Restricting deep hyperlinking on the World Wide Web

• US 6,539,424 B1
• Filed: 11/12/1999
• Issued: 03/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dutta, Rabindranath
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Viet D.
• Application Number:
  US09/439,053
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/227, 709/229, 709/3, 709/9, 709/10
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links

Abstract

The system, method and program of the invention enables a content provider to maintain control over the way in which a user may view the content provider'"'"'s information. If the content provider receives a request for a Web page that is a deep hyperlink into the content provider'"'"'s Web site, the content provider reroutes the request to the content provider'"'"'s Home page. In addition, the content provider explicitly displays to the user, in an attached note, the next link or sequence of links that the user should follow in order for the user to get to the desired deep link. As such, users are restricted from entering deeply into Web sites and bypassing a Web site'"'"'s home page.

Claims

1. A computer program on a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means, comprising:

means for receiving a request for a desired page deeply linked within other pages;

means for sending a higher level page, in response to the request, along with an indication of a next page having a next sequential link to subsequently reach the desired page; and

means for repeatedly sending the next page, in response to each request for the next page from the client, along with an indication of a subsequent page having a subsequent link for the client to follow, until the desired page has been sent.

10. The program of claim 1 further comprising means for sending a cookie granting permission to the next page, and means for subsequently receiving the cookie along with the request for the next page.

2. A method, in a server system connected to a network, comprising:

receiving a request, from a client, for a page deeply linked within other pages; and

sending a higher level page, in response to the request, along with an indication of a sequence of links for the client to follow from the higher level page to the deeply linked page.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the higher level page is a home page for the other pages;

and the sequence of links are defined by the server.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the sequence of links is a next sequential link within a hierarchy of links from the higher level page to the deeply linked page.

5. A method, in a server system connected to a network, comprising:

receiving a request, from a client, for a desired page deeply linked within other pages;

sending a higher level page, in response to the request, along with an indication of a next page having a next sequential link for the client to follow to subsequently reach the desired page; and

repeatedly sending the next page, in response to each request for the next page from the client, along with an indication of a subsequent page having a subsequent link for the client to follow, until the desired page has been sent.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising sending a cookie to the client granting permission to the next page wherein the cookie is received from the client along with the request for the next page.

7. A method, in a client system connected to a network, comprising:

sending a request, to a server, for a page deeply linked within other pages; and

receiving a higher level page, in response to the request, along with an indication of a sequence of links to follow from the higher level page to the deeply linked page.

8. A method, in a client system connected to a network, comprising:

i) sending a request, to a server, for a desired page deeply linked within other pages;

ii) receiving a higher level page, in response to the request, along with an indication of a next lower page as a sequential link to follow to subsequently reach the desired page; and

iii) requesting the next lower page;

iv) receiving the next lower page along with an indication of another next lower page as a next sequential link to follow; and

v) repeating steps iii) and iv) until the desired page has been received.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising receiving a cookie, when a page is received, with a permission to receive the next lower page.

11. A server connected to a network, comprising:

means for receiving a request, from a client, for a page deeply linked within other pages; and

means for sending a higher level page, in response to the request, along with an indication of a sequence of links for the client to follow from the higher level page to the deeply linked page.

12. The server of claim 11 wherein the higher level page is a home page for the other pages.

13. The server of claim 11 wherein the sequence of links is a next sequential link within a hierarchy of links from the higher level page to the deeply linked page.

14. A server connected to a network, comprising:

means for receiving a request, from a client, for a desired page deeply linked within other pages;

means for sending a higher level page, in response to the request, along with an indication of a next page having a next sequential link for the client to follow to subsequently reach the desired page; and

means for repeatedly sending the next page, in response to each request for the next page from the client, along with an indication of a subsequent page having a subsequent link for the client to follow, until the desired page has been sent.

15. The server of claim 14 further comprising means for sending a cookie to the client granting permission to the next page, and means for subsequently receiving the cookie from the client along with the request for the next page.

16. A client connected to a network, comprising:

means for sending a request, to a server, for a page deeply linked within other pages; and

means for receiving a higher level page, in response to the request, along with an indication of a sequence of links to follow from the higher level page to the deeply linked page.

17. A client, connected to a network, comprising:

i) means for sending a request, to a server, for a desired page deeply linked within other pages;

ii) means for receiving a higher level page, in response to the request, along with an indication of a next lower page as a sequential link to follow to subsequently reach the desired page; and

iii) means for requesting the next lower page;

iv) means for receiving the next lower page along with an indication of another next lower page as a next sequential link to follow; and

v) means for repeatedly employing means iii) and iv) until the desired page has been received.

18. The client of claim 17 further comprising means for receiving a cookie, when a page is received, with a permission to receive the next lower page.

19. A computer program on a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means, comprising:

means for receiving a request for a page deeply linked within other pages; and

means for sending a higher level page, in response to the request, along with an indication of a sequence of links from the higher level page to the deeply linked page.