METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SEARCHING FOR DIGITAL ASSETS

• US 20080301128A1
• Filed: 06/02/2008
• Published: 12/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Getty Images Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Getty Images Incorporated
• Inventors: Cariss, Evan, Oberlander, Jeff, Kraemer, Aaron, Moffatt, Joy, Gandert, Nate, Cargile, Debbie, Blackburn, Jenny, Forster, Mary, Gotschall, Mary Pat, Ziobro, Chris
• Granted Patent: US 9,251,172 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3322 using system suggestions G06F16/3325 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3325 Reformulation based on results of preceding query
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3334 Selection or weighting of terms from queries, including natural language queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3338 Query expansion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/367 Ontology
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/374 Thesaurus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

A method of presenting digital assets in response to a search query by a user to locate at least one digital asset from a database of digital assets is described. Each digital asset has at least one keyword associated with it, and each associated keyword is part of a hierarchical organization of keywords. A first set of digital assets that have associated keywords equivalent to the search query is identified as well as suggested keywords that have e.g., an ancestor, descendant or sibling relation to the search query. The digital assets and the suggested keywords are presented to the user. The user selects a suggested keyword, and a second set of digital assets that have associated keywords equivalent to the suggested keyword is identified. The second set of digital assets is presented to the user.

Claims

1. A method of presenting digital images in response to a search query by a user, comprising:

receiving a search query from a user to locate at least one digital image from a database of digital images, wherein;

each digital image in the database of digital images has associated therewith at least one keyword, and

each associated keyword is part of a structured vocabulary of hierarchically organized keywords;

conforming the search query to one of the hierarchically organized keywords in the structured vocabulary;

determining a first set of digital images related to the conformed search query, wherein each digital image in the first set of digital images has associated therewith a keyword equivalent to or synonymous with the conformed search query;

determining suggested keywords from the structured vocabulary, wherein at least some of the suggested keywords have, under the hierarchically organized keywords, either an ancestor, descendant or sibling relation to the conformed search query;

presenting the first set of digital images to the user;

presenting the suggested keywords to the user;

receiving a selection of a suggested keyword from the user;

determining a second set of digital images related to the selected keyword, wherein each digital image in the second set of digital images has associated therewith a keyword equivalent to or synonymous with the selected keyword; and

presenting the second set of digital images to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the suggested keywords having either an ancestor, descendant or sibling relation to the conformed search query are weighted according to their nearness to the conformed search query in the structured vocabulary and are presented to the user in varying font sizes depending upon their weights;

at least some of the suggested keywords have a concept or subject in common with the conformed search query; and

at least some of the suggested keywords are popularly searched keywords.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a selection of a second suggested keyword from the user;

determining a third set of digital images related to the second suggested keyword, wherein each digital image in the third set of digital images has associated therewith a keyword equivalent to or synonymous with the second suggested keyword; and

presenting the third set of digital images to the user.

4. A computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program to provide digital assets in response to a search for digital assets, the computer program including instructions to perform a method comprising:

receiving a search query from a user to locate at least one digital asset from a collection of digital assets, wherein;

each digital asset in the collection of digital assets has associated therewith at least one keyword; and

at least some of the associated keywords are included in a collection of keywords organized by their relationships to each other;

determining a first set of digital assets related to the search query, wherein each digital asset has associated therewith a keyword that matches the conformed search query;

determining suggested keywords from the collection of keywords, wherein at least some of the suggested keywords are related to the search query;

presenting the first set of digital assets to the user;

presenting the suggested keywords to the user;

receiving an indication of a keyword from the user;

determining a second set of digital assets related to the indicated keyword, wherein each digital asset in the second set of digital assets has associated therewith a keyword that matches the indicated keyword; and

presenting the second set of digital images to the user.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises conforming the search query to a keyword in the collection of keywords.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein at least some of the suggested keywords have either an ancestor, descendant or sibling relationship to the search query.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein at least some of the suggested keywords have a concept or subject in common with the search query.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein at least some of the suggested keywords are popularly searched keywords.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the suggested keywords are weighted in accordance with their relationships to the search query and the weighted suggested keywords are presented to the user in varying font sizes in accordance with their weights.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the second set of digital assets is a subset of the first set of digital assets.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the second set of digital assets includes digital assets that are not included in the first set of digital assets.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the digital assets are digital images.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein receiving an indication of a keyword from the user includes receiving an indication of a keyword that is manually entered by the user.

14. A computer system for providing digital assets in response to a search for digital assets, comprising:

means for storing a collection of digital assets and a collection of keywords, wherein;

each digital asset is associated with at least one keyword, and

at least some of the associated keywords are organized by their relationships to each other in the collection of keywords;

means for receiving a search for a digital asset from a requester, wherein the search includes a term;

means for conforming the term to a keyword in the collection of keywords;

means for determining first and second sets of digital assets related to the conformed term, wherein the first set of digital assets have associated therewith a keyword that is directly related to the conformed term, while the second set of digital assets are related, but not directly, to the first set of digital assets; and

means for providing the sets of digital assets to the requester.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

means for determining a set of suggested keywords; and

means for providing the set of suggested keywords to the requestor.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein at least some of the suggested keywords have either an ancestor, descendant or sibling relationship to the conformed term.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the suggested keywords are weighted in accordance with their relationships to the conformed search term and the suggested keywords are sized in accordance with their weights.

18. A method of displaying digital assets in response to a search query by a user, comprising:

receiving a search query from a user for locating at least one digital asset from a database of digital assets stored on a server, wherein;

each digital asset has associated with it one or more keywords;

the keywords are from a database of keywords stored on the server, wherein at least some of the keywords are organized in hierarchical relationships; and

at least some of the keywords in the database are related to other keywords in the database;

providing the search query to the server;

receiving a first set of digital assets from the server, wherein each digital asset in the first set of digital assets has an associated keyword that matches the search query;

receiving a set of additional keywords retrieved from the database of keywords from the server, wherein at least some of the additional keywords are hierarchically related to the search query;

displaying the set of digital assets in a first region to the user; and

displaying the set of additional keywords in a second region to the user.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving a keyword from the database of keywords that is responsive to the search query from the server;

displaying the keyword to the user;

receiving a selection of the keyword from the user; and

providing the selected keyword to the server.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

displaying a third region configured to receive additional keywords moved into the third region by the user;

receiving an additional keyword moved into the third region from the user;

providing the additional keyword to the server;

receiving a second set of digital assets from the server, wherein each digital asset in the second set of digital assets has an associated keyword that matches the additional keyword; and

displaying the second set of digital assets in the first region to the user.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

displaying a third region configured to receive additional keywords moved into the third region by the user;

receiving an additional keyword moved into the third region from the user;

providing the additional keyword to the server;

receiving a second set of digital assets from the server, wherein each digital asset in the second set of digital assets does not have any associated keywords that match the additional keyword, and wherein the second set of digital assets is a subset of the first set of digital assets; and

displaying the second set of digital assets in the first region to the user.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

displaying a third region configured to receive an additional search query that is manually entered by the user;

receiving from the user a manually-entered search query;

providing the manually-entered search query to the server;

receiving a second set of digital assets from the server, wherein each digital asset in the second set of digital assets has an associated keyword that matches the manually-entered search query; and

displaying the second set of digital assets in the first region to the user.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving another keyword responsive to the manually-entered search query from the server;

displaying the other keyword to the user;

receiving a selection of the other keyword from the user;

providing the selected other keyword to the server;

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

displaying a third region configured to receive an additional search query that is manually entered by the user;

receiving from the user a manually-entered search query;

providing the manually-entered search query to the server;

receiving a second set of digital assets from the server, wherein each digital asset in the second set of digital assets does not have any associated keywords that match the manually-entered search query, and wherein the second set of digital assets is a subset of the first set of digital assets; and

displaying the second set of digital assets in the first region to the user.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein:

at least some of the additional keywords have either an ancestor, descendant or sibling relation to the selected keyword, are weighted according to their nearness to the selected keyword and are displayed in varying font sizes in accordance with their weights;

at least some of the additional keywords have a concept or subject in common with the selected keyword; and

at least some of the additional keywords are popularly searched keywords.

26. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

displaying a control configured to either apply or remove a filter to the user, wherein the filter pertains to intellectual property rights of the digital assets;

receiving an indication to either apply or remove the filter from the user;

providing the indication to either apply or remove the filter to the server;

receiving a second set of digital assets that are either filtered or unfiltered in accordance with the provided indication; and

displaying the second set of digital assets in the first region to the user.

27. A computer system for providing digital assets in response to searches for digital assets, comprising:

a database configured to;

store multiple keywords, wherein at least some of the keywords are organized in a hierarchical structure; and

store multiple digital assets, wherein at least some of the digital assets have associated with them one or more keywords; and

a server computer configured to;

receive a request for one or more digital assets from a client computer, wherein the request includes a search term;

identify a first and second sets of digital assets responsive to the search term from the multiple digital assets stored in the database, wherein the first set of digital assets has associated therewith a keyword that directly matches the search term, while the second set of digital assets are related, but not directly, to the first set of digital assets; and

provide the first and second sets of digital assets to the client computer.

28. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the server computer is further configured to:

identify a first set of suggested keywords from the multiple keywords stored in the database; and

provide the first set of suggested keywords to the client computer.

29. The computer system of claim 28, wherein:

the server computer is further configured to conform the search term to a keyword in the hierarchical structure;

at least some of the suggested keywords have either an ancestor, descendant or sibling relation to the keyword in the hierarchical structure and are weighted according to their nearness to the conformed search term in the hierarchical structure;

at least some of the suggested keywords have a concept or subject in common with the keyword in the hierarchical structure; and

at least some of the suggested keywords are popular keywords.

30. The computer system of claim 28, wherein the server computer is further configured to:

receive a suggested keyword from the client computer;

identify a second set of digital assets responsive to the suggested keyword from the multiple digital assets stored in the database, wherein each one of the digital assets either has an associated keyword matching the suggested keyword or each one of the digital assets does not have any associated keywords that match the suggested keyword; and

provide the second set of digital assets to the client computer.