Method and apparatus for integrating resolution services, registration services, and search services

• US 6,895,430 B1
• Filed: 06/21/2000
• Issued: 05/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: MEC Management, LLC (Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota)
• Original Assignee: Eric Schneider
• Inventors: Schneider, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Application Number:
  US09/598,134
• Time in Patent Office: 1,791 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/203, 709/218, 709/219, 707/3, 707/5
• US Class Current: 709/217
• 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 61/3025 Domain name generation or assignment
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

An input request may be processed by a device such as a network access apparatus, servlet, applet, stand-alone executable program, or a user interface element such as a microphone, text box object or location field of a web browser. When such an input request is determined to include a valid domain name, it may then be determined whether to perform a search request with the input as a literal string. A search request may be initiated by selecting an exact phrase option from a listbox or by surrounding the input with a delimiter such as the quote sign (e.g., “example.com”) to process the detected domain name as a literal string, otherwise a domain name detected from input may be processed as a registration and/or resolution request. When it is determined that the input is instead processed as a resolution and/or registration request, then the resolvability and/or availability of the domain name may be determined. When the domain name is determined to be not resolvable, then the domain name may be processed as a registration request.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving one or more identifiers;

generating a search engine request to search web page content from the one or more identifiers;

performing a web page content search in accordance with said search engine request;

retrieving at least one search result from said web page content search;

at least one of a parsing and generating at least one domain name from the one or more identifiers at any time after said receiving the one or more identifiers; and

,

determining whether said at least one domain name is available for registration either one of a before, during, and after presenting said at least one search result from said web page content search.

2. The method, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said at least one domain name is one of a valid domain name and fictitious domain name.

3. The method, as set forth in claim 1, further including providing a domain name registration form for all domain names that are determined available for registration and providing registrant information for all domain names that are determined not available for registration.

4. The method, as set forth in claim 3, further including determining which domain name registration provider of a plurality of domain name registration providers will provide said domain name registration form.

5. The method, as set forth in claim 4, wherein said determining which domain name registration provider of a plurality of domain name registration providers will provide said domain name registration form includes retrieving said domain name registration provider from at least one of a template and user modifiable configuration settings.

6. The method, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the one or more identifiers are received from an autosearch.

7. The method, as set forth in claim 1, further including generating at least one hyperlink having a uniform resource identifier (URI) from said at least one domain name and presenting said at least one hyperlink with said at least one search result from said web page content search.

8. The method, as set forth in claim 7, wherein each said hyperlink is capable of accessing additional information relating to at least one of an URI and domain name wherein said additional information is selected from a group including WHOIS information, <

META>

tag information, geographical location information, page source information, domain name after market status information, sitemap information when said URI does not correspond to said sitemap information, and homepage information when said URI does not correspond to said homepage information.

9. The method, as set forth in claim 1, further including inputting the one or more identifiers from a user interface element.

10. The method, as set forth in claim 9, wherein said inputting the one or more identifiers from a user interface element includes inputting the one or more identifiers into one of a browser location field, text box, command line, and speech to text interface.

11. A method comprising:

receiving one or more identifiers;

at least one of a parsing and generating at least one domain name from the one or more identifiers;

performing a domain name availability request having said at least one domain name;

retrieving at least one result from said domain name availability request;

generating a search engine request to search web page content at any time after said receiving the one or more identifiers, said search engine request including the one or more identifiers; and

,

performing a web page content search in accordance with said search engine request either one of a before, during, and after presenting said at least one retrieved result from said domain name availability request.

12. The method, as set forth in claim 11, wherein said at least one domain name is one of a valid domain name and fictitious domain name.

13. The method, as set forth in claim 11, further including providing a domain name registration form for all domain names that are determined available for registration and providing registrant information for all domain names that are determined not available for registration.

14. The method, as set forth in claim 13, further including determining which domain name registration provider of a plurality of domain name registration providers will provide said domain name registration form.

15. The method, as set forth in claim 11, further including retrieving at least one search result from said web page content search, generating at least one hyperlink having a uniform resource identifier (URI) corresponding to each said search result from said web page content search, and presenting said at least one hyperlink with said at least one result from said domain name availability request.

16. The method, as set forth in claim 15, wherein each said hyperlink is capable of accessing additional information relating to at least one of an URI and domain name wherein said additional information is selected from a group including WHOIS information, <

META>

tag information, geographical location information, page source information, domain name after market status information, sitemap information when said URI does not correspond to said sitemap information, and homepage information when said URI does not correspond to said homepage information.