A novel
system and method are disclosed for finding and serving
consumer product-related information over
the Internet to consumers. 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, 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. As part of the product registration process, manufacturers are provided with turn-key
database construction tools that allow them to create, maintain and serve on the WWW, limited versions of the UPC / URL databases which contain information relating only to the manufacturer's products, and no other manufacturers. The master UPC / URL
database of the system is updated using the UPC / URL information in these manufacturer maintained UPC / URL databases.