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System for and method of managing and delivering manufacturer-specified consumer product information to consumers in the marketplace

  • US 7,089,199 B2
  • Filed: 10/24/2002
  • Issued: 08/08/2006
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1997
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method of managing and delivering manufacturer-specified consumer product information to consumers in the marketplace, said method comprising the steps of:

  • (a) for a plurality of UPN-labeled consumer products offered for sale within a the marketplace, having the manufacturer of said plurality of UPN-labeled consumer products or an agent thereof, access a relational database and store therein, information elements representative of (1) a plurality of universal product numbers (UPNs) assigned to said plurality of UPN-labeled consumer products manufactured by said manufacturer and registered with said relational database, and (2A) a trademark (TM) symbolically linked to each said UPN, (2B) a product description (PD) symbolically linked to each said UPN, and (2C) one or more uniform resource locators (URL) symbolically linked to each said UPN, wherein each said URL specifies the location of an information resource located on the Internet and related to one of said plurality of UPN-labeled consumer products registered with said relational database by said manufacturer, and wherein a UPN/TM/PD/URL data link is created and maintained in said relational database for each said UPN-labeled consumer product registered with said relational database by the manufacturer;

    (b) operably connecting an Internet information server to the infrastructure of the Internet and to said relational database, so as to enable said Internet information server to service a request made by an Internet-enabled client computer, for information on the Internet about one of said plurality of UPN-labeled consumer products registered with said relational database by said manufacturer and/or its agent;

    (c) operably connecting one or more Internet-based product information servers, to the infrastructure of Internet, in which information resources related to one or more of said plurality of UPN-labeled consumer products are stored at said plurality of URLs;

    (d) operably connecting a plurality of Internet-enabled client computers to the infrastructure of the Internet;

    (e) transmitting from at least one of said Internet-enabled client computers, a request for information on the Internet about a UPN-labeled consumer product registered with said relational database, wherein each said request transmitted by said Internet-enabled computer may include either the UPN, TM and/or PD symbolically linked to the UPN assigned to a registered UPN-labeled consumer product on which consumer product information on the Internet is being sought by a consumer within said marketplace;

    (f) receiving at said Internet information server, the request transmitted by said Internet-enabled client computer, and recovering the UPN, TM and/or PD contained in said request so as to enable said Internet information server to access said URLs symbolically linked to the UPN, TM and/or PD and stored in said relational database, and then transmit said accessed URLs to said Internet-enabled client computer for display to and use by a consumer in accessing information resources stored in said Internet-based product information server, at said URLs;

    (g) automatically soliciting the registration of consumer products by manufacturers whose UPN/TM/PD/URL data links have been accessed but were not available in said relational database, and (h) enabling a manufacturer and/or its agents to dynamically update and manage UPN/TM/PD/URL data links associated with the manufacturer.

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