Digital Active Advertising

Abstract

A complete system for the purchasing of goods or information over a computer network is presented. Merchant computers on the network maintain databases of digital advertisements that are accessed by buyer computers. In response to user inquiries, buyer computers retrieve and display digital advertisements from merchant computers. A digital advertisement can further include a program that is interpreted by a buyer's computer. The buyer computers include a means for a user to purchase the product described by a digital advertisement. If a user has not specified a means of payment at the time of purchase, it can be requested after a purchase transaction is initiated. A network payment system performs payment order authorization in a network with untrusted switching, transmission, and host components. Payment orders are backed by accounts in an external financial system network, and the payment system obtains account authorizations from this external network in real-time. Payment orders are signed with authenticators that can be based on any combination of a secret function of the payment order parameters, a single-use transaction identifier, or a specified network address.

1 . A network sales system comprising
 a plurality of buyer computers and at least one merchant computer interconnected by a communications network,   means at each merchant computer for maintaining and providing a database of digital advertisements comprising
 means for storing said digital advertisements, each digital advertisement including a product abstract, 
 means for communicating a digital advertisement to a buyer computer over said network in response to a network request from said buyer computer, 
   means at each buyer computer for requesting, displaying, and responding to digital advertisements comprising
 means responsive to a user inquiry for selecting a merchant computer and obtaining a digital advertisement for a product from said database of advertisements at said merchant computer, 
 display means for displaying said advertisement, 
 purchase means responsive to a user request for communicating a purchase message to said merchant computer, 
 account identification means for transmitting the user's account information to said merchant computer, 
   means, at said merchant computer, comprising
 authorization means to authorize said purchase message by sending messages into a financial system network, 
 fulfillment means to send said product to user conditional on approval of said authorization means. 
   
     
     
         2 . The network sales system of  claim 1  further wherein said authorization means at said merchant computer comprises
 means for communicating a missing payment information request message to said buyer computer to obtain missing payment information,   means for receiving said missing payment information from said buyer computer,   means for authorizing said purchase message by sending messages into a financial system network,   and said account identification means at said buyer computer comprises   means responsive to said missing payment information request message to query the user for additional payment information,   means to send said additional payment information to said merchant computer.   
     
     
         3 . The network sales system of  claim 1  further wherein said account identification means comprises
 means for assembling a payment order,   means for sending said payment order to a network payment system for authorization,   and wherein said authorization means comprises   means for verifying that said payment order has been previously authorized by said payment system.   
     
     
         4 . An electronic sales system comprising
 means for storing a database of digital advertisements, each digital advertisement for a product including a program,   means for communicating a digital advertisement to a buyer computer,   means at said buyer computer for displaying and responding to said digital advertisement comprising
 display means for displaying said digital advertisement by executing a portion of said advertisement as a program and performing actions as specified by said program, 
 purchase means responsive to a user request for communicating a purchase message to a merchant computer, 
   means, at said merchant computer, comprising
 fulfillment means to send said product to user. 
   
     
     
         5 . An electronic sales system comprising
 means for storing a database of digital advertisements, each digital advertisement for a product including a program,   packet-switched means for communicating a digital advertisement to a buyer computer,   means at said buyer computer for displaying and responding to said digital advertisement via packet-switched network, comprising
 display means for displaying said digital advertisement by executing a portion of said advertisement as a program and performing actions as specified by said program, 
 purchase means responsive to a user request for communicating a purchase message to a merchant computer over a packet-switched network, 
   means, at said merchant computer, comprising
 fulfillment means to send said product to user.