Method and apparatus for providing geographically authenticated electronic documents
First Claim
1. A computer implemented method of improved searching for electronic documents on a computer network comprising the steps of:
- creating a collection of URL addresses of electronic documents that are associated with businesses having a geographic location being authenticated by a mechanism other than by the content of the electronic document;
receiving a geographically based query specifying a desired geographic location and a keyword at a query interface;
searching a searchable index of content to identify electronic documents having URL addresses that match the desired geographic location and the keyword;
searching the collection of geographically authenticated URL addresses to identify URL addresses of electronic documents that match the desired geographic location;
comparing the search results from the searchable index with the search results from the collection of geographically authenticated URL addresses to identify an authenticated set of URL addresses of the electronic documents which match the desired geographic location and the specified keyword;
returning the authenticated set of URL addresses of the electronic documents which match the desired geographic location and the specified keyword; and
wherein creating a collection URL addresses of electronic documents that are associated with businesses having a geographic location being authenticated by a mechanism other than by the content of the electronic document further includes;
storing, in a table locally on a user computer, the URL addresses that are associated with businesses having a geographic location corresponding to the desired geographic location;
using a web-browser plug-in detecting a requested URL address in search results from a search engine;
checking whether the requested URL address is stored in the table to verify that the requested URL address is associated with the desired geographic location; and
providing a user warning if the requested URL address is not associated with the desired geographic location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing geographically authenticated electronic documents is disclosed. Authentication for attributes for an electronic document stored on a computer network are defined, the attributes comprise at least one attribute describing a geographic location associated with the electronic document. Authenticated attributes (e.g., geographic location) of electronic documents (e.g., Web pages) allow for more accurate geographic searching and filtering. An authenticated digital certificate is created and associated with an electronic document. The authenticated digital certificate can be stored within the electronic document, such as can be done with HTML tags on a Web page. The digital certificate can also be stored as a separate file associated with the electronic document, as a separate signed digital certificate and as a database record.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method of improved searching for electronic documents on a computer network comprising the steps of:
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creating a collection of URL addresses of electronic documents that are associated with businesses having a geographic location being authenticated by a mechanism other than by the content of the electronic document; receiving a geographically based query specifying a desired geographic location and a keyword at a query interface; searching a searchable index of content to identify electronic documents having URL addresses that match the desired geographic location and the keyword; searching the collection of geographically authenticated URL addresses to identify URL addresses of electronic documents that match the desired geographic location; comparing the search results from the searchable index with the search results from the collection of geographically authenticated URL addresses to identify an authenticated set of URL addresses of the electronic documents which match the desired geographic location and the specified keyword; returning the authenticated set of URL addresses of the electronic documents which match the desired geographic location and the specified keyword; and wherein creating a collection URL addresses of electronic documents that are associated with businesses having a geographic location being authenticated by a mechanism other than by the content of the electronic document further includes; storing, in a table locally on a user computer, the URL addresses that are associated with businesses having a geographic location corresponding to the desired geographic location; using a web-browser plug-in detecting a requested URL address in search results from a search engine; checking whether the requested URL address is stored in the table to verify that the requested URL address is associated with the desired geographic location; and providing a user warning if the requested URL address is not associated with the desired geographic location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer implemented method of improved searching for electronic documents, the method comprising:
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creating a collection of geographically verified URL addresses of electronic documents that are associated with businesses located in one or more geographic locations being verified by a mechanism other than the content of the electronic document; receiving a set of URL addresses from a search engine, where the set of URL addresses are provided by the search engine as search results in response to a user query specifying a desired geographic location and a keyword; and searching the stored geographically verified URL addresses to identify URL addresses associated with the desired geographic location; comparing the set of URL addresses provided by the search engine with the identified geographically verified URL addresses to identify matches, providing the URL addresses in the search results from the search engine which match the identified geographically verified URL addresses; and storing geographically verified URL addresses of electronic documents that are associated with business located in one or more geographic locations including; storing, in a table locally on a user computer the URL addresses that are associated with businesses having a geographic location corresponding to the desired geographic location; using a web-browser plug-in detecting a requested URL address in the search results from the search engine; checking whether the requested URL address is stored in the table to verify that the requested URL address is associated with the desired geographic location; and providing a user warning if the requested URL address is not associated with the desired geographic location. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification