Method and apparatus for privacy negotiation

Abstract

A method of negotiating an electronic commerce (e-commerce) transaction for the sale of a selected good can include identifying an asking price for the selected good and retrieving from memory merchant business objectives (MBOs) and consumer privacy rules (CPRs). The MBOs can specify incentive information corresponding to a proposed exchange of consumer information and the CPRs can specify asking prices corresponding to the proposed exchange of consumer information. The MBOs can be compared to the CPRs to determine if an agreement can be reached for the sale of the selected good with an incentive based upon the proposed exchange of consumer information. The e-commerce transaction for the sale of the selected good with the incentive can be consummated if in the comparing step it is determined that an agreement can be reached.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of negotiating an electronic commerce (e-commerce) transaction for the sale of a selected good comprising the steps of: 
 identifying an asking price for the selected good;    retrieving from memory merchant business objectives (MBOs) and consumer privacy rules (CPRs), said MBOs specifying incentive information corresponding to a proposed exchange of consumer information, said CPRs specifying asking prices corresponding to said proposed exchange of consumer information;    comparing said MBOs to said CPRs to determine if an agreement can be reached for the sale of the selected good with an incentive based upon said proposed exchange of consumer information; and    consummating said e-commerce transaction for the sale of the selected good with said incentive if in said comparing step it is determined that an agreement can be reached.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , said consummating step further comprising: 
 providing agreed upon e-commerce transaction information to an e-commerce processing system for processing said e-commerce transaction.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 receiving a counter-offer, said counter-offer specifying an adjusted incentive.    
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 receiving a counter-offer, said counter-offer specifying an adjusted asking price corresponding to said proposed exchange of consumer information.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 adjusting said incentive consistent with said MBOs.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 adjusting said asking price consistent with said CPRs.    
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said incentive is selected from the group consisting of a discount, an additional good, cash, and a cash equivalent.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said consumer privacy rules further specify an acceptable incentive type for the exchange of selected consumer information.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said comparing step is biased in favor of a merchant.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said comparing step is biased in favor of a consumer.  
     
     
         11 . A method of negotiating an electronic commerce (e-commerce) transaction for the sale of a selected good comprising the steps of: 
 identifying an asking price for the selected good;    retrieving from memory merchant business objectives (MBOs), said MBOs specifying incentive information corresponding to a proposed exchange of consumer information;    receiving consumer privacy rules (CPRs), said CPRs specifying asking prices corresponding to said proposed exchange of consumer information;    comparing said MBOs to said CPRs to determine if an agreement can be reached for the sale of the selected good with an incentive based upon said proposed exchange of consumer information; and    consummating said e-commerce transaction for the sale of the selected good with said incentive if in said comparing step it is determined that an agreement can be reached.    
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , said consummating step further comprising: 
 providing agreed upon e-commerce transaction information to an e-commerce processing system for processing said e-commerce transaction.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 receiving a counter-offer, said counter-offer specifying an adjusted incentive.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 receiving a counter-offer, said counter-offer specifying an adjusted asking price corresponding to said proposed exchange of consumer information.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 adjusting said incentive consistent with said MBOs.    
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 adjusting said asking price consistent with said CPRs.    
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein said incentive is selected from the group consisting of a discount, an additional good, cash, and a cash equivalent.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said consumer privacy rules further specify an acceptable incentive type for the exchange of selected consumer information.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein said comparing step is biased in favor of a merchant.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein said comparing step is biased in favor of a consumer.  
     
     
         21 . A method of configuring merchant business objectives comprising: identifying an item of consumer information desired by a merchant; 
 specifying at least one incentive for said item of consumer information to be offered to a consumer in exchange for said item of consumer information; and    storing an indication of said item of consumer information and said corresponding incentive in a data store.    
     
     
         22 . A method of configuring consumer privacy rules comprising: 
 identifying an item of consumer information which a consumer will provide to a merchant;    specifying at least one incentive for said item of consumer information in exchange for which said consumer will provide said item of consumer information to a merchant; and    storing said item of consumer information and said minimum incentive in a data store.    
     
     
         23 . A privacy negotiation system for negotiating an electronic commerce transaction involving a transfer of selected consumer information items, said system comprising: 
 a merchant objectives data store comprising rules for offering incentives to a consumer during said electronic commerce transaction, wherein said incentives are conditioned upon said transfer of said selected consumer information items from said consumer to a merchant;    a negotiation engine communicatively linked to said merchant objectives data store wherein said negotiation engine mediates between said merchant and said consumer to conclude said electronic commerce transaction; and    a merchant agent for negotiating said electronic commerce transaction on behalf of said merchant, said merchant agent communicating with said negotiation engine and said merchant privacy rules data store.    
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23 , further comprising: 
 a consumer privacy rules data store comprising rules for disclosing said selected consumer information items; and    a consumer agent for negotiating said electronic commerce transaction on behalf of said consumer, said consumer agent communicating with said negotiation engine and said consumer privacy rules data store.    
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein said consumer privacy rules data store includes said selected consumer information items.  
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 23 , further comprising: 
 a transaction processing system.    
     
     
         27 . A machine readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of: 
 identifying an asking price for a selected good;    retrieving from memory merchant business objectives (MBOs) and consumer privacy rules (CPRs), said MBOs specifying incentive information corresponding to a proposed exchange of consumer information, said CPRs specifying asking prices corresponding to said proposed exchange of consumer information;    comparing said MBOs to said CPRs to determine if an agreement can be reached for the sale of the selected good with an incentive based upon said proposed exchange of consumer information; and    consummating said e-commerce transaction for the sale of the selected good with said incentive if in said comparing step it is determined that an agreement can be reached.    
     
     
         28 . The machine readable storage of  claim 27 , said consummating step further comprising: 
 providing agreed upon e-commerce transaction information to an e-commerce processing system for processing said e-commerce transaction.    
     
     
         29 . The machine readable storage of  claim 27 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 receiving a counter-offer, said counter-offer specifying an adjusted incentive.    
     
     
         30 . The machine readable storage of  claim 27 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 receiving a counter-offer, said counter-offer specifying an adjusted asking price corresponding to said proposed exchange of consumer information.    
     
     
         31 . The machine readable storage of  claim 27 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 adjusting said incentive consistent with said MBOs.    
     
     
         32 . The machine readable storage of  claim 27 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 adjusting said asking price consistent with said CPRs.    
     
     
         33 . The machine readable storage of  claim 27 , wherein said incentive is selected from the group consisting of a discount, an additional good, cash, and a cash equivalent.  
     
     
         34 . The machine readable storage of  claim 33 , wherein said consumer privacy rules further specify an acceptable incentive type for the exchange of selected consumer information.  
     
     
         35 . The machine readable storage of  claim 27 , wherein said comparing step is biased in favor of a merchant.  
     
     
         36 . The machine readable storage of  claim 27 , wherein said comparing step is biased in favor of a consumer.  
     
     
         37 . A machine readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of: 
 identifying an asking price for a selected good;    retrieving from memory merchant business objectives (MBOs), said MBOs specifying incentive information corresponding to a proposed exchange of consumer information;    receiving consumer privacy rules (CPRs), said CPRs specifying asking prices corresponding to said proposed exchange of consumer information;    comparing said MBOs to said CPRs to determine if an agreement can be reached for the sale of the selected good with an incentive based upon said proposed exchange of consumer information; and    consummating said e-commerce transaction for the sale of the selected good with said incentive if in said comparing step it is determined that an agreement can be reached.    
     
     
         38 . The machine readable storage of  claim 37 , said consummating step further comprising: 
 providing agreed upon e-commerce transaction information to an e-commerce processing system for processing said e-commerce transaction.    
     
     
         39 . The machine readable storage of  claim 37 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 receiving a counter-offer, said counter-offer specifying an adjusted incentive.    
     
     
         40 . The machine readable storage of  claim 37 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 receiving a counter-offer, said counter-offer specifying an adjusted asking price corresponding to said proposed exchange of consumer information.    
     
     
         41 . The machine readable storage of  claim 38 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 adjusting said incentive consistent with said MBOs.    
     
     
         42 . The machine readable storage of  claim 38 , said comparing step further comprising: 
 adjusting said asking price consistent with said CPRs.    
     
     
         43 . The machine readable storage of  claim 38 , wherein said incentive is selected from the group consisting of a discount, an additional good, cash, and a cash equivalent.  
     
     
         44 . The machine readable storage of  claim 43 , wherein said consumer privacy rules further specify an acceptable incentive type for the exchange of selected consumer information.  
     
     
         45 . The machine readable storage of  claim 38 , wherein said comparing step is biased in favor of a merchant.  
     
     
         46 . The machine readable storage of  claim 38 , wherein said comparing step is biased in favor of a consumer.  
     
     
         47 . A machine readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of: 
 identifying an item of consumer information desired by a merchant;    specifying at least one incentive for said item of consumer information to be offered to a consumer in exchange for said item of consumer information; and    storing an indication of said item of consumer information and said corresponding incentive in a data store.    
     
     
         48 . A machine readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of: 
 identifying an item of consumer information which a consumer will provide to a merchant;    specifying at least one incentive for said item of consumer information in exchange for which said consumer will provide said item of consumer information to a merchant; and    storing said item of consumer information and said minimum incentive in a data store.