IP Library Patent Application 13811186
Patent Application
App. No. 13/811,186

AFFILIATE MANAGEMENT DEVICE, AFFILIATE MANAGEMENT METHOD, AFFILIATE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING THE PROGRAM

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US None
App. No.
13/811,186
Abstract

An affiliate management device according to one embodiment includes an access monitoring unit that, in accordance with a user's click on an affiliate link, stores click information associating a publisher of the affiliate link, a linked shop from the affiliate link and the user into a specified storage unit, an acquisition unit that acquires purchase information indicating a purchaser of an item and a selling shop of the item, a specifying unit that specifies a click history indicating click on affiliate links by the purchaser based on one or more click information corresponding to the purchaser acquired from the specified storage unit, and a determination unit that determines one or more publishers to receive an affiliate fee from the selling shop and an affiliate fee to be paid to each publisher based on the click history.

Claims (36)

1 . An affiliate management device comprising:

an access monitoring unit that, in accordance with a user's click on an affiliate link, stores click information associating a publisher of the affiliate link, a linked shop from the affiliate link and the user into a specified storage unit, the access monitoring unit overwriting another click information with new click information when the another click information corresponding to a linked shop and a user indicated by the new click information to be stored is already stored in the specified storage unit;

an acquisition unit that acquires purchase information indicating a purchaser of an item and a selling shop of the item;

a specifying unit that specifies a click history indicating click on affiliate links by the purchaser based on one or more click information corresponding to the purchaser acquired from the specified storage unit, the acquired click information including past click information related to affiliate links clicked on before when an affiliate link is clicked on last and last click information related to an affiliate link clicked on last; and

a determination unit that determines one or more publishers to receive an affiliate fee from the selling shop and an affiliate fee to be paid to each publisher based on the click history, wherein

the determination unit determines the publisher indicated by the last click information as a first payee of an affiliate fee from the selling shop and, when the linked shop indicated by the past click information and the selling shop are the same, determines the publisher indicated by the past click information as a second payee of an affiliate fee from the selling shop.

2 . The affiliate management device according to claim 1 , wherein

the determination unit deletes the last click information and the past click information corresponding to the second payee after determining one or more publishers to receive an affiliate fee from the selling shop and an affiliate fee to be paid to each publisher.

3 . The affiliate management device according to claim 1 , wherein

the specified storage unit includes an HTTP cookie able to be acquired from a terminal of a user having clicked on the affiliate link and a specified database, and

only the last click information is contained in the HTTP cookie, and the past click information is stored into the database.

4 . The affiliate management device according to claim 3 , wherein

the linked shop includes a type 1 shop and a type 2 shop,

a type 1 rate used for calculation of an affiliate fee to the first payee is set for the type 1 shop, and

the type 1 rate and a type 2 rate used for calculation of an additional affiliate fee to the first payee or an affiliate fee to the second payee are set for the type 2 shop.

5 . The affiliate management device according to claim 4 , wherein only the past click information related to the type 2 shop is stored into the database.

6 . The affiliate management device according to claim 1 , wherein

when the purchaser purchases a first item from a first selling shop and then purchases a second item from a second selling shop, the determination unit determines the first and second payees of an affiliate fee from the first selling shop and then determines a further payee of an affiliate fee from the second selling shop based on the past click information in the click history remaining after the last click information and the past click information corresponding to the second payee are deleted.

7 . The affiliate management device according to claim 6 , wherein

the linked shop includes a type 1 shop and a type 2 shop,

a type 1 rate used for calculation of an affiliate fee to the first payee is set for the type 1 shop,

the type 1 rate and a type 2 rate used for calculation of an additional affiliate fee to the first payee or an affiliate fee to the second payee are set for the type 2 shop, and

the determination unit does not determine a further payee of an affiliate fee from the second selling shop when the second selling shop is the type 1 shop, and determines a further payee of an affiliate fee from the second selling shop when the second selling shop is the type 2 shop.

8 . An affiliate management method executed by an affiliate management device, the method comprising:

an access monitoring step of, in accordance with a user's click on an affiliate link, storing click information associating a publisher of the affiliate link, a linked shop from the affiliate link and the user into a specified storage unit, the access monitoring step overwriting another click information with new click information when the another click information corresponding to a linked shop and a user indicated by the new click information to be stored is already stored in the specified storage unit;

an acquisition step of acquiring purchase information indicating a purchaser of an item and a selling shop of the item;

a specifying step of specifying a click history indicating click on affiliate links by the purchaser based on one or more click information corresponding to the purchaser acquired from the specified storage unit, the acquired click information including past click information related to affiliate links clicked on before when an affiliate link is clicked on last and last click information related to an affiliate link clicked on last; and

a determination step of determining one or more publishers to receive an affiliate fee from the selling shop and an affiliate fee to be paid to each publisher based on the click history, wherein

the determination step determines the publisher indicated by the last click information as a first payee of an affiliate fee from the selling shop and, when the linked shop indicated by the past click information and the selling shop are the same, determines the publisher indicated by the past click information as a second payee of an affiliate fee from the selling shop.

9 . (canceled)

10 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing an affiliate management program causing a computer to implement:

an access monitoring unit that, in accordance with a user's click on an affiliate link, stores click information associating a publisher of the affiliate link, a linked shop from the affiliate link and the user into a specified storage unit, the access monitoring unit overwriting another click information with new click information when the another click information corresponding to a linked shop and a user indicated by the new click information to be stored is already stored in the specified storage unit;

an acquisition unit that acquires purchase information indicating a purchaser of an item and a selling shop of the item;

a specifying unit that specifies a click history indicating click on affiliate links by the purchaser based on one or more click information corresponding to the purchaser acquired from the specified storage unit, the acquired click information including past click information related to affiliate links clicked on before when an affiliate link is clicked on last and last click information related to an affiliate link clicked on last; and

a determination unit that determines one or more publishers to receive an affiliate fee from the selling shop and an affiliate fee to be paid to each publisher based on the click history, wherein

the determination unit determines the publisher indicated by the last click information as a first payee of an affiliate fee from the selling shop and, when the linked shop indicated by the past click information and the selling shop are the same, determines the publisher indicated by the past click information as a second payee of an affiliate fee from the selling shop.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF ADDRESS Recorded Feb 3, 2016
From: RAKUTEN, INC.
To: RAKUTEN, INC.
Reel/Frame 037690/0315 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 22, 2013
From: KASAI, AKIRA; BABA, TAKESHI
To: RAKUTEN, INC.
Reel/Frame 029672/0482 →