System and method for accessing electronic data via an image search engine

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for accessing electronic data through entry of images as queries in search engine. The system uses various image capturing devices and communication devices to capture images and enter them into image database. Image recognition techniques encode images in a computer readable format. The processed image is then entered for comparison into at least one database populated with images and associated information. Once the newly captured image is matched with an image in the database, the information linked with that image is returned to the user.

1 . A computer-implemented method for accessing electronic data of a person of interest, comprising:
 storing information regarding a plurality of images and information regarding a plurality of people in a database, wherein at least one image is associated with each person of the plurality of people;   receiving, with a receiver, information regarding an image of the person of interest, wherein the image is obtained with an image capture device by a user and further wherein the image capture device transmits the information regarding the image to the receiver;   comparing the information regarding the image to the information regarding the plurality of images;   determining whether the image matches an image of a person in the plurality of people and, if the image matches an image of a person of the plurality of people, generating a message;   transmitting the message to a communication device of or associated with the person of interest, wherein the message contains a first request for permission to provide access to information regarding the person of interest to the user;   receiving a response to the message from the communication device of or associated with the user, the response to the message containing (i) permission for the user of the system to access information regarding the person of interest, (ii) denial for the user of the system to access information regarding the person of interest, or (iii) a second request for permission to access information regarding the user;   wherein upon receiving the response to the message transmitted from the communication device of or associated with the person of interest, the user grants or denies permission for the person of interest to access information regarding the user;   wherein if the user grants permission for the person of interest to access information regarding the user, the person of interest accesses the information regarding the user and decides whether or not to grant the user access to the information regarding the person of interest, and upon deciding to grant access to the information regarding the person of interest, information regarding the person of interest is transmitted to the user.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining the image of the person of interest from the person of interest himself or herself, a printed material, an electronic display unit, or a projected visual information.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the image capture device is at least one selected from the group consisting of a camera, a digital camera, an analog camera, a video camera, or a scanner. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the image capture device further comprises a display unit. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 performing image recognition pertaining to the information regarding the image.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 performing image recognition pertaining to the information regarding the person of interest.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing information regarding the person of interest via an web link.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing information regarding the user via a web link.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 linking information regarding each image of the plurality of images with information regarding a person of the plurality of people.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein information regarding each image regarding the plurality of images contains information regarding an alphanumeric identifier, a description, a name, or a title. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 accessing the electronic data through a network.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the authorization to access information regarding the person of interest comprises a password. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information regarding the person of interest is selected from the group consisting of the person of interest's name, screen name, phone number, description, personal traits, demographic characteristics, photographs, audio clips, and video clips. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the person of interest is notified of the user's efforts to obtain information about the person of interest. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 requesting permission from the person of interest to allow the user to access the information regarding the person of interest.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein prior to granting the user permission to access his or her data, the person of interest first requests information about the user selected from the group consisting of photographs, audio clips, video clips , personal traits, marital status, educational background, professional status, level of income, ethnicity, and political beliefs of the user. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein said person of interest grants or denies permission for the user to access the information regarding the person of interest based upon the information regarding the user. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said user utilizes said method to find people with common interest. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said user captures a plurality of images of a plurality of persons of interest and wherein said use is provided with a selective choosing device to select the persons of interest from the plurality of persons of interest to acquire information about said person of interest. 
     
     
         20 . A computer-implemented method for accessing electronic data of a person of interest, comprising:
 storing information regarding a plurality of images and information regarding a plurality of people in a database, wherein at least one image is associated with each person of the plurality of people;   receiving, with a receiver, information regarding an image of the person of interest, wherein the image is obtained with an image capture device by a user and further wherein the image capture device transmits the information regarding the image to the receiver;   comparing the information regarding the image to the information regarding the plurality of images;   determining whether the image matches an image of a person in the plurality of people and, if the image matches an image of a person of the plurality of people, generating a message;   transmitting the message to a first communication device of or associated with the person of interest, wherein the message contains a first request for permission to provide access to information regarding the person of interest to the user;   receiving a first response to the message from the first communication device of or associated with the user, the first response to the message containing a second request for permission to access information regarding the user;   transmitting the first response to a second communication device of or associated with the user;   upon receiving authorization to access information regarding the user from the second communication device of or associated with the user, transmitting information regarding the user to the first communication device of or associated with the person of interest; and   upon receiving authorization to access information regarding the person of interest from the first communication device of or associated with the person of interest, transmitting information regarding the person of interest to the second communication device of or associated with the user.