Abstract: System and method for retrieving and displaying patent marking information for resources coupled to or comprised in a computer system. One or more resources, i.e., hardware devices and/or software, may be detected on the computer system. Software resources may be downloaded from an e-commerce server, which may also facilitate ordering and/or purchasing the resources. Patent marking information (PMI) corresponding to each of the resources may be retrieved, including one or more patent numbers for each resource. The respective PMI may be stored on each resource, in a database on the computer system, or in a database on a server coupled to the computer system. The resources may store identification (ID) information identifying the respective resource, where the respective PMI for each resource is retrieved from the patent marking database based on the ID information. The PMI is then displayed, e.g., by a graphical user interface (GUI) on a computer display.

Abstract: System and method for retrieving and displaying patent marking information for resources coupled to or comprised in a computer system. One or more resources, i.e., hardware devices and/or software, may be detected on the computer system. Software resources may be downloaded from an e-commerce server, which may also facilitate ordering and/or purchasing the resources. Patent marking information (PMI) corresponding to each of the resources may be retrieved, including one or more patent numbers for each resource. The respective PMI may be stored on each resource, in a database on the computer system, or in a database on a server coupled to the computer system. The resources may store identification (ID) information identifying the respective resource, where the respective PMI for each resource is retrieved from the patent marking database based on the ID information. The PMI is then displayed, e.g., by a graphical user interface (GUI) on a computer display.