
   
   
       41 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein displaying the electronic media comprises dynamically updating a current date, a marketplace identification, a business name, business license details, marketplace-specific verifications, or buyer protection details of the electronic media.  
   
   
       42 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic media comprises text or graphics.  
   
   
       43 . A computer-implemented system for determining continued compliance of an online entity doing business in electronic commerce, the system comprising a server that executes instructions for: 
 executing software instruction to monitor an attribute of the online entity;    executing a compliance process on a certification system to determine ongoing compliance of the online entity based at least in part on the monitored attribute; and    executing software instructions to automatically take an action with the certification system with respect to dynamically displayed electronic media based upon the determination.