System and method for toy adoption and marketing

• US 8,777,687 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2013
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ganz
• Original Assignee: Ganz
• Inventors: Ganz, Howard
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed, Masud
• Application Number:
  US14/027,627
• Publication Number:
  US 20140011596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 302 Days
• Field of Search: 446/175, 446/470, 463/42, 705/14, 705/16, 705/27, 715/706
• US Class Current: 446/175
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/24 Electric games; Games using electronic circuits not otherwise provided for video games A63F13/00; computerized gaming systems G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/36 Details; Accessories
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

A computer system provides a virtual world. A registration subsystem verifies information from a toy, registers the toy, provides a virtual character in the virtual world representing the toy, and allows caring for the virtual character. Caring for the character includes maintaining one or more value assigned to a virtual health, hunger and/or happiness of the virtual character via at least one maintenance activity including shopping for virtual food to be fed to the virtual character. The maintenance activity is available to be performed subsequent to said validating said registration code. The values are tracked by the computer system and representations of the values are transmitted to a user computer for display to a user to convey a status indication of the health, hunger and/or happiness of the virtual character.

Claims

1. A method that provides a virtual presentation comprising:

receiving a registration code over a communication network in a website, wherein the registration code is associated with a toy;

using a computer system, validating the registration code received by the website;

subsequent to said validating said registration code, providing a virtual character on the website, and granting access to at least a subset of content on the website in connection with the virtual character;

associating said virtual character with a user account on the website;

receiving commands for manipulating said virtual character from a user computer accessing the website via the communication network and the user account;

subsequent to said validating said registration code, using the computer system for providing the virtual character on the website, providing said at least a subset of content to a user computer which allows caring for the virtual character presented in the virtual presentation, wherein caring for the virtual character comprises maintaining a value assigned to at least one of a virtual health, hunger and happiness of the virtual character via at least one maintenance activity, wherein the value is tracked by the computer system; and

transmitting a representation of said value over the communication network in a way that allows said representation to be displayed by the user computer, said transmitting conveying a status indication of the at least one of the health, hunger and happiness of the virtual character,

wherein said at least one maintenance activity includes shopping for virtual food to be fed to the virtual character, and wherein said at least one maintenance activity is available to be performed subsequent to said validating said registration code.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one maintenance activity further comprises playing with the virtual character, wherein said playing changes at least the health.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said playing with the virtual character comprises participating in an activity on the website with the virtual character.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one maintenance activity further comprises feeding the virtual food to the virtual character, wherein said feeding changes at least one of the health, hunger and happiness.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one maintenance activity further comprises at least one additional of the following:

playing games with the virtual character;

walking the virtual character; and

furnishing one or more virtual rooms for the virtual character.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprises, after said validating said registration code, providing an adoption certificate comprising biographical information, a personality trait, or both the biographical information and the personality trait.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said caring for the virtual character comprises affirmatively agreeing to a user agreement in connection with activity performed on the website.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising naming the virtual character.

9. A method of interacting with a virtual presentation comprising:

accepting entry of a registration code associated with a toy into a computer;

transmitting the registration code entered into the computer over a communication network;

receiving confirmation that the registration code transmitted over the communication network has been validated;

gaining control of a virtual character on a website and receiving access to at least a subset of content on the website in connection with the virtual character subsequent to said transmitting;

accessing the virtual character on the website via a user account; and

subsequent to said receiving confirmation that the registration code transmitted over the communication network has been validated, using the computer to control the virtual character on the website and to interact with said at least a subset of content to care for the virtual character presented in the virtual presentation, wherein said subset of content to care for the virtual character comprises maintaining at least one of a health, hunger and happiness of the virtual character via at least one maintenance activity, wherein an indication of a value associated with the at least one of the health, hunger and happiness is displayed by the computer to convey a status indication of the at least one of the health, hunger and happiness of the virtual character, and where said at least one maintenance activity includes shopping for virtual food to be fed to the virtual character, and wherein said at least one maintenance is performed on said computer subsequent to said validation of said registration code.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one maintenance activity further comprises playing with the virtual character, wherein said playing changes at least the health.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said playing with the virtual character comprises participating in an activity on the website with the virtual character.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one maintenance activity further comprises feeding the virtual food to the virtual character, wherein said feeding changes at least one of the health, hunger and happiness.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein said at least one maintenance activity further comprises at least one additional of the following:

playing a game with the virtual character;

walking the virtual character; and

furnishing one or more virtual rooms for the virtual character.

14. The method of claim 9 further comprises, after receiving confirmation that the registration code has been validated, receiving an adoption certificate comprising biographical information, a personality trait, or both the biographical information and the personality trait.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein said subset of content to care for the virtual character comprises affirmatively agreeing to a user agreement in connection with activity performed on the website.

16. The method of claim 9 further comprising naming the virtual character.