Electronic gifting

• US 8,190,519 B1
• Filed: 09/30/2008
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Angilivelil, Aby T., Ahmed, Imtiaz, Subash, Prasanna P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Colbert, Ella
• Application Number:
  US12/241,892
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26, 705/26.8, 705/27, 705/27.1, 705/27.2, 705/39, 705/40, 705/41, 235379-383
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for sending and receiving gifts including specified, electronically-deliverable electronically transferrable items are disclosed. A system includes a data store that stores electronically transferrable items available to be purchased as gifts. The system also includes a computing device in communication with the data store. The computing device is operative to receive a selection by a giver of a specified electronically transferrable item to be presented to a recipient as a gift. The computing device is further operative to charge a payment mechanism associated with the giver after the recipient has accepted the gift.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an electronic gift component, including;

a processor configured to;

enable a selection of a specified digital media item from a network resource, wherein the specified digital media item is electronically deliverable from the network resource to be presented as a gift to a recipient;

generate a gift notification to be presented to the recipient, wherein the gift notification includes an access mechanism to enable a recipient to access the gift;

wherein in response to the access mechanism, the processor is configured to enable acceptance of the gift and to make the gift available for electronic delivery;

determine whether the gift has been accepted using the access mechanism;

when the gift has not been accepted, enable the giver to cancel the gift such that no payment is processed; and

when the determination is that the gift has been accepted, initiate payment by a payment mechanism associated with the giver; and

a payment processing component configured to process the initiated payment.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to generate the gift notification by at least one of:

sending an electronic message to the recipient; and

generating a printable message to be deliverable physically to the recipient.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the access mechanism includes at least one of:

a link that directs the recipient to a location of the network resource; and

a code that the recipient can submit to the network resource.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to make the gift available for delivery to the recipient without requiring the recipient to hold an account with the network resource.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to make the gift available as a one-time electronic delivery.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is responsive to a selection by the recipient of an acceptance option, wherein the selected acceptance option includes at least one of:

accepting the specified digital media item for immediate delivery;

accepting the specified digital media item for subsequent delivery;

refusing the specified digital media item;

forwarding the specified digital media item to another party;

or

exchanging the specified digital media item.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to send a confirmation message for acceptance of the gift.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive an identifier of the recipient; and

when the identifier is associated with an existing account of the network resource, examine a data record related to the existing account.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether the data record includes a wish list that includes at least one desired digital media item identified by the recipient.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to enable selection of the at least one desired digital media item as the gift via a single input.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to access a rules data store to retrieve one or more rules to limit selection of the specified digital media item, wherein the processor uses the one or more rules to:

determine if the gift is appropriate for the recipient based on the data record; and

when it is determined that the gift is not appropriate for the recipient, to prevent access to the gift by the recipient.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to:

prevent generation of the notification of the gift so that the access mechanism is not provided to the recipient; and

generate a warning that the gift is not appropriate for the recipient.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the gift is not appropriate for the recipient when based at least in part on the data record for the recipient and the one or more rules in the rules data store, at least one of:

a media format of the gift is incompatible with a format used in a location where the recipient resides;

providing the gift to the recipient would violate one or more laws; and

providing the gift to the recipient would violate one or more network-based rules.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to receive an input to direct the gift to multiple recipients.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive an acceptance limit indicating how many of the multiple recipients can accept the gift, and

enable a number of the multiple recipients up to the acceptance limit to receive the gift.

16. A computer-implemented method to enable selection of an electronically transferrable item that is electronically deliverable from a network resource to be presented as a gift, the computer-implemented method comprising:

obtaining a selection of an electronically transferrable item that is electronically deliverable from a network resource to be presented as a gift to a recipient from a giver;

generating a gift notification to be presented to the recipient, wherein the gift notification includes an access mechanism to enable the recipient to accept the gift as a one-time delivery without requiring the recipient to hold an account with the network resource;

determining whether the gift has been accepted using the access mechanism;

when the determination is that the gift has not been accepted, enabling the giver to cancel the gift such that no payment is processed; and

when the determination is that the gift has been accepted, initiating payment by a payment mechanism associated with the giver.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing a delivery option to enable the recipient to select between an immediate delivery and a subsequent delivery.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising, after the gift has been accepted, notifying the giver that the gift has been accepted.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable components, the computer-executable components comprising:

an electronic gift component configured to enable a client computing system operated by a giver to access a network resource to select a gift for a recipient from a wish list of the recipient, wherein;

both the giver and the recipient hold accounts with the network resource;

a giver account is associated with a payment mechanism; and

the wish list is associated with a recipient account and includes at least one electronically transferrable item electronically deliverable from the network resource;

a selection component configured to make the wish list available to the giver as a list of selectable gift options, wherein a selection indicator is associated with the at least one electronically transferrable item, and wherein the selection component is further configured to determine when a single input is received from the giver to select the at least one electronically transferrable item as the gift;

a gift notification component configured to send a notification to the recipient of the gift;

an acceptance component configured to receive an input from the recipient to accept the gift, wherein the acceptance component is further configured to receive an instruction from the giver to cancel the gift before the recipient accepts the gift; and

a payment processing component configured to charge the payment mechanism of the giver after the recipient accepts the gift;

wherein no payment is processed by the payment processing component if the acceptance component receives an instruction from the giver to cancel the gift.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the selection component is further configured to receive an e-mail address of the recipient and to retrieve the wish list based on the e-mail address.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the acceptance component is further configured to provide an access mechanism to the recipient to enable the recipient to accept the gift, wherein the access mechanism includes one of:

a code presentable to the network resource; and

a link to the network resource.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the acceptance component is further configured to enable the recipient to refuse the gift, such that the payment mechanism of the giver is not charged for the gift.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the acceptance component is further configured to enable the recipient to at least one of:

forward the gift to a third party;

exchange the gift for another item; and

exchange the gift.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable components, the computer-executable components comprising:

an acceptance component configured to receive an access mechanism enabling a recipient to accept a gift that includes a specified electronically transferrable item that is electronically deliverable from a network resource, wherein the acceptance component is further configured to determine when the recipient has accepted the gift, wherein the acceptance component is further configured to receive an instruction from a giver of the gift to cancel the gift before the recipient accepts the gift; and

a payment processing component configured to charge a payment mechanism associated with the giver of the gift when the recipient has accepted the gift;

wherein no payment is processed by the payment processing component if the acceptance component receives an instruction from the giver to cancel the gift.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the acceptance component is further configured to:

identify one or more users of the network resource for whom the recipient has authorized automatic delivery of electronically transferrable items sent by the one or more users; and

automatically perform the electronic delivery of the gift when the identified one or more users includes the giver.

26. A system comprising:

a data store that stores electronically transferrable items available to be purchased as gifts;

a computing device in communication with the data store, the computing device operative to;

receive a selection by a giver of a specified electronically transferrable item to be presented to a recipient as a gift;

generate a gift notification to be presented to the recipient, wherein the gift notification includes an access mechanism to enable the recipient to accept the gift;

determine whether the gift has been accepted using the access mechanism;

when the gift has not been accepted, enable the giver to cancel the gift such that no payment is processed; and

when the determination is that the gift has been accepted, initiate payment by a payment mechanism associated with the giver.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the access mechanism includes at least one of:

a link that directs the recipient to the computing device; and

a code that the recipient can submit to the computing device.