Description A PREMIUM METHOD

[ 1 ] Field of the Invention

[2] The present invention relates to a premium method which enables to send premiums in an organized way with the purpose of motivating the supported sports teams / athletes.

[3] Prior Art

[4] In the state of the art, there is not any method by which sports fans can make a direct contribution to the team or athlete they are supporting. Sports fans wanting to motivate, reward their supported team or athlete aim to contribute to the concerned individual or institution by purchasing the licensed products containing the logos of the concerned sports clubs. However the gains obtained with this method are entered to the account of the concerned club after being distributed in certain proportions to certain institutions and authorities. This situation does not yield satisfying results for the sports fan who can not directly support the said team / athlete.

[5] The International patent application No. WO03107288, in the state of the art, discloses a mobile payment method which can be implemented by any and all kinds of telecommunication operators which can send and receive SMS messages. However in the said invention, account number of the person who will make a payment is recorded to the system in advance and the user is enabled to make an order as much as the amount in his / her account allows.

[6] The USA patent application No. US6816721, another document within the state of the art, discloses a method which enables purchase of products and services via a prepaid account by using wireless communications devices. However in the said invention, a card reader is used which requires entering of the concerned telephone number and the amount to be transferred.

[7] Summary of the Invention

[8] The objective of the present invention is to realize a premium method for enhancing motivation of the supported sports teams / athletes.

[9] Another objective of the present invention is to realize a premium method which can be implemented by transferring prepaid minutes and/or money.

[10] A further objective of the invention is to realize a premium method by which sports fans will be able to directly contribute to the sports teams / athletes that they support.

[11] Detailed Description the Invention

[12] The premium method realized to fulfill the objective of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying figures, in which:

[13] Figure 1 is the view of the flowchart of the premium method before a competition.

[14] Figure 2 is the view of the flowchart of the premium method after a competition.

[15] The inventive premium system basically comprises the following steps before a competition:

[16] - The user, who wants to send a premium, calling the concerned service number

(101)

[17] - Interrogation of whether or not the individual is a user of an invoiced line (102)

[18] - If the individual is not a user of an invoiced line, interrogation of whether or not he/ she has sufficient amount of prepaid minutes in order to use the concerned service (103)

[19] - If the individual is not a user of an invoiced line and does not have sufficient amount of prepaid minutes in order to use the concerned service, providing information to the user via the interactive voice response system regarding the absence of the required amount of prepaid minutes to be able to use the service (104) and then logging off

[20] - If the individual is not a user of an invoiced line but has sufficient amount of prepaid minutes to be able to use the concerned service, or if the individual is a user of an invoiced line, directing the user to the interactive voice response system (105)

[21] o Selecting the league of the team / athlete, to which premium is desired to be sent, in accordance with the interactive voice response system announcements (106)

[22] o Selecting the team / athlete, to which premium is desired to be sent, in accordance with the interactive voice response system announcements (107)

[23] o Entering into the system the amount of prepaid minutes and/or money desired to be sent to the selected team, in accordance with the interactive voice response system announcements (108)

[24] o Confirmation by the user of the amount of the prepaid minutes and/or money desired to be sent (109)

[25] o Delivering a premium confirmation message to the user via short message and informing that the concerned amount of prepaid minutes / money is blocked until the end of the competition (110)

[26] The inventive premium system basically comprises the following steps after a competition:

[27] - Conclusion of the competition (111)

[28] - Interrogation of whether or not the team / athlete to the name of which prepaid minutes are transferred has won at the end of the competition (112)

[29] - If the team / athlete to the name of which prepaid minutes are transferred has won at the end of the competition, deducting all of the blocked amount of prepaid minutes from the user's account (113)

[30] - If the team / athlete to the name of which prepaid minutes are transferred has won at

the end of the competition, cutting down a certain percentage of the total amount as the share of the system manager and sending the remaining amount to the account of the concerned team / athlete (114)

[31] - If the team / athlete to the name of which prepaid minutes are transferred has not won at the end of the competition, interrogation of whether or not the team / athlete to the name of which prepaid minutes are transferred has been defeated (115)

[32] - If the team / athlete to the name of which prepaid minutes are transferred has not won at the end of the competition and the team / athlete to the name of which prepaid minutes are transferred has not been defeated, cutting down of the amount determined in advance as the share to be obtained by the system manager in case of a tie and removing the blocked status of the remaining portion leaving it in the account (116)

[33] - If the team/athlete to the name of which prepaid minutes are transferred has not won at the end of the competition and the team/athlete to the name of which prepaid minutes are transferred has been defeated, cutting down of the amount determined in advance as the share to be obtained by the system manager in case of a defeat and removing the blocked status of the remaining portion leaving it in the account (117).

[34] The inventive premium method starts with the calling of a volunteering individual, who wishes to send a premium to the team / athlete he/she supports, a determined service number until a certain time limit set before the competition time. The system automatically determines whether or not the telephone number of the incoming call is associated with an invoiced line, and if the call is coming from a prepaid line, it interrogates whether or not the user has sufficient amount of prepaid minutes to be able to use the said service. If it is determined that the user does not have sufficient amount of prepaid minutes, information regarding absence of required amount of prepaid minutes to be able to use the service is provided to the user by the interactive voice response system and it is logged off. Interactive voice response system is enabled by an operator at the concerned center. The said operator can be an employee working at the system center or an automatic tape recording.

[35] If the user of the method does not have an invoiced line but has sufficient amount of prepaid minutes to be able to use the service, he/she is directed to the interactive voice response system and it is passed onto the procedure applied to the owners of invoiced lines. In this procedure, the user of the premium system is prompted to select the league of the team / athlete to which he/she wishes to send premium, in accordance with the interactive voice response system announcements. After selecting the league, the individual selects the team / athlete to which he/she wishes to send premium, again in accordance with the interactive voice response system announcements, and enters into the system the amount of prepaid minutes he/she wishes to transfer.

[36] After confirmation by the user of the amount of the prepaid minutes desired to be

sent, a premium confirmation message is delivered to the user and he/she is informed that the concerned amount of prepaid minutes will be blocked until the end of the competition, and it is logged off.

[37] Upon conclusion of the competition, it is interrogated whether or not the team / athlete supported by the premium method has won, and if won, all of the blocked amount of prepaid minutes is withdrawn from the user's account. In this procedure, a certain percentage of the total amount collected within the system is cut down as the share of the system manager and the remaining amount is sent to the account of the concerned team / athlete.

[38] At the end of the competition, if the team / athlete supported by the mobile premium method has not won, it is interrogated by the system whether or not it/he/she has been defeated. If the team / athlete supported by the user has not been defeated either, the system automatically detects that there is a tie. In this case, the amount determined in advance as the share to be obtained by the system manager in case of a tie is cut down from the user's account and the remaining amount is left in the user's account. The amount of the prepaid minutes and/or money, of which the blocked status is removed, can be used in private operations of the user like calling and messaging, or in premiums he/she wishes to send later.

[39] If the team / athlete has been defeated at the end of the competition, the amount determined in advance as the share to be obtained by the system manager in case of a defeat is cut down from the user's account and the remaining amount is not deducted from the user's account. After making deductions, in case of a defeat, over the prepaid minutes and/or money blocked until the end of the competition, the remaining amount is made available for the personal requirements of the user.

[40] In the inventive premium method, as opposed to the other methods for supporting the teams / athletes, there is a direct connection between the parties. This method, which allows anyone volunteering to provide a direct financial support to the concerned team / athlete, is satisfactory for the users. The premium support provided by the fans on a volunteer basis is an encouraging implementation for the team / athlete. Even though the inventive premium method is basically a financial application, it acquires a moral function at this point. The premium support provided builds up confidence for the team / athletes and increases their motivation for the said competition.

[41] Additionally the said invention also enables a reporting system which can be exemplified by the number of short messages sent to each team / athlete and the total number of prepaid minutes sent to each team / athlete. This way, concrete data are attained for determining the most supported team / athlete.

[42] The invention can be carried out not only via PSTN (Public Switch Telephone

Network) and GSM networks, but also via internet (WEB, Internet TV and Voice Over

Internet Protocol VOIP) or certain channels designated in the interactive TV.

[43] A preferred embodiment of the inventive premium method comprises the following process steps.

[44] When the user calls the defined service number, the calls coming from an invoiced line and from a prepaid line with sufficient amount of prepaid minutes are sorted and directed to the interactive voice response system. The interactive voice response system welcoming the user upon his/her call, directs the user via the keys within the scenario by which the method will be implemented.

[45] Welcoming announcement text for the user who is directed to the interactive voice response system is as follows: < Welcome to the Mobile Premium System. Please dial "1" for Turkcell Super League matches of week [...] / "2" for Turk Telekom League A matches of week [...] / "3" for Fortis Turkish Cup matches / "4" for European Cup matches / "5" for Turkish National Team matches / "6" for the other league matches. The interactive voice response system will not announce the menus where there are no competitions or where competitions are not included in the system.

[46] In this embodiment, a code is allocated to each team and/or athlete to be selected by the user. If the user dials one of the numbers associated with Turkcell Super League / Turk Telekom League A / Fortis Turkish Cup / European Cup / Turkish National Team, the related announcement text will be as follows: <Please dial the code of your team. If you do not know the code, dial "0" to listen to the list >.

[47] If the user dials the team code [Tl] in one of the menus of Turkcell Super League /

Turk Telekom League A / Fortis Turkish Cup / European Cup / Turkish National Team, the related announcement text will be as follows: < Please dial the amount of prepaid minutes / money you wish to send to team [Tl], dial * to return to the upper menu >.

[48] After dialing the amount of prepaid minutes / money in one of the menus of Turkcell

Super League / Turk Telekom League A / Fortis Turkish Cup / European Cup / Turkish National Team, the related announcement text will be as follows: < Dial "1" to confirm XX prepaid minutes / XX amount of money that you will be sending to team [Tl], dial "2" to reenter the amount, dial * to return to the upper menu >.

[49] If the user of the invoiced line or prepaid line with sufficient amount of prepaid minutes confirms, the related announcement text will be as follows: < You have successfully sent XX prepaid minutes / XX amount of money to team [Tl]. Your XX prepaid minutes / XX amount of money will be blocked until the end of the competition. Thank you. > and the line will be cut off.

[50] If the menu number associated with the other league matches is dialed, the related announcement text will be as follows: < Please dial the code of the team to which you will send premium. If you do not know the code, you may find it out by calling

customer services number XXX XX XX or by visiting our web site. If the team code is entered, the following process is the same as the one associated with Turkcell Super League / Turk Telekom League A / Fortis Turkish Cup / European Cup / Turkish National Team.

[51] If the number entering the system belongs to a prepaid line which does not have sufficient amount of prepaid minutes to be able to use the said method, the operator sorts them out and directs them to a different interactive voice response system channel.

[52] In this case, the related announcement text will be as follows: < You do not have the

[...] prepaid minutes required to be able to use this service, please try again with a card having sufficient amount of prepaid minutes. > and the line will be cut off.

[53] Upper and lower limits are determined by the system manager for the amount of prepaid minutes / money to be sent, and if the amounts entered are not within the said limits, the related announcement text will be as follows: < The amount of prepaid minutes / money cannot be less than XX / The amount of prepaid minutes / money cannot be more than XX >.

[54] If the parameter is entered incorrectly at any point of the system (except the case where the lower and upper limits are determined for the amount of prepaid minutes / money to be sent), the related announcement text will be as follows: < You have made an incorrect entry, please dial * to return to the upper menu, dial # to return to the main menu >.

[55] If there is no dialing for 5 seconds at any point of the system, the last announcement is repeated. After repeating for 2 times, the announcement text at the 3rd time will be as follows: < Your request could not be processed. Please call back later > and the line will be cut off.

[56] Another preferred embodiment of the inventive premium method comprises the following process steps.

[57] The user, who prefers to send premium via a short message, sends to the defined service number a short message containing the team code, a space and the amount of the prepaid minutes and/or money [(T1)_(XX)]. This message sent by the user will be free of charge.

[58] The operator directs the short message coming from the user of an invoiced line or of a prepaid line with sufficient amount of prepaid minutes, to the concerned operation unit. If the message showing the team code, a space and the premium amount [(Tl)-(XX)] is entered in compliance with the parameter, the following short message is sent to the user by the operation center: "Write "YES" to confirm the premium of XX prepaid minutes / XX amount of money that you will send to team [Tl]. This message is free of charge."

[59] When the message "YES" written and sent by the user of an invoiced line or of a prepaid line with sufficient amount of prepaid minutes, reaches the operation center, the operation center delivers the following message to the user: "You have successfully sent XX prepaid minutes / XX amount of money to team [Tl]. Your XX prepaid minutes / XX amount of money will be blocked until the end of the competition. Thank you." This message will be free of charge.

[60] If the message received by the operation center does not comply with the parameter showing the team code, a space and the premium amount [(Tl)-(XX)], the operation center delivers a message to the user informing of the error (that the team code is erroneous, that there is not provided a space in the message sent, and that the amount of the prepaid minutes sent is erroneous). This message will be free of charge.

[61] The operation center will send the following message free of charge to a user who sends a short message to the defined service number but is determined by the operator that he/she does not have sufficient amount of prepaid minutes: "You do not have the [...] prepaid minutes required to be able to use this service, please try again with sufficient amount of prepaid minutes."

[62] The user will be able send premiums also via web (through the described web site) and certain channels designated on the TV.

[63] Within the scope of this basic concept, it is possible to develop a wide variety of embodiments of the inventive premium method. The invention is essentially according to the claims; it cannot be limited to the examples described herein.