Patent ID: 8768780

Claim:
An electronic product registration system operable to help implement a customizable return program, comprising: a computer processor; a storage medium tangibly storing a plurality of policies, including an original return policy defined for a set of serialized products in the electronic product registration system; where the computer processor is programmed to at least: receive, via a communication channel, a first serialized product of the set of serialized products presented for a first return request, the first serialized product having a first unique identifier associated with the predefined original return policy; verify the first unique identifier and determine that the first serialized product does not qualify for return under the predefined original return policy or any other predefined return policy; define a customized return policy for the first serialized product, the customized return policy being different from the original return policy and reflecting a planned course of action for the received first serialized product; provide first instructions concerning how to handle the first return request based on the customized return policy; store, in the storage medium, the customized return policy by overriding the predefined original return policy to create and store a modified return policy, wherein the modified return policy acts as a predefined return policy for future returns of other serialized products in the set of serialized products; receive, over the communication channel, a second serialized product of the set of serialized products presented for a second return request, the second serialized product having a second unique identifier associated with the predefined original return policy; access the modified return policy upon receiving the second return request; and provide second instructions concerning how to handle the second return request based on the modified return policy.