EPA-Patent auf E-Einkaufswagen

[PILCH Hartmut <phm@a2e.de>]

Mit den folgenden EPA-Patenten von Sun Microsystems wird es in Europa
illegal, im WWW einzukaufende Gegenstaende in einer Liste (Einkaufswagen)
zu sammeln und dann zu kaufen.

   EP0807891, EP0784279
   Stateless shopping cart for the web
   SUN MICROSYSTEMS INC (US)

   Claims
   
   1. A computer-executable process, embedded in a computer-useable
   medium, for supplying items on a network (46), the network having at
   least one computer-server (20) for communicating with users employing
   a browser program on a terminal/computer (35) at a location remote
   from said computer-server, said embedded process comprising the steps
   of:
   receiving (152), at the computer-server, a transmitted command from
   said browser program for a shopping page (40);
   in response to said transmitted command, generating (154) a shopping
   page file and transmitting (156) the shopping page file to said
   browser program;
   receiving (168), at the computer-server, at least one user selected
   item from the shopping page received (158) by the browser program;
   creating (174) a list at the computer server;
   at the computer server, adding (178) to the list each user selected
   item received by said receiving step;
   returning (184) from the computer server the list of items in an entry
   of a shopping page file to said browser program; and
   continuing user selection (200), receiving (168) data strings, adding
   (178) items to said list and returning (184) said list until
   termination by the user.

Hiermit ist es 

   2. An embedded process in accordance with claim 1, further comprising
   the step of:
   sending (215) from the computer-server selected items to the user in
   response to a command initiated (203) by the browser program.
   3. An embedded process in accordance with claim 2, further comprising
   the step of:
   at the computer server, deleting (235) from the list each user
   selected item received by said receiving step.
   4. An embedded process in accordance with claim 1, wherein said user
   selected items identify computer programs, and including at the
   computer-server the steps of:
   downloading, upon receipt of a command (204) from the browser,
   computer programs identified by the user selected programs.
   5. An embedded process in accordance with claim 1, wherein said
   creating (174) step comprises the steps of:
   separating (170) fields in the data strings into name/value pairs;
   determining (172) if there are any values in a "cart" field by
   examination of the "cart" field, and if so,
   converting (176) said values into a list of previously selected items.
   6. An embedded process in accordance with claim 5, wherein said adding
   step comprises the steps of:
   adding new selected items to said list;
   converting (180) said list to a field data string;
   generating (182) a new shopping page file with said field data string
   in a hidden field thereof, and
   transmitting (184) said new shopping page to said browser program.
   7. A computer-executable process according to any of claims 1 to 6,
   characterized in that the computer-useable medium is a storage medium.
   8. A computer-executable process according to claim 7, stored in a
   memory, a hard disk, a floppy disk, or a CD-ROM.
   9. A computer-executable process according to any of claims 1 to 6,
   characterized in that the computer-useable medium is a transmission
   medium, or a communications network, preferably the Internet.
   10. A computer program for executing a computer process in a server
   computer (20) for responding to shopping requests from a browser
   system at a client station (35) so that a shopping cart collection of
   items selected at the browser system is managed at the browser system
   rather than the server, said program comprising;
   a first computer code mechanism (168) for receiving an add request
   from the browser system, said add request identifying a market system
   at the server and having a shopping cart field and a selected item to
   be added by the market system to a shopping cart list;
   a second computer code mechanism (176) for converting a shopping cart
   field in the add request to the shopping cart list;
   a third computer code mechanism (178) for adding the selected item to
   the shopping cart list to provide an updated cart list containing the
   selected item and any previous selected items from earlier add
   requests;
   a fourth computer code mechanism (180) for converting the updated cart
   list to an updated version of the shopping cart field;
   a fifth computer code mechanism (182) for generating a page file and
   embedding the updated version of the shopping cart field in the page
   file; and,
   a sixth computer code mechanism (184) for sending the page file to the
   browser system at the client station whereby the page file, containing
   one or more selected items in the shopping cart field, is managed by
   the browser system at the client station.
   11. A computer program according to claim 10, further comprising,
   a seventh computer code mechanism (185) for releasing storage space
   used to store the shopping cart list at the server.
   12. A computer program according to claim 11, further comprising,
   an eighth computer code mechanism (206) for receiving a download
   request from the browser system, said download request identifying a
   market system at the server and having a shopping cart field of
   previously selected items;
   a ninth computer code mechanism (210) for converting the shopping cart
   field of previously selected items from a download request to a
   shopping cart list of downloadable selected items; and,
   a tenth computer code mechanism (212) for retrieving each selected
   computer file identified from the shopping cart list of downloadable
   selected items and sending the selected computer file to the browser
   system at the client.
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   Data supplied from the esp@cenet database - l2