# How a Centralized Broker Handles Online Shopping Transactions > A system where a third-party broker handles payments and shipping logistics for online merchants, allowing customers to checkout without entering payment details on every individual site. - **Patent:** US 7865399 - **Original title:** Distributed electronic commerce system with centralized point of purchase - **Owner:** Google LLC - **Granted:** 2011 - **Status:** Public domain (expired) - **Times cited:** 9 - **Field:** ecommerce, software, finance ## What it does The patent describes a central broker system that acts as an intermediary between a customer and an online merchant. When a customer is ready to buy, the merchant sends a description of the shopping cart to the customer's device, which then forwards that data to the broker. The broker then takes over the checkout process, presenting the user with shipping and payment options, calculating the final total, and charging the customer directly. Finally, the broker notifies the merchant of the completed transaction so the goods can be shipped. This allows the broker to manage the financial and logistical details while the merchant focuses on the product catalog. ## What it does NOT cover - Does not cover direct merchant-to-customer transactions where the merchant processes the payment themselves. - Does not cover systems where the merchant retains full control over the payment processing and tax calculation. - Does not cover peer-to-peer payment systems that lack a centralized broker coordinating with a merchant's inventory. ## The clever bit The innovation lies in the merchant offloading the most complex parts of e-commerce—payment processing, tax calculation, and shipping coordination—to a third-party broker, while still maintaining the merchant's own storefront. ## Real-world examples 1. Google Pay (formerly Google Checkout) 2. PayPal Express Checkout 3. Amazon Pay 4. Shop Pay ## Why it matters This patent describes the architectural foundation for modern 'Buy with Google' or 'Checkout' style services. By centralizing the transaction, it reduces the security risk of sharing credit card information with hundreds of different small merchants and simplifies the checkout experience for the user. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does How a Centralized Broker Handles Online Shopping Transactions cover? A system where a third-party broker handles payments and shipping logistics for online merchants, allowing customers to checkout without entering payment details on every individual site. ### Who owns patent US 7865399? Google LLC owns this patent, granted in 2011. ### When does this patent expire? This patent has expired and is now in the public domain — anyone can use the invention freely. ### What is patent US 7865399 cited by? This patent has been cited by 9 later patents that build on its ideas. ### What problem does this patent solve? This patent describes the architectural foundation for modern 'Buy with Google' or 'Checkout' style services. By centralizing the transaction, it reduces the security risk of sharing credit card information with hundreds of different small merchants and simplifies the checkout experience for the user. ### What does this patent NOT cover? Does not cover direct merchant-to-customer transactions where the merchant processes the payment themselves. **Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7865399/distributed-electronic-commerce-system-with-centralized-point-of-purchase **Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US7865399 --- _Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Patent facts are from public records; the plain-English explanation is PatentBrief's._ ## Related patents Semantically similar inventions in the PatentBrief corpus: - [How Amazon's One-Click Ordering Works for Online Purchases](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/5960411/amazon-one-click) — Amazon's 1999 patent describes how a customer can buy an item online with just one click, bypassing a traditional shopping cart by using pre-stored payment and shipping information. - [How Square Syncs Inventory Between Physical Shops and Online Stores](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10192220/square-capital) — A system that lets store owners toggle items between online and physical sales channels using a single dashboard to keep stock counts accurate everywhere. - [How Software Automatically Collects and Organizes Data from Multiple Websites](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8112476/amazon-ec2-elastic-compute-cloud) — A system that automatically logs into multiple websites, pulls information, and stores it locally before you even ask for it, so it is ready to view instantly. - [How Mobile Devices Use Tags to Close Restaurant Checks](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10559047/systems-and-methods-for-facilitating-closing-of-a-check) — A system for restaurant servers to open and close customer tabs by tapping a mobile device against a physical tag at a table. - [Tracking Shoppers and Store Items for Better Recommendations](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11900293/merchant-action-recommendation-system) — This patent describes a system that tracks the location of physical customers, virtual customers, and store items using beacons to generate a combined visual report and recommend actions for merchants.