Abstract:
Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that provides gift registry services to a user. During operation, the system enrolls a business with a registry system and identifies a first set of items offered for sale by the business. Next, the system populates the registry system with the first set of items. Finally, the system presents the first set of items to the user for inclusion in a gift registry associated with the user.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     The subject matter of this application is related to the subject matter in a co-pending non-provisional application by the inventors Mike Gabriel and George Mount and filed on the same day as the instant application entitled, “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENTERING ITEMS INTO A GIFT REGISTRY,” having serial number TO BE ASSIGNED, and filed 22 Apr. 2008. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Related Art 
     The present invention relates to techniques for providing gift registry services to a user through a gift registry network. 
     Gifts are often given for occasions such as weddings, baby showers, holidays, birthdays, and/or ceremonies. In addition, gift registries are typically offered by merchants to provide a convenient way to manage the purchasing of gifts for a specific recipient of the gifts. To use a gift registry, the recipient may add a list of desired items from the merchant to the gift registry and then provide the gift registry to buyers of the gifts, such as friends, family, or associates. The buyers may then select items to purchase by viewing the gift registry. When an item is purchased by a buyer, the item is removed from the gift registry, thus preventing the item from being purchased for the recipient multiple times. 
     However, standard gift registry services may have a number of drawbacks. First, the selection of items offered in a particular gift registry may be limited by the merchant offering the gift registry services. In other words, a gift registry from a particular merchant may only include items offered by the merchant. Furthermore, users may have difficulty finding and adding items to the gift registry. In particular, a user may browse available items and enter the items into his/her gift registry by navigating through a web-based interface provided by the merchant. However, the user may also wish to physically view the items by visiting one or more locations of the merchant. As a result, the user may be required to both manually maintain a list of items he/she is interested in while visiting a location of the merchant and subsequently add the list of items to the gift registry by entering details of the items into the web-based interface. Hence, potential gift registry users may be deterred by a limited selection of items offered for inclusion in gift registries and inconveniences associated with adding items to the gift registries. 
     SUMMARY 
     Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that provides gift registry services to a user. During operation, the system enrolls a business with a registry system and identifies a first set of items offered for sale by the business. Next, the system populates the registry system with the first set of items. Finally, the system presents the first set of items to the user for inclusion in a gift registry associated with the user. 
     In some embodiments, the system also enrolls a partner business of the business with the registry system and identifies a second set of items offered for sale by the partner business. Next, the system adds the second set of items to the registry system. Finally, the system presents the second set of items to the user for inclusion in the gift registry. 
     In some embodiments, the partner business is referred to the registry system by the business. 
     In some embodiments, the first set of items is identified by receiving an inventory list from the business or by receiving a manually entered identifier for an item from the set of items through a user interface with the business. 
     In some embodiments, the inventory list is customized by the business to include at least one of a product image, a product description, a product review, and a product availability. 
     In some embodiments, an item from the first set of items is not presented to the user if the system receives a notification of a lack of availability of the item from the business. 
     In some embodiments, enrolling the business involves obtaining at least one of a business name, a business location, contact information, business hours, and a business description from the business. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  shows a schematic of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows business data for a business in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows a flowchart illustrating the process of creating a gift registry network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows a flowchart illustrating the process of creating a gift registry for a user in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. 
     The data structures and code described in this detailed description are typically stored on a computer-readable storage medium, which may be any device or medium that can store code and/or data for use by a computer system. The computer-readable storage medium includes, but is not limited to, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, magnetic and optical storage devices such as disk drives, magnetic tape, CDs (compact discs), DVDs (digital versatile discs or digital video discs), or other media capable of storing computer-readable media now known or later developed. 
     The methods and processes described in the detailed description section can be embodied as code and/or data, which can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium as described above. When a computer system reads and executes the code and/or data stored on the computer-readable storage medium, the computer system performs the methods and processes embodied as data structures and code and stored within the computer-readable storage medium. 
     Furthermore, the methods and processes described below can be included in hardware modules. For example, the hardware modules can include, but are not limited to, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and other programmable-logic devices now known or later developed. When the hardware modules are activated, the hardware modules perform the methods and processes included within the hardware modules. 
     Embodiments of the invention provide a method and system for providing gift registry services to a user. More specifically, embodiments of the invention provide a method and system for providing gift registry services to the user through a gift registry network of businesses. The gift registry network may be created by enrolling the businesses with a registry system and identifying items offered for sale by the businesses. The items may then be presented to the user for inclusion in a gift registry associated with the user. In addition, items may be added to the user&#39;s gift registry by: using images of barcodes identifying the items, a user interface of the registry system, custom barcodes identifying the items, and/or an interface between the businesses and the registry system. 
       FIG. 1  shows a schematic of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In particular,  FIG. 1  shows a system for providing gift registry services to a user through a gift registry network of businesses (e.g., business  1   104 , business m  106 ) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the system includes a registry system  114 , a business user interface  102 , a customer user interface  116 , an item listing repository  128 , and a business data repository  134 . Each of these components is described in further detail below. 
     Registry system  114  may provide gift registry services to a user. More specifically, registry system  114  may allow the user to create a gift registry  118  and manage a number of items (e.g., item  1   120 , item n  122 ) using gift registry  118 . Gift registry  118  may then be used to facilitate the purchasing of the items for the user by potential buyers of the items, such as friends, family, and/or other acquaintances of the user. For example, gift registry  118  may be created for a special occasion associated with the user, such as a wedding, baby shower, birthday, and/or holiday. Acquaintances of the user wishing to buy gifts for the user may view the items (e.g., item  1   120 , item n  122 ) within gift registry  118  and purchase one or more items as gifts for the user. In addition, items purchased by the acquaintances may be removed from gift registry  118  to prevent the items from being redundantly purchased by multiple buyers. 
     In one or more embodiments of the invention, registry system  114  is implemented using a client-server architecture. More specifically, registry system  114  may be executed on one or more servers. In addition, registry system  114  may be accessed from other machines using a web browser and network connection. Alternatively, registry system  114  may be locally installed on a computing system, such as a personal computer (PC), mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), and/or other digital computing device of the user. 
     To interact with the user and/or potential buyers of items within gift registry  118 , registry system  114  may include a customer user interface  116  (e.g., graphical user interface (GUI), web-based user interface, etc.) that is accessed by the user and/or potential buyers. To use registry system  114 , the user and/or potential buyers may navigate through one or more screens of user interface  116  and interact with user interface elements such as form fields, calendar widgets, radio buttons, menus, and/or checkboxes. For example, customer user interface  116  may allow the user to enroll with registry system  114 , add and remove items from gift registry  118 , add information about items, and/or provide a list of the items to potential buyers of the items. The potential buyers may also interact with customer user interface  116  to view the list of items in gift registry  118  and remove items that have been purchased. 
     In one or more embodiments of the invention, registry system  114  presents a set of items offered for sale by businesses (e.g., business  1   104 , business m  106 ) enrolled in registry system  114  to the user for inclusion in gift registry  1   18 . In other words, registry system  114  enables a gift registry network to be created among the businesses to facilitate creating and using gift registry  118  for a user and promoting items offered for sale by the businesses. To create the gift registry network, registry system  114  may interact with the businesses through business user interface  102 . As with customer user interface  116 , business user interface  102  may include one or more screens and one or more user interface elements that allow the businesses to use registry system  114 . 
     In particular, an enrollment module  108  within business user interface  102  allows businesses to enroll in registry system  114 . In one or more embodiments of the invention, enrollment of a business in registry system  114  involves creating an account for the business on registry system  114 . Enrollment of the business may also involve obtaining business data (e.g., business data  1   136 , business data y  138 ) associated with the business from the business, such as a business name, a business location, contact information, business hours, and/or a business description. Furthermore, the business data may be stored in business data repository  134  for future retrieval and presentation to the user and/or other businesses. 
     In one or more embodiments of the invention, businesses enrolled in registry system  114  include partner businesses. More specifically, registry system  114  may enroll a partner business by receiving a referral for the partner business from a business already enrolled in registry system  114 . For example, a china shop may enroll in registry system  114  to offer chinaware on registry system  114  for inclusion in gift registry  118 . The china shop may then refer a flatware shop to registry system  114  to allow the flatware shop to offer flatware on registry system  114  for inclusion in gift registry  118 . In other words, registry system  114  may include mechanisms that allow partner businesses to encourage creation of the gift registry network and cross-promote each other&#39;s items using the gift registry network. As a result, the user may create gift registry  118  by browsing a diverse array of items from a variety of businesses enrolled in registry system  114 . 
     To list items in registry system  114 , the businesses may use an inventory-management module  110  within business user interface  102 . In one or more embodiments of the invention, items (e.g., item  1   130 , item x  132 ) offered for sale by the businesses are identified by registry system  114  and stored in item listing repository  128 . In addition, the items may be identified by receiving inventory lists and/or manually entered identifiers for one or more items from the businesses through inventory-management module  110 . For example, the businesses may upload their inventory lists to registry system  114  through inventory-management module  110 . The inventory lists may further be customized by the businesses to include additional product information about the items, such as product images, product descriptions, product reviews, and/or product availabilities of the items. The businesses may also add items that are not included in their inventory lists by manually inputting identifiers for the items, such as the items&#39; product codes, product names, product descriptions, and/or other product information into inventory-management module  110 . Finally, the businesses may remove items from item listing repository  128  by sending a notification of a lack of availability of the items to registry system  114  and/or deleting the items using inventory-management module  110 . 
     Once registry system  114  is populated with items from the businesses, the user may be presented with the items for inclusion in gift registry  118 . The user may also select one or more items to add to gift registry  118 . For example, the user may select one or more kitchen appliances listed by an appliance store, one or more sets of chinaware listed by a china shop, and/or one or more sets of flatware listed by a flatware shop for inclusion in gift registry  118 . Registry system  114  may then add identifiers for the kitchen appliances, chinaware, and/or flatware to gift registry  118  upon receiving the item selections made by the user. 
     In one or more embodiments of the invention, registry system  114  includes a variety of mechanisms for receiving item selections by the user. In particular, selections of items for gift registry  118  may be made using images of barcodes identifying the items, an item-selection module  124  within customer user interface  116 , custom barcodes identifying the items, and/or a customer-management module  112  within business user interface  102 . 
     In one or more embodiments of the invention, registry system  114  allows the user to select items by capturing images of barcodes (e.g., Universal Product Codes (UPC) barcodes) identifying the items. Registry system  114  may then process the images to obtain product codes for the items from the barcodes and add the items to gift registry  118  using the product codes. The process of adding items into gift registries using image capture is described in a co-pending non-provisional application by inventors Mike Gabriel and George Mount and filed on the same day as the instant application entitled, “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENTERING ITEMS INTO A GIFT REGISTRY,” having serial number TO BE ASSIGNED, and filing date TO BE ASSIGNED, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     In addition, item-selection module  124  may allow manual entry of items into gift registry  118  by the user. For example, item-selection module  124  may include form fields that prompt the user for product information related to an item, such as a product name, a product description, a product image, a product price, a product availability, and/or a product review. If an item (e.g., item  1   130 , item x  132 ) in item listing repository  128  matches the product information, the user may add the item to gift registry  118 . Item-selection module  124  may also allow the user to add items by browsing items in item listing repository  128  and/or viewing advertisements, sales, and/or special deals for the items offered by the businesses. 
     Custom barcodes identifying the items may also be utilized by the businesses to create a direct mapping between the items offered by the businesses and representations of the items in item listing repository  128 . In other words, items offered through the gift registry network may be identified using custom barcodes recognized by registry system  114 . Each individual item may additionally be enumerated using a specific custom barcode, thus allowing registry system  114  to keep track of item availabilities at each business. The items may then be added to gift registry  118  by capturing images of the custom barcodes and/or scanning the custom barcodes using barcode scanners provided by the businesses. 
     Items may also be added to gift registry  118  on the user&#39;s behalf by the businesses using customer-management module  112 . For example, a business may send a selection of an item to registry system  114  on the user&#39;s behalf when the user is physically present at a location of the business and requests that the item be added to gift registry  118 . More specifically, the businesses may enter one or more identifiers for the items into customer-management module  112  and send the identifiers to registry system  114 . The identifiers may include barcodes (e.g., UPC, custom, etc.) for the items, product information for the items, and/or product codes for the items. Registry system  114  may then use the identifiers to retrieve items from item listing repository  128  and add the items to gift registry  118 . 
     Once the items (e.g., item  1   120 , item n  122 ) are added to gift registry  118 , the items may be managed using a registry-management module  126  within customer user interface  116 . For example, the user may use registry-management module  126  to view a listing of the items in gift registry  118 , remove items from gift registry  118 , add information about items, and/or provide a list of the items to potential buyers of the items. The potential buyers may also interact with registry-management module  126  to view the list of items in gift registry  118  and remove items that have been purchased. Furthermore, the user and/or potential buyers may receive notifications regarding changes to the items&#39; availability, price, and/or other qualities that may influence the addition or removal of the items from gift registry  118  and/or the purchase of the items by the potential buyers. 
     Items in gift registry  118  may also include business data (e.g., business data  1   136 , business data y  138 ) associated with the businesses offering the items. As discussed above, business data for each business may include a business name, a business location, contact information, business hours, and/or a business description. The business data may allow the user to manage items in gift registry  118  and may also help potential buyers locate and purchase the items for the user. 
       FIG. 2  shows business data for a business in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As mentioned previously, business data  202  may be used to enroll a business with a registry system, such as registry system  114  of  FIG. 1 . Business data  202  may also be included in a listing of an item in a gift registry to allow a user and potential buyers to manage the item within the gift registry. Furthermore, business data  202  may allow the user and/or potential buyers to choose between businesses offering similar or identical items. As shown in  FIG. 2 , business data  202  includes a business name  204 , a business location  206 , contact information  208  for the business, business hours  210  of the business, and a business description  212  of the business. 
     Business name  204  may serve as a unique identifier for the business within the community in which the business is located. In addition, business name  204  may be registered with a governmental agency as a part of the business&#39;s incorporation and/or Doing Business As (DBA) registration. As a result, the business may be recognized using business name  204 , particularly if the business is located in the vicinity of the user and/or potential buyers. 
     Business location  206  corresponds to an address of the business. For example, business location  206  may include the business&#39;s street number, street name, city, state or province, postal code, and/or country. Business location  206  may also be represented using other means, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates. Furthermore, business location  206  may include multiple address and/or location listings if the business operates at multiple locations. Alternatively, the business may include a separate set of business data  202  for each location. 
     Contact information  208  may allow the user and/or potential buyers to contact the business. For example, contact information  208  may include the business&#39;s phone number, email address, and/or web address. Contact information  208  may also include the name of a representative of the business, such as the business&#39;s owner or manager. Moreover, a separate set of contact information  208  may be provided for each location of the business if business data  202  includes multiple business locations. 
     Business hours  210  may correspond to the business&#39;s hours of operation. In other words, business hours  210  may include the opening and closing times of the business for each day of the week, as well as special hours for holidays or events. As with contact information  208 , a separate set of business hours  210  may be included in business data  202  for each business location  206  of the business. 
     Business description  212  may include a short synopsis of the products and/or services offered by the business. Business description  212  may also include other distinguishing features of the business, such as a business motto, business size, and/or business slogans. 
       FIG. 3  shows a flowchart illustrating the process of creating a gift registry network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In one or more embodiments of the invention, one or more of the steps may be omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order. Accordingly, the specific arrangement of steps shown in  FIG. 3  should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. 
     Initially, a business is enrolled with a registry system (operation  302 ). The business may enroll by creating an account with the registry system and providing business data associated with the business, including a business name, a business location, contact information, business hours, and/or a business description. Next, a set of items offered for sale by the business is identified (operation  304 ). The items may be identified by receiving inventory lists and/or manually entered identifiers for one or more items from the business. In addition, the inventory lists may be customized by the business to include additional product information about the items, such as product images, product descriptions, product reviews, and/or product availabilities of the items. 
     The registry system is then populated with the items from the business (operation  306 ). To populate the registry system, the items may be added to an item listing repository of the registry system, such as item listing repository  128  of  FIG. 1 . 
     A referral for a partner business may also be received from the business (operation  308 ). As described above, the partner business may be referred to the registry system to cross-promote items offered by both businesses and to expand the gift registry network. If a referral for a partner business is received, the partner business is enrolled in the registry system (operation  302 ) by creating an account and obtaining business data associated with the partner business. Items offered for sale by the partner business are also identified (operation  304 ), and the registry system is populated with the items from the partner business (operation  306 ). The registry system may continue enrolling partner businesses and adding items from the partner businesses until no additional referrals for partner businesses are received. Alternatively, businesses may join the gift registry network by enrolling in the registry system without a referral and adding their items to the registry system. 
     Once enrollment of businesses is complete, the items are presented to a user of the registry system for inclusion in a gift registry associated with the user (operation  310 ). In addition, the items may be updated upon enrolling a new business in the registry system or receiving a notification of a lack of availability of an item from a business enrolled in the registry system. 
       FIG. 4  shows a flowchart illustrating the process of creating a gift registry for a user in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In one or more embodiments of the invention, one or more of the steps may be omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order. Accordingly, the specific arrangement of steps shown in  FIG. 4  should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. 
     First, a set of items from businesses which are enrolled in a registry system are identified (operation  402 ). The items are then offered to a user of the registry system (operation  404 ). For example, the items may be offered to the user at a physical location of a business enrolled in the registry system. Alternatively, representations of the items may be viewed using a customer user interface of the registry system, such as customer user interface  116  of  FIG. 1 . 
     The user may select an item for inclusion in the gift registry (operation  406 ). The item may be selected using an image of a barcode identifying the item, the customer user interface of the registry system, a custom barcode identifying the item, and/or an interface between the business offering the item and the registry system (e.g., business user interface  102  of  FIG. 1 ). If the user has selected an item, the item is added to the gift registry (operation  408 ). 
     In addition, items may become unavailable as the items are offered to the user. In particular, a notification of lack of availability for an item may be received by a business offering the item (operation  410 ). For example, the business may run out of the item, or the item may be recalled by a manufacturer of the item. If a notification of lack of availability is received, the item associated with the notification is removed from the list of items offered to the user (operation  412 ). 
     Items from businesses enrolled in the registry system may continue to be identified (operation  402 ) and offered to the user (operation  404 ) for selection (operation  406 ) and addition to the gift registry (operation  408 ) until the user&#39;s item selection is complete (operation  414 ). Similarly, items may be removed (operation  412 ) if notifications of lack of availability are received (operation  410 ) from businesses offering the items. Once the user&#39;s item selection is complete and the gift registry is created, the gift registry may be used to manage the purchase of gifts for the user, as discussed above. 
     The foregoing descriptions of embodiments of the present invention have been presented only for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the forms disclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Additionally, the above disclosure is not intended to limit the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.