Patent ID: 7788315

Claim:
An information management system comprising: a product provided with a position code; a digital pen capable of reading the position code; a look-up unit communicating with the digital pen via a first communication path, wherein the look-up unit includes an identifier corresponding to the digital pen; a plurality of databases including: a pen database storing a setting corresponding to the digital pen, wherein the pen database is configured to communicate with the digital pen via the first communication path and by using the identifier; a position database storing position data which associates said position code with rules for information management, wherein the digital pen communicates a region identifier to the position database by using the look-up unit to access the position database via the first communication path, the region identifier identifying a region including at least one position which is coded by the position code and including a local position corresponding to a location of the one position in the region; and an event database storing event data tracking a transaction performed by using the look-up unit in association with the digital pen, the event database configured to store error information when an error is caused during the transaction; and an interface unit, separate from the look-up unit, and used to provide access to the pen database, the position database, and the event database via a second communication path that is separate from the first communication path, wherein a user of the digital pen or an additional entity changes the setting by using the interface unit to access the pen database via the second communication path, wherein the user or the additional entity retrieves the position data by using the interface unit to access the position database via the second communication path, and wherein the user or the additional entity views the event data by using the interface unit to access the event database via the second communication path.