User authentication in an auction system

Abstract

A method and system for authenticating users while conducting an auction via a computer system. The system can automatically authenticate users who have previously registered with the auction system and who have enabled automatic authentication. When a user is registered, the system may store authentication information in a cookie on the user's computer. When the user decides to perform a transaction (e.g., list item auction or place a bid for an item) that requires authentication, the system retrieves the stored authentication information. If automatic authentication is enabled, then the system allows the transaction to proceed without manual authentication. If, however, automatic authentication is not enabled or the system does not recognize the stored authentication information, then the system requests manual authentication. The use of automatic authentication allows a user to enter information relating to a transaction without manually entering any identification information.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method in a computer-implemented auction system for bidding on an auction item, the method comprising:
 authenticating a user of the auction system for an authentication time period, the user associated with a client computer;   receiving from the client computer a bid request from the authenticated user including a bid amount for the auction item;   based on a stored setting associated with the authenticated user, determining whether the authentication time period has expired based on an amount of time elapsed since a last activity by the user;   in response to the authentication time period not having expired, placing a bid for the auction item according to the bid request; and   in response to the authentication time period having expired, requesting reauthentication of the user.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the amount of time elapsed since the last activity by the user is an amount of time since a bid was placed by the user. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the amount of time elapsed since the last activity by the user is an amount of time since the client computer last interacted with the auction system. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the amount of time elapsed since the last activity by the user is a predetermined time period. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the predetermined time period is specified by the user. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the amount of time elapsed since the last activity by the user is determined based on past interactions of the client computer with the auction system. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, after placing the bid for the auction item, resetting the authentication time period to a new duration. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the new duration is determined based on an amount of time the user interacted with the auction system to bid on the auction item. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the new duration is determined based on a renewal time period provided by the user. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a description for display on the client computer, the description comprising information identifying the auction item, an enter bid field prefilled with a suggested bid amount for the item, the suggested bid amount generated for the user, and an indication of an action that is to be performed to submit a bid on the item, wherein the bid request is received in response to the action being performed by the user and the bid amount included in the bid request is equal to the suggested bid amount. 
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable program code comprising instructions for bidding on an auction item, the instructions comprising:
 authenticating a user of the auction system for an authentication time period, the user associated with a client computer;   receiving from the client computer a bid request from the authenticated user including a bid amount for the auction item;   based on a stored setting associated with the authenticated user, determining whether the authentication time period has expired based on an amount of time elapsed since a last activity by the user;   in response to the authentication time period not having expired, placing a bid for the auction item according to the bid request; and   in response to the authentication time period having expired, requesting reauthentication of the user.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the amount of time elapsed since the last activity by the user is an amount of time since a bid was placed by the user. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the amount of time elapsed since the last activity by the user is an amount of time since the client computer last interacted with the auction system. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the amount of time elapsed since the last activity by the user is a predetermined time period. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the predetermined time period is specified by the user. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the amount of time elapsed since the last activity by the user is determined based on past interactions of the client computer with the auction system. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , further comprising, after placing the bid for the auction item, resetting the authentication time period to a new duration. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the new duration is determined based on an amount of time the user interacted with the auction system to bid on the auction item. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , further comprising transmitting a description for display on the client computer, the description comprising information identifying the auction item, an enter bid field prefilled with a suggested bid amount for the item, the suggested bid amount generated for the user, and an indication of an action that is to be performed to submit a bid on the item, wherein the bid request is received in response to the action being performed by the user and the bid amount included in the bid request is equal to the suggested bid amount. 
     
     
         20 . A computer-implemented auction system for bidding on an auction item, the auction system comprising:
 a component for authenticating a user of the auction system for an authentication time period, the user associated with a client computer;   a component for receiving from the client computer a bid request from the authenticated user including a bid amount for the auction item, and based on a stored setting associated with the authenticated user, determining whether the authentication time period has expired based on an amount of time elapsed since a last activity by the user; and   a component for:
 placing a bid for the auction item according to the bid request in response to the authentication time period not having expired; and 
 requesting reauthentication of the user in response to the authentication time period having expired.