How Apps Compare Local Prices and Ratings for Specific Items
A system that helps users find and order a specific product from nearby stores by ranking them based on price, ratings, and item attributes like calorie count.
Original patent title: “Categorization of items based on attributes”
A system that helps users find and order a specific product from nearby stores by ranking them based on price, ratings, and item attributes like calorie count. Granted to Square Inc in 2018 with 23 claims and 20 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a service that acts as a middleman between a mobile user and local merchants. When you search for a specific item, the service uses your phone's location to find nearby stores that stock it. It then pulls real-time data from those stores, such as current prices, customer ratings, or specific product details like calorie counts. Finally, it calculates a value score for each store and presents a ranked list so you can choose the best option and place your order directly through the app.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover general search engines that provide links to external websites without facilitating the order directly.
- Does not cover systems that rely solely on static, pre-loaded databases without real-time integration with point-of-sale devices.
- Does not cover ranking methods that ignore geographical proximity as a primary filter for merchant selection.
- Does not cover peer-to-peer marketplaces where individuals, rather than established merchants, sell items.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The system doesn't just compare stores; it normalizes data across different merchants to rank specific items, allowing a user to compare a 'cheeseburger' at two different restaurants by factoring in both price and secondary attributes like calorie count.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Food delivery apps showing ranked restaurant options
Local inventory search features in retail apps
Mobile ordering platforms for coffee shops or cafes
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This technology is central to the modern on-demand economy, where consumers expect to compare local inventory instantly. It bridges the gap between digital discovery and physical retail, allowing platforms like Square to integrate payment processing directly into the ordering experience. It effectively turns a local merchant's point-of-sale system into a dynamic, internet-connected storefront.
Filed
December 31, 2014
Granted
November 13, 2018
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Square (Block, Inc.) remains a primary player in integrating point-of-sale data with consumer-facing mobile apps. Major food delivery platforms and local commerce aggregators also utilize similar architectures to sync real-time inventory with user-facing search results.
Market impact
This patent helped formalize the technical requirements for 'omnichannel' retail, where physical store data is treated as a live, queryable database. It enabled the shift toward mobile-first local commerce, where the barrier between browsing online and purchasing from a physical shop has been largely eliminated.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a service that acts as a middleman between a mobile user and local merchants. When you search for a specific item, the service uses your phone's location to find nearby stores that stock it. It then pulls real-time data from those stores, such as current prices, customer ratings, or specific product details like calorie counts. Finally, it calculates a value score for each store and presents a ranked list so you can choose the best option and place your order directly through the app.
The clever bit
The system doesn't just compare stores; it normalizes data across different merchants to rank specific items, allowing a user to compare a 'cheeseburger' at two different restaurants by factoring in both price and secondary attributes like calorie count.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover general search engines that provide links to external websites without facilitating the order directly.
- Does not cover systems that rely solely on static, pre-loaded databases without real-time integration with point-of-sale devices.
- Does not cover ranking methods that ignore geographical proximity as a primary filter for merchant selection.
- Does not cover peer-to-peer marketplaces where individuals, rather than established merchants, sell items.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Moderate
Citation count
26/40
Moderately cited
Claim breadth
15/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
10/20
Granted 5–10 years ago
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$234K – $749K
Midpoint $468K · 8.5 yr remaining · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
23 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
III, J. F. B., Brock, Z., Kumar, A. R., Hipschman, D., & O'Connor, M. (2018). How Apps Compare Local Prices and Ratings for Specific Items (U.S. Patent No. 10,127,595). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10127595/airbnb-dynamic-pricing-smart-pricing
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Apps Compare Local Prices and Ratings for Specific Items cover?
A system that helps users find and order a specific product from nearby stores by ranking them based on price, ratings, and item attributes like calorie count.
Who owns patent US 10127595?
Square Inc owns this patent, granted in 2018.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on November 13, 2038, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 10127595 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 20 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This technology is central to the modern on-demand economy, where consumers expect to compare local inventory instantly. It bridges the gap between digital discovery and physical retail, allowing platforms like Square to integrate payment processing directly into the ordering experience. It effectively turns a local merchant's point-of-sale system into a dynamic, internet-connected storefront.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover general search engines that provide links to external websites without facilitating the order directly.
Same assignee
More from Square Inc
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