Patents Examined by Jonathan Ouellette
  • Patent number: 9589274
    Abstract: A user of an interactive medium may select advertising for display on the user's avatar, property, or other user-associated environment. The invention presents one or more advertisements to the user and allows the user to select at least one advertisement to display. The user may also choose a location for displaying the selected advertisement. The invention presents the selected advertisement to other users of the interactive medium. The invention tracks these presentations or displays and rewards the original user based on the presentation. The tracking data may also be used to bill the advertiser or optimize the process of selecting and displaying advertisements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: Chemtron Research LLC
    Inventors: Laura Lee Kusumoto, Earl David Sacerdoti, Leila Janine Sigler, Sonya Lee Sigler
  • Patent number: 9576293
    Abstract: A system and method for permitting an entity to more effectively make use of targeted benefits from a plurality of benefit providers; wherein the benefits are offered specifically to those entities qualified and eligible to receive said benefits. Various methods and systems for matching entities with benefits are also disclosed. An exemplary embodiment includes: (1) making available a plurality of benefits; (2) examining this plurality of benefits to determine which benefits entity is or may be qualified and eligible to receive; and (3) providing notification of said “entity-is-qualified-for” benefits. Entity information is compared to benefit information to determine those benefits, if any, to which the entity is or appears to be qualified to receive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Inventor: Steve Morsa
  • Patent number: 9576304
    Abstract: An evaluation information identifying device includes an extracting unit that, when, as a result of determining the presence or absence of a correlation between a supplier of an evaluation target and an evaluator having made a positive evaluation on the evaluation target, it is determined that there is a correlation, extracts evaluation information posted by the evaluator on the evaluation target provided by the supplier as specific evaluation information, and an outputting unit that performs specified processing based on the extracted specific evaluation information. It is thereby determined whether the possibility that the evaluator is an interested party to the supplier is high or low, and the evaluation information by an interested party to the evaluation target or the like is identified. It is thereby possible to provide useful evaluation information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: Rakuten, Inc.
    Inventor: Tadahiro Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 9558457
    Abstract: A method and system for automatically identifying optimal meeting locations. The method includes receiving a plurality of meeting parameters associated with one or more participants. The method also includes identifying a list of optimal meeting locations relevant to one or more of the plurality of meeting parameters. The method further includes ranking the list of optimal meeting locations. Further, the method includes enabling a user to select an optimal meeting location from the list of optimal meeting locations. The system includes one or more electronic devices and a user electronic device. The user electronic device includes a communication interface, a memory, and a processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: EXCALIBUR IP, LLC
    Inventors: Deepak Kumar V, Subramaniam Venkatraman Krishnan, Ashvin Agrawal
  • Patent number: 9560092
    Abstract: A crowdsourced search and locate platform, comprising an application server and a client interface application. The application server: receives connections from crowdsourcing participants; navigates a first crowdsourcing participant to a specific geospatial location; sends an image corresponding to the geospatial location to the first crowdsourcing participant; receives tagging data from the first crowdsourcing participant, the tagging data corresponding to a plurality of objects and locations identified by the first crowdsourcing participant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: DigitalGlobe, Inc.
    Inventors: Luke Barrington, Nathan Ricklin, Shay Har-Noy
  • Patent number: 9542656
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for integrating and data activities in a process flow. A data transformation activity is invoked through local or remote invocation. The data transformation activity is part of a process flow defined in a standard business process execution language format and is invoked from within the process flow. A system for executing a process flow including one or more control activities and one or more data transformation activities is also described. The system includes a process control engine for executing activities included in the process flow, a data transformation subsystem for storing domain specific definitions of data transformation processes of data in one or more databases, and a control data repository for storing domain specific activity information related to the process flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marion Behnen, Qi Jin, Yannick Saillet, Sriram Srinivasan, Muthukumar Thirunavukkarasu, Hoi J. Yoo
  • Patent number: 9525584
    Abstract: Techniques are described to establish one-way public relationships. In an implementation, a service manager module is usable to configure a webpage for output to a client over a network to provide to a user of the client an indication of others users that are part of a social network of the user and have establishes one-way public relationships, respectively, with another user corresponding to an object of a social networking service available from a service provider. In addition, a relation module is configured to establish a one-way public relationship between the user of the client and the other user corresponding to the object without establishing a mutual friend relationship between the user and the other user. In an implementation, the one-way public relationship is established in response to user selection of a control that is presented on the webpage that is output at the client in conjunction with the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Michelle M. Aleong, Paul A. Elliott, Bhupinder S. Sethi, Eric J. Zappa
  • Patent number: 9477961
    Abstract: A computer system that is adapted for: (A) displaying a geographical map on a display screen; (B) displaying a plurality of icons on the geographical map, each of which generally represents the current location of at least one individual; (C) allowing a user to select a group of the icons; and (D) after the user selects the group of icons, providing messaging functionality for allowing the user to send a common message to the respective portable computing devices of at least substantially all of the individuals who correspond to the selected group of icons. In particular embodiments, the system allows the user to send the message by executing a single activity, such as selecting a single button. The system may also be configured to approximate the current location of an individual based on the individual's current travel itinerary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2016
    Assignee: Charter Solutions International
    Inventors: Thomas Pfeffer, Derek Beveridge, Vishrut Patel
  • Patent number: 9466062
    Abstract: An embodiment relates generally to a method of offering incentives. The method includes receiving a registration event of a newly registered user and designating a probationary status for the newly registered user. The method also includes accumulating probationary points for a probationary sum based on at least one answer posted by the newly registered user in a forum and elevating the newly registered user to a status of a rated user in response to the probationary sum exceeding a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Red Hat, Inc.
    Inventor: Jason S. Hibbets
  • Patent number: 9449300
    Abstract: A multiple employer city government jobs posting system includes at least one server connected to a public wide area network that hosts a website accessible over the network. The website includes software that allows multiple city governments to register for use of the website, to post and manage job announcements and prospective job announcements and allows multiple prospective employees to register for use of the website, prepare and save electronic resumes, and submit the electronic resumes to the city governments in response to the prospective job announcements. Electronic job applications are provided and prospective employees can submit online to city governments. The website requires city governments to provide a city profile and links to city government web pages. The system allows prospective employees to search for posted job announcements, prospective job announcements, city hyperlinks and profiles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Inventor: Cary Kalscheuer
  • Patent number: 9440368
    Abstract: A method and apparatus of ordering a window covering comprises providing a measuring block that is mounted adjacent an architectural feature to be measured. A digital photograph is taken of the architectural feature with the measuring block. A display resolution of the photograph is determined. A scale of the photograph is determined using the measuring block. A dimension of the architectural feature is calculated based on the scale of the photograph. The window covering is cut to the calculated dimension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: Newell Window Furnishings, Inc.
    Inventors: Clifford Birch, Thomas A. Caputo, Neil L. Casstevens, Mark A. Fox
  • Patent number: 9424616
    Abstract: Customer identity verification. Receiving a request for verification of a customer's identity. The request includes fields of customer identity data. Requesting, from a first verification resource, verification of the customer's identity using the customer identity data. Receiving from the first verification resource, first verification results including at least one new field of customer identity data. The first verification results being insufficient to verify the customer's identity. Requesting, from a second verification resource, verification of the customer's identity using the at least one new field of customer identity data. Receiving, from the second verification resource, second verification results. For second verification results sufficient to verify the customer's identity, communicating to the customer a successful verification of the customer's identity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2016
    Assignee: GOOGLE INC.
    Inventor: Filip Verley
  • Patent number: 9406034
    Abstract: The present invention provides for a method and a computer system for providing functionality for electronically managing and supporting a merger integration of businesses, using software and other computer-implemented tools. In one aspect of the invention, the method and system provide program milestone tracking for an integration of businesses, where the businesses are subject to a merger or acquisition. The system provides a collaboration environment computer program for assisting a group of individuals performing the integration of businesses. The collaboration environment computer program provides administrative controls and communication among the group of individuals. A project management computer program assists the group of individuals and is configured to manage project schedules, budgets, and timeframes. A program milestone component is established and configured to facilitate creating and tracking program milestones for the collaboration environment computer program.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2016
    Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited
    Inventors: Richard W. Aleong, P. Christopher Bosco, Arthur Bert, Dorree F. Ebner, Kristin L. Ficery, Bruce P. Kiene, Connor G. McGogney, Jill S. Dailey, Ali Lila
  • Patent number: 9396490
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein provide systems and methods for brand response. One embodiment of a system for providing brand a review system configured to receive customer reviews from a plurality of web sites and provide for display on the web sites responses to the customer reviews inline with the customer reviews. The system can further include a brand response system configured to allow a user associated with a manufacturer to submit a response to a customer review of a product and provide the response to the review system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2016
    Assignee: Bazaarvoice, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew G. Marx, Jeffrey Breitenstein
  • Patent number: 9390384
    Abstract: The invention provides one or more consortia of networks that identify and share information about users and/or user devices interacting with the consortia. User devices may be identified, at least in part, by a delta of time parameter between a user device used and a reference time. Other parameters may be analyzed to identify a computer user and/or device and noteworthy transactions. The invention may be used for identity-based applications such as network security, the detection of fraudulent transactions, identity theft, ratings-based communities and law enforcement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: THE 41 ST PARAMETER, INC.
    Inventor: Ori Eisen
  • Patent number: 9384501
    Abstract: In general, a method includes enabling a user to specify a rule that causes a message to be formed, the rule being based on a reputation of a product and the reputation being based on information, from an online source, that is indicative of the reputation of the product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited
    Inventors: Giuseppe Capuozzo, Orlando Onorato, Marco Borghini
  • Patent number: 9378486
    Abstract: Described herein are methods and systems for interview question or prompt recommendation and analysis to improve the quality and efficacy of subsequent evaluation campaigns by combining data sets are described herein. In one method, processing logic selects a first prompt from a first data set of a first candidate evaluation campaign and a second prompt from a second data set of a second candidate evaluation campaign. The processing logic determines whether a degree of similarity between the first prompt and the second prompt exceeds a threshold and combines data from the first data set with data from the second data set to create a combined data set associated with the first prompt and with the second prompt based on the determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: HireVue, Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin Taylor, Loren Larsen
  • Patent number: 9364372
    Abstract: Safety glasses verification methods and devices are described herein. One method in accordance with the present disclosure includes capturing an RGB image of an individual, capturing an infrared (IR) image of the individual, and verifying safety glasses are being worn by the individual based on the RGB image and the IR image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Scott McCloskey, Ryan A. Lloyd
  • Patent number: 9367851
    Abstract: Compliance with retail display regulations that retailers are subject to within a plurality of jurisdictions is managed. Retail display regulations may differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. To facilitate compliance, retail display regulations for a plurality of jurisdictions are centrally maintained. The regulations may then be used to dynamically generate retail display materials for locations across a plurality of jurisdictions with different regulatory schemes. The central storage and/or maintenance of the retail display regulations may facilitate compliance with disparate regulatory schemes that retailers are subject to based in part of retail location. Central storage of the retail display regulations may facilitate certification of compliance by regulating entities associated with the jurisdictions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: Information Planning & Management Service, Inc.
    Inventors: Ernest James Dale, Barbara Clark Eichenser
  • Patent number: 9361593
    Abstract: A system and method for using business services within a customer relationship management (CRM) application. Business services are objects that encapsulate and simplify the use of some set of functionality. The CRM application includes an object manager that manages business objects as well as business services. Business objects are associated with data stored in the application database. Business services operate or act upon business objects to achieve a particular goal. Business services include methods that can be invoked and properties that maintain information about the state of a process during execution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Oracle America, Inc.
    Inventors: Jesse Ambrose, Mark Curtis Hastings, Atul Suklikar