Claims:We claim,

1. A novel, computer implemented system that enables pausing of an e-auction and subsequent reversing or fast-forwarding of the said auction, wherein reversing of auction involves taking the auction to an earlier time point (or earlier bid, in the case of a Japanese reverse auction) and fast-forwarding the auction involves taking the auction directly to a penultimate time point (or to an extremely low bid as compared to the previous trend, in the case of a Japanese reverse auction).
2. The auction pause system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system determines when to pause the e-auction based on customisable, pre-configured decision rules.
3. The decision rules as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rules include, but are not limited to -
i. A bidder being unable to put his/her bid on the item at a particular step due to some form of technical difficulty,
ii. a bidder accidentally getting dropped from the bidding,
iii. an auction proceeding extremely slowly – bidders may not be bidding (or accepting bids in the case of a Japanese auction),
iv. a bidder submits a defunct bid.
4. The auction pause system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system imposes additional limitations on the e-auction, including, but not limited to -
i. a bidder has only 'X' amount of time to submit his/her bid, and
ii. a bidder must have 'Y' as a minimum difference in amount bid from the earlier submitted bid;
wherein the values of 'X' and 'Y' can be customised.
5. The defunct bid as claimed in claim 3, wherein a defunct bid may be, but is not necessarily limited to being, a bid which is in violation of the limitations claimed in claim 4.
6. The auction pause system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system can either forward or reverse the auction after being paused.
7. The auction pause system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system triggers an approval flow once paused.
8. The auction pause system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system determines whether the auction has slowed by analysing the time taken by each bidder to submit a bid and the decrements in the bid value in correlation to the time left for the completion of the auction.
9. The approval flow as claimed in claim 6, wherein the said approval flow involves the following steps -
i. the system sends a message to the buyer, such as, but not necessarily limited to, “a bidder 'A' has been blocked for a defunct bid”/”auction has slowed down”/”bidder has been accidentally dropped”,
ii. in the case of defunct bid, the buyer has the discretion to approve or disapprove of the bid,
iii. if the buyer approves the bid, the bidder 'A' may once again enter the auction.
10. The approval flow as claimed in claim 8, wherein if the defunct bid is approved by the buyer, the system reverses the auction to the step at which the bidder was disqualified and the bidder is allowed to re-enter the auction.
11. The approval flow as claimed in claim 8, wherein if the auction has slowed down, the system fast-forwards the auction.
, Description:FIELD OF INVENTION:
The present invention discloses a system that enables pausing of an auction followed by taking a step(s) forward or backward in the said auction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
In an e-auction, any of the following scenarios may occur -
1. A bidder may be unable to put his bid on the item at a particular step due to some form of technical difficulty,
2. a bidder may accidentally get dropped from the bidding,
3. an auction may be proceeding extremely slowly – bidders may not be bidding (or accepting bids in the case of a Japanese auction).
In any of the above three scenarios, the auction comes to a standstill or a particular bidder is involuntarily forced out of the auction. This results in a disadvantage to the buyer as he/she may lose out on the bidder who was willing to offer the lowest price/best product and it also results in a disadvantage to the bidder who was forced to drop out of the auction due to technical issues.
The system described in the present invention overcomes these disadvantages. It allows the auction to be paused when any of the above described scenarios or other similar scenarios occur, followed by taking a step forward or back in the auction. Thus, the system ensures that any bidder who was inadvertently excluded from the auction, can continue in the bidding process.

PRIOR ART:
US patent application US6230147B1 relates to a method and system for conducting electronic auctions which overcomes the problems encountered with the operation of the prior auction system are overcome by the auction system of the invention, which enables flexible dynamic alterations of market closing times, line item decision rules, auction pause, bidder-specific bid limits, and the ability to detect and prevent erroneous bids. The aim of this invention is to handle disruptions in the management of electronic auctions.
US patent application US7409360B1 provides for a system for conducting a computer-based, simultaneous, multiple round, descending clock auction for basic generation services includes a web server for receiving bid data for one or more users for basic generation service products, an application server host application software, which processes the one or more bids according to at least one auction rule, tracks the auction, monitors the auction, and/or determines when to end the auction, and a database server, which stores auction data. In one embodiment of this invention, the Auction Manager pauses the computer-based auction. But this is only in order to revise the target auction volume at a time that is one of during and after a bidding phase of a round.
US patent application US7225151B1 provides for a method and system for automatically managing an auction for determining relative priority for a service in a system wherein priority is based on the relative value of related bids is disclosed. The method comprises checking for whether a first bid exceeds a second bid in an auction for determining continuing priority for providing an ongoing service for at least a first and second bidder, wherein the relative priority for providing the service for the first bidder is dependent on whether the value of the first bid exceeds the value of the second bid, and wherein the relative priority for providing the service for the second bidder is dependent on whether the value of the second bid exceeds the value of the first bid. The method further comprises incrementing the first bid to a value exceeding the second bid if the first bid does not exceed the second bid, thereby causing the relative priority for providing service for the first bidder to exceed the priority for providing service for the second bidder. The steps of checking and incrementing may be executed a plurality of times. The system may pause for a fixed period of time between each series of steps of checking and incrementing.
Though the prior art described above relates to e-auction systems that can be enabled to be paused, none of the prior art overcomes the two major issues associated with reverse auctions – bidders may bid excessively slowly and stagnate the auction and bidders may inadvertently get dropped from the auction due to technical failures/incorrect submission of bids. The present invention not only allows for pausing of the e-auction but other embodiments of the present invention also allow it to overcome the aforementioned problems. Thus, the present invention provides for a clear technical advantage over the existing prior art.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION:
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a system that enables pausing of an auction.
A further object of the invention is to provide a system that allows for taking a step backwards or forwards in the bidding process so that a bidder who was inadvertently excluded from the bidding process due to technical difficulties/accidentally dropped from the bidding process, may re-enter the auction for that particular item.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Before the present invention is described, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to particular methodologies and materials described, as these may vary as per the person skilled in the art. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
The present invention describes a system that allows an auction to be paused (to allow more bids), or to be taken a step backwards or forwards. Thus, the system ensures that any bidder who was inadvertently excluded from the auction, can continue in the bidding process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Before the present invention is described, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular methodologies described, as these may vary as per the person skilled in the art. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Throughout this specification, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps. The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the invention to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
In an e-auction, any of the following scenarios may occur -
1. A bidder may be unable to put his/her bid on the item at a particular step due to some form of technical difficulty,
2. a bidder may accidentally get dropped from the bidding,
3. an auction may be proceeding extremely slowly – bidders may not be bidding (or accepting bids in the case of a Japanese auction).
The system described in the present invention allows the auction to be paused (to allow more bids), or to be taken a step backwards or forwards. Thus, the system ensures that any bidder who was inadvertently excluded from the auction, can continue in the bidding process.
The system imposes some additional limitations not present in normal auction scenarios. These limitations are in place to avoid the auction from slowing down. One such limitation is that the bidder has 'X' amount of time to submit his/her bid during the entire auction. As per the second limitation, the system is configured so as to have 'Y' as a minimum difference in amount bid from the earlier submitted bid, i.e., if the initial bid is Rs. 50 and the value of Y is set at Rs. 10, then the next bid must be at least Rs. 10 less than 50 (it should be Rs. 39 or less). In a normal scenario, bidders strategize by submitting bids with minimal decrements as compared to their previous bid. Each bidder observes other bidders and only marginally decreases his/her/their price. This is a strategy bidders utilize so as to be the seller of the commodity on auction, at a maximum price. But, such bidding results in a stagnation of the auction and hence should be avoided.
As per the present system, if a bidder submits a bid in violation of either of the above two conditions, the system will consider it as a defunct bid and will not accept it; and the bidder will be disqualified from the auction. This will cause the system to pause the auction. Once paused, the system will trigger an approval flow for approving the disqualified bidder. The approval flow involves the following cascade of steps –
1. the system sends a message to the buyer that the bidder 'A' has been blocked for a defunct bid,
2. the buyer has the discretion to approve or disapprove of the defunct bid,
3. if the buyer approves the bid, the bidder 'A' may once again enter the auction.
It is at the aforementioned step 3 in the cascade of steps that the fast-forward/reverse features of the system come into play. As mentioned in step 3, if the defunct bid is approved by the buyer, the bidder is allowed to re-enter the auction. It is to be noted that while the approval flow is in effect, the auction is simultaneously moving ahead. Thus, the auction is no longer at the same step that it was when the bidder was disqualified from it. But, if the bidder has been given permission to re-enter the auction, he/she must enter it at the step he/she dropped out. This is when the 'reversing auction steps' embodiment of the system is invoked. The system reverses the auction, i.e., takes the auction back to an earlier time point/price, wherein this is the time point/price at which the bidder was disqualified. Now the bidder is free to re-enter the auction, and the auction continues normally.
Another embodiment of the system allows the auction to be effectively fast-forwarded. This means that the auction can directly be taken to the penultimate time zone before the end of the auction (for example – putting the auction at a “one minute left” position in the case of a reverse auction or at a very low bid as compared to the previous trend in the case of a Japanese reverse auction). The system analyzes the time taken by each bidder to submit a bid. It also analyzes the decrements in the bid value in correlation to the time left for the completion of the auction. The system uses these factors to determine whether the auction is stagnating and should be fast forwarded. This can be illustrated through the following example. Suppose half the auction time is over and only 5 minutes are remaining. Further suppose that each bidder is bidding at a slow pace (taking one minute or longer to submit a bid); and the value of the buyer's best bid is much lower than the best bid on table in the auction. In such a scenario, the system will decide to fast forward the auction.
The system possesses an engine that is programmed to analyze and determine when the auction should be taken a step backward or forward. The engine is capable of this analysis and decision making on the basis of pre-configured decision rules. These rules are created by taking reference to, but not limited to, the three points enlisted in paragraph 2 of the detailed description.