The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 26, 2008
Filed:
Aug. 04, 1999
Jeffrey P. Bezos, Seattle, WA (US);
Sheldon J. Kaphan, Seattle, WA (US);
Ellen L. Ratajak, Seattle, WA (US);
Thomas K. Schonhoff, Seattle, WA (US);
Jeffrey P. Bezos, Seattle, WA (US);
Sheldon J. Kaphan, Seattle, WA (US);
Ellen L. Ratajak, Seattle, WA (US);
Thomas K. Schonhoff, Seattle, WA (US);
Amazon.com, Inc., Seattle, WA (US);
Abstract
An Internet-based customer referral system enables individuals and other business entities ('associates') to refer customers to a merchant's web site in return for compensation, such as commissions on resulting sales. Entities initially register with the merchant web site as associates, and are provided with instructions for creating links to the merchant web site. An associate may, for example, set up an associate web site (or other information dissemination system) with reviews, recommendations, and/or editorials of specific products in the merchant's online catalog, together with links to associated pages in the catalog. When a user follows such a link and then makes a purchase (as tracked by the merchant web site), the system preferably awards a commission to the associate. The system also preferably generates feedback reports that provide each associate with data regarding the effectiveness of each link provided by that associate.