Patents by Inventor Kenneth M. Lau

Kenneth M. Lau has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20140289028
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a request is received from a first user to create a location-triggered benefit that may be redeemed by a second user at a vendor and associated with a condition. The first user is not the vendor, and the condition may require that the second user go to a particular location. A record of the location-triggered benefit may be created in a database. Information may be received that the second user has satisfied the condition, and in response, the second user may be allowed to redeem the location-triggered benefit at the vendor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 3, 2014
    Publication date: September 25, 2014
    Applicant: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Garrod Bosworth, David Harry Garcia, Kenneth M. Lau
  • Patent number: 8818909
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computer system, in response to a first user's request, creates a location-triggered gift for a second user and for a particular vendor location, determines the second user's location, and transmits information for redeeming the location-triggered gift at the particular vendor location to the second user if the second user is at the particular vendor location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Garrod Bosworth, David Harry Garcia, Kenneth M. Lau
  • Publication number: 20140067943
    Abstract: Based on information associated with users, a social networking system recommends one or more groups for a target user to join or to create. Characteristics of the target user, characteristics of users connected to the target user, characteristics of candidate groups in the social networking system may be used to identify groups for recommendation. The social networking system may provide questions to the target user and recommend a group to the target user based on received answers to the questions. For example, the answers to the provided question identify one or more characteristics of the target user, which are used to select a group for recommendation. Additionally, the social networking system may recommend additional users for the target user to add or invite to a group based on characteristics of the target user, the additional users, and/or the group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2012
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Inventors: Todd Christopher Jackson, William Russell Maschmeyer, Bin Jiang, Kenneth M. Lau, Michael Novati
  • Publication number: 20140067944
    Abstract: Based on information associated with users, a social networking system recommends one or more groups for a target user to join or to create. Characteristics of the target user, characteristics of users connected to the target user, characteristics of candidate groups in the social networking system may be used to identify groups for recommendation. The social networking system may provide questions to the target user and recommend a group to the target user based on received answers to the questions. For example, the answers to the provided question identify one or more characteristics of the target user, which are used to select a group for recommendation. Additionally, the social networking system may recommend additional users for the target user to add or invite to a group based on characteristics of the target user, the additional users, and/or the group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2012
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Inventors: Todd Christopher Jackson, William Russell Maschmeyer, Bin Jiang, Kenneth M. Lau, Michael Novati
  • Publication number: 20140067967
    Abstract: Based on information associated with users, a social networking system recommends one or more groups for a target user to join or to create. Characteristics of the target user, characteristics of users connected to the target user, characteristics of candidate groups in the social networking system may be used to identify groups for recommendation. The social networking system may provide questions to the target user and recommend a group to the target user based on received answers to the questions. For example, the answers to the provided question identify one or more characteristics of the target user, which are used to select a group for recommendation. Additionally, the social networking system may recommend additional users for the target user to add or invite to a group based on characteristics of the target user, the additional users, and/or the group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2012
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Inventors: Todd Christopher Jackson, William Russell Maschmeyer, Bin Jiang, Kenneth M. Lau, Michael Novati
  • Publication number: 20140067826
    Abstract: Based on information associated with users, a social networking system recommends one or more groups for a target user to join or to create. Characteristics of the target user, characteristics of users connected to the target user, characteristics of candidate groups in the social networking system may be used to identify groups for recommendation. The social networking system may provide questions to the target user and recommend a group to the target user based on received answers to the questions. For example, the answers to the provided question identify one or more characteristics of the target user, which are used to select a group for recommendation. Additionally, the social networking system may recommend additional users for the target user to add or invite to a group based on characteristics of the target user, the additional users, and/or the group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2012
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Inventors: Todd Christopher Jackson, William Russell Maschmeyer, Bin Jiang, Kenneth M. Lau, Michael Novati
  • Publication number: 20130132477
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a geo-social networking system maintains a data store of shared space, wherein each shared space comprises one or more content objects, a location, and one or more privacy settings. The geo-social networking system allows a user read-access to a shared space based on privacy settings associated with the shared space. The geo-social networking system allows a user write-access to a shared space if the user is at the location associated with the shared space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2011
    Publication date: May 23, 2013
    Inventors: Andrew Garrod Bosworth, David Harry Garcia, Kenneth M. Lau
  • Publication number: 20130132488
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computer system creates for a first user a location-triggered note specific for a second user and for a particular location, determines the second user's location, and transmits the location-triggered note to the second user if the second user is at the particular location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2011
    Publication date: May 23, 2013
    Inventors: Andrew Garrod Bosworth, David Harry Garcia, Kenneth M. Lau
  • Publication number: 20130073371
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computer system, in response to a first user's request, creates a location-triggered gift for a second user and for a particular vendor location, determines the second user's location, and transmits information for redeeming the location-triggered gift at the particular vendor location to the second user if the second user is at the particular vendor location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2011
    Publication date: March 21, 2013
    Inventors: Andrew Garrod Bosworth, David Harry Garcia, Kenneth M. Lau
  • Publication number: 20120143972
    Abstract: A messaging system that organizes and presents messages to users of the messaging system. The messaging system includes a mailbox module that receives messages and generates conversation threads from the messages. Messages received from different electronic message channels may be aggregated into a common conversation thread. The conversation threads are also organized in a message interface and then presented to a user of the messaging system. The messaging system may include a social networking system that stores social information about users, which can be used to organize the conversation threads. Other features include a multi mode message interface, and a method for adding contextual information to messages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2011
    Publication date: June 7, 2012
    Inventors: Prashant Malik, Jiakai Liu, Andrew G. Bosworth, Joel Benjamin Seligstein, Drew W. Hamlin, Daniel Hsiao, Kenneth M. Lau, Ross David Bayer, Mark E. Zuckerberg
  • Publication number: 20120124146
    Abstract: A messaging system facilitates communication between users through various messaging channels. The messaging system supports multiple communication channels and includes a messaging module that automatically selects one or more of the messaging channels for delivering a message to a recipient of the message using, for example, a set of policy rules or a trained model. The messaging module may also provide, in a user interface for sending and receiving messages, a visual indication of the selected messaging channel to the sender of the message to provide the user with transparency about how the message will be delivered. Additionally, the message may be delivered via multiple messaging channels, where the messaging module may rescind messages from some of the messaging channels upon receiving a reply from the recipient of the message or other confirmation that the recipient has seen the message via one of the communication channels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2011
    Publication date: May 17, 2012
    Inventors: Daniel Hsiao, Joel Benjamin Seligstein, Mark E. Zuckerberg, Kenneth M. Lau, Ross David Bayer, Zheng Zhang, Benjamin Peter Davenport, Peter Xiu Deng, Ben Gertzfield, Lucy Congyun Zhang, Jonathan David Perlow