Patent ID: 8310361

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for generating an electronic alert associated with a change of feature data in a map-related database that stores feature data associated with geographical regions, the method comprising: receiving alert attribute data specifying one or more alert attributes for an electronic alert, the alert attribute data including geographical region data specifying a geographical region to be associated with the electronic alert; using the alert attribute data to create the electronic alert and storing the electronic alert in an alert database, the stored electronic alert adapted to be used to notify a recipient of a change in feature data stored in the map-related database for the specified geographical region of the electronic alert; detecting a change to feature data within the map-related database; determining whether the feature associated with the changed feature data is associated with the specified geographical region of the stored electronic alert; and sending an electronic notification to the recipient if the feature associated with the changed feature data is associated with the specified geographical region of the stored electronic alert.