Web patents is something that will affect our work in the future. Is
anyone in W3C monitoring this area at the moment?
-h&kon
>From: srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian)
To: patent-news@world.std.com
Subject: PATNEWS: First of the Web/HTML software patents issues
!19960816 First of the Web/HTML software patents issues
If you wishfully thought the Internet/Web was going to escape the threat
and headaches of this country's software patenting problems, think again.
No, I don't mean those retro-patents now trying to be asserted against the
Internet (like the E-data and Elkins patent). I mean Internet specific
patents, those filed in the mid-1990s with the Internet in mind. One such
patent has issued, and I am not sure if it is first in its genre, but it is
first in some genre, so I call it first.
The patent, 5,530,852, was issued to Sun Microsystems on June 25, 1996
(filed Dec 20, 1994), and is titled:
"Method for extracting profiles and topics from a first
file written in a first markup language and generating
files in different markup languages containing the
profiles and topics for use in accessing data described
by the profiles and topics"
which basically is an SGML to HTML converter, where content sources in SGML
format are received by a server, which converts them to HTML for use as Web
pages and to be searchable (the equivalent technology being to pass the SGML
and HTML grammars to some YACC/LEX system). The claims are attached at the
end.
I don't know, but it is kind of a wimpy novel and unobvious idea to be
claiming, and even though some non-patent prior art is cited, it is kind of
a paltry prior art collection for a patent filed in December 1994 (not citing,
for example, Abraxas Software's PCYACC/PCLEX which has been able to handle
at least SGML for many years, and probably HTML as long).
If this is the quality of Internet/Web software patents that are going to
issued more and more frequently, expect more and more legal headaches.
Greg Aharonian
Internet Patent News Service
(for info on free subscription, send 'help' to patents@world.std.com )
(for prior art search services info, send 'prior' to patents@world.std.com)
====================
1. A computer-implemented method of retrieving information comprising the
following steps:
a. receiving a first file of information which includes a first markup
language to identify contents of said information;
b. responsive to said receiving said first file of information, parsing
said first file of information to generate a list of profiles, and at
least one corresponding topic for each of said list of profiles;
c. generating a second file in a second markup language containing said
list of said profiles and at least one corresponding third file in a third
markup language for said at least one corresponding topic for each of said
list of profiles, wherein said second file contains anchors referencing
each at least one corresponding third file, and first markup instances in
said first file of information are converted to second markup instances in
either said second file or said third file;
d. parsing said first file of information to determine said at least one
article, if any, for said each at least one corresponding topic for said
each of said list of profiles, and a corresponding brief for said at least
one article; and
e. generating a fourth file and a fifth file for said at least one
article, if any, for said each at least one corresponding topic for said
each of said list of profiles, said fourth file including a brief of each
said at least one article in said first file of information and an anchor
to said fifth file, said fifth file including text for said at least one
article, if any, for said each at least one corresponding topic for said
each of said list of profiles.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of generating a sixth
file which contains a plurality of anchors referencing a plurality of said
fifth files, wherein said anchors in said sixth file are arranged by each
said profile and corresponding topic.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of receiving said first file of
information includes receiving an electronic mail (e-mail) message.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of creating a
directory for each of said list of said profiles and at least one
subdirectory for said at least one corresponding topic for each of said
list of profiles, and storing said third and fifth file for said at least
one article, if any, for said each at least one corresponding topic for
said each of said list of profiles in said subdirectory.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein said generating said at least one
corresponding third file for said at least one corresponding topic for
each of said list of profiles, includes generating a first level heading
for each of said list of profiles, and generating a second level heading
for said at least one corresponding topic for each of said list of
profiles.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein said second level heading for said at
least one corresponding topic for each of said list of profiles comprises
an anchor referencing said fifth file.
7. A computer-implemented method of retrieving information comprising the
following steps:
a. parsing a first file of information to generate a list of profiles, and
at least one corresponding topic for each of said list of profiles;
b. generating a second file containing said list of said profiles and said
at least one corresponding topic for each of said list of profiles;
c. parsing said first file of information to determine said at least one
article, if any, for said each at least one corresponding topic for said
each of said list of profiles;
d. generating a third file for said at least one article, if any, for said
each at least one corresponding topic for said each of said list of
profiles, said third file including text for said at least one article, if
any, for said each at least one corresponding topic for said each of said
list of profiles; and
e. inserting an anchor in said second file referencing said third file for
said at least one article, if any, for said each at least one
corresponding topic for said each of said list of profiles.
8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of receiving said
first file of information in an electronic mail (e-mail) message.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein said inserting an anchor in said second
file referencing said third file for said at least one article, if any,
for said each at least one corresponding topic for said each of said list
of profiles includes generating a first level heading for each of said
list of profiles, and generating a second level heading for said at least
one corresponding topic for each of said list of profiles, wherein said
second level heading includes a first anchor referencing said third file.
10. A computer-implemented method of retrieving information comprising the
following steps:
a. using a hypertext transfer protocol, displaying to a user a display
generated from a first markup language, containing a list a profiles, and
at least one corresponding topic for each of said list of profiles;
b. allowing a user to select via said hypertext transfer protocol a first
plurality of said at least one corresponding topic for a second plurality
of said list of profiles:
c. allowing said user to enter via said hypertext transfer protocol at
least one search term: and
d. executing a search using said search term in a first database of
information, said first database of information organized by said list of
said profiles, and said at least one corresponding topic for each of said
list of profiles, wherein said search is performed in locations in said
first database of information which correspond with each of said first
plurality of said at least one corresponding topic for said second
plurality of said list of profiles.
11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of displaying, via
said hypertext transfer protocol, results of said search using said search
term in said first database, said results of said search including a first
display generated from a first markup language file representing said
results of said search, said first markup language file including at least
one anchor, wherein said each at least one anchor references a second file
containing text which includes said search term for each article for one
of said first plurality of said at least one corresponding topic for said
second plurality of said list of profiles.
12. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of executing said search
using said search term in said first database of information includes
performing a FreeWAIS search of said first database.
(Claim 12 is weird for being overly specific "performing a FreeWAIS search"
- why not a WAIS or any other search engine - Markush it?)
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