Patent on Multimedia/Hypertext
Ian Goldberg
I'm not sure, but doesn't this mean that Mosaic and the Web are in violation
of this patent? After all, Mosaic provides means for searching related
textual and graphical information, with a variety of entry points.
In article <dagjCGn...@netcom.com> da...@netcom.com (Dag Johansen) writes:
>Gregory Aharonian (src...@world.std.com) wrote:
>
>Does anyone know the patent number? (Why don't reporters ever put the patent
>number in their articles?!?!. I know most people may not be interested but it
>only requires about 7 characters.)
Below is the abstract for the patent that I think you're talking about. The
patent number is 5241671, and is assigned to Encyclopedia Brittanica, Inc. It
does appear quite broad.
PN - US5241671
TI - Multimedia search system using a plurality of entry path means which
indicate interrelatedness of information
IN - Reed, Michael, Chicago (IL) US; Bestick, Greg, Lacosta (CA) US;
Greenhalgh, Carol, Austin (TX) US; Bastin, Norman J., Chicago (IL)
US; Carlton, Ron, San Marcos (CA) US; Frank, Stanley D., Chicago (IL)
US; Good, Dale, Evanston (IL) US; Holman, Neil, Buffalo Grove (IL)
US; Holzman, Carl, Chicago (IL) US; Jensen, Ann, Austin (TX) US
PA - Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., Chicago, IL, US
PD - 93.08.31
AP - 89.10.26 89US-426917
NO - 41 CLAIMS, EXEMPLARY CLAIM 1, 20 DRAWINGS, 23 FIGURES
EXAMINER: Lee, Thomas C.; Von Buhr, Maria N.
ATTY/AGENT: Dickstein, Shapiro & Morin
PCL - 395600000, CROSS REFS: 364282100, 364282400, 364283300, 364283400,
364DIG100
IC - G06F-015/40
FLD - 364/200.000, 364/900.000, 364/DIG.100, 364/DIG.200, 395/600.000,
358/342.000
DT - INVENTION PATENT
FS - TO US COMPANY OR CORPORATION
CT - US4422158, 12/1983, Galie, 364/900.
US4587635, 5/1986, Hashimoto et al., 364/900.
US4685001, 8/1987, Martin, 358/342.
US4717971, 1/1988, Sawyer, 358/342.
US4729043, 3/1988, Worth, 358/342.
US4757302, 7/1988, Hatakeyama et al., 340/407.
US4758955, 7/1988, Chen, 364/419.
US4774596, 9/1988, Hashimoto, 358/335.
US4779080, 10/1988, Coughlin et al., 340/712.
US4805134, 2/1989, Calo et al., 364/900.
US4811217, 3/1989, Tokizane et al., 364/300.
US4814972, 3/1989, Winter et al., 364/200.
US4829169, 5/1989, Watanabe, 235/492.
US4829423, 5/1989, Tennant et al., 364/200.
US4831610, 5/1989, Hoda et al., 369/48.
US4914586, 4/1990, Swinehart et al., 395/600.
US4916655, 4/1990, Ohsone et al., 364/900.
US4923314, 5/1990, Blanchard, Jr. et al., 400/63.
US4931950, 6/1990, Isle et al., 364/513.
US4939689, 7/1990, Davis et al., 395/600.
US4945476, 7/1990, Bodick et al., 364/413.02.
US4982344, 1/1991, Jordan, 364/521.
US4998248, 3/1991, Matsuzaki, 370/110.1.
US5065345, 11/1991, Knowles et al., 395/154.
US5159669, 10/1992, Trigg et al., 395/159.
EP172357, 2/1986.
EP272158, 6/1988.
The APS Text Search and Retrieval, classroom Manual, Planning Research
Corporation, Nov. 1987, pp. 1-5 to 1-12, 2-3 to 2-32.
Aigrain, "Organizing Image Banks for Visual Access: Model and
Techniques", Optica 87, Proceedings of the International Meeting for
Optical Publishing and Storage, pp. 257-270, Apr. 14-16, 1987.
Barney, "Getting It All on Disc", CD ROM Review Oct., 1986, pp. 26-27.
Batley, "Visual Information Retrieval: Browsing Strategies in Pictorial
Databases", vol. 1, Online 88 Information, 12th International Online
Information Meeting Dec. 6-8, 1988, pp. 373-382.
Cohen et al., "Video Disc Dictionary System", IBM Technical Disclosure
Bulletin, vol. 25, No. 8, p. 4209, Jan. 1983.
Crawford et al., Crawford et al., "Toward the Development of Interfaces
for Untrained Users", vol. 22, Proceedings of the Forty-eight American
Society for Information Science (ASIS) Annual Meeting, 1985, pp. 236-239.
Dureau et al., "Videralp, An optical Analog Disk Planned In the Rhone
Alpes Region", Optica 87, Proceedings of the International Meeting for
Optical Publishing and Storage , Apr. 14-16, 1987, pp. 249-256.
Field, "Where the Heck I", Oct. 1989, pp. 48-53.
Lewis, "Planetarium on a Screen", The New York Times, Tuesday, Sep. 12,
1989.
McGlen, "Connecting an Optical Disc Archive with a Relational Data Base
Catalogue".
McGraw Hill CD-ROM (an advertisement letter and flyer).
O'Connor, "Integrating Optical VideoDisc and CD/ROM Technology to Teach
Art History", J. Educational Technology Systems vol. 17(1), pp. 27-32,
1988-1989.
Schafer et al., "CD-ROM Arrives in the Library: Powerful Data bases
Marketed", Information Retrieval & Library Automation, vol. 21, No. 10,
Mar. 1986, pp. 1-5.
"The New Electronic Encyclopedia", Reference Books Bulletin, Booklist,
Jul. 1989, pp. 1878-1879.
Veith, "Information Retrieval and Spatial Orientation", ASIS Proceedings
1985, pp. 250-254.
AB - A database search system that retrieves multimedia information in a
flexible, user friendly system. The search system uses a multimedia
database consisting of text, picture, audio and animated data. That
database is searched through multiple graphical and textual entry paths.
Those entry paths include an idea search, a title finder search, a topic
tree search, a picture explorer search, a history timeline search, a
world atlas search, a researcher's assistant search, and a feature
articles search.
MCLM- We claim: 1. A computer search system for retrieving information,
comprising:
means for storing interrelated textual information and graphical
information;
means for interrelating said textual and graphical information;
a plurality of entry path means for searching said stored
interrelated textual and graphical information, said entry path means
comprising:
textual search entry path means for searching said textual
information and for retrieving interrelated graphical information to said
searched text;
graphics entry path means for searching said graphical information
and for retrieving interrelated textual information to said searched
graphical information;
selecting means for providing a menu of said plurality of entry
path means for selection;
processing means for executing inquiries provided by a user in
order to search said textual and graphical information through said
selected entry path means;
indicating means for indicating a pathway that accesses information
related in one of said entry path means to information accessible in
another one of said entry path means;
accessing means for providing access to said related information in
said another entry path means; and
output means for receiving search results from said processing
means and said related information from said accessing means and for
providing said search results and received information to such user.
End of abstract....
---------.. ._ _.------------
Ian Goldberg University of Waterloo PM+CS
iagol...@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca
gcd(a,b) { return(b?gcd(b,a%b):a); }
Christopher Smith
All I can say is......
Gotta love that U.S. patent office!!! They are even more out of
touch with reality than we are!!!! Geez! That patent applies to half the
CD-ROM's currently on the market.
I don't know, maybe we should all apply for jobs at the U.S. patent office
after we graduate. The whole thing is increadibly stupid.
--Chris
--
--Bo ("the One who Knows")
Marc Plumb
Christopher Smith <cbs...@mobius03.math.uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
>I don't know, maybe we should all apply for jobs at the U.S. patent office
>after we graduate. The whole thing is increadibly stupid.
It might be a good idea. However the hiring criteria for the U.S. patent
office gives _zero_ weight to CS training. You'd be just as likely to
get a job if you had a degree in dance. The U.S. patent office is not only
ignorant about computers, but the system almost encourages that ignorance.
--
-marc
me
In article <CGqwA...@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca>, iago...@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca (Ian Goldberg) writes:
|>Newsgroups: uw.csc,comp.infosystems.www
|>Path: dxcern!EU.net!uunet!undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca!iagoldbe
|>From: iago...@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca (Ian Goldberg)
|>Subject: Patent on Multimedia/Hypertext
|>Message-ID: <CGqwA...@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca>
|>Sender: ne...@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca
|>Organization: University of Waterloo
|>Date: Fri, 19 Nov 93 16:28:00 GMT+0100
|>Lines: 144
|>
|>Just doing a little more crossposting...
|>
|>I'm not sure, but doesn't this mean that Mosaic and the Web are in violation
|>of this patent? After all, Mosaic provides means for searching related
|>textual and graphical information, with a variety of entry points.
|>
|>In article <dagjCGn...@netcom.com> da...@netcom.com (Dag Johansen) writes:
|>>Gregory Aharonian (src...@world.std.com) wrote:
|>>
|>>Does anyone know the patent number? (Why don't reporters ever put the patent
|>>number in their articles?!?!. I know most people may not be interested but it
|>>only requires about 7 characters.)
|>
|>Below is the abstract for the patent that I think you're talking about. The
|>patent number is 5241671, and is assigned to Encyclopedia Brittanica, Inc. It
|>does appear quite broad.
|>
|>
|>PN - US5241671
|>TI - Multimedia search system using a plurality of entry path means which
|> indicate interrelatedness of information
|>IN - Reed, Michael, Chicago (IL) US; Bestick, Greg, Lacosta (CA) US;
|> Greenhalgh, Carol, Austin (TX) US; Bastin, Norman J., Chicago (IL)
|> US; Carlton, Ron, San Marcos (CA) US; Frank, Stanley D., Chicago (IL)
|> US; Good, Dale, Evanston (IL) US; Holman, Neil, Buffalo Grove (IL)
|> US; Holzman, Carl, Chicago (IL) US; Jensen, Ann, Austin (TX) US
|>PA - Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., Chicago, IL, US
|>PD - 93.08.31
|>AP - 89.10.26 89US-426917
Yet another looney patent from the US patent office. The claims are so broad
as to encompass any database interface for multimedia. Note the Application
date - 1989. I have found prior publication for W3 in Jan 92 but I know that
the system was being used very much earlier than that.
This sort of thing is going to cause trouble for GATT. The rest of the world
is not going to be too happy about the US patent office handing out global
monopolies on technology through giving out inappropriate patents.
--
Phillip M. Hallam-Baker
Not Speaking for anyone else.