# How Phones Use Photos to Buy or Research Products > A method for using a smartphone camera to photograph a product and send that image to a remote server to trigger a purchase or retrieve product information. - **Patent:** US 8204793 - **Original title:** Portable communication device and method of use - **Owner:** Wounder GmbH LLC - **Granted:** 2012 - **Status:** Active - **Times cited:** 4 - **Field:** consumer_electronics, software, ecommerce, telecommunications ## What it does This patent describes a process where a mobile device uses its camera to capture an image of a product. The device stores this image and, upon a specific user input, transmits it over a cellular network to a remote computer. That remote system analyzes the image to identify the item, then either processes a purchase request or fetches relevant web data to send back to the user's phone. This allows a user to effectively 'scan' an object in the real world to interact with e-commerce platforms or search engines. ## What it does NOT cover - Does not cover image processing performed entirely on the local mobile device without a remote server. - Does not cover systems that rely solely on QR codes or barcodes rather than general product imagery. - Does not cover augmented reality overlays that do not involve a specific request to purchase or retrieve product information. ## The clever bit The patent shifts the heavy lifting of image recognition and web data retrieval from the resource-constrained phone to a remote server, enabling complex commerce tasks on 2010-era mobile hardware. ## Real-world examples 1. Google Lens 2. Amazon mobile app visual search 3. Pinterest Lens 4. Snapchat Scan ## Why it matters This patent captures the early logic behind visual search and 'shoppable' images. By formalizing the link between a mobile camera, cellular data, and backend e-commerce servers, it outlines the foundation for modern visual shopping experiences. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does How Phones Use Photos to Buy or Research Products cover? A method for using a smartphone camera to photograph a product and send that image to a remote server to trigger a purchase or retrieve product information. ### Who owns patent US 8204793? Wounder GmbH LLC owns this patent, granted in 2012. ### When does this patent expire? This patent is expected to expire on June 19, 2032, when the invention enters the public domain. ### What is patent US 8204793 cited by? This patent has been cited by 4 later patents that build on its ideas. ### What problem does this patent solve? This patent captures the early logic behind visual search and 'shoppable' images. By formalizing the link between a mobile camera, cellular data, and backend e-commerce servers, it outlines the foundation for modern visual shopping experiences. ### What does this patent NOT cover? Does not cover image processing performed entirely on the local mobile device without a remote server. **Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8204793/fulfillment-by-amazon-fba **Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US8204793 --- _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: - [Controlling a Camera on Your Phone with a Separate Gadget](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8675084/facetime-video-calling) — Apple's 2014 patent describes how a separate device, like a remote control, can talk to a phone to take pictures and videos, and show them on the remote. - [How eBay Uses Image Fingerprints to Search for Products](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8825660/sql-server) — A system that lets you search for items on a marketplace by uploading a photo instead of typing text, using image 'fingerprints' to find matching products. - [Google's System for Auto-Searching Text on Your Device](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8990235/bing-image-search) — Google's 2015 patent describes a system that automatically finds and displays relevant information online based on text it detects on your device, even without you asking it to. - [How Voice Commands Help Computers Find Objects in Pictures and Videos](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9098533/amazon-kinesis) — A method for using voice commands to tell a computer which object in a photo or video you want to search for, allowing it to automatically isolate that object and perform a visual search. - [How Apps Fetch Data in the Background While You Are Offline](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8069204/azure-cloud-platform) — A method for mobile devices to store web content for offline viewing and automatically fetch new updates in the background once a wireless connection is restored.