Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Electronic shopping
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-06
2001-10-02
Stamber, Eric W. (Department: 2162)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Electronic shopping
C705S001100, C705S014270, C705S006000, C705S014270
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298332
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to product labeling and, more particularly, to novel systems and methods for providing electronic feedback and user information by registration with venders of products.
2. The Background Art
Product registration is always a concern of manufacturers and vendors of products. Information concerning user purchases, attitudes, circumstances, and the like are matters of great interest. However, user registration through warranty cards and the like meet with only limited success. Moreover, limited information is provided.
Likewise, brand loyalty is not necessarily detectible nor useful to such vendors and manufacturers. An ability to obtain user registration information for warranty and follow-up sales activity often lacks any great consumer or user motivation. Thus, not only information is lacking by motivation, and any continuing link with a consumer or user may be absent.
What is needed is a system and method for enabling a comparatively long term relationship to exist between a supplier, manufacturer, vendor of goods or services, and the consumer, purchaser, or user of same.
An advance in the art might provide additional services to a consumer or user as well. For example, personal information such as shoe sizes, clothing sizes, recreational goods, preferences in recreational or business activities, and the like might be extremely valuable information for a user to maintain and catalog for future use. Also, such personal purchasing information might be invaluable to suppliers of goods and services. Moreover, it would be an advance in the art to provide a system and method for purchasers to maintain key information regarding their own preferences and purchases as well as providing to users historical information that they may reference in the future. To the extent that a consumer or purchaser desires to provide such information to a vendor during a search for new or replacement goods or services, having ready access to such information could be invaluable to both a purchaser and a vendor.
Thus, it would be an advance in the art to provide an easy interaction apparatus and method for identifying and recording product or purchasing information, personal preference information, and the like, for ready provision of same to a purchaser and to a vendor upon request and authorization.
BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a compact disc product label providing a link back from a purchaser to a vendor. In certain embodiments, an apparatus and method in accordance with the invention may provide operational data, executables, linking information, suitable software, templates, and the like for facilitating an exchange of information between vendors and purchasers. For example, templates for collecting and delivering user information including warranty data, user preferences and motivations, and the like may be integrated with warranty reporting information, and other useful data in a delivery system built upon a CD-ROM product label, such as a hang tag. In certain embodiments, executables and operational data may be delivered to a user on a CD-ROM that alone, or in combination with other packaging materials present a panoply of multimedia presentations and information collection applications.
For example, a product may be labeled with a “hang tag” that includes a CD-ROM of novel shape. The novel shape may also be labeled with various slogans, messages, trade-marks, images, logos, or the like, provided by the vendor. Meanwhile, the CD-ROM “hang-tag” may contain multimedia catalog presentations; products information regarding the exact product on which the “hang tag” was shipped from a manufacturer; a registration engine for registering user information and product information simultaneously, a profile builder for identifying additional user information that a purchaser is willing and interested in providing, such as preferences in entertainment, software, music, video, gaming, or the like; and other useful software.
Software available on a CD-ROM “hang-tag” may include a launcher, browser, viewer, e-mail, facsimile sender, player, or other executables as well as vendor data. Moreover, such software may be programmed to invite, entice, motivate, and facilitate providing information by a user to be reported back to a vendor. Much as a concierge or valet provides ready access to important information required by a purchaser at the time or point of purchase. Software may collect and provide to a user or a vendor, or both, upon request and authorization, any amount of vendor or purchaser information deemed useful.
Consistent with the foregoing objects, and in accordance with the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, a method and apparatus are disclosed in one embodiment of the present invention as including a compact disc read-only memory apparatus and method for delivering vendor-supplied information to a purchaser, while providing reporting facilitation software and purchaser-provided data as well as internet linking from a purchaser back to a vendor an apparatus made in accordance with one embodiment of the invention may include a CD-ROM, user interface data or a user interface executable, vendor catalog information, various input templates, multimedia presentations, applications such as tools, utilities, games, desk accessories, or the like. Various data structures or databases for collecting or maintaining output data or input data serviced by input executables or output executables may stand alone or may integrate with browsers, launchers, viewers, or other applications. Such applications may be provided as executables on a CD-ROM “hang-tag”, or may merely integrate or engage browsers, launchers, viewers, and applications “organic” to a user's computer. That is, executables may be provided on a CD-ROM “hang-tag” or may merely be accessed by data on a CD-ROM “hang-tag”.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5619416 (1997-04-01), Kosarew
patent: 5899980 (1999-05-01), Wilf et al.
patent: 6049797 (2000-04-01), Guha et al.
patent: 91103705 (1992-01-01), None
Danny Rogers, Asda nears 50% own-label sales, Marketing PP 1, Dec. 7, 1998, PP 1.*
Kim Thuy Balin, Hang tag hang-overs, PP 1-2, Aug. 24, 1998, PP 1.*
Ericsson: Ericsson, Efficient Networks sign agreement, M2 Presswire. Jun. 11, 1998, PP 1-2.*
John M Covaleski, Consultants, vendors eye business growth in nonprofits, Oct. 1998, PP 1-3.*
Hal Glatzer, DVD heads the surge in optical, 1998, PP 1-3.
Stamber Eric W.
Tesfamariam Mussie
LandOfFree
CD-ROM product label apparatus and method does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with CD-ROM product label apparatus and method, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and CD-ROM product label apparatus and method will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2598924