Location dependent monitoring for stolen devices
First Claim
1. A system for facilitating the retrieval of stolen electronic devices, the system comprising:
- a computer data repository containing data that specifies, for each of a plurality of geographic regions, a set of surveillance methods that are permissible in the respective region, wherein at least some of the geographic regions have different respective sets of permissible surveillance methods than others; and
a computer system that is operable to communicate with the devices over a computer network, said computer system programmed to use received information regarding a device that is reported as stolen, including information regarding a location of the device, in combination with said data in the computer data repository, to cause the device to initiate surveillance according to the set of permissible surveillance methods corresponding to said location, thereby converting the device into a surveillance device that surveils a potential thief according to geographic region dependent surveillance methods when the potential thief uses the device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for controlling the surveillance conducted by lost or stolen electronic devices dependent upon the location of such electronic devices is provided. A data repository contains data that specifies, for each of a plurality of geographic regions (e.g. legal jurisdictions), a set of surveillance methods that are permissible in the respective region. At least some of the geographic regions have different respective sets of permissible surveillance methods than others. A computer system is operable to communicate with the devices over a computer network, and programmed to use received information regarding a location of a potentially lost or stolen device, in combination with the data in the computer data repository, to cause the potentially lost or stolen device to initiate surveillance according to the set of permissible surveillance methods (and/or other actions) corresponding to the location.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A system for facilitating the retrieval of stolen electronic devices, the system comprising:
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a computer data repository containing data that specifies, for each of a plurality of geographic regions, a set of surveillance methods that are permissible in the respective region, wherein at least some of the geographic regions have different respective sets of permissible surveillance methods than others; and a computer system that is operable to communicate with the devices over a computer network, said computer system programmed to use received information regarding a device that is reported as stolen, including information regarding a location of the device, in combination with said data in the computer data repository, to cause the device to initiate surveillance according to the set of permissible surveillance methods corresponding to said location, thereby converting the device into a surveillance device that surveils a potential thief according to geographic region dependent surveillance methods when the potential thief uses the device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for facilitating the recovery of a stolen electronic device, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. maintaining a computer repository containing data that specifies, for each of a plurality of geographic regions, a set of surveillance methods that are permissible in the respective region, wherein at least some of the geographic regions have different respective sets of permissible surveillance methods than others; b. communicating with said device over a computer network to obtain location information regarding the geographic region in which said device is located; c. comparing said location information with said data to determine which set of surveillance methods are permissible in the geographic region in which said device is located; and d. in response to a reported theft of the device, converting the device into a surveillance device that surveils a potential thief according to geographic region dependent surveillance methods when the potential thief uses the device, said converting comprising initiating surveillance according to the set of permissible monitoring methods corresponding to said geographic region, wherein steps a, b, c and d are preformed automatically by one or more computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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8. Non-transitory computer storage which stores program code that instructs a computer system to perform a process that comprises:
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maintaining a computer repository containing data that specifies, for each of a plurality of geographic regions, a set of surveillance methods that are permissible in the respective region, wherein at least some of the geographic regions have different respective sets of permissible surveillance methods than others; communicating with the device over a network to obtain location information regarding the geographic region in which said device is located; comparing said location information with said data to determine which set of surveillance methods is permissible in the geographic region in which said device is located; and at least partly in response to a reported theft of the device, converting the device into a surveillance device that surveils a potential thief according to geographic region dependent surveillance methods when the potential thief uses the device, said converting comprising initiating surveillance according to the set of permissible monitoring methods corresponding to said geographic region. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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Specification