Architecture for an electronic shopping service integratable with a software application

• US 7,634,429 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2004
• Issued: 12/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Madonna, Christopher Robert Richard, Alger, Jeffrey A., DeMello, Marco A., Narin, Attila, Keely, Leroy B., Yaacovi, Yoram, Beezer, John, Silver, David Michael, Hughes, Kathryn E.
• Primary Examiner(s): ZURITA, JAMES H
• Application Number:
  US10/840,516
• Publication Number:
  US 20050033663A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,049 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/37
• US Class Current: 705/26.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3825 Use of electronic signatures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/321 involving a third party or a trusted authority

Abstract

An architecture for an integrated shopping service that enables electronic shopping from within a software application. The software application includes web browsing functionality, with the capability to navigate to a limited set of web sites. The client machine on which the software runs maintains a local list of the limited set of web sites that can be accessed from within the software application. A directory server maintains a list of retail web sites that can be added to the client'"'"'s local list of accessible web sites. Each client machine that runs the software application connects to the directory server in order to add web sites to the locally-maintained list of sites that can be accessed from within the integrated shopping service.

Claims

1. A system for supporting electronic commerce, the system comprising:

a first computing device which includes;

a first memory which stores first data indicative of a plurality of web sites;

a network interface communicatively coupled to a computer network;

first logic which communicates, through said network interface, a list of said plurality of web sites to be rendered by a second computing device in a content-rendering application, wherein the list is generated according to a context of the content-rendering application; and

second logic which identifies at least one of the plurality of web sites selected from the second computing device,

wherein the second logic communicates second data indicative of the selected one of said plurality of web sites to said second computing device through said network interface, and

wherein the second logic provides instructions to invoke the selected web site from within the content-rendering application, wherein the second data may be stored in a second memory associated with the second computing device for modifying by the user from the second computing device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said second logic communicates said second data based on a user selection of said one of said plurality of retail web sites, said user selection being received from said second computing device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said first data includes, for each of said plurality of retail web sites:

a universal record locator;

one or more items of text; and

a graphical image.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said first data further includes:

an identification number; and

a flag.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said first data comprises an HTML web page, said web page including:

said second data;

instructions which cause said second data to be transmitted to said second computing device; and

a user-selectable image which invokes said instructions.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said user-selectable item comprises an ADD button.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said second logic causes said second data to be written to a registry on said second computing device.