Electronic commerce using optical input device

• US 6,965,873 B1
• Filed: 10/04/2000
• Issued: 11/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B.
• Primary Examiner(s): FADOK, MARK A
• Application Number:
  US09/679,262
• Time in Patent Office: 1,868 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 709/217, 709/302, 380/4, 380/28
• US Class Current: 705/26.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

Sensing of machine readable indicia associated with a catalog permits on-line ordering of merchandise. A profile of user-specific data (e.g., clothing sizes) can be employed to customize the transaction. Sensing of such indicia on a garment tag permits a collection of complementary clothing or accessories to be presented to a user for review (e.g., by display of a virtual model wearing the garment and some of the clothing/accessories).

Claims

1. An electronic commerce method comprising:

providing a printed catalog that includes an image of an article offered for sale by a merchant, wherein the image is steganographically encoded with plural-bit binary data;

optically sensing the image to produce image data corresponding thereto;

decoding the steganographically encoded data from the image data; and

electronically ordering the article from the merchant by use of said decoded data, wherein said ordering makes use of earlier-stored customer profile information.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the customer profile information includes clothing size data.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

processing the decoded data for transmission to a remote merchant computer, said processing including supplementing the decoded data with supplemental data corresponding to the customer;

transmitting the processed data to the remote merchant computer;

receiving first order data from the remote merchant computer, responsive to the transmitted processed data;

presenting the first order data to the customer;

receiving from the user further input selecting among options included in the first order data; and

transmitting said further input to the remote merchant computer.

4. The method of claim 3 in which the supplemental data includes the customer profile information.

5. The method of claim 3 in which the supplemental data includes data identifying the customer.