| US 6,499,018 C1 (6402nd) | ||
| METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING BIDDING IN ELECTRONIC AUCTIONS USING BIDDER-SPECIFIC BID LIMITATIONS | ||
| Marc Alaia, Glenshaw, Pa.; David J. Becker, Sewickley, Pa.; Sam E. Kinney, Jr., Sewickley, Pa.; Vincent F. Rago, Pittsburgh, Pa., and William D. Rupp, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Ariba, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif. | ||
| Reexamination Request No. 90/008,786, Nov. 9, 2007. | ||
| Reexamination Certificate for Patent 6,499,018, issued Dec. 24, 2002, Appl. No. 311,558, May 14, 1999. | ||
| Division of application No. 09/252,790, filed on Feb. 19, 1999, now Pat. No. 6,230,146, Provisional application No. 60/110,846, filed on Dec. 4, 1998, Provisional application No. 60/101,141, filed on Sep. 18, 1998. | ||
| Int. Cl. G06Q 30/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 705—37 |
| AS A RESULT OF REEXAMINATION, IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT: |
| The patentability of claims 1-45 is confirmed. |
| 1. A method of limiting bids in an electronic auction, comprising: (a) setting an individual bid ceiling for each of a plurality of potential sellers, wherein an individual bid ceiling for at least one of said plurality of potential sellers is different from an individual bid ceiling for another of said plurality of potential sellers;
(b) receiving bids from one or more potential sellers;
(c) determining whether a received bid for a potential seller is greater than a corresponding individual bid ceiling for said potential seller; and
(d) sending a bid message to said potential seller in accordance with said determination;
wherein the auction is a downward auction.
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