An Internet-based system for collecting, managing and serving consumer
product-related information over the Internet. The system comprises a
database management subsystem for storing and managing information
representative of (i) a plurality of trademarks placed on or used in
connection with a plurality of consumer products, and (ii) a plurality of
Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) symbolically linked to the trademarks
and specifying the location of a plurality of Web documents stored in one
or more Internet-based information servers, by manufacturers, their
agents and/or third parties, and contain particular kinds of information
related to consumer products on which the trademarks are placed and used
in commerce. A trademark/URL information server accesses one or more URLs
from the database management subsystem in response to a request placed
therewith by a consumer-operated client computer subsystem. Each
manufacturer uses a manufacturer-managed client computer subsystem to
transmit to the database management subsystem, information representative
of a plurality of symbolically linked trademarks and URLs. Each consumer
uses a consumer-operated client computer subsystem to access one or more
URLs from the database management subsystem in response to a request
transmitted to the trademark/URL information server. The accessed URLs
are then used to access and display Web documents specified by the URLs
and containing consumer product related information. Using the present
invention, large databases containing symbolically linked trademarks and
URLs can be created and managed, so that corresponding consumer product
related information on the World Wide Web (WWW) can be reliably accessed
and displayed by consumers using trademarks.