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http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20030208745.html
note: maybe some dupes here:
(European patent): http://swpat.ffii.org/patents/samples/ep927945/claims.html
s
see also http://www.patentlysilly.com/
System and method for providing instructional feedback to a user
Abstract
A system and method for providing instructional responses to unstructured user input is presented. In operation, a task is presented to a user. In response to the task, the user inputs unstructured input onto a computing device. In response to the input, a determination is made as to whether an instructional response should be presented to the user. If so, the response is presented to the user. Determining whether a response should be made to the user is made according to the accuracy of the user input in regard to the task. The response may be a visual response, and audio response, or an audio/visual response. The invention may be used in a network configuration that permits a teacher to monitor the progress of individual users/students.
IS NOT OPERATOR
Abstract
A system, method and computer-readable medium support the use of a single operator that allows a comparison of two variables to determine if the two variables point to the same location in memory.
Universal shopping center for international operation
Abstract
An international transaction system for operation over the internet/intranet provides a pre-transactional calculation of all charges involved in any international transaction. Upon the option of the customer, the goods can be viewed on catalogue sheets translated to a language of the customer's choice, and the price provided in a currency selected by the customer. The customer also has the option of initiating the order with automatic credit authorization, generation of an electronic title or commercial invoice and arrangements and payment of shipping charges and any taxes and import/export duties.
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Method of concealing partial baldness
Abstract
A method of styling hair to cover partial baldness using only the hair on a person's head. The hair styling requires dividing a person's hair into three sections and carefully folding one section over another.
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Discoverability and navigation of hyperlinks via tabs
Abstract
A user may discover and navigate among hyperlinks through the use of a keyboard. For example, a user may press a tab key to discover and navigate to a first hyperlink that is part of a hypertext document. The first hyperlink is, in response, given focus and a focus shape is drawn around the text or graphics for the hot region of the hyperlink. If the user again presses the tab key, the next hyperlink is given focus and a focus shape (i.e., an outline that surrounds the next hyperlink) is drawn around the next hyperlink. A user may also tab to a placeholder for an image in order to make a decision whether the image should be downloaded or not.
Administrative security systems and methods
Abstract
A computer such as a network appliance executes an administrative security process configured to run under an administrative privilege level. Having an administrative privilege level, the administrative security process can initiate administrative functions in an operating system function library. A user process executing under a non-administrative privilege level can initiate a particular administrative function that the process would not otherwise be able to initiate by requesting that the administrative security process initiate the function. In response to a request to initiate a particular function from a process with a non-administrative privilege level, the administrative security process determines whether the requesting process is authorized to initiate the particular administrative function based on information accessed in a data store. If the requesting process is authorized, the administrative security process initiates the particular administrative function. In this manner, the administrative security process facilitates access to specific administrative functions for a user process having a privilege level that does not permit the user process to access the administrative functions.
Organizing and displaying photographs based on time
Abstract
A technique is provided for organizing and displaying digital photographs based on time. The technique includes inputting data representing a photograph and storing the data as a photograph image file. The technique then identifies the manner in which the photograph image file stores time information (such as date and time of day). For instance, the technique determines whether the time information is digitally encoded in the image file, or whether it is embedded within the image data itself. The technique next includes extracting the time information from the photograph image file using a technique appropriate to the identified manner in which the time information is stored, to produce extracted time information. The photographs are then inserted into a time sequence based on the extracted time information, and presented on a calendar display at a location representative of the chronological placement of the photograph within the time sequence.
(application, not granted as of when i wrote this)
United States Patent 5,909,492 Payne , et al. June 1, 1999 Network sales system
Abstract
A network-based sales system includes at least one buyer computer for operation by a user desiring to buy a product, at least one merchant computer, and at least one payment computer. The buyer computer, the merchant computer, and the payment computer are interconnected by a computer network. The buyer computer is programmed to receive a user request for purchasing a product, and to cause a payment message to be sent to the payment computer that comprises a product identifier identifying the product. The payment computer is programmed to receive the payment message, to cause an access message to be created that comprises the product identifier and an access message authenticator based on a cryptographic key, and to cause the access message to be sent to the merchant computer. The merchant computer is programmed to receive the access message, to verify the access message authenticator to ensure that the access message authenticator was created using the cryptographic key, and to cause the product to be sent to the user desiring to buy the product. ---
bad patent:
AT&T on Thursday fired the latest shot in the escalating Web patent wars, filing suit against PayPal? and eBay. AT&T issued a press release alleging that the PayPal? and BillPoint? payment systems infringe on AT&T's 1994 patent for the mediation of transactions by a communications system. Besides e-Payments, the AT&T patent purports to cover e-Voting, e-Auctions, e-Gifts, e-Donations, e-Wishlists and e-Referrals. e-Gad! e-Yikes!"
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bad patent: http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week42/OG/html/1275-3/US06636857-20031021.html
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Chip Firm Hit By 45-Year-Old Patent [ Patents ] Posted by timothy on Monday June 23, @08:59PM from the welcome-to-the-free-marketplace-of-ideas dept. JPMH writes "The Register is reporting that a Taiwanese chip foundry is being sued over two chemistry patents, one over 45 years old. The patents at issue were filed in 1957 and 1964, but are still in force because they were not granted until 1987 and 1992 respectively. The first patent, 4,702,808, details an apparatus and method for initiating chemical reactions by focusing "radiant energy, such as a laser" onto streams of particles. The second patent, 5,131,941 also details an apparatus and method for initiating chemical reactions, but this time radiation is used to provide the energy kick needed to get the compounds to interact." --- Netflix Granted Patent on DVD Subscription Rentals [ Patents ] Posted by CmdrTaco? on Tuesday June 24, @11:27AM from the almost-as-bad-as-one-click dept. A few folks noted a new patent showing up from netflix. They apparently now have a patent on their model of subscribing to rentals- where instead of being charged per disc, you are charged a monthly fee and can keep the rentals indefinitely without late fees. You can patent anything! Get on the bus!
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list of bad patent cases (see also notes.txt):
--http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/30711.html
Verisign granted DNS lookup patent By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco Posted: 15/05/2003 at 06:08 GMT
Verisign has been granted a patent protecting the lookup of domain names. The patent protects the act of performing several look-ups at once, or "performing a multitude of searches simultaneously, transparent to the user.
"Specifically, the improved query server searches for an existing domain name records in various domains and then displays the results in a formatted manner, thus eliminating the need for a user to perform individual searches."
It would appear that a simple shell script that searches for theregister.com, .org or .net would fall foul of the "invention", which Verisign filed in 1998. The illustration implementation listed in the patent describes a Perl script that forks. In this discussion of the patent at ICANNwatch, Karl Auerbach points out that UNIX resolvers have been doing this since the mid 1980s.
Through its Network Solutions Inc. subsidiary, Verisign runs the lucrative .com and .net registries. ?
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--- from slashdot:
"An anonymous reader writes "We all know about NCR's lawsuit against Palm & Handspring, but I haven't seen much press about patent infringements they are claiming against some of the biggest sites on the planet. According to documentation that a friend's company has recently received, their patents protect everything from keyword searching to product categorization. Patents to look for (and filed in 1998) include 6,253,203, 6,169,997, 6,151,601, 6,085,223 and 5,991,791 . IMHO, this is absolutely outrageous and is likely to cause billions in both legal fees and eventual licensing fees (eBay, Amazon and MSFT have already licensed from NCR). How is this not the lead story on every site? every day? Maybe because no one wants to get sued for having an online business." "
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=\ /netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6253203.WKU.&OS=PN/6253203&RS=PN/6253203
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=\ /netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6169997.WKU.&OS=PN/6169997&RS=PN/6169997
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=\ /netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6151601.WKU.&OS=PN/6151601&RS=PN/6151601
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=\ /netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6085223.WKU.&OS=PN/6085223&RS=PN/6085223
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=\ /netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5991791.WKU.&OS=PN/5991791&RS=PN/5991791
another dumb patent: http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/1446781
(6,430,602)
