USPTO Patent Grant US12586125B2: Auction Publish-Subscribe Architecture

ChangeBridge: Patent Grants - Business Methods (G06Q)

Published March 24th, 2026

Detected March 25th, 2026

Summary

The USPTO has granted patent US12586125B2 to WHATNOT, INC. for a publish-subscribe architecture designed to reduce latency in scalable, multi-user auction systems. The patent covers methods and systems for real-time communication in auctions, particularly for collectibles, enhancing user experience and scalability for large numbers of participants.

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What changed

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued patent US12586125B2, titled 'publish-subscribe architecture for auctions,' to WHATNOT, INC. The patent details a system and method for implementing a publish/subscribe messaging framework to distribute real-time auction updates among multiple mobile devices. This technology aims to improve user experience by providing real-time communications, especially when combined with live video streams, and includes techniques for supporting hundreds or thousands of concurrent users in live auction channels.

This patent grant represents a new intellectual property asset for WHATNOT, INC. and does not impose new regulatory obligations on other entities. However, companies operating in the e-commerce, auction, or real-time messaging space, particularly those dealing with collectibles, may need to consider this patent in their product development and intellectual property strategies to avoid potential infringement. The filing date for this patent was May 27, 2022, and it was granted on March 24, 2026.

Source document (simplified)

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Method and system for reduced latency in a scalable, multi-user, publish-subscribe architecture

Grant US12586125B2 Kind: B2 Mar 24, 2026

Assignee

WHATNOT, INC.

Inventors

Logan Head, Alexander Loukissas

Abstract

Systems and method may implement a publish/subscribe messaging framework for distributing messages among a plurality of mobile computing devices. A particular “publish/subscribe channel” may be implemented in the context of an auction for one or more items, e.g., collectibles such as trading cards, toys, and/or figurines. The implementation of the publish/subscribe messaging framework may allow for real-time communications of developments in the auction(s) which, in combination with a real-time video stream from a host to a plurality of guests in the channel, amounts to an improved user experience at host devices and guest devices. Additional computing techniques may supplement the implementation of the live auction channel, said computing techniques providing improved scalability for live auction channels comprising hundreds or even thousands of guests.

CPC Classifications

G06Q 30/0241-0277 G06Q 30/08 G06Q 30/0601-06444 H04L 51/02 H04L 51/04 H04L 51/046 H04L 51/06 H04L 51/07 H04L 51/21 H04L 51/214 H04L 51/216 H04L 51/226 H04L 51/52 H04L 2012/5678 H04L 2012/5679 H04L 2012/568 H04L 2012/5681