This allows online business to create detailed profiles of each customer interacting with the business. Detailed consumer profiles are valuable to other business that are trying to increase their customer base by direct marketing to consumers. Some business are willing to pay an average of $95 for 1000 consumer names in the hopes of increasing their customer base. Such targeted marketing or prospecting can be the most effective way to reach these consumers.

While detailed customer information can be beneficial to businesses, consumer privacy suffers. Recently, much legislation has been proposed to regulate direct marketing and to protect consumer privacy. The direct marketing industry is committed to self-regulation to avoid onerous regulation from curtailing the industry. In July 1999, the Direct Marketing Association (the"DMA") released a"Privacy Promise." The Privacy Promise is a public assurance that, by July 1,1999, all members of the DMA will conform to the following practices to protect consumer privacy: 1. Provide customers with notice of their ability to opt out of information exchanges; 2. Honor customer opt out requests not to have their contact information transferred to others for marketing purposes; 3. Accept and maintain consumer requests to be on an in-house suppress file to stop receiving solicitations from a company; and, 4. Use the DMA Preference Service suppression files that exist for mail, telephone, and email lists.

All members of the DMA are expected to follow these guidelines.

Compliance allows the member to post a DMA logo on their promotional materials and Web site. Compliance is required to retain membership in the DMA.

There is a need for a system to enable direct marketers to implement consumer privacy control, such as the DMA guidelines, and allow consumers to maintain their privacy.

Summarv of the Invention The present invention provides systems and methods for enabling privacy controls for a prospect list database. The systems and methods of the present invention are particularly suited to network-based prospect list services that provide prospect lists from a database to prospect list purchasers, such as direct marketers, over a computer network, such as the Internet. The system and methods of the present invention allow the prospect list service to implement privacy controls, such as the DMA Guidelines, and enable consumers to access the prospect list database to determine any prospect lists the consumer is included on and to modify nor add to information stored in the database relating to the consumer. In addition, the present invention allows consumer to add contact preferences to the prospect list database specifying how, if at all, the consumers can be contacted by list purchasers.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a computer database for storing a plurality of prospect lists includes at least one prospect list data structure storing prospect data concerning prospective customers on the prospect list and a privacy data structure storing privacy data concerning at least on prospective customer on the prospect list. The privacy data identifies contact preferences for the prospective customer. The contact preferences specify the manner in which the prospective customer may be contacted by list purchasers. For example, the privacy data can identify a telephone contact preference, a mail contact preference, and/or an email contact preference. The contact preference can specify the acceptable times for contacting the consumer and acceptable types of list purchasers that may contact the consumer.

A system for implementing a computerized prospect list service according to the present invention includes a server computer hosting a prospect list service accessible via client computers to a plurality of list purchasers and a plurality of consumers. The system further includes a database of information concerning prospect lists available from a plurality of list managers. The prospect list service preferably includes a user interface having controls whereby a consumer can access information concerning prospect lists stored in the database. The prospect list service can be

available via a computer network, such as the Internet, to assist a consumer in determining if the consumer is included in a prospect list stored in the database.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the user interface can include controls whereby a consumer can modify or add to information stored in the database related to the consumer.

A consumer privacy method for allowing a consumer to determine if prospect data concerning the consumer is stored in a database of prospect lists includes the step of providing access to the database of prospect lists over a computer network to the consumer. The method can further include searching the database for personal information concerning the consumer and providing a list of any prospect lists containing the personal information. The consumer privacy method allows the consumer to provide the personal information for searching the database. The personal information can include, for example, name, telephone number, mail address, email address, fax number, social security number, and/or any other information for identify the consumer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the prospect list database can include data structures containing prospect data for each prospective customer stored in the database. Each prospective customer is preferably assigned a unique known party ID by the database. The consumer privacy method of the present invention preferably includes determining if the consumer has been assigned a known party ID. If the consumer has been assigned a known party ID, each prospect list including the known party ID of the consumer can be identified. If the consumer has not been assigned a known party ID, a known party ID can be assigned to the consumer and stored in the database.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, the consumer privacy method includes providing an interface to allow the consumer to modify or add to information relating to the consumer stored in the database.

The consumer privacy method of the present invention can be implemented as a set of processing instructions, stored in a computer readable storage medium, for directing a computer, such as the server hosting a prospect list service, to provide access to a database of prospect lists over a computer network to a consumer, search the database for personal information concerning the consumer, and provide a list of any prospect lists containing the personal information to the consumer.

Brief Description of the Drawings These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the attached drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements

through the different views. The drawings illustrate principles of the invention and, although not to scale, show relative dimensions.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the entities involved in an embodiment of a method and system disclosed herein; Figure 2 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a server; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a prospect list database according to the teachings of the present invention; Figure 4 is schematic diagram of a known party table and a known household table of a prospect list database of the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a privacy table of the prospect data base of a present invention; Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing consumer access to a prospect list system according to the present invention; Figure 7 illustrates a consumer privacy interface of the prospect list system of the present invention; Figure 8 illustrates a household interface of the prospect list system of the present invention; and Figure 9 illustrates a list manager member privacy interface of the prospect list system of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments To provide an overall understanding of the invention, certain illustrative embodiments will now be described, including an online prospect list service designed to facilitate the efficient and effective acquisition, storage, and distribution of prospect lists through a computer network. The online prospect list service is available via a computer network, preferably the Internet, to assist a list manager in offering a prospect list for sale to a plurality of list purchasers and to assist a list purchaser in selecting and purchasing a list of prospects from a list manager. As used herein, the term"prospect list"generally refers to a list of prospects having one or more common characteristics or attributes. A prospect can be, for example, an individual, a group of individuals, a household, a businesses, or other entity or organization. The term"list manager"as used herein generally refers to any person, business, or other entity responsible for distribution of a prospect list, including the list owner or list source. The term"list

purchaser"refers to any person, business, or other entity interested in acquiring access to a list of potential customers. A list purchaser can be, for example, a marketer interested obtaining a list of potential customers to direct marketing or advertising to or can be a list broker working on behalf of one or more marketers.

The online prospect list service, as well as the systems and methods for implementing the service, are also described in commonly-owned U. S Patent Application Serial No., entitled Method and System for Acquiring Prospect Lists Over a Computer Network, filed concurrently herewith (Attorney Docket No.

NMC-001.01), commonly-owned U. S Patent Application Serial No., entitled Method and System for Storing Prospect Lists in a Database, filed concurrently herewith (Attorney Docket No. NMC-001.02), and commonly-owned U. S Patent Application Serial No., entitled Method and System for Distributing Prospect Lists Over a Computer Network, filed concurrently herewith (Attorney Docket No. NMC-001.03).

Each of the aforementioned patent applications is incorporated herein by reference.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the entities involved in an embodiment of the online prospect list service disclosed herein. In a system 100, a plurality of clients 102, servers 104, and providers 108 are connected via a computer network 110. It should be understood that any number of clients 102, servers 104, and providers 108 could participate in such a system 100. The system may further include one or more local area networks ("LAN") 112 interconnecting clients 102 through a hub 114 (in, for example, a peer network) or a local area network server 114 (in, for example, a client-server network). The LAN 112 may be connected to the network 110 through a gateway 116, which provides security to the LAN 112 and ensures operating compatibility between the LAN 112 and the network 110.

In one embodiment, the computer network 110 is the Internet, and the World Wide Web provides a system for interconnecting clients 102 and servers 104 through the Internet 110.

An exemplary client 102 includes the conventional components of a client system, such as a processor, a memory (e. g. RAM), a bus which couples the processor and the memory, a mass storage device (e. g. a magnetic hard disk or an optical storage disk) coupled to the processor and the memory through an I/O controller, and a network interface coupled to the processor and the memory, such as modem, digital subscriber line ("DSL") card, cable modem, network interface card, wireless network

card, or other interface device capable of wired, fiber optic, or wireless data communications. One example of such a client 102 is a personal computer equipped with an operating system such as Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows NT, or Unix and its variants, along with software support for Internet communication protocols.

The personal computer also includes a browser program, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, to provide a user interface for access to the Internet 110. Although the personal computer is a typical client 102, the client 102 may also be a workstation, mobile computer, Web phone, television set-top box, interactive kiosk, personal digital assistant, or other device capable of communicating over the computer network 110. As used herein, the terms"client"and"client system"are intended to refer to any of the above-described clients 102, and the term"browser"is intended to refer to any of the above browser programs or other software or firmware providing a user interface for navigating the Internet 110.

An exemplary server 104 includes a processor, a memory (e. g. RAM), a bus which couples the processor and the memory, a mass storage device (e. g. a magnetic or optical disk) coupled to the processor and the memory through an I/O controller, and a network interface coupled to the processor and the memory. Servers may be clustered together to handle more client traffic, and may include separate servers for different functions such as a database server, an application server, and a Web presentation server. Such servers may further include one or more mass storage devices such as a disk farm or a redundant array of independent disk ("RAID") system for additional storage and data integrity. Read-only devices, such as compact disk drives and digital versatile disk drives, may also be connected to the servers. Suitable servers and mass storage devices are manufactured by, for example, Compaq, IBM, and Sun Microsystems. As used herein, the term"server"is intended to refer to any of the above-described servers 104.

Focusing now on the computer network 110, the presently preferred embodiment is the Internet. The structure of the Internet 110 is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and includes a network backbone with networks branching from the backbone. These branches, in turn, have networks branching from them, and so. on.

The backbone and branches are connected by routers, bridges, switches, and other switching elements that operate to direct data through the network 110. For a more detailed description of the structure and operation of the Internet 110, one may refer to

"The Internet Complete Reference,"by Harley Hahn and Rick Stout, published by McGraw-Hill, 1994, incorporated herein by reference. However, one may practice the present invention on a wide variety of communication networks. For example, the network 110 can include interactive television networks, telephone networks, wireless data transmission systems, two-way cable systems, customized computer networks, interactive kiosk networks and automatic teller machine networks.

One embodiment of the network 110 includes Internet service providers 108 offering dial-in service, such as Microsoft Network, America OnLine, Prodigy and CompuServe. It will be appreciated that the Internet service providers 108 may also include any computer system which can provide Internet access to a client 102. Of course, the Internet service providers 108 are optional, and in some cases, the clients 102 may have direct access to the Internet 110 through a dedicated DSL service, ISDN leased lines, T1 lines, digital satellite service, cable modem service, or any other high- speed connection. Any of these high-speed services may also be offered through one of the Internet service providers 108.

In its present deployment as the Internet 110, the network 110 consists of a worldwide computer network that communicates using the well-defined Transmission Control Protocol ("TCP") and Internet Protocol ("IP") to provide transport and network services. Computer systems that are directly connected to the Internet 110 each have a unique IP address. The IP address consists of four one-byte numbers (although a planned expansion to sixteen bytes is underway with IPv6). The four bytes of the IP address are commonly written out separated by periods such as"209.67.50.253". To simplify Internet addressing, the Domain Name System ("DNS") was created. The DNS allows users to access Internet resources with a simpler alphanumeric naming system. A DNS name consists of a series of alphanumeric names separated by periods. For example, the name"www. nextmark. com" corresponds to a particular IP address. When a domain name is used, the computer accesses a DNS server to obtain the explicit four- byte IP address.

To further define the resources on the Internet 110, the Uniform Resource Locator system was created. A Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") is a descriptor that specifically defines a type of Internet resource along with its location. URLs have the following format: resource-type : lldomain. addresslpath-name

where resource-type defines the type of Internet resource. Web documents are identified by the resource type"http"which indicates that the hypertext transfer protocol should be used to access the document. Other common resource types include"ftp" (file transmission protocol),"mailto" (send electronic mail),"file" (local file), and"telnet." The domain. address defines the domain name address of the computer that the resource is located on. Finally, the path-name defines a directory path within the file system of the server that identifies the resource. As used herein, the term"IP address"is intended to refer to the four-byte Internet Protocol address, and the term"Web address"is intended to refer to a domain name address, along with any resource identifier and path name appropriate to identify a particular Web resource. The term"address,"when used alone, is intended to refer to either a Web address or an IP address.

In an exemplary embodiment, a browser, executing on one of the clients 102, retrieves a Web document at an address from one of the servers 104 via the network 110, and displays the Web document on a viewing device, e. g., a screen. A user can retrieve and view the Web document by entering, or selecting a link to, a URL, such as "http://www. fhe. com," in the browser. The browser then sends an http request to the server 104 that has the Web document associated with the URL. The server 104 responds to the http request by sending the requested Web document to the client 102.

The Web document is an HTTP object that includes plain text (ASCII) conforming to the HyperText Markup Language ("HTML"). Other markup languages are known and may be used on appropriately enabled browsers and servers, including the Dynamic HyperText Markup Language ("DHTML"), the Extensible Markup Language ("XML"), the Extensible Hypertext Markup Language ("XHML"), and the Standard Generalized Markup Language ("SGML").

Each Web document usually contains hyperlinks to other Web documents. The browser displays the Web document on the screen for the user and the hyperlinks to other Web documents are emphasized in some fashion such that the user can identify and select each hyperlink. To enhance functionality, a server 104 may execute programs associated with Web documents using programming languages such as Perl, C, C++, or Java. A server 104 may also use server-side scripting languages such as ColdFusion from Allaire, Inc., or PHP. These programs and languages perform "back-end"functions such as order processing, database management, and content searching. A Web document may also include references to small client-side

applications, or applets, that are transferred from the server 104 to the client 102 along with a Web document and executed locally by the client 102. Java is one popular example of a programming language used for applets. The text within a Web document may further include (non-displayed) scripts that are executable by an appropriately enabled browser, using a scripting language such as JavaScript or Visual Basic Script.

Browsers may further be enhanced with a variety of helper applications to interpret various media including still image formats such as JPEG and GIF, document formats such as PS and PDF, motion picture formats such as AVI and MPEG, and sound formats such as MP3 and MIDI. These media formats, along with a growing variety of proprietary media formats, may be used to enrich a user's interactive and audio-visual experience as each Web document is presented through the browser. The term"page"as used herein is intended to refer to the Web document described above, as well as any of the above-described functional or multimedia content associated with the Web document.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a server for hosting the prospect list service of the present invention. In this embodiment, the server 104 includes a presentation server 200, an application server 202, and a database server 204. The application server 202 is connected to the presentation server 200. The database server 204 is also connected to the presentation server 200 and the application server 202, and is further connected to a database 206 embodied on a mass storage device. The presentation server 200 includes a connection to the network 110. It will be appreciated that each of the servers may comprise more than one physical server, as required for capacity and redundancy, and it will be further appreciated that in some embodiments more than one of the above servers may be logical servers residing on the same physical device. It will further be appreciated that one or more of the servers may be at a remote location, and may communicate with the presentation server 200 through a local area or wide area network. The term"host,"as used herein, is intended to refer to any combination of servers described above that include a presentation server 200 for providing access to pages by the clients 102. The term"site,"as used herein, is intended to refer to a collection of pages sharing a common domain name address, or dynamically generated by a common host, or accessible through a common host (i. e., a particular page may be maintained on or generated by a remote server, but nonetheless be within a site).

The presentation server 200 provides an interface for one or more connections to the network 110, thus permitting more than one of the clients 102 to access the site at the same time. In one embodiment, the presentation server 200 comprises a plurality of enterprise servers, such as a server available from Sun Microsystems. Other suitable servers are known in the art and are described in Jamsa, Internet Programming, Jamsa Press (1995), the teachings of which are herein incorporated by reference. The server maintains one or more connections to the Internet 110, preferably provided by a tier one provider, i. e., one of the dozen or so national/international Internet backbones with cross-national links of T3 speeds or higher, such as MCI, UUNet, BBN Planet, and Digex. Each enterprise server preferably runs the UNIX operating system, with a"front end"written in Java Server Page ("JSP"), or some other programming language or server software capable of integrating ActiveX controls, forms, Visual Basic Scripts, JavaScript, Macromedia Flash Technology multimedia, e-mail, and other functional and multimedia aspects of a page. Typically, the front end includes all text, graphics, and interactive objects within a page, along with templates used for dynamic page creation.

A client 102 accessing an address hosted by the presentation server 200 will receive a page from the presentation server 200 containing text, forms, scripts, active objects, hyperlinks, etc., which may be collectively viewed using a browser. Each page may consist of static content, i. e., an HTML text file and associated objects (*. avi, *. jpg, *. gif, etc.) stored on the presentation server 200, and may include active content including applets, scripts, and objects such as check boxes, drop-down lists, and the like.

A page may be dynamically created in response to a particular client 102 request, including appropriate queries to the database server 204 for particular types of data to be included in a responsive page. It will be appreciated that accessing a page is more complex in practice, and includes, for example, a DNS request from the client 102 to a DNS server, receipt of an IP address by the client 102, formation of a TCP connection with a port at the indicated IP address, transmission of a GET command to the presentation server 200, dynamic page generation (if required), transmission of an HTML object, fetching additional objects referenced by the HTML object, and so forth.

The application server 202 provides the"back-end"functionality of the Web site, and includes connections to the presentation server 200 and the database server 204. In one embodiment, the presentation server 200 comprises an enterprise

server, such as one available from Sun Microsystems, running the UNIX operating system. The back-end software is preferably implemented using pre-configured e- commerce software, to provide back-end functionality including order processing, billing, inventory management, financial transactions, shipping instructions, and the like.

The e-commerce software running on the application server 202 includes a software interface to the database server 204, as well as a software interface to the front end provided by the presentation server 200.

The database server 204 may be an enterprise server, such as one available from Sun Microsystems, running the UNIX operating system and software components for database management. Suitable databases are provided by, for example, Oracle, Sybase, and Informix. The database server 204 also includes one or more prospect list databases 206, typically embodied in a mass-storage device. The prospect list databases 206 may include, for example, on or more prospect lists acquired from list managers. As described in more detail below, the database management software running on the database server 204 receives properly formatted requests from the presentation server 200, or the application server 202. In response, the database management software reads data from, or writes data to, the databases 206, and generates responsive messages to the requesting server.

The present invention provides systems and methods for enabling privacy control for the prospect list database of the prospect list system. The privacy control systems and methods of the present invention allow the prospect list system to implement privacy controls, such as the DMA guidelines, and enable consumers to access the prospect list database to determine any prospect lists the consumer may be included upon. The prospects list system can include an interface having controls, whereby a consumer can access the prospect list system over the computer network to modify or add to information stored in the database related to the consumer. Using the interface controls, the consumer can also add contact preferences to the prospect list database specifying how, if at all, the consumer wishes to be contacted by list purchaser.

Prospect List Database Figure 3 illustrates a general database schematic of an exemplary prospect list database that can be used by the prospect list system. A more detailed description of an exemplary prospect list database is provided in commonly owned U. S.

Patent Application Serial Number, entitled Method and System for Storing Prospect List in a Database, filed concurrently herewith (Attorney Docket No. MNC-001.02), incorporated herein by reference. The exemplary prospect list database 10 contains a plurality of prospect lists. For example, the prospect list database 10 can include a first prospect list 20, a second prospect list 22, and a third prospect list 22. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the prospect list database can include any number of prospect lists and is to not limited to the three prospect lists illustrated in Figure 3 and described herein.

Each prospect list contained in the prospect list database 10 contains a list of prospective customers and prospect data corresponding to each of the prospective customers. The type and amount of prospect data is dependent upon the nature of the prospect list. For example, Lst 1 includes prospect data identifying the age of the prospective customers on the list. List 2 contains prospect data identifying the hobbies of the prospective customers on the list. List 3 contains prospect data relating to the purchasing characteristics of the prospects on the list.

The prospect lists and prospect data associated with the prospect lists can be stored in any number or type of data structure in the prospective list database. The number and type of data structure employed is dependent upon the database system used to implement the prospect list database. Any database system including, object oriented or relational database systems, can be used to realize the prospect list database.

Preferably, a relational database system, such as for example, Oracle, MySQL, Infomix, DB2 or SQL Server, is used realize the prospect list database. As the prospect list database is preferably implemented by a relational database system, the following description of the component database structures will use the terminology of relational databases. One skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that the type of database structure is dependent upon the database system employed, and that alternative structures may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Matching Process The prospect list system of the present system preferably employs a matching process to identify prospective customers that appear on more than one prospect list stored in the prospect list database. During the process of storing a prospect list on the prospect list database, the prospect list system compares the prospect data

from the new prospect list with prospect data stored in the prospect list database. The prospect list system matches the new prospect data with substantially similar stored prospect data. The matching process is driven by a set of matching rules that determine the likelihood two prospect data records match. The matching process can be implemented by the database system or by a software tool such as Postalsoft or Trilliun.

If the determined likelihood of a match is above a specific threshold, the prospect data records are considered to match. If a new prospect data record matches an existing prospect data record stored in the database, the prospective customer associated with the new prospect data record is assigned the known party ID of the prospect corresponding to the stored prospect data record. If no match is determined, the prospect is assigned a new known party ID.

A known party ID is assigned to each prospect stored in the prospect list database. Prospects appearing on more than one list are assigned the same known party ID through the matching process. The known party IDs can be stored in a known party data table 20, illustrate in Figure 4, that is included in the prospect list database. The known party ID data table can include the known party ID of each prospect stored in the database and a list ID identifying the prospect lists that the prospect appears on.

Additionally, the known party ID table can include any prospect data relating to the prospects stored in the prospect list database.

For example, List 1 includes the prospective customer Joseph Pych and List 2 contains the prospective customer Joe Pych. The matching process implemented by the prospect list system can determine that the prospective customer Joseph Pych from List 1 matches the prospective customer Joe Pych form List 2. Thus, prospective customer Joseph Pych of list 1 and prospective customer Joe Pych of List 2 can be assigned the same known party ID.

The matching process can also be useful for determining whether a household, business, or other group of prospective customers having common contact information are included on multiple prospect lists stored in the prospect list database.

For example, List 1 includes prospective customer Joseph Pych and List 3 includes prospective customer Robin Pych. Using the matching process, the prospect list system can determine that prospective customer Joseph Pych from List 1 has substantially similarly contact information as prospective customer Robin Pych of List 3. Contact information can include the mailing address, email address, telephone number, fax

number, or other information used to contact a prospective customer. The prospect list system can assign a common known household ID to prospective customer Joseph Pych of List 1 and prospective customer Robin Pych of List 3. Known household IDs can be stored in a known household data table provided in the prospect list database. The known household data table can include the list ID of the prospect list that the prospects appear on, as well as any prospect data, including the known party ID, corresponding to the prospects.

Privacy Tables The prospect list database can include a privacy data table 34, illustrated in Figure 5, containing contact preferences for the prospective customers stored in the prospect database. Contact preferences specify the manner in which prospective customers may be contacted by list purchasers, e. g., by telephone, by email, by mail, and can specify that the prospective customer wishes to be contacted only by certain types of list purchasers, and not contacted by others. The privacy data table can also contain prospect data relating to the prospects stored in the privacy table. The prospect data stored in the privacy data table 34 can include the known party ID, prospect name, or any other data or information concerning the prospect.

The privacy data table and the contact preferences contained therein allow the prospect list system to implement privacy guidelines, such as the DMA guidelines, and maintain consumer privacy. The DMA privacy guidelines dictate the use of suppress lists containing lists of perspective customers that should not be contacted in a specific way. The DMA provides mail preference lists, email preference lists, and telephone preference lists identifying consumers that do not wish to be contacted by mail, email, and telephone, respectively. In addition, other organizations and governmental bodies maintain suppress list identifying the contact preferences of consumers. Using the privacy data table 34, the prospect list system can store the contact preferences from these suppress lists and relate the contact preferences to the prospective customers stored in the prospect list database.

Referring to List 1, for example, prospective customer Joseph Pych may be included on the DMA telephone suppress list. Thus, the telephone contact preference of prospective customer Joseph Pych can be stored in the privacy data table 34 to indicate that Joseph Pych should not be contacted by telephone. In addition, the privacy

data table 34 can store the known party ID of prospective customer Joseph Pych. Using the known party ID, the prospect list system can relate the telephone contact preference of Joseph Pych to the prospect lists that he appears on.

Privacy Control The prospect list system of the present invention preferably includes a consumer interface have controls whereby a consumer can access information concerning the prospect lists stored in the database to determine if the consumer is included on any prospective list stored in the database. The prospect list system is available to the consumer over the computer network though a client system. The consumer interface control may include code for rendering a control, or may specify any form of control that may be handled by the consumer, and may include, for example, a text box, a radio button, a dropdown list, one or more checkboxes, a scroll box, a slider, a dial, or the like. While use of these controls is known for, for example, Window clients, other custom controls or other physical or graphically user interface controls may be defined for a consumer and used according to the principals of the invention.

Figure 6 illustrates a method of allowing a consumer to determine if prospect data concerning the consumer is stored in the prospect list database. Initially, the consumer connects to the prospect list system via a browser or other interface running on a client system, step 40. Using the consumer interface controls, the consumer can select the privacy control process provided by the prospect list system, step 42.

The prospect list system prompts the consumer to provide personal information concerning the consumer that the prospect list system will use to search the prospect list database. Using the consumer privacy interface controls, the consumer provides the personal information to the prospective list system, step 44. The personal information can be any information that identifies the consumer, such as, for example, name, address, email address, telephone number, and/or social security number. Before providing search results, the prospect list data system may prompt the consumer to provide authentication information to verify the consumer's identify. The authentication information can be, for example, the consumer's mother's maiden name.

Using the personal information provided by the consumer, the prospect list system searches the database for prospect data matching the consumer's personal

information, step 46. The searching can be implemented by the database system supporting the prospect list database.

The prospect list system determines if matching prospect data was identified by the search, step 48. If no matching data was found, the prospect list system assigns a known party ID to the consumer and stores the known party ID in the prospect list database, step 50.

If matching prospect data records are found by the search, the prospect list system identifies all prospect lists related to the matched prospect data, step 54. A list of matching prospect lists and prospect data relating to the consumer are presented to the consumer by the prospect list system via the consumer interface. Using the interface controls, the consumer can edit the prospect data presented by the prospect list service, step 52. The prospect list system can store the edited prospect data in the prospect list database, step 56.

Figure 7 illustrates an exemplary consumer privacy interface 60 provided by the prospect list system to a consumer to allow the consumer to review and edit prospect data concerning the consumer stored in the prospect list database. The consumer privacy interface 60 includes a display field 62 of contact information for displaying and editing the contact information of the consumer. The contact information can include the mail address, telephone number, fax number, email address, and any other information used to contact a prospective customer stored in the prospect list database. The consumer privacy interface 60 can also provide contact preference controls 64, in the form of checkboxes, to allow the consumer to specify the contact preferences of the consumer. A household control 66, in the form of a checkbox, can also be provided to allow the consumer to identify that he or she is the household contact for the consumer's household. A link 68 to the household information interface, illustrated in Figure 8 and described below, is also provided.

The consumer privacy interface 60 can include a display 70 of prospect lists stored in the prospect list database that include the consumer. Each prospect list provides a link to an additional interface display containing more information about the prospect data contained in the prospect list. An opt out control 72 is provided to allow a consumer to remove himself or"opt out"of a prospect list. Using the opt out control 72, a consumer can instruct the prospect list system that the consumer does not wish to be contacted through the specified prospect list. In response, the prospect list system can

either remove the consumer from the specified prospect list or, more preferably, can create a contact preference for storage in the privacy data table 34 of the prospect list database. The contact preference indicates that the consumer is not to be contacted through the specified prospect list.

The consumer privacy interface 60 can also include a new list link 74 allowing the consumer to access an additional interface providing controls for the consumer to become a member of any of the prospect lists stored in the prospect list database. This provides the consumer with the ability to register interest in a particular vendor or vendors.

The consumer privacy interface 60 includes interest controls 76, in the form of checkboxes, to allow the consumer to identify an interest in specified subjects.

The prospect list system can infer the interests of prospective customers stored in the prospect list database based on the prospect lists the prospective customers are included on. For example, if a prospective customer is on the J. Crew prospect list, the prospect list database may infer that the prospective customer is interested in shopping for clothing. The consumer can use the interest control 76 to edit the infer interests provided by prospect list system.

A submit control 78, in the form of a button, can be provided to allow the consumer to submit edited prospect data to the prospect list system for storage in the prospect list database.

The prospect list system also provides a household information interface 79 having controls whereby a consumer can modify information about the household of the consumer. The household information interface 79, illustrated in Figure 8, includes a contact control 80, in the form of radio buttons, for allowing a consumer to select which member of the household is the household contact. Using the contact control 80, the consumer can designate the household contact for the consumer's household. A household can be any group of consumers having common contact data. A removal control 82, in the form of checkboxes, allows a consumer to remove members from the household. Using the removal control 82, the consumer can designate household members for removal from the household list. A household member addition control 84, in the form of a button, is provided to allow consumers to add additional members to the household. The control 84, in the form of a button, provides a link to an interface that can be used by the consumer to add an additional member of the household. A submit

button 86 is provided to allow the consumer to submit the changes made to the household information to the prospect list system for storage in a prospect list database.

Sharing Privacy Preferences The prospect list system also provides list managers the ability to review changes made to prospect lists by consumers. Providing the list manager access to consumer modifications allows the list manager to identify those consumers that opted out or modified contact preferences. In addition, the list manager can identify consumers added to prospect lists.

The prospect list system provides a list manager member privacy interface having controls whereby a list manager can access the prospect list system over the computer network via a client system to determine modifications to prospect data made by consumers. Figure 9 provides an exemplary illustration of the list manager member privacy interface 90. Using, the list manager interface 90, a list manager can access consumer modifications to prospect lists managed by the list manager.

Preferably, the member privacy interface 90 is password protected to prevent unauthorized access to the prospect list database. The member privacy interface 90 can be accessed through a general list manager interface provided by the prospect list system.

The member privacy interface 90 includes a control 92, in the form of a button, for retrieving an opt out list of consumers that chose to be removed, or opt out, from a prospect lists managed by the list manager. Upon receipt of a request to retrieve an opt out list, the prospect list system can deliver the opt out list to the list manager, preferably, in the form of a computer file for downloading to the list manager. The opt out list can contain prospect data for each opt out consumer to identify the consumer to the list manager.

The list manager member privacy interface 90 can include a control 94, in the form of a button, to allow the list manager to retrieve a contact preference file identifying the contact preferences of the prospects included on a prospect list managed by the list manager. The contact preference file is preferably downloaded in a computer file to the list manager and can contain prospect data to facilitate identifying the consumer to the list manager.

An opt in control 96, in form of a button, can be provided by the prospect list system to allow a list manager to retrieve an opt in list for a prospect list managed by the list manager. The opt in list includes consumers who have requested to be included on the prospect list. Preferably, the opt in list is downloaded in the form of a computer file to the list manager. The opt in list preferably includes only the contact information specified by the consumer using the consumer privacy interface 60.

Since certain changes may be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention. It is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are to cover all generic and specific features of the invention described herein, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: