A novel system and method are disclosed for finding and serving consumer product-related information over the Internet to consumers in retail shopping environments, as well as at home and work, and on the road. The system includes Internet information servers which store information pertaining to Universal Product Number (e.g. UPC number) preassigned to each consumer product registered with the system, along with a list of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) that point to the location of one or more information resources on the Internet, e.g. World Wide Web-sites, which related to such registered consumer products. Upon entering the UPC number into the system using a conventional Internet browser program running on any computing platform or system, the menu of URLs associated with the entered UPC number is automatically displayed for user selection. The displayed menu of URLs are categorically arranged according to specific types of product information such as, for example: product specifications and operation manuals; product wholesalers and retailers; product advertisements and promotions; product endorsements; product updates and reviews; product warranty/servicing; related or complementary products; product incentives including rebates, discounts and/or coupons; manufacturer's annual report and 10K information; electronic stock purchase; etc. Novel Web-based techniques are disclosed for collecting the UPC/URL information from manufacturers and transmitting the same to the Internet-based databases of the system.
RELATED CASES
This is a Continuation-in-Part of copending Application Ser. No. 08/______ entitled “System And Method For Collecting Consumer Product Related Information And Transmitting And Delivering The Same Along The Retail Supply And Demand Chain Using The Internet” filed Mar. 27, 1997, which is a Continuation of Ser. No. 08/752,136 entitled “System And Method For Finding Product and Service Related Information On The Internet” filed Nov. 19, 1996; which is a Continuation-in-Part of copending Application Ser. No. 08/736,798 entitled “System And Method For Finding Product and Service Related Information On The Internet” filed on Oct. 25, 1996; each said Application being incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if set forth fully herein.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION