The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 09, 1999
Filed:
Nov. 15, 1996
David Bruce Lection, Raleigh, NC (US);
Sarah D Redpath, Cary, NC (US);
David Allen Schell, Durham, NC (US);
Donald Robert Wood, Raleigh, NC (US);
International Business Machines Corp., Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A technique for alerting users to the existence of an interactive station within a virtual world accessible via the World Wide Web and determining whether the user is authorized to access the interactive station. An indicator is provided within the virtual world which shows to users the location and existence of an interactive station of the virtual world. The user selects the interactive station indicator in order to attempt to gain access to the interactive station. The virtual world may then verify whether the user is authorized to access the interactive station. Further, if the user is authorized to access the interactive station, the virtual world may maintain access to user data during the user's visit to the interactive station and modify the users data in accordance with the users activities therein. Also, the virtual world may use data provided by the user to perform functions in accordance with the users activities during the user's access to the interactive station.