System and method for indexing and displaying document text that has been subsequently quoted

• US 20090234816A1
• Filed: 03/26/2009
• Published: 09/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Geronimo Development Corporation
• Original Assignee: Geronimo Development Corporation
• Inventors: Armstrong, Orin Russell
• Granted Patent: US 8,768,911 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/382 using citations hypermedia G06F16/94
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links

Abstract

A computerized system and method is presented for analyzing quotations made in a quoting document of text originally found in a source document. The quoting document and source document can be web pages publicly available on the World Wide Web. The present invention analyzes the quoting document for quoted text, searches the source document for that text, and stores the existence of the quotation in association with the source document. When displaying the source document, quoted text is highlighted. A link is provided between items of quoted text and a list of documents that have quoted that text. From this list the full text of a quoting document may be displayed.

Claims

1. A computerized method of presenting web pages to an end user comprising:

a) using a web crawler operating on a digital computer to identify in a quoting web page a quotation of a quoted text portion;

b) using the web crawler to identify the quoted text portion in a quoted web page;

c) storing in a database accessible by a server computer information concerning the quoted text portion, the quoted web page, and the quoting web page;

d) receiving at the server computer a query from a user computer concerning the quoted web page;

e) querying the database for the existence of quoted text portions in the quoted web page; and

f) generating a new version of the quoted web page visually distinguishing the quoted text portion and providing a first link to the quoting document.

2. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the quoted text portion in a quoted web page includes searching for a hypertext link to the quoted web page, further wherein the hypertext link is found within the quoting web page adjacent to the quoted text portion.

3. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein multiple quoting documents exist that quote the quoted document for the quoted text portion.

4. The computerized method of claim 3, wherein the first link to the quoting document is a link to a list of all quoting documents that quote the quoted text portion.

5. The computerized method of claim 4, further comprising

g) receiving at the server computer an indication that the first link to the list of quoting documents has been selected;

h) generating at the server computer the list of quoting documents based on the data stored in the database, the list including a second link to the quoting web page;

i) receiving an indication that the second link to the quoting web page has been selected;

j) transmitting over the Internet a new version of the quoting web page distinguishing the quoted text portion and providing a third link to the new version of the quoted web page.

6. The computerized method of claim 5, wherein the new version of the quoting web page is generated after receiving an indication that the second link has been selected.

7. The computerized method of claim 5, wherein the new version of the quoting web page is generated before receiving an indication that the second link has been selected.

8. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the new version of the quoted web page is generated after receiving the query from the user computer.

9. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the new version of the quoted web page is generated before receiving the query from the user computer.

10. A computer system comprising:

a) a central processing unit;

b) random access memory;

c) non-volatile memory, the non-volatile memory containing computer software code programmed to operate on the central processing unit, the software code programmed to;

i) access a database containing data about a quoted text portion, a quoted web page, and a quoting web page, wherein the quoting web page cites the quoted web page as the source for the quoted text portion found in both the quoted web page and the quoting web page;

ii) receive at the computer system a query from a user computer concerning the quoted web page;

iii) querying the database for the existence of quoted text portions in the quoted web page; and

iv) transmitting to the user computer a new version of the quoted web page visually distinguishing the quoted text portion and providing a first link to the quoting document.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the information concerning a quoted text portion, a quoted web page, and a quoting web page was generated by a web crawler application program searching for quotations in web pages.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the web crawler

i) searches the text of the quoting web page for indications of the quoted text portion,

ii) when such indications are found, searches the text of the quoting web page for a hyperlink to the quoted web page, and

iii) when the hyperlink is found, verifies that the quoted web page contains the quoted text portion.

13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the indications of the quoted text portion include both quotation marks and block indentations.

14. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the software code is further programmed to:

a) receive at the server computer an indication that the first link to the quoting documents has been selected;

b) generate at the server computer a list of quoting documents including a second link to the quoting web page;

c) receive an indication that the second link to the quoting web page has been selected;

d) transmit over the Internet a new version of the quoting web page visually distinguishing the quoted text portion and providing a third link back to the new version of the quoted web page.