CallWave Communication LLC v. Verizon Communications Inc. et al.

Filing 1

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT filed with Jury Demand against Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless, Google Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. - Magistrate Consent Notice to Pltf. ( Filing fee $ 350, receipt number 0311-1190019.) - filed by CallWave Communications LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Civil Cover Sheet)(els)

EXHIBIT B

111111

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
US007907933B 1

United States Patent

(10)

Trandal et al.

c12)

(45)

(54)

CALL ROUTING APPARATUS

(75)

Inventors: David S. Trandal, Santa Barbara, CA
(US); David J. Brahm, Santa Barbara,
CA (US)

(73)

Assignee: Callwave, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA (US)

( *)

Notice:

5,459,548
5,459,584
5,467,388
5,533,102
5,533,106
5,577,111
5,651,054
5,668,861
5,805,587
5,809,128
5,825,867
5,835,573
5,884,032
5,995,603
6,031,896
6,035,031
6,169,795
6,175,622

Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
U.S.C. 154(b) by 674 days.
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

(21)

Appl. No.: 11/861,171

(22)

Filed:

Patent No.:
US 7,907,933 Bl
Date of Patent:
*Mar. 15, 2011
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
B1
B1

10/1995
10/1995
1111995
7/1996
7/1996
1111996
7/1997
9/1997
9/1998
9/1998
10/1998
1111998
3/1999
1111999
212000
3/2000
1/2001
1/2001

Matsuda et a!.
Gordon eta!.
Redd, Jr. eta!.
Robinson eta!.
Blumhardt
Iida eta!.
Dunn eta!.
Watts
Norris et al.
McMullin
Epler et al.
Dee eta!.
Bateman et a!.
Anderson
Gardell eta!.
Silverman
Dunn eta!.
Chiniwala et a!.

(Continued)
Sep.25,2007

FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
Related U.S. Application Data

(63)

Continuation of application No. 11/212,536, filed on
Aug. 26, 2005, now Pat. No. 7,292,841, which is a
continuation of application No. 10/106,517, filed on
Mar. 22, 2002, now Pat. No. 6,968,174.

EP

1 120 954

8/2001

(Continued)
Primary Examiner- Michael T Thier

(60)

Provisional application No. 60/278,570, filed on Mar.
22, 2001, provisional application No. 60/309,142,
filed on Jul. 30, 2001.

(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm- Knobbe, Martens, Olson &
BearLLP

(51)

Int. Cl.
H04M 11100
(2006.01)
H04M 15100
(2006.01)
U.S. Cl. .................... 455/406; 455/405; 379/114.01;
379/114.25
Field of Classification Search .......... 455/405-408,
455/415-417; 379/111, 112.01, 114.01,
3791114.14, 114.24, 114.25, 127.01, 133-134
See application file for complete search history.

(57)

(52)
(58)

(56)

References Cited

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates generally to telecommunications, and in particular to systems and methods for routing
and placing telephone calls. In one embodiment, a call manager system is configured to place a call to a pay-per-call
service, or to cause such a call to be placed by a user computer
terminal, in response to a user initiating a purchase transaction over a computer network. In addition, the call may
include billing information, such as the user's phone number,
which is provided to the pay-per-call service so that the user
can be billed for the call in an appropriate amount.

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
4,994,926 A
5,291,302 A

211991 Gordon eta!.
3/1994 Gordon eta!.

17 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets

US 7,907,933 Bl
Page 2
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
6,208,638
6,282,276
6,304,565
6,310,939
6,345,090
6,350,066
6,353,660
6,405,035
6,430,274
6,438,222
6,477,246
6,505,163
6,549,612
6,564,321
6,643,034
6,658,100
6,661,785
6,690,785
6,738,461
6,751,299
6,785,021
6,857,074

B1
B1
B1
B1
B1
B1
B1
B1
B1
B1
B1
B1
B2
B2
B1
B1
B1
B1
B2
B1
B1
B2

3/2001
8/2001
10/2001
10/2001
212002
212002

3/2002
6/2002
8/2002
8/2002
1112002
112003
4/2003
5/2003
1112003
12/2003
12/2003
2/2004
5/2004
6/2004
8/2004
2/2005

Rieley eta!.
Felger
Ramamurthy
Varney
Walker et al.
Bobo, II
Burger et al.
Singh
Winstead et a!.
Burg
Dolan eta!.
Zhang et al.
Gifford et a!.
Bobo, II
Gordon eta!.
Lund
Zhang et al.
Stetler et al.
Trandaletal.
Brown eta!.
Gordon eta!.
Bobo, II

6,879,677
6,898,275
6,968,174
6,981,214
7,103,167
200110037264
2002/0010616
2002/0097710
2002/0176558
2003/0063731
2003/0123629
2003/0156700
2004/0010472
2005/0265322

B2
B2
B1
B1
B2
A1
A1
A1
A1
A1
A1
A1
A1
A1

4/2005
5/2005
1112005
12/2005
9/2006
1112001
112002
7/2002
1112002
4/2003
7/2003
8/2003
112004
12/2005

Trandaletal.
Dolan eta!.
Trandaletal.
Miller eta!.
Brahm eta!.
Husemann et a!.
Itzhaki
Burg
Tate eta!.
Woodring
Hussain et a!.
Brown eta!.
Hilbyetal.
Hester

FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
JP
JP
JP

wo
wo
wo

10-513632
11-506292
2001-168989
wo 97/26749
00/60840
wo 01/76210

12/1998
6/1999
6/2001
7/1997
10/2000
10/2001

~

/8

ISP

00
•
~

~

/4

~

CALL
MANAGER
SYSTEM

~

=
~

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22

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APPLICATION

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24

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U.S. Patent

Mar.15,2011

US 7,907,933 Bl

Sheet 2 of 4

;-----200
202

START

)
~204

.----------'------'------.

USER INITIATES
PURCHASE
(_206

MESSAGE SENT TO
CALL MANAGER
/_208

CALL MANAGER SETS
ANI TO USER ANI

CALL MANAGER CALLS SELECTED
PAY-PER-CALL NUMBER
r-2!2
.----------'-------'--------.

USER CHARGED
VIA PHONE BILL

2/4

(

END

)

F/C. 2

U.S. Patent

Mar.15,2011

US 7,907,933 Bl

Sheet 3 of 4

,-3oo
302
(

START

;-304
USER INITIATES
PURCHASE

~306'
~------~--~--

MESSAGE SENT TO
CALL MANAGER

/308
CALL MANAGER INSTRUCTS CLIENT
APPLICATION TO PLACE CALL TO
SELECTED PAY-PER-CALL NUMBER

/3/0
~--------~------~--

CLIENT COMPUTER CALLS
SELECTED PAY-PER-CALL
NUMBER

3/2
USER CHARGED
VIA PHONE BILL

3/4
(

END

F/C. :J

U.S. Patent

Mar.15,2011

US 7,907,933 Bl

Sheet 4 of 4

404
INSTRUCT CLIENT APPLICATION TO
CALL PAY-PER-CALL NUMBER
ASSOCIATED WITH CALL MANAGER

406
CALL PLACED VIA
USER COMPUTER

4/2
STORE CALL BLOCKING
INDICATION IN DATABASE
YES

4!4

4!0
GO TO
PROCESS #300

REQUEST ALTERNATE
FORM OF PAYMENT

4!6

F/C. 4

US 7,907,933 Bl
1

2

CALL ROUTING APPARATUS

In one embodiment, when a user is transacting an online
purchase transaction using a computer terminal and wants to
charge the purchase price to the user's phone bill, a message
is transmitted to a remote call manager system. The message
can include information related to the purchase price and an
ANI associated with a phone line of the user. The remote call
manager system sets an ANI of a call service phone line be the
same as the user ANI. The call manager system then calls a
pay-per-call service via the call service phone line using the
user ANI. Thus, the call manager is in effect making the call
on behalf of the user by appearing to be the user, even if the
call placed by the call manager system is originating from a
network location out of the user's local calling area or state.
The user is then billed for the call on the user's phone bill in
an amount corresponding to the purchase price.
In another embodiment, in response to a user initiating an
online purchase via a client terminal, a call manager system
transmits over a computer network, such as the Internet,
instructions to the client terminal to schedule an outcall from
the client terminal to a pay-per-call phone number. The client
terminal will then place a call to the pay-per-call phone number in accordance with the instructions.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be
brought out in the following portions of the specification,
wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully
disclosing preferred embodiments of the invention without
placing limitations thereon.

PRIORITY CLAIM
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)
of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/278,570, filed Mar.
22, 2001, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/309,142,
filed Jul. 30, 2001, and is a continuation application of U.S.
application Ser. No. 11/212,536, filed Aug. 26, 2005, which is
a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No.
10/106,517, filed Mar. 22, 2002, all of which are incorporated
herein by reference in their entirety.

10

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
15

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications, and in particular to systems and methods for routing
and placing telephone calls.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional public switched telephone network
(PSTN) provides for pay-per-call network services via one or
more designated numbers, such as a 900 or 97 6 number,
whereby consumers can call such a designated number and be
charged a flat rate or per minute charge for a service. For
example, the service may be providing entertainment information, sports information, or the like. The fee associated
with calling such designated numbers is greater than the cost
of simply transmitting the call. However, conventional commerce systems fail to provide an automated apparatus that
places or routes calls to such pay-per-call numbers or services
as part of an online purchase transaction. Thus, consumers are
deprived of making secure online purchases using the payper-call service.

20

25

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
30

35

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to systems and methods for
routing and placing telephone calls. Embodiments of the
present invention provide consumers with a reliable, secure,
and convenient method of utilizing a telecommunications
network to pay for goods or services on a one-time or recurring basis.
In particular, embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus and methods for a system connected to the
PSTN to place an authorized call to a pay-per-call number,
such as a 900 or 97 6 number, or the like, on behalf of a user to
purchase a good or service. Advantageously, embodiments of
the disclosed systems and methods optionally eliminate the
need for a consumer to place a call to a pay-per-call service
directly. This is in contrast to conventional systems wherein a
consumer uses a home telephone to directly call a 900 or 97 6
pay-per-call telephone number.
Optionally, in one embodiment a user does not have to
communicate private billing information, such as credit card
or checking account information, to pay the provider of the
good or service. The resulting security and convenience of
this payment method can further encourage transactions
involving the purchase or lease of goods or services, benefiting both the user and the service provider or merchant. In
addition, the offer and/or payment options can be specifically
tailored to the consumer. In addition, embodiments of the
present invention enable a merchant or service provider to
discover whether a user has blocked pay-per-call services and
to disallow this payment method or instruct the user in ways
to unblock these services.

The present invention will be more fully understood by
reference to the following drawings, which are for illustrative
purposes only:
FIG. 1 illustrates an example system that can be used in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example method of routing calls.
FIG. 3 illustrates another example method of routing calls.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example method of detecting whether
a user has pay-per-call blocking.

40

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS

45

50

55

60

65

The present invention is related to systems and methods for
routing and placing telephone calls. As will be described in
greater detail below, embodiments of the present invention
provide apparatus and methods for initiating a telephone call
using the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to a
pay-per-call number on behalf of a user in response to a user
operation received over a computer network, such as the
Internet.
Referring to FIG. 1, a telecommunications system 10 is
shown utilizing an example embodiment of the present invention. In this example embodiment, a subscriber or other user
employs a networked terminal, such as a personal computer
(PC) 12, an interactive television, a personal digital assistant,
a cellular phone equipped with a browser, or the like, to access
a computer network 16, such as the Internet or the like.
Thus, for example, the terminal 12 and/or a call manager
system 18 discussed below, can correspond to a uniprocessor
or multiprocessor machine. Additionally, the terminal12 and/
or a call manager system 18 discussed below, can include an
addressable storage medium or computer accessible medium,
such as random access memory (RAM), an electronically
erasable progrmable read-only memory (EEPROM),
masked read-only memory, one-time programmable
memory, hard disks, floppy disks, laser disk players, digital

US 7,907,933 Bl
3

4

video devices, Compact Disc ROMs, DVD-ROMs, other
optical media, video tapes, audio tapes, magnetic recording
tracks, electronic networks, and other techniques to transmit
or store electronic content such as, by way of example, programs and data.
In one embodiment, the terminal12 and/or a call manager
system 18 discussed below, is equipped with a network communication device such as a network interface card, a modem,
Infra-Red (IR) port, a wireless network interface, or other
network connection device suitable for connecting to a network. For example, the terminal12 and/or the call manager
system 18, can include a dial-up, narrow-band, modem or a
dedicated, broadband, modem that connects to a data communication service, such as that provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or Commercial Online Service 14. Furthermore, the terminal12 and/or the call manager system 18
can execute an appropriate operating system, such as Linux,
Unix, Microsoft® Windows® 3.1, Microsoft® Windows®
95, Microsoft® Windows® 98, Microsoft® Windows® NT,
Microsoft® Windows® 2000, Microsoft® Windows® Me,
Microsoft® Windows® XP, Apple® MacOS®, IBM®
OS/2®, Microsoft® Windows® CE, Palm OS®, or Sun
Solaris®. The appropriate operating system may advantageously include a communications protocol implementation,
which handles incoming and outgoing message traffic passed
over the network. In other embodiments, while the operating
system may differ depending on the type of terminal, the
operating system may continue to provide the appropriate
communications protocols necessary to establish communication links with the network.
While online to the Internet 16 or other network, the user
may be presented with one or more offers to purchase a
product or a service transmitted over the Internet to the user.
The phrase "purchase" as used herein includes a lease or
licensing of a good or service. The offers may come in a
plurality of forms such as via an email, a banner ad, a web
page, and/or a collection of some or all of these forms. Byway
of example, the offers may be provided in response to a user
visiting a specific Web site or by accessing a given network
resource or URL. A user may initiate a purchase of a product
or service by filling in purchase data, activating a purchase
link or other command, by accessing a specific network
resource, or by otherwise authorizing a purchase.
If a user makes a purchase decision and authorizes the
merchant or service provider to place the charge for the good
or service on their phone bill, a message is sent over the
Internet 16 to the call manager system 18. As discussed
above, the user can complete a web form or activate a link in
an email message. The web form or form associated with the
email link may ask the user if the user wants to pay for the
purchase via their phone bill. If the user indicates that the
purchase price is to be billed to the user's phone bill, a
corresponding message is sent by the merchant or service
provider to the call manager system 18. In one embodiment,
the web form requests that the user provide a telephone number or account number to which the purchase is to be billed.
The merchant or service provider can verifY via a merchant
user database or the like that the user has permission to
authorize a charge to the provided number.
The call manager system 18 includes a user database that
stores user registration information, identification information, account information, billing information and the like. In
one embodiment, the call manager is implemented using one
or more servers. The call manager system 18 is connected to
the Public Switched Telephone Network 20 by means of a
trunk interface 22 and to the Internet 16 via data connection
36.

In one example embodiment, the message sent in response
to the purchase request can contain one or more billing
attributes or parameters. For example, the message can contain an account identifier, such as a phone number, user identifier, password, or other identifier. Other information which
may be passed in the message can include the amount of the
charge, whether the charge is recurring, such as whether the
charge is a daily, weekly, monthly, or a one-time charge, and
the like. In one embodiment, the call manager system 18
immediately, or at a scheduled or a delayed time, originates a
call over trunk connection 22 to the Public Switched Telephone Network 20 to a "900", "976" or other pay-per-call
number. As used herein, the terms "900 number", "900 service", "900/976 service", and the like, denote all such payper-call numbers and services. Thus, the invention is not
limited to a particular pay-per-call service, but is generally
applicable to such services.
The call may be to a pay-per-call number that is associated
with a specific cost that corresponds to the price of the good
or service being purchased. For example, in response to a
user's request to purchase a $10 item, the call manager system
18 calls a number for which there is a $10 charge per call.
Similarly, in response to a user's request to purchase a $15
item, the call manager system 18 calls a number for which
there is a $15 charge per call. Alternatively, in response to a
user purchase instruction, the call manager system 18 places
a call to a pay-per-call number that can vary based on a
database query and an interaction with the billing and rating
system. Using still another process, in response to a user
purchase instruction, the call manager system 18 places a call
to a pay-per-call number that is associated with a specific cost
per minute. For example, in response to a user's request to
purchase a $10 item, the call manager system 18 places a call
for 10 minutes to a number for which there is a $1 per minute
charge.
By way of example, the call manager system 18 delivers,
over a signaling channel, such as an SS7 signaling channel,
information identifYing the origin of the call through a service
known as Automatic Number Identification (ANI), or using
other types of signaling information, such as a charge-to
number. The ANI corresponds to the caller's phone number.
ANI is well known to one of ordinary skill in the art of
telephony systems and will not be described further here.
In one example embodiment, the call manager system 18
modifies the ANI that would normally be associated with a
call manager system phone line by setting the ANI to be the
ANI (e.g., phone number) of the user who has authorized the
purchase. Thus, in one embodiment, the call manager system
18 is in effect making the call on behalf of the user by appearing to be the user, even if the call placed by the call manager
system 18 is originating from a network location out of the
user's local calling area or state.
Optionally, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention
can be utilized with a Common Channel Signaling system,
such as Signaling System 7 (SS7), having separate voice/user
data and signaling channels. In addition, the present invention
can be used with other signaling methods, such as ISDN,
Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN), and/or MF inband signaling. However, the invention is not limited to these methods
and contemplates other methods in which ANI or similar
signaling information can be passed.
The originated call initiated by the call manager system 18
transits an Originating Local Exchange Network (OLEN) 24
to a pay-per-call services network 26 through an interconnecting trunk 28, and eventually to a Terminating Local
Exchange Network (TLEN) 30 through an interconnecting
trunk 32. The TLEN 30 is optionally connected to a live

10

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US 7,907,933 Bl
5

6

operator or to customer premise equipment 34 operated by a
service provider, a merchant, an online merchant, or a third
party on behalf of the merchant or service provider. The
process of a phone call or interworkings of a pay-per-call
service network are well known to one of ordinary skill and
will not be described here.
In one embodiment, rather then using a live operator to
answer the call placed by the call manager system 18, the call
is answered by an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)
operated by a service provider or a merchant. The PSTN
connects to the IVRS via a telephone trunk. The telephone
trunk has an associated signaling channel. The signaling
channel is provided to communicate the ANI to the IVRS to
enable the IVRS to customize the interaction as described
below. The IVRS, connected to the phone network, can collect and store the ANI information for the call.
The collected and stored ANI can be used to identify the
user for post bill auditing, or to customize the interaction,
such as to selectively restrict answered calls to known users,
to identify the billed amount, play audio announcements,
record voice messages, collect and store touch-tone
responses, and transfer calls. Similarly, the ANI can be used
to identifY the user to determine what rate or price the user is
entitled to for a good or service. For example, some users may
be entitled to a discounted rate. The IVRS system 34 can be
included in the call manager system 18 or can be a separate
system from the call manager system 18.
The pay-per-call service then bills the user for the purchased services or goods based on the length of the call, a flat
rate charge, or using customized or proprietary signaling
information as discussed above sent from the IVRS into the
pay-per-call services network 26. The charge may appear on
the user's local or long distance carrier's bill for the user. The
interworking of a pay-per-call service are well known and not
described here.
FIG. 2 illustrates one example process 200 of placing a call
to a pay-per-call service. Starting at start state 202, the process 200 proceeds to state 204, wherein a user initiates a
purchase and indicates that the purchase price is to be billed to
the user's phone bill. At state 206 a message is sent to the call
manager system, including the user's phone number and the
purchase price amount to be charged to the user's phone bill.
At state 208 the call manager sets an ANI associated with an
outbound call to be the same as the user's ANI. At state 210
the call manager system selects and calls an appropriate payper-call number using the user's ANI. Thus, it will appear to
the pay-per-call service that the user is placing the call. The
pay-per-call number can be selected based on, or to correspond with the amount of the purchase price. At state 212 the
pay-per-call services causes the purchase price amount to be
charged to the user via the user's long distance or local phone
bill. The process 200 ends at state 214.
In another embodiment, the call manager system 18 directs
a call to the pay-per-call network 28 via the PC or other
terminal12 without manual intervention by the user or other
persons. In this embodiment, the user utilizes the networked
computer 12 to connect to a data communication service via
a dial-up or dedicated connection, such as that provided by
the ISP 14. If the user makes a purchase decision while online
and authorizes the merchant or service provider to place the
charge for the good or service on the phone bill of the user,
this event is logged in the call management system 18. For
example, a user can complete a web form or activate a link in
an email message, which causes a message to be sent to the
call manager system 18, or the user can engage in a direct
interaction with the call management system 18 database. For
example, the user can make purchases directly from the

operator of the call management system 18 which will then
arrange to have the corresponding charge appear on the user's
phone bill. A message is then sent from the networked computer 12 to the call manager system 18.
Upon receipt of the message or transaction event, the call
manager system 18 instructs a networked computer client
application 13 over the Internet to schedule an outcall to a
pay-per-call phone number. The client application 13 can be
a small software agent executing on the client terminal12 that
monitors the user's online access.
The call manager system 18 monitors the user's session or
the presence of the user on the Internet. In one embodiment,
the client application 13 can make the user's online presence
known to the call manager system 18. In particular, the call
manager system 18 communicates with the client application
13 to determine whether the computer 12 is online. Presence
detection can be performed by call manager system 18 polling or pinging the computer terminal12 via the client application 13, or by the client application 13 transmitting an "''m
alive" message and subsequent periodic "keep alive" messages to the call manager system 18.
The schedule for placing the call from a user could be
immediate. In this case, if the computer 12 is accessing the
Internet 16 over the user's telephone line via a dial-up connection, the user's networked computer 12 is disconnected
from the Internet and a call is placed from the networked
computer 12 to the call management system 18, as described
in greater detail below. Alternatively, the call schedule can be
set for when the user goes offline, when the user next goes
back online, the next day, month, year, or at the occurrence of
other specified time or event.
Thresholds on call retries and frequency are optionally
established between the networked computer client application 13 and call management system 18 to reduce the impact
on the availability of the user's phone line. For example, the
client may be restricted to no more than one call attempt
within a 24-hour period. In addition or alternatively, the networked computer-client application 13 can be restricted from
making a call attempt if a user has received an incoming call
within a predetermined amount of time. Thus, for example, a
call may be placed by a caller to the user while the user's
telephone line is being utilized to by the user's computer
terminal. The call is then forwarded to the call manager system 18 which transmits a notification to the user via email or
the client application 13 regarding the forwarded call. If the
user then goes offline within a predetermined amount of time,
such as within 5 minutes, it may be assumed that the user is
calling the caller back. Therefore, in order to avoid tying up
the user's phone line, the call to the pay-per-call number may
be scheduled for another time, such as the next time the user
goes online.
When the client application 13 receives an instructional
message from the call manager system 18 to place a call for
billing purposes, the client application 13 uses dialer software
and a modem associated with the networked computer 12 to
place a call to the telephone number provided by the call
manager system 18 via a dial-up or always-on connection, or
to place a call to a number pre-provisioned and stored on the
computer 12 in conjunction with the client application 13.
The call is switched at a local exchange switch, such as the
OLEN 24, and connects with the pay-per-call network 26,
where after the amount and transaction request are processed
according to a predetermined plan, such as charging for a
good or service at a predetermined price by calling a corresponding pay-per-call number. The call origin or source is
identified using ANI or a similar service that provides the
user's telephone number. The ANI establishes a billing num-

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ber from the identified telephone number, and passes this
information to the pay-per-call network 28 for billing purposes.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example process 300 of placing a call
to a pay-per-call service employing a user's computer. Starting at start state 302, the process 300 proceeds to state 304,
wherein a user initiates a purchase and indicates that the
purchase price is to be billed to the user's phone bill. At state
306 a message is sent to the call manager system, including
the user's phone number or other account identifier, and the
purchase price amount to be charged to the user's phone bill.
At state 308 the call manager instructs the client application
executing on the user's computer to call a pay-per-call number selected based at least in part on the purchase price. At
state 310 the user's computer calls the selected pay-per-call
number. At state 312 the pay-per-call services causes the
purchase price amount to be charged to the user via the user's
long distance or local phone bill. The process 300 ends at state
314.
In one embodiment, the client application 13 is autonomous or semi-autonomous. That is, the client application 13
detects or is directly informed by the merchant when the user
is making a purchase. The client application 13 uses a look-up
table stored on the computer 12 that lists a plurality of payper-call numbers and the corresponding charges for calls to
those numbers to determine the appropriate pay-per-call
number to call for the purchase. The client application 13 then
initiates a call via the computer 13 to the appropriate pay-percall number. The look-up table may periodically be updated
by the call manager system 18.
In some embodiments, optionally including the embodiments described above, the call manager system 18 automatically checks the balance due for an account after the user logs
in to the call manager system 18 by accessing the user database. If the call manager system 18 finds a balance due on the
account, the call manager system 18 passes a message to the
networked computer 12. The message may notifY the user of
the outstanding balance, request payment of the outstanding
balance or a portion of thereof, or other like actions prior to
proceeding with the established session. The call manager
system 18 may effect a payment transaction via the previously described billing systems and methods; update the
user's account to reflect the payment transaction; and notify
the user of the action taken on the account via a message to the
networked computer 12.
In addition, the call manager system 18 optionally determines if a user's phone line is blocked from pay-per-call
services. In one embodiment, this is accomplished using the
following example procedure. Assuming that the user computer 12 is accessing the Internet using a broadband connection, the call manager system 12 transmits a request to the
networked computer client application 13 to place a call in
real-time while a user is transacting an order from a web site
over the broadband connection. If it is determined that the
user's line is blocked, then the user, while still transacting the
order on the web, can be informed that another form of
payment will be required. This should further improve the
billing and collection conversion rates of the service provider
or merchants.
The determination of whether the user's line is blocked
from pay-per-call services can be performed using several
different processes, and the response thereto can vary as well.
For example, the call manager system 12 may transmit a
request to the networked computer client application 13 to
place a call to a pay-per-call number associated with the call
manager system 12. If the call manager system 12 fails to
receive the call after one or more attempts, a determination is

made that the user's line is blocked from making such a call.
Even is the call is received and the ANI read, the call manager
12 may not answer the call to avoid billing the user. Optionally, the call may only be answered if there is a user balance
due. A notation may be used in the user's account information
that the user's line is blocked so further attempts will not be
made. Instead, if the user in the future requests to make a
purchase using a pay-per-call process, the user may automatically be requested to provide payment using an alternate
method or instructions on how to unblock their line. In
another embodiment, the call manager system 12 may transmit a request to the networked computer client application 13
to place a call to a pay-per-call number, and if an operator
answers indicating that the call cannot be completed, a determination is made that the call was answered by a human voice
and it is inferred that the user's line is blocked.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example process 400 used to detect
whether a user's phone is blocked from calling a pay-per-call
service. Beginning at start state 402, the process proceeds to
state 404. At state 404, the call manager transmits an instruction to a client application to call a designated pay-per-call
number, such as a 900 number, associated with the call manager system. At state 406, the client application instructs the
user's computer or other terminal to call the designated payper-call number for the purpose of determining whether the
user's line is blocked from placing a pay-per-call number.
While the call is to a pay-per-call number, in the example
process 400 the user is not charged for the call.
At state 408, the call manager system monitors incoming
calls on the pay-per-call number to determine if the user's
computer succeeded in placing the call. Note that the call
need not be answered to succeeded in placing the call. Success is defined in one embodiment by the user's ANI being
received. The call manager can determine from which number a call is placed via the ANI transmitted along with the call.
If a call is received from the user computer, the process 400
proceeds to state 410 and then optionally can perform the
purchase and call placement process 300 illustrated in FIG. 3.
If instead a call is not received from the user's computer at the
designated pay-per-call number, the user's account information stored in the user database is annotated to indicate that the
user's phone line is blocked from calling pay-per-call phone
numbers. At state 414, the call manager sends a request to the
user's computer asking the user to provide an alternate form
of payment, such as a credit card charge or a check. The
process 400 ends at state 416.
If the blocking determination is made in real-time, the user
can be offered an alternative payment method while transacting the order. In one embodiment, the blocking determination
could be made in advance, and the user could be offered other
payment options automatically when the user attempts to
make a transaction. Further, if an advance blocking determination is made, the user could be offered only those goods or
services that do not require use of a pay-per-call type service.
Additionally, the user is optionally offered a description on
how to unblock pay-per-call type services on their phone line.
The advance determination can be made by, for example,
accessing the user database to determine if a pay-per-call
blocking notation or indication has been provided.
Thus, as described above, embodiments of the present
invention provide consumers with a reliable, secure, and convenient method of utilizing a telecommunications network to
pay for goods or services using pay-per-call services.
Although the description above contains many specifics,
these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the
invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the
presently preferred embodiments of this invention. There-

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it will be appreciated that the scope of the present invention. fully encompasses other embodiments that may become
obv1ous to those skilled in the art.

. 9. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the user is

~ore,

b!lled for the purchase price based on a flat rate charge as a
result of the call.
10. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the call to the
What is claimed is:
pay-per-call type telephone service is automatically placed
1. A method of placing a call comprising:
by the user's mobile device in response to a command
receiving information over a data network related to a
received over the network from a remote processing system.
user's purchase request; and
11. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the mobile
at least partly in response to receiving the purchase requestdevice is a personal digital assistant.
related information, causing, at least in part, a call to be
10
12. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the mobile
placed from a mobile device associated with the user to
device is a cellular phone.
a pay-per-call type telephone service via a communica13. A method of processing a communication received over
tions network, wherein the pay-per-call type telephone
a network, comprising:
service is not the subject of the purchase request and a
receiving information over a network related to a user's
voice communication from the user is not transmitted
15
purchase request;
via the call,
at least partly in response to the purchase request informawherein the call provides billing information associated
tion, causing at least in part an electronic communicawith the user to the pay-per-call type telephone service
tion to be originated from a mobile device associated
and wherein, if the call is answered, the user is billed for
with the user over at least one network to a first destinaa purchase price associated with the purchase request at
tion in order to cause at least in part a billing event to
20
least partly in response to the call placed to the pay-peroccur for the purchase request, wherein the communicall type telephone service.
cation from the mobile device is not the subject of the
2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the mobile
purchase request and is not part of a voice call from the
device includes a software application which receives the
user; and
purchase request from the user.
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wherein, via the communication, a remote processing sys. 3. The. m~thod as defined in claim 1, wherein the billing
tem associated with the destination obtains billing informformat10n mcludes at least a phone number associated with
mation associated with the user, including the user's
the user's mobile device.
mobile device phone address, and the user is billed for a
4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein a remote
purchase price associated with the purchase request at
processing system determines whether or not the call is to be
30
least partly in response to the communication; and
answered.
causing at least in part a charge for the purchase to be billed
5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein if the call is
via a phone bill.
not answered by a call processing system the user is not billed
14. The method as defined in claim 13, wherein the netas a result of the call.
work includes a data network.
6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein a remote
15. The method as defined in claim 13, wherein the com35
processing system determines that the call is not to be
munication is automatically initiated.
answered if a user balance is not due.
16. The method as defined in claim 13, wherein the mobile
7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein a remote
device is a cellular phone.
processing system determines that the call is to be answered
17. The method as defined in claim 13, wherein the mobile
if a user balance is due.
40 device includes a software application which receives the
8. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein a remote
purchase request from the user.
processing system configured to answer the call has access to
account registration records for the user.
* * * * *