Importance

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Abstract

There is described an electronic communications method between a first party and a second party, with assistance from at least a plurality of trustees, enabling an electronic transaction in which the first party having a selling reservation price (SRP) and the second party having a buying reservation price (BRP) may be committed to a transaction if a predetermined relationship between SRP and BRP is established, but not otherwise. The method begins by having each of the parties transmit shares of their respective reserve prices to the trustees. These shares are such that less than a given number of them does not provide enough useful information for reconstructing the reserve prices while a sufficiently high number of them allows such reconstruction. The trustees then take some action to determine whether the predetermined relationship exists without reconstructing SRP and BRP. If the predetermined relationship exists, then the trustees provide information that allows a determination of the sale price according to a given formula. Otherwise, the trustees determine that no deal is possible. As used herein, 'sale' is merely respresentative as the transaction may be of any type including, without limitation, a sale, lease, license, financing transaction, or other known or hereinafter created financial commercial or legal instrument.

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First Claim