Report from the W3C Web Payments Working Group PAG

Status of this Document

This report was approved by the Web Payments Working Group Patent Advisory Group (PAG) on 15 March 2017.

Executive Summary

The goal of the W3C Patent Policy is to assure that Recommendations produced under this policy can be implemented on a Royalty-Free (RF) basis. W3C forms Patent Advisory Groups (PAGs) when patent claims are asserted against or expressly excluded from royalty-free commitment for implementations of W3C Recommendations.

In August 2016 W3C launched the Web Payments Working Group Patent Advisory Group (PAG) in response to patent disclosures and exclusions by Visa Europe (the "Disclosed Patents") claimed to bear relevance to the Payment Request API and Payment Method Identifiers specifications (collectively, the "Web Payments Specifications").

In this report, the PAG concludes that the Disclosed Patents do not contain Essential Claims as defined in the W3C Patent Policy and recommends that the Web Payments Working Group continue to work on the Web Payments Specifications.

Contents

Procedure and Timeline

Analysis

Patent Disclosures

The issued patents of the Disclosed Patents are listed below. The PAG has not analyzed the pending applications of the Disclosed Patents because they have not been allowed.

Issued Disclosed Patents

Filing Date

Priority Documents

Claims excluded from
RF Licensing Commitment

US8121942

(12/143,509)

2008.06.20

60/946,113 (2007.06.25)

61/034,904 (2008.03.07)

1-5; 7-11; 13-16; 18-30

AU2008268411

(WO09/002972)

2008.06.24

60/946,113 (2007.06.25)

61/034,904 (2008.03.07)

12/143,509 (2008.06.20)

1-11; 13-40

US8606700

(13/358,475)

2012.01.25

60/946,113 (2007.06.25)

61/034,904 (2008.03.07)

12/143,509 (2008.06.20) (DIV)

1-26

US8589291

(13/355,270)

2012.01.20

60/946,113 (2007.06.25)

61/034,904 (2008.03.07)

12/143,509 (2008.06.20) (CON)

1-14

US8706621

2013.10.09

60/946,113 (2007.06.25)

61/034,904 (2008.03.07)

12/143,509 (2008.06.20) (CON)

13/355,270 (2012.01.20) (CON)

1-16

US8744958

2013.11.08

60/946,113 (2007.06.25)

61/034,904 (2008.03.07)

12/143,509 (2008.06.20) (DIV)

13/358,475 (2012.01.25) (DIV)

1-5; 7-17; 19

General Background

The Disclosed Patents are related to payment transactions conducted between a consumer, a merchant, and a non-merchant entity. The non-merchant entity may be a payment processing network. The consumer may have an access device, such as a point of sale (POS) terminal, personal computer, and a mobile phone.

By way of summary, the Disclosed Patents state:

"Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for handling and/or authorizing payment requests by a consumer for a transaction. In one aspect, a consumer message including payment information is sent directly from the consumer to a non-merchant entity, such as VISA, instead of to the merchant. The consumer message advantageously may include a transaction identifier, thereby allowing tracking of the transaction between the consumer, merchant, and non-merchant, with little impact on the existing protocol for transactions between consumers and merchants. All or a portion of the payment information can also advantageously not be made available to any entity not already in possession of the payment information.

"In another aspect, an application page (e.g. a checkout page) is sent from the merchant to the consumer. In response to a first payment mechanism being selected, the application page has a destination of a submit payment element on the application page directed to a server not operated by the merchant. Payment information is advantageously sent to the non-merchant when the submit payment element is activated, thereby advantageously allowing the consumer experience to be uninterrupted. The consumer may also not have to enroll in any program or create an account, which might prevent adoption of such payment mechanisms."

See, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 8121942, col. 2, lines 28-51.

Group 1 Claims

US8121942 (all claims), AU2008268411 (claims 1-16, 38-39), US8744958 (all claims)
providing, to the merchant server from the non-merchant server, code that is incorporated into an application page that is sent from the merchant to the consumer before the non-merchant server receives the consumer message, wherein the code provides a link to other code that directs the consumer message to the non-merchant server
AU2008268411 (Claims 33-36)
wherein the first code is sent before the non-merchant entity receives a consumer message, wherein the first code provides a link to other code that directs the consumer message to the non-merchant entity, the consumer message being created from information in the application page and to be used for determining authorization of the transaction
AU2008268411 (Claim 37)
wherein the application page includes a code that is sent from the merchant to the consumer before the non-merchant entity receives the consumer message, wherein the code provides a link to other code that directs the consumer message to the non-merchant entity, the consumer message being created from information in the application page and to be used for determining authorization of the transaction
AU2008268411 (Claim 40)
provide, to a merchant server from the external interface, code that is incorporated into an application page that is sent from the merchant to the consumer before the external interface receives the consumer message, wherein the code provides a link to other code that directs the consumer message to the external interface

Group 2 Claims

US8121942 (all claims), AU2008268411 (claims 1-16)
wherein the consumer is not required to enroll in any program or service or to have been previously enrolled in any program or service before sending the consumer message.

Group 3 Claims

AU2008268411 (Claims 17-32)
providing, from the merchant server to the access device, a first code for displaying an application page containing a plurality of payment mechanism options for the transaction, wherein the first code is sent before a non-merchant server receives a consumer message, the consumer message being created from information in the application page, wherein a first subset of the payment mechanism options includes one or more first payment mechanisms,

wherein when one of the first payment mechanisms is selected, the first code directs a destination address of a submit payment element on the application page to be a server not operated by the merchant, and wherein account information of an account of the consumer to be used for the transaction is sent to the non-merchant server in the consumer message when the submit payment element is activated

Group 4 Claims

US8606700 (Claims 1-13)
receiving, from the merchant server by an access device used by the consumer, a first code for displaying an application page containing a payment object directed to a server of a non-merchant entity
US8606700 (Claims 14-26)
providing, from the merchant server to the access device, a first code for displaying an application page containing a payment object directed to a server of a non-merchant entity

Group 5 Claims

US8589291 (all claims)
receiving[, at a server computer of a non-merchant entity,] device information specifically associated with an access device directly from the access device;

receiving, at the server computer of the non-merchant entity, transaction information from a merchant server, wherein the transaction information comprises a merchant ID;

correlating, by the server computer of the non-merchant entity, the transaction information and the device information; and

performing additional processing, by the server computer of the non-merchant entity.

US8706621 (all claims)
providing, from the merchant server to the access device, a first code for displaying an application page containing a payment object directed to a server of a non-merchant entity

Considerations in Reaching the Conclusions

With respect to Groups 1, 3, and 4 Claims: To improve the user experience of making payments, the Web Payments Specifications move some functionality from the merchant application page to the consumer-side applications: browsers and payment apps chosen by the user. Thus, the claims that refer to functionality on merchant application pages are not essential to the implementation of the Web Payments Specifications.

With respect to Group 2 Claims: The Web Payments Specifications do not address user enrollment, and thus Group 2 Claims are not essential to the implementation of the Web Payments Specifications.

With respect to Group 5 Claims: The Web Payments Specifications do not require communication of device-specific information, and thus Group 5 Claims are not essential to the implementation of the Web Payments Specifications.

Because all Disclosed Patents were deemed not to contain Essential Claims, the PAG did not pursue analysis of prior art subsequent to its initial call for prior art.

Conclusions

The PAG concludes that the Web Payments Specifications do not require the claim elements underlined in the claims above for the Disclosed Patents. Accordingly, the PAG concludes that the Disclosed Patents do not contain Essential Claims as defined in the W3C Patent Policy.

Recommendations

The PAG recommends that work on the Web Payments Specifications continue.

Disclaimer

None of the authors is your attorney. No part of this report is intended as legal advice either to W3C or to its members. It is intended merely as a summary of what the PAG has learned to date. Rely on this report entirely at your own risk. This analysis includes the personal opinions of the authors.

THESE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WEB PAYMENTS WORKING GROUP PATENT ADVISORY GROUP ARE NOT LEGAL ADVICE. NEITHER W3C NOR ANY OF THE PARTICIPANTS OF THIS PATENT ADVISORY GROUP OR THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYERS TAKES ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, LEGAL CORRECTNESS OR OTHER FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS REPORT. ESPECIALLY, NEITHER W3C NOR ANY OF THE PARTICIPANTS OF THIS PATENT ADVISORY GROUP OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYERS MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION THAT FOLLOWING THE RECOMMENDATIONS HERE WILL AVOID AN INFRINGEMENT OF ANY PATENTS MENTIONED IN THE REPORT.

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