Determining alternative textual identifiers, such as for registered domain names

• US 20020103820A1
• Filed: 10/02/2001
• Published: 08/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VeriSign, Inc.
• Original Assignee: VeriSign, Inc.
• Inventors: Frakes, Jothan, Cartmell, Brian
• Granted Patent: US 7,664,831 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/500
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/232 Orthographic correction, e.g. spell checking or vowelisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/3005 Mechanisms for avoiding name conflicts
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/301 Name conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/3025 Domain name generation or assignment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4552 Lookup mechanisms between a plurality of directories; Synchronisation of directories, e.g. metadirectories

Abstract

A method, system, and computer-readable medium is described that determines alternatives to a specified textual identifier, such as a domain name, by identifying and using words and phrases that are related to the identifier. A variety of types of related words can be used, such as synonyms and translations, and the related words can be determined in a variety of ways. One situation in which alternatives can be generated is after a user has requested to use or acquire an unavailable textual identifier, such as a request to register an already registered domain name, and the determined alternatives can then be presented to the user as possibilities for use or acquisition. When multiple alternatives are presented to the user, they can also be ranked as to relevance and ordered in a variety of ways.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for determining alternative domain names for a domain name that is already registered, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a user to register a specified domain name, the domain name including a top-level domain name portion and a second-level domain name portion, the top-level domain name portion specifying a top-level domain and the second-level domain name portion including at least one word;

determining that the specified domain name is not available to be registered;

determining alternative domain names that are related to the specified domain name by,

determining word alternatives for the words included in the second-level domain name portion, the determined word alternatives including synonyms of the included words or translations of the included words into other languages;

generating alternative domain names whose second-level domain name portions include at least one of the determined word alternatives and whose top-level domain name portions specify the specified top-level domain; and

selecting generated alternative domain names that are available to be registered as the determined alternative domain names;

sending information to the user indicating that the determined alternative domain names are available to be registered;

receiving a request from the user that indicates to register at least one of the determined alternative domain names; and

registering the indicated alternative domain names for the user.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the sent information is a Web page that when displayed to the user includes selectable indications that correspond to the determined alternative domain names in such a manner that the user can request to register a determined alternative domain name by selecting one or more of the indications.

5. The method of claim 4 including determining relevance ratings for the determined alternative domain names, and wherein the Web page displays the determined relevance ratings to the user.

6. The method of claim 1 including determining relevance ratings for the determined alternative domain names, and wherein the determined alternative domain names are further selected to have determined relevance ratings above a relevance rating threshold.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the determined alternative domain names are further selected so that the number of determined alternative domain names satisfies a numeric threshold.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the alternative domain names uses preference information associated with the user.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the word alternatives includes requesting a third-party service to supply word alternatives for at least one included word and receiving the determined word alternatives from the service in response.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the word alternatives for an included word includes retrieving alternative word options for the included word from a database of related word.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is performed by a domain name registrar.

12. The method of claim 1 including obtaining payment from the user for the determining of the alternative domain names.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the alternative lower-level domain name portions for an indicated lower-level domain name portion are generated by replacing the target word in the indicated lower-level domain name portion with one of the alternative option words for the target word.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the alternative lower-level domain name portions for an indicated lower-level domain name portion are generated by adding at least one alternative option word to the indicated lower-level domain name portion.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the indicated lower-level domain name portion is a second-level domain name portion of the domain name.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein the indicated lower-level domain name portions are a second-level domain name portion and a third-level domain name portion of the domain name.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein the alternative option words are synonyms of the target word.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein the alternative option words are translations of the target word into another language.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein the alternative option words are from at least one of a group of related word categories that includes antonyms of the target word, homophones of the target word, idioms of the target word, hypernyms of the target word, hyponyms of the target word, meronyms of the target word, holonyms of the target word, metonyms of the target word, morphological forms of the target word, and acronyms of multiple portions of the target word.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the group of related word categories further includes synonyms of the target word and translations of the target word into other languages, and wherein the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions include alternative option words of multiple of the related word categories.

22. The method of claim 13 wherein the alternative option words are additional initial, intermediate, or ending option words.

23. The method of claim 13 including, before the providing of the indication of the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions, generating at least one alternative domain name for the domain name by combining one or more of the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions with a top-level domain name portion, and wherein the provided indication of the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions are of the generated alternative domain names that include the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein indications of multiple lower-level domain name portions of the domain name are received, and wherein the generated alternative domain names each include multiple generated alternative lower-level domain name portions.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein multiple alternative domain names are generated, and wherein at least one of the multiple generated alternative domain names includes a top-level domain name portion that is distinct from a top-level domain name portion included by another of the multiple generated alternative domain names.

26. The method of claim 23 including, before the providing of the indication of the generated alternative domain names, removing generated alternative domain names that are unavailable for registering.

27. The method of claim 23 including automatically registering at least one of the generated alternative domain names for an indicated user.

28. The method of claim 23 including automatically reserving at least one of the generated alternative domain names for a limited time.

29. The method of claim 23 wherein the provided indication is a Web page that when displayed includes indications of the generated alternative domain names.

30. The method of claim 23 including determining relevance ratings for the generated alternative domain names, and wherein the provided indication further indicates the determined relevance ratings.

31. The method of claim 23 including determining relevance ratings for the generated alternative domain names and, before the providing of the indication of the generated alternative domain names, removing generated alternative domain names whose determined relevance rating is below a relevance rating threshold.

32. The method of claim 23 including, before the providing of the indication of the generated alternative domain names, removing generated alternative domain names until the number of generated alternative domain names is below a maximum number threshold.

33. The method of claim 13 wherein the received indication of the lower-level domain name portions of the domain name is a request from a user to register the domain name.

34. The method of claim 33 including determining that the domain name is unavailable to be registered.

35. The method of claim 34 including placing the user on a waiting list for the domain name.

36. The method of claim 34 including assisting the user to make an offer for the domain name to an owner of the domain name.

37. The method of claim 13 including determining relevance ratings for the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions and ranking the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions before the providing of the indication.

38. The method of claim 13 wherein the generating of the alternative lower-level domain name portions is based at least in part on preference information associated with a requester from whom the indication was received.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein the requester is a user, and including obtaining the preference information by querying the user for the preference information.

40. The method of claim 13 including obtaining payment for the providing of the indication from an indicated requester.

41. The method of claim 13 wherein indications of multiple lower-level domain name portions of the domain name are received, and wherein at least one of the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions is an alternative for all of the multiple lower-level domain name portions.

42. The method of claim 13 wherein the domain name has a single lower-level domain name portion, and wherein multiple alternative lower-level domain name portions are generated such that the multiple alternative lower-level domain name portions in combination are an alternative for the single lower-level domain name portion.

43. The method of claim 13 including determining the alternative option words for at least one of the target words and storing the determined alternative option words for future use.

44. The method of claim 13 wherein the received indication is received from a user, wherein the domain name is unavailable for registration by the user, wherein the provided indication is provided to the user, and including:

receiving an indication of a second domain name selected by the user as an alternative to the domain name, the second domain name having at least one lower-level domain name portion;

for at least one of the lower-level domain name portions of the second domain name, determining a word that is included in the lower-level domain name portion that corresponds to a target word in one of the indicated lower-level domain name portions of the domain name, the determined word distinct from the target word; and

when the determined word was not one of the alternative option words for the target word, adding the determined word as an alternative option word for the target word.

45. The method of claim 13 wherein the alternative option words for a target word that are included in the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions are selected based on relevance ratings determined for the alternative option words.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein the relevance ratings are associated with the alternative option words, wherein the received indication is received from a user, wherein the domain name is unavailable for registration by the user, wherein the provided indication is provided to the user, and including:

receiving an indication of a second domain name selected by the user as an alternative to the domain name, the second domain name having at least one lower-level domain name portion;

determining that one of the lower-level domain name portions of the second domain name is one of the generated alternative domain name portions, the generated alternative domain name portion including at least one alternative option word for a target word; and

for each alternative option word included in the determined lower-level domain name portion, increasing the relevance rating associated with that alternative option word for the target word.

48. The computer-readable medium of claim 47 wherein the computer-readable medium is a data transmission medium transmitting a generated data signal containing the contents.

49. The computer-readable medium of claim 47 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of a computer system.

50. The computer-readable medium of claim 47 wherein the alternative option words for a target word are synonyms of the target word or translations of the target word into another language.

2. The method of claim I including determining alternative top-level domains that are distinct from the specified top-level domain, and wherein the determining of the alternative domain names includes generating and selecting alternative domain names whose top-level domain name portions specify one of the alternative top-level domains.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the generated alternative domain names includes domain names whose second-level domain name portions include at least one of the determined word alternatives and whose top-level domain name portions are one of the alternative top-level domains.

13. A computer-implemented method for determining alternative domain names that are related to a domain name, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of at least one lower-level domain name portion of a domain name;

determining whether at least one of the indicated lower-level domain name portions includes a target word for which at least one alternative option word can be identified;

for each of at least some of the indicated lower-level domain name portions that are determined to include a target word for which at least one alternative option word can be identified, generating at least one alternative lower-level domain name portion that includes at least one of the alternative option words for that target word; and

providing an indication of the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions that can be used in alternative domain names that are related to the domain name.

47. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing device to determine alternative domain names that are related to a domain name, by:

receiving an indication of at least one lower-level domain name portion of a domain name;

determining whether at least one of the indicated lower-level domain name portions includes a target word for which at least one alternative option word of a specified type can be identified;

for each of the indicated lower-level domain name portions that is determined to include a target word for which at least one alternative option word of a specified type can be identified, generating at least one alternative lower-level domain name portion that includes at least one of the alternative option words for that target word; and

providing an indication of the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions that can be used in alternative domain names that are related to the domain name.

51. A computing device for determining alternative domain names that are related to a domain name, comprising:

an alternative generator component capable of receiving an indication of at least one lower-level domain name portion of a domain name, of determining whether at least one of the indicated lower-level domain name portions includes a target word for which at least one alternative option word can be identified, and of generating for each of the indicated lower-level domain name portions that is determined to include a target word at least one alternative lower-level domain name portion that includes at least one of the alternative option words for that target word; and

a provider component capable of providing an indication of the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions that can be used in alternative domain names that are related to the domain name.

52. The computing device of claim 51 wherein the alternative generator and provider components are executing in memory of the computing device.

53. A computing device for determining alternative domain names that are related to a domain name, comprising:

means for receiving an indication of at least one lower-level domain name portion of a domain name, determining whether at least one of the indicated lower-level domain name portions includes a target word for which at least one alternative option word of a specified type can be identified, and generating for each of the indicated lower-level domain name portions that is determined to include a target word at least one alternative lower-level domain name portion that includes at least one of the alternative option words for that target word; and

means for providing an indication of the generated alternative lower-level domain name portions that can be used in alternative domain names that are related to the domain name.

54. A computer-implemented method for determining alternative domain names that are related to a domain name, the method comprising:

receiving an indication from a user of a domain name that is unavailable to be registered;

determining that the domain name includes at least one target word for which related alternative words can be determined;

generating alternative domain names that each include at least one of the related alternative words; and

displaying the alternative domain names to the user.

55. The method of claim 54 wherein the display of the alternative domain names includes at indication of at least one user-selectable control whose selection indicates a request by the user to register at least one of the alternative domain names.

56. The method of claim 54 wherein the alternative words for a target word are synonyms of the target word.

57. The method of claim 54 wherein the alternative words for a target word are translations of the target word into another language.

58. The method of claim 54 wherein at least some of the alternative domain names include a top-level domain name portion that is distinct from a top-level domain name portion of the domain name.

59. The method of claim 54 including determining relevance ratings for the alternative domain names and wherein the displaying of the alternative domain names includes the determined relevance ratings.

60. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing device to determine alternative domain names that are related to a domain name, by performing a method comprising:

receiving an indication from a user of a domain name that is unavailable to be registered;

determining that the domain name includes at least one target word for which related alternative words can be determined;

generating alternative domain names that each include at least one of the related alternative words; and

displaying the alternative domain names to the user.

61. A computing device for determining alternative domain names that are related to a domain name, comprising:

an alternative generator component capable of receiving an indication from a user of a domain name that is unavailable to be registered, of determining that the domain name includes at least one target word for which related alternative words can be determined, and of generating alternative domain names that each include at least one of the related alternative words; and

a provider component capable of displaying the alternative domain names to the user.

62. A computer-implemented method for using determined alternative domain names that are related to an indicated domain name, the method comprising:

providing an indication of a domain name that is unavailable to be registered, the indicated domain name including at least one word for which related alternative words can be determined ;

receiving in response an indication of multiple alternative domain names that are related to the indicated domain name, each of the alternative domain names available to be registered and including at least one of the related alternative words; and

providing to a registrar an indication to register at least one of the indicated multiple alternative domain names.

63. The method of claim 62 wherein the related alternative words are synonyms of the included word.

64. The method of claim 62 wherein the related alternative words are translations of the included word into another language.

65. A computer-implemented method for determining alternatives for a textual identifier, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of a textual identifier of a predefined type that includes multiple unique textual identifiers;

if it is determined that the indicated textual identifier includes a target word for which related alternative words can be determined, generating at least one alternative textual identifier of the predefined type by,

determining at least one related alternative word for the included target word; and

generating one or more alternative textual identifiers of the predefined type that each include at least one of the determined alternative words, each generated alternative textual identifier distinct from the identified textual identifier; and

providing an indication of the generated alternative textual identifiers for use as alternatives to the indicated textual identifier.

66. The method of claim 65 wherein the alternative words are synonyms of the target word.

67. The method of claim 65 wherein the alternative words are translations of the target word into another language.

69. The data structure of claim 68 wherein each option word has an associated relevance rating.

70. The data structure of claim 68 wherein each option word has an associated diminisher value.

71. The data structure of claim 68 wherein the option words for a target word are synonyms of the target word.

72. The data structure of claim 68 wherein the option words for a target word are translations of the target word into another language.

68. A data structure stored on a memory for use in determining alternative domain names that are related to a specified domain name having a lower-level domain name portion that includes one of a plurality of target words, the data structure comprising a plurality of entries, each entry corresponding to a target word and including at least one option word that is related to the target word, the option words for a target word available for use in domain name alternatives to the specified domain name.

73. A data structure stored in memory having information for display to indicate multiple alternative domain names for a specified domain name and at least one indication of a control that is selectable by a user, the specified domain name including at least one target word and each of the alternative domain names including at least one option word that is an alternative to one of the target words, each control representing a request to register at least one of the alternative domain names,

so that a user can register an alternative domain name by selecting the displayed indication for the control.

74. The data structure of claim 73 wherein the data structure includes instructions for the display of the information.

75. The data structure of claim 73 wherein the data structure represents a document for display.

76. The data structure of claim 73 wherein the data structure represents a Web page.