# How Online Stores Automatically Block Illegal Alcohol and Tobacco Deliveries > A system that checks if your online order of alcohol or tobacco is legal to deliver at your chosen time based on local laws. - **Patent:** US 7801772 - **Original title:** Method and apparatus for facilitating online purchase of regulated products over a data network - **Owner:** IpVenture Inc - **Granted:** 2010 - **Status:** Public domain (expired) - **Times cited:** 11 - **Field:** ecommerce, software, consumer_electronics ## What it does This patent describes a server-side method that acts as a digital gatekeeper for online retail. When a customer selects items like alcohol or tobacco and picks a delivery time, the system cross-references the order against a database of local regulations. If the law in that specific jurisdiction prohibits the delivery of those items at the requested time—such as a 'blue law' preventing Sunday alcohol sales—the system automatically denies the request or notifies the user. It essentially automates the compliance process that would otherwise require manual oversight. ## What it does NOT cover - Does not cover physical ID verification at the point of delivery. - Does not cover general age-gating that happens before an order is placed. - Does not cover non-regulated products like electronics or clothing. - Does not cover in-store point-of-sale systems that do not involve a data network delivery request. ## The clever bit The innovation is shifting the compliance check from the point of purchase to the point of delivery scheduling, effectively turning a static legal rule into a dynamic constraint on the user's checkout experience. ## Real-world examples 1. Instacart delivery scheduling 2. Drizly alcohol delivery platform 3. Amazon Fresh age-restricted item checkout 4. Online grocery store delivery slot selection ## Why it matters This patent addresses the 'last mile' compliance headache for e-commerce. As states and municipalities have varying, complex laws regarding the sale of age-restricted goods, this technology allows retailers to scale online sales without needing a human to manually check every delivery slot against a local legal calendar. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does How Online Stores Automatically Block Illegal Alcohol and Tobacco Deliveries cover? A system that checks if your online order of alcohol or tobacco is legal to deliver at your chosen time based on local laws. ### Who owns patent US 7801772? IpVenture Inc owns this patent, granted in 2010. ### When does this patent expire? This patent is expected to expire on September 21, 2030, when the invention enters the public domain. ### What is patent US 7801772 cited by? This patent has been cited by 11 later patents that build on its ideas. ### What problem does this patent solve? This patent addresses the 'last mile' compliance headache for e-commerce. As states and municipalities have varying, complex laws regarding the sale of age-restricted goods, this technology allows retailers to scale online sales without needing a human to manually check every delivery slot against a local legal calendar. ### What does this patent NOT cover? Does not cover physical ID verification at the point of delivery. **Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7801772/amazon-recommendations **Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US7801772 --- _Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Patent facts are from public records; the plain-English explanation is PatentBrief's._ ## Related patents Semantically similar inventions in the PatentBrief corpus: - [How Amazon's One-Click Ordering Works for Online Purchases](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/5960411/amazon-one-click) — Amazon's 1999 patent describes how a customer can buy an item online with just one click, bypassing a traditional shopping cart by using pre-stored payment and shipping information. - [How a Centralized Broker Handles Online Shopping Transactions](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7865399/distributed-electronic-commerce-system-with-centralized-point-of-purchase) — A system where a third-party broker handles payments and shipping logistics for online merchants, allowing customers to checkout without entering payment details on every individual site. - [How Square Prepares Digital Tabs for Customers Before They Arrive](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10157378/stripe-connect) — A system that lets merchants create a digital customer tab before a guest arrives, using reservation data to pre-load preferences and payment info for a faster checkout. - [How Square Syncs Inventory Between Physical Shops and Online Stores](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10192220/square-capital) — A system that lets store owners toggle items between online and physical sales channels using a single dashboard to keep stock counts accurate everywhere. - [How Apps Compare Local Prices and Ratings for Specific Items](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10127595/airbnb-dynamic-pricing-smart-pricing) — A system that helps users find and order a specific product from nearby stores by ranking them based on price, ratings, and item attributes like calorie count.