Patent ID: 7472104

Claim:
A computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media having instructions executable by a processor for performing a method of providing product information comprising: associating a first code with a first characteristic of a product and a second code with a second characteristic of the same product, storing a first characteristic value associated with the first characteristic and a second characteristic value associated with the second characteristic, associating an identity of a first entity with at least one of the first or second codes including setting one or more distinct update values indicating whether the first entity is authorized to receive changes relating to the first or second characteristic values associated with the first or second code, changing at least one of the characteristic values to produce a changed characteristic value, retrieving the identity of the first entity based on the changed characteristic value, determining whether the first entity is authorized to be sent the changed characteristic value based on one of the one or more distinct update values, and sending the changed characteristic value to the first entity based on the determination.