Software Technology for Promoting your products online

International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY)

Provided are a computer program product, system, or methods for promoting products in a virtual world. An association of product information for a product and a texture of the object that is that is assigned to an advertising user is offered to an advertising user. The information about the product is associated with the texture of the object are rendered to be observable by interacting users within the virtual world when the texture of the object which displays the product information is within the visible range of avatars belonging to the people who interact with it. Information about tracking is updated for the advertising user as a result of the texture of the object presenting the information about the product being within the visible range of the avatars of the people who are interacting with them. The information generated by tracking by the advertising user is provided for use in determining rewards that are assigned to the advertising user for advertising the product.

1. Field of the Invention

The invention is a computer-based system and product that helps promote items in virtual worlds.

2. Description of Related Art

A lot of people play virtual worlds like Massive Multiplayer Online Social Games, metaverse and. Virtual worlds are an interactive, simulated world that can be accessible by many users, represented by avatars, throughan online interface. Virtual worlds offer new levels of socialization in which users interact with other people in a manner that is similar to real life. Virtual worlds can contain everything one would experience in the real world in addition to objects and other phenomena with no real-life counterparts. The servers that run simulation engines are utilized by virtual world providers to render the virtual environment and present it to users through a network, like the Internet.

SECOND LIFE.RTM. is a popular virtual world that gives its players the chance of developing new locations, typically comprised of terrain, buildings and objects, where users require services that are similar to real life. (SECONDLIFE is a registered trademark of Linden Research, Inc.). Virtual worlds, such as SECOND LIFE are distinct from the traditional online games which have a specific goal and limit the ability to play with existing environments. Virtual worlds allowusers to be able to move around freely around the globe without restriction, in an unscripted manner, and without predefined objectives.

Virtual worlds may also implement an economy that is virtual, such as virtual currency. The virtual economy results from the interaction of participants within the virtual world. Participants can trade goods and use virtual currency to purchase assets of other participants in the virtual world. The utility of objects in a virtual world is often linked to their value and difficult to obtain them. The investment in real-world resources, such as time, membership fees and others, could influence the value of virtual objects. to build wealth in virtual economies could add to the real-world worth of virtual objects.

Virtual stores are employed by some real-world businesses to market their products. The virtual world allows customers to browse the most innovative products, however, the purchase of actual products is done outside of the virtual store. Additionally, certain clothing brands have provided virtual world access to virtual representations of the clothing they offer in real life, so avatars of users can wear and present models of the clothing they purchase in the virtual world.

There is a need in the art for improved techniques for advertising products in a virtual world.

The computer program is a product, system, and method promoting products in the virtual world. The association of the information for a product with a texture of an object assigned to the user who is advertising is provided for an advertisinguser. Users who interact within the virtual world let the information about the product as well as the texture of the object visible to them. The tracking information of the advertising user is updated whenever the texture of an object that is displaying information about the product is within the visible range of avatars that are interacting customers. In order to determine the amount of rewards to be given to advertising users to promote the product, the tracking information that is generated for the advertising user is used.

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What is a patent?

Patents are granted by the government in order to protect the invention. It gives the inventor the sole rights to develop, use and sell the idea. Society is benefited when new technology is introduced to the market. These benefits could be realized directly as people are able to achieve previously impossible feats, or indirectly, through the economic opportunities which innovation can bring (business expansion, job creation).

A lot of pharmaceutical companies and university researchers seek protection from patents in their work and discoveries. Patents can be granted to an abstract or physical product or process, or an approach or formulation of material unique to the field. In order to be granted protection under a patent an invention has to be useful, new, and not obvious to other people in the same area.

Patents are a way to give inventors a reward for commercially successful inventions. They serve as a motivator for inventors to come up with new ideas. Patents permit inventors and small companies to know that there’s the possibility that they’ll get a profit for their efforts, time and money spent on technology development. They can earn money from their work.

Patents play a vital role in firms and can be used to:

Protect your innovative products and services

Your products will be more visible, valuable, and attractive to buyers.

Make your company and products stand out from the rest;

Access business and technical expertise and data;

Beware of accidentally using content from third parties or losing valuable information, innovative outputs or any other creative output.

Patents can transform an inventor’s knowledge into a commercially tradeable asset that opens up new possibilities for job creation and expansion of businesses through joint ventures or licensing.

Small companies that have patent protection will be more appealing to investors who are involved in the commercialization and development of technology.

Patenting may lead to the development of fresh ideas and innovative inventions. This information can promote the development of new ideas and could qualify for patent protection.

Patents can be used to prevent untrustworthy third-party companies from earning from the invention’s efforts.

Patent-protected technology revenues that are commercially profitable could be used to fund technology-related research and development (R&D) which can increase the chance of a better technology in the near future.

Intellectual property ownership is a way to convince lenders and investors that there are genuine chances to commercialize your product. A single patent could lead to multiple financing opportunities. You can use patents and other IP assets as collateral or security for financing. Investors are also able to view your patent assets in order to boost the value of their company. Forbes and others have pointed out that each patent can add anything from $500,000 to one million dollars to your company’s valuation.

Start-ups require a well-designed business plan that builds on the IP to demonstrate that your product or service is distinctive and superior or ingenuous. Investors will also be impressed if you can show that your IP rights are secure or are in the process of becoming secure and that they support your business strategy.

It is essential to keep an invention secret before submitting a patent application. A public disclosure of an invention can often damage its novelty and render it invalid. Thus, disclosures that are filed prior to filing (e.g. for testing marketing investors, test-marketing, or any other business partners) must only be done following the signing of a confidentiality agreement.

There are many types of patents. Understanding the different types of patents is vital to protect your invention. Utility patents cover new processes and machine creations. Design patents cover ornamental designs. Utility patents are best to protect the proprietor from competitors and copycats. Patents for utility are usually granted to enhance or modify existing inventions. Utility patents can also be used to cover improvements and modifications to existing inventions. A process patent could be a way to describe the actions or methods of performing a specific act. But, a chemical composition will include the combination of ingredients.

What is the typical length of patents? Patents for utility last for 20 years after the earliest date of filing, however their expirations are able to be extended because of patent office delays, for example.

Are you interested in the patenting of your idea? Patents are only granted to applicants who are the first to file, which is why you need to file fast. Call PatentPC now to have your patent application filed!

A patent search is an essential step when you’re working on a patent application. This allows you to look at other concepts and provide insight into their creations. This will allow you to limit the scope of your idea. Additionally, you’ll be able to learn about state of the art in your area of invention. This will assist you in understand the scope of your invention and prepare you for filing your patent application.

How to Search for Patents

The first step in getting your patent is to do an internet search for patents. You can do a google patent search or do a USPTO search. Patent-pending is the term for the product covered by the patent application. You can use the public pair to find the patent application. When the patent office is satisfied with your application, you’ll be able to conduct an examination of the patent number to locate the patent that was issued. The product you are selling will be patented. In addition to the USPTO search engine, you may also use other search engines such as espacenet, which is described below. You can get help from an attorney who specializes in patents. Patents granted in the United States are granted by the US trademark and patent office, also known as the United States patent office and trademark office. The office also evaluates trademark applications.

Are you interested in similar patents? Here are the steps to follow:

1. Think of terms that describe your invention according to its function and composition or use.

Write down a concise detailed explanation of your invention. Don’t use generic terms such as “device”, “process”, and “system”. Look for synonyms to the terms you chose initially. Then, take note of important technical terms and keywords.

To help you recognize keywords and concepts, use the following questions.

• What is the purpose of the invention Is it a utilitarian device or an ornamental design?
• Is inventing a method to come up with something or to perform some function? Is it an object?
• What is the composition and function of the invention? What is the physical composition of the invention?
• What’s the point of the invention
• What are the technical terms and terms that describe the essence of an invention? A technical dictionary can assist you to identify the correct words.

2. Use these terms to search for relevant Cooperative Patent Classifications at the Classification Text Search Tool. To determine the best classification to your invention, go through the resulting classification’s class Schemes (class schedules). If you don’t get any results from the Classification Text Search, you might consider substituting your words to describe your invention with synonyms.

3. Review the CPC Classification Definition to verify the relevancy of the CPC classification you’ve found. If the classification you have selected is a blue box that has the letter “D” on its left, clicking on the hyperlink will take you to a CPC classification’s description. CPC classification definitions can assist you in determining the classification’s scope so that you can choose the most appropriate. In addition they can provide some tips for searching and other information that may be useful for further research.

4. The Patents Full-Text Database and the Image Database allow you to find patent documents that are accompanied by the CPC classification. By focusing your search on abstracts and representative drawings, you can narrow down your search to the relevant patent documents.

5. This selection of patent publication is the best to examine for similarities to your invention. Pay attention to the claims and specification. Refer to the applicant and patent examiner for additional patents.

6. Retrieve published patent applications with the CPC classification you picked in Step 3 in the Applications Full-Text and Image Database. You can apply the same search strategy as in Step 4. You can narrow your results to the most relevant patent applications by examining the abstract as well as the drawings that appear on each page. After that, you must review all published patent applications carefully and pay particular attention to the claims and other drawings.

7. You can search for other US patent publications using keyword searching in the AppFT and PatFT databases, as well as search for patents classified as not from the United States according to below. Additionally, you can use web search engines to find non-patent literature disclosures about inventions. For instance:

• Add keywords to your search. Keyword searches may turn up documents that are not well-categorized or have missed classifications during Step 2. For example, US patent examiners often supplement their classification searches with keyword searches. Think about the use of technical engineering terminology rather than everyday words.
• Search for foreign patents using the CPC classification. Then, re-run the search using international patent office search engines such as Espacenet, the European Patent Office’s worldwide patent publication database of over 130 million patent publications. Other national databases include:
• European Patent Office (EPO) provides esp@cenet to access a network of Europe’s patent databases with access to machine translation of European patents. 
• Japan Patent Office (JPO) – with access to machine translations of Japanese patents.
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) offers PATENTSCOPE with a full-text search of published international patent applications and machine translations for some documents, as well as a list of international patent databases.
• Korean Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS)
• State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) with machine translation of Chinese patents.
• Other International Intellectual Property Offices with online patent databases include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Taiwan.
• Search non-patent literature. Inventions can be made public in many non-patent publications. It is recommended that you search journals, books, websites, technical catalogs, conference proceedings, and other print and electronic publications.

To review your search, you can hire a registered patent attorney to assist. A preliminary search will help one better prepare to talk about their invention and other related inventions with a professional patent attorney. In addition, the attorney will not spend too much time or money on patenting basics.