IconFind, Inc. v. Google, Inc.

Filing 77

OPPOSITION by IconFind, Inc. to 73 RENEWED MOTION for Judgment on the Pleadings. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration, # 2 Exhibit A, # 3 Exhibit B, # 4 Exhibit C, # 5 Exhibit D)(Folgers, Anna) Modified on 1/10/2012 (Meuleman, A).

EXHIIBIT A

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
US007181459B2

(54)

United States Patent

(10)

Grant et al.

(12)

(45)

METHOD OF CODING, CATEGORIZING,
AND RETRIEVING NETWORK PAGES AND
SITES

Patent No.:
US 7,181,459 B2
Date of Patent:
Feb. 20,2007

(56)

References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
5,933,827
5,987,457
6,055,540
6,094,657
6,148,289
6,385,602
6,675,162
6,691,105
6,763,496

A
A
A
A
A
Bl
Bl
Bl
Bl

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

8/1999
11/1999
4/2000
7/2000
11/2000
5/2002
112004
2/2004
7/2004

Cole et al.
Ballard
Snow et al.
Hailpern et al.
Virdy
Tso et aI. .
Russell-Falla et aI
Virdy ... ... ...
Hennings et aI

707/10
707/5
707/103 R
707/103 R
705/1
707/3
707/5
707/3
715/501.1

(75)

Inventors: Lee H. Grant, Davis, CA (US); Susan
A. Capizzi, Davis, CA (US)

(73)

Assignee: Iconfind, Inc., Davis, CA (US)

( *)

Notice:

(21)

Appl. No.: 10/082,596

* cited by examiner

(22)

Filed:

Primary Examiner---Greta Robinson
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Morrison & Foerster LLP

(65)

Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
U.S.c. 154(b) by 380 days.

Feb. 22, 2002
Prior Publication Data

US 2002/0087599 Al

(57)

Jul. 4, 2002

The invention includes a method for categorizing pages on
a network, including the steps of providing a list of categories and providing the opportunity to assign a page to one or
more categories. The categories include pages involved in
transacting business, pages involved in or providing information, subject matter categories, file-type categories, and
copyright-status categories. The method also includes a
categorization code that can be used to label a page with a
categorization label indicating the categories to which the
page is assigned. The invention also includes a method for
searching for information on a network. The steps include
providing an opportunity to limit a search to categories
including commerce and information, subject matter, file
type, and copyright status, and providing an opportunity to
limit the search by keyword.

Related U.S. Application Data
(63)

Continuation-in-part of application No. 09/565,695,
filed on May 3, 2000, now abandoned.

(60)

Provisional application No. 60/311,379, filed on Aug.
9,2001, provisional application No. 60/271,041, filed
on Feb. 23, 2001, provisional application No. 60/132,
694, filed on May 4, 1999.

(51)

Int. Cl.
G06F 17/00
(2006.01)
U.S. Cl.
7071100; 707/10
Field of Classification Search
... ..... ... ... 707/1,
70717, 10, 100,513,104.1,102,9; 715/513,

(52)
(58)

ABSTRACT

715/526,700

See application file for complete search history.

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Sheet 5 of 9

US 7,181,459 B2

GOVERNMENT

MEDICINE

FederallstatellDeal government
Law
Military
Nations
Politics
Taxes

Medicine & treatments
Alternative medicine &
treatments
Dentistry
Disabilities
Diseases
Health
Home care
Hospices
Hospitals
Medical Equipment
NursingfNursing homes
Nutrition
Pharmaceuticals

NEWS

HISTORY

Internet news
News magazines
Newspapers
Radio news
Satellite news
Television news

History of people,
places and things

FIG. 5

u.s. Patent

Feb. 20,2007

US 7,181,459 B2

Sheet 6 of 9

EDUCAnON & SOCIAL SCIENCES
Adult education
Anthropology
Archeology
Colleges & universities
Dissertations
Economics
Folklore
Genealogy
History
Languages
Philosophy
Political Science
Psychology
Public & private schools
Religion
Research
Social issues
Statistics

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Aeronautics & space
Agriculture
Astronomy
Biology
Botany
Chemistry
Computers & Internet
Ecology
Electronics
Engineering
Geography (maps and atlases)
Mathematics
Oceanography
Paleontology & paleozQology
Physics
Technical processes
Technological advances
Weather
Zoology

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SPORTS & RECREATION

ARTS & HUMANITIES

Camping
Crafts
Food & cooking
Games & toys
Gardening
Hobbies
Home improvements
Pets
Sports (football, soccer,
baseball, etc.)
Theme parks
Travel

Architecture
Dance
Fine arts (painting,
sculpture, etc.,)
Landscape architecture
Literature
Movies
Music
Performing arts
Photography
Television
Theater
Video

FIG. 6

u.s. Patent

Feb. 20,2007

Sheet 7 of 9

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US 7,181,459 B2

FINANCE & BUSINESS

REFERENCE

Banks & financial institutions
Business information
Companies
Consumers
Employment
Finance
Investments
Marketing
Real estate
Trade
Transportation
World currencies

Almanacs
Associations
Conferences
Dictionaries
Encyclopedias
Journals
Libraries
Museums
Organizations
Phone numbers & addresses
Proceedings
Quotations

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Sexually explicit material

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Keyword(s)

US 7,181,459 B2
1

2

METHOD OF CODING, CATEGORIZING,
AND RETRIEVING NETWORK PAGES AND
SITES

or spider (also called a worm, robot, or bot) that automatically crawls through the Internet on hyperlinks indexing
Web pages, a database which is the index compiled by the
crawler, and a search tool which the user can use to search
the database. The databases of the existing search engines
differ in how they are created. Some Web crawlers index
each word in a document, some index only keywords,
including META tags, and some index other parts of a Web
page, such as title, headings, etc. Most search engines
require a search to be conducted by typing in keywords. The
way in which the search query is formulated may be by
Boolean logic, where keywords are used with various terms,
or by natural language, where keywords are used in the form
of a question. Although natural language searches may be
easier for a user to formulate, both types of formulations rely
on keywords.
Most search engines use mathematical algorithms to
weigh or rank the results, with the most relevant items listed
first. These rankings may be based on the number of times
a keyword is used on a page or the location of the keyword
on the page. Some search engines also allow the user to
organize or group the results by category, date, or other
variable, such as the folders used by Northern Light, U.S.
Pat. No. 5,924,090 to Krellenstein. Another search engine,
known as the Clever Project, by IBM, analyzes hyperlinks
between pages, in addition to text and citations, in order to
develop algorithms that are intended to increase the relevancy of search results. This method is a marginal improvement over other search engines, but has its own set of
problems. "A shortcoming of Clever has been that for a
narrow topic, such as Frank Lloyd Wright's house Fallingwater, the system sometimes broadens its search and
retrieves information on a general subject, such as American
architecture." ("Hypersearching the Web," Scientific American, June 1999.)
Search engines do not index the entire Internet. Most have
indexed about one-third of the available or publicly indexable Web pages (i.e., excluding Web pages with authorization requirements). Examples of search engines are Google,
FAST, AltaVista, Inktomi, and Northern Light. A greater
portion of the Internet can be searched using a meta-search.
This technology allows the user to search several search
engines at the same time and presents all the results in a
single list, but exacerbates the problems inherent in existing
search engines.
Because they contain such huge databases, existing search
engines often produce search results too voluminous for the
user to review. Also, the search results typically contain a
vast amount of irrelevant or unrelated items. As stated
previously, it has been found that 92 percent of searches did
not yield relevant information or did not organize the results
in a usable fashion (The Industry Standard, Apr. 17, 2000).
Another problem is that search engines are more likely to
index pages with more links, pages with commercial information, and pages in the United States, rather than lesser
known, educational, or non-United States pages.
Another major problem of existing search engines is that
they may allow minors access to pornography on the Internet. Current filtering software is an ineffective and often
clumsy tool that fails to limit access to many pornographic
sites, but blocks other sites that are educational or medical
in nature. In addition, the controversy surrounding this issue
has created enormous difficulties for public institutions, such
as schools and libraries, with respect to allowing minors
access to the Internet.
Lastly, it is often difficult for a user to determine the
copyright status of material on the Internet. There is also no

RELATED APPLICATIONS
Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. section 1.53(b)(2), this application
is a continuation-in-part application that claims the benefit
of the filing date earlier-filed, nonprovisional application
Ser. No. 09/565,695 filed on May 3, 2000, now abandoned
which claims the benefit of the filing date of earlier-filed
provisional application Ser. No. 60/132,694 filed on May 4,
1999.
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of
earlier-filed provisional application Ser. Nos. 60/271,041
filed on Feb. 23, 2001 and 60/311,379 filed on Aug. 9, 2001,
pursuant to 35 U.S.c. section 119(e).

10

15

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
20

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods for
categorizing and searching for information on a network
and, more specifically, to categorizing and searching Web
pages on the Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Internet contains over two billion Web pages. It has
been estimated that two million Web pages are added to the
Internet each day (The Industry Standard, Feb. 28, 2000).
This vast amount of information is a tremendous resource
for the public to use. However, there is no effective way for
a user to obtain relevant information. Although 85 percent of
users use search engines to find information on the Internet,
"a mind-boggling 92 percent of searches fail to find relevant
information or to arrange the results in a meaningful order."
(The Industry Standard, Apr. 17, 2000, referring to a Forrester Research review of Web sites.)
There are two fundamental problems. First, there is no
standardized international categorization system or catalog
of the information contained on the Internet. A group of
librarians and others have been working on a cataloging
system for the Internet for the last few years. This work is
referred to as the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set. This
system suffers from a number of problems, including requiring a high degree of cataloging knowledge and being
time-consuming and very expensive. In addition, because of
the size of the Internet, it is a system that is unworkable.
Second, because there is no standardized categorization
system or catalog, the existing search methods, which primarily include directories and search engines, are often
cumbersome, ineffective, and inefficient.
Directories or indices are human-compiled databases of
Web sites or pages. Most directories use editors to review
and categorize Web sites. Some use contributions by their
visitors. A user searches a directory by reviewing lists of
categories and subcategories, or also typing in keywords.
The result is a list of documents that the user can access by
links. Directories are helpful to familiarize a user with the
scope of a subject, but are not very useful in finding specific
information. Also, directories can be slow, and the results
may be haphazard. Another major problem is that directories
review and categorize only a small percentage of pages and
sites. Examples of directories commonly used are Yahoo!
and LookSmart.
Search engines are huge databases that automatically
index large portions of the Internet and continually update
that index. Search engines typically include a Web crawler

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50

55

60

65

US 7,181,459 B2

3

4

easy way for owners of content to indicate the copyright
status of their material. This problem has hampered the flow
of infonnation and left both the owners of content and users
confused and potentially in legal jeopardy.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a method
that does not require the user to understand or use a
particular language, including English.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method
for limiting the results of a search, such as a search on the
Internet, to exclude pornographic materials.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a method
with the advantages of pornography-filtering software, but
without the disadvantages of such software.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The method for categorizing and retrieving network pages
and sites of the present invention are adapted to overcome
the above-noted shortcomings and to fulfill the stated needs.
The first embodiment of the invention is a method for
categorizing a network page. The method comprises the
steps of providing a list of categories and providing the
opportunity to assign a page to one or more of a plurality of
the categories. The categories include whether a page is
involved in transacting business or providing infonnation,
whether a page has information relating to one or more of a
plurality of subject matter categories, the type of files
associated with a page, and the copyright status of the
material on a page. The method also includes a categorization code.
The second embodiment of the invention is a method for
searching for and locating information on a network. The
method comprises the steps of providing the opportunity to
limit the search to categories for pages involved in transacting business, pages involved in providing infonnation,
and pages involved in both transacting business and providing infonnation; providing an opportunity to limit the search
to one or more of a plurality of subject matter categories;
providing an opportunity to limit the search to one or more
of a plurality of file-type categories; providing an opportunity to limit the search by keyword; and providing the
opportunity to limit the search to one of a plurality of
copyright-status categories.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method for
categorizing a page on a network, during or after the time
that the page is created, according to whether the page is
involved in transacting business or providing infonnation.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method for
categorizing a page on a network, during or after the time
that the page is created, according to the subject matter
contained on the page.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method
for categorizing a page on a network, during or after the time
that the page is created, according to the type of files
associated with the page.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a method
for categorizing a page on a network, during or after the time
that the page is created, according to the copyright status of
the material on the page.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method for
searching a network, such as the Internet, to allow the user
access to a larger percentage of information contained on the
network.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method
for searching a network, such as the Internet, to obtain more
relevant results more quickly than existing methods for
searching allow.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method
to easily obtain audio or visual material located on a
network.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a method
to easily retrieve material of a particular copyright status
located on a network.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method
for searching a network that is easy to use.

10

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

15

20

25

30

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45

50

55

60

65

FIG. 1 is a representation of the preferred graphical user
interface used for categorizing, showing the three tiers and
the categories within those tiers, and the copyright-status
categories.
FIG. 2 shows an example of the preferred graphical user
interface for a page having the categorization label
"inmesp04."
FIG. 3 is a representation of the preferred graphical user
interface used for conducting a search.
FIG. 4 is a Venn diagram showing the intersection of the
domains corresponding to the categories of Commerce and
Information.
FIG. 5 is a chart of the Govemment, Medical, News, and
History categories of the second tier showing examples of
topics contained within those categories.
FIG. 6 is a chart of the Education & Social Sciences,
Science & Technology, Sports & Recreation, and Arts &
Humanities categories of the second tier showing examples
of topics contained within those categories.
FIG. 7 is a chart of the Finance & Business, Reference,
Explicit, and Other categories of the second tier showing
examples of topics contained within those categories.
FIG. 8 shows an example of the preferred graphical user
interface for a search
FIG. 9 is a Venn diagram showing an example of the
relationship between the subcategory created by selecting a
combination of the categories and the keyword search.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS
The invention includes methods for categorizing a page as
it is being created or as it exists on a network, and for
searching a network. Networks include the Internet and
private corporate networks, such as intranets and local area
networks. Pages on the Internet are identifiable by unique
addresses and include both Web sites and Web pages.
The invention includes a hierarchy of three tiers 12, 14,
and 16, and a set of copyright-status categories 17, to
categorize, and to search for information located on, Web
pages. The invention may utilize a graphical user interface
(GUI), although it is not necessary. FIG. 1 shows an example
of the invention utilizing GUI 10. Other versions of GUI
may also be used and not all tiers or categories need be used.
The GUI may show only tiers 12, 14, and 16, only the
copyright-status categories 17, or any combination of categories.
First tier 12 is a division into one or both of two major
categories: pages that are involved in transacting business
and pages that are involved in providing infonnation. In the
preferred embodiment of the invention, the first category 18
is designated "Commerce" and the second category 20 is
designated "Infonnation." Web pages involved in transacting business include e-commerce pages, which provide
users with the ability to conduct online purchases, sales,

US 7,181,459 B2

5

6

leases, or other financial transactions, pages that may be
involved in transacting business, but do not enable the user
to conduct the transaction on-line, and other pages that
contain commercial infonnation. Web pages involved in
providing information include pages that contain articles,
journals, publications, or other non-commercial materials.
Some Web pages may be involved in both transacting
business and providing information and thereby fall within
both the categories of "Commerce" and "Information."
Second tier 14 is a division into one or more categories
based on the subject matter the Web page contains. Many
different categories can be used and many different terms
may be used to identify a given category. The preferred
embodiment of the invention includes twelve categories
encompassing like subjects that have been carefully selected
to allow users to locate and access infonnation in an efficient
manner: Govemment 22, Medical 24, Education & Social
Science 26, News 28, Sports & Recreation 30, History 32,
Science & Technology 34, Arts & Humanities 36, Finance &
Business 38, Reference 40, Explicit 42, and Other 44. Each
of these categories includes many topics. FIGS. 5, 6, and 7
list examples of the topics included in each category. For
example, category 22, Govemment, includes the following
topics: federal/state/local govemment, law, military, nations,
politics, and taxes. Category 42, Explicit, includes pornography and sexually-explicit material. Category 44, Other, is
for subjects that do not fit into any of the other categories of
second tier 14.
Third tier 16 is a division into one or more categories
according to the type of files associated with a Web page.
There are several different types of files, including text,
graphics, audio, video, multimedia, and files for communications between persons. Most search engines can recognize
the type of files associated with a Web page by scanning the
files and identifying the file extensions (for example, gif, .au,
.wav). The preferred embodiment of the invention includes
the following five file-type categories: Visual 46, Audio 48,
Multimedia 50, Text-only 52, and Communication 54. Category 46, Visual, includes files containing pictures, charts,
graphs, and diagrams. Category 48, Audio, includes files
containing sound, such as music, voice, and sound effects.
Category 50, Multimedia, includes files containing video,
film clips, and virtual reality. Category 52, Text-only,
includes files that do not contain any visual, audio, or
multimedia material. Category 54, Communication,
includes files containing e-mail, telnet links, ICQ, and other
messaging systems.
The set of copyright-status categories 17 includes the
following four categories. Public Domain is material that is
in the public domain and can be used freely without any
restrictions. Fair Use Only is material meant to be used in
accordance with accepted fair use guidelines. Use with
Attribution is material that can be used as long as its use is
accompanied by an attribution to the author or copyright
owner. Permission of Copyright Owner Needed is material
that cannot be used unless the copyright owner is first
contacted for pennission, which mayor may not be granted
and may include fees and additional terms.

the categories of the three tiers 12, 14, and 16, and the
categories for copyright status 17, as shown in FIG. 1. The
list of categories includes at least one different indicium for
each category. The indicium is preferably a universal symbol
or icon that is not associated with anyone language, but it
may also include a combination ofletters, numerals, or other
characters, or symbols. The indicia preferably used are
universal icons and two-letter or two-numeral indicia, as
shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the indicia for commerce are "co"
and the "$" symbol, while the indicium for "Public Domain"
is "01."
The creator of a Web page may assign the Web page to
any number or combination of the categories of three tiers
12,14, and 16, and one ofthe copyright-status categories 17,
depending on which categories best characterize the Web
page. The steps of assigning a page to categories may be
perfonned in several different ways known to those skilled
in the art. The creator may also decide not to assign the page
to any of the categories of a particular tier. The creator may
assign the page to one of the copyright-status 17 categories
with or without also assigning the page to any of the
categories of three tiers 12, 14, and 16. Thus, the copyrightstatus categories 17 can be used in connection with the
categories of some or all of three tiers 12, 14, and 16, alone,
or not at all. The outcome of the categorization method is
that a page is designated to be "in" or "within" the categories
that best characterize the page.
First tier 12 includes two categories: Commerce 18 and
Information 20, as shown in FIG. 1. The creator may assign
the page to either one of the two categories of Commerce 18
or Infonnation 20. If the page is involved in both transacting
business and providing information, the creator may assign
it to both Commerce 18 and Information 20.
Second tier 14 includes twelve subject matter categories:
Govemment 22, Medical 24, Education & Social Science
26, News 28, Sports & Recreation 30, History 32, Science
& Technology 34, Arts & Humanities 36, Financial 38,
Reference 40, Explicit 42, and Other 44, as shown on FIG.
1. The creator may assign the page to one or more of these
twelve categories.
Third tier 16 includes five file-type categories: Visual 46,
Audio 48, Multimedia 50, Text-only 52, and Communication 54, as shown in FIG. 1. The creator may assign the page
to one or more of the five file-type categories.
The copyright-status categories 17 include four categories: Public Domain, Fair Use Only, Use with Attribution,
and Pennission of Copyright Owner Needed. The creator
may assign the page to one of the four copyright-status
categories.
After the creator decides to which categories to assign the
page, the creator may mark or tag the page as belonging in
or within the assigned categories by associating, with the
page, the corresponding indicium for each assigned category. In addition, or alternatively, the creator may communicate the categories to which the page is assigned to one or
more search engines for the purpose of allowing such search
engines to locate or recognize the page, by its assigned
categories, in conducting a search. The creator may change
the categories during editing at a later point in time as
frequently as desired.

Method For Categorizing a Page
The first embodiment of the invention is a method for
categorizing a page on a network, as the page is being
created or during editing at a later time. The method includes
the steps of providing the creator with a list of categories and
providing the creator an opportunity to assign the page to
one or more of the categories. The preferred categories are

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Categorization Code
The method also includes the step of providing the creator
with a categorization code that can be used to tag or label
each page or site. The categorization code preferably works
with any Internet language (such as html, xml, and vnnl) and
can be used without any programming skills and is prefer-

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ably the indicia shown in FIG. 1. Using the categorization
code, the creator can assign a categorization label to each
page. The categorization label preferably consists of the
indicia for all of the categories to which the page is assigned.
An example of such a categorization label is a single, simple
character string consisting of the two-letter or two-numeral
indicia for all of the categories to which the page is assigned.
The categorization label for a page preferably also includes
an identifier, such as a combination of several characters or
symbols, to indicate that the characters or symbols that
follow are part of a categorization code system.
To use the categorization code, the creator selects the
indicia from all three tiers and the copyright-status categories that are relevant to the content of the page being
categorized. The indicia for the categories are preferably
placed in an unbroken code string in the following order:
first tier, second tier, third tier, and copyright-status categories. This code string is the categorization label for the page.
The categorization label can either be typed directly onto the
page or created by clicking on the icons of the user interface
which will allow the categorization label to be copied and
pasted on the page. If a user interface is used, the icons that
have been selected may be indicated by a change in color,
brightness, or shading, or in some other manner. The categorization label is preferably placed at the bottom or end of
the page.
The categorization label will be readable by Web crawlers
and may be visible to users. For example, a page that
contains scientific information with pictures would be categorization labeled as "inscvi," which indicates: Information
(in); Science & Technology (sc); and Visual (vi). By selecting one of the four copyright-status indicia and placing it on
the end of the categorization label, the creator adds the
information governing the use of the material. For instance,
if the creator wants to inform viewers that the page is
available for use as long as an attribution is included, "03"
would be added to the end of the categorization label. The
categorization label would be "inscvi03," which indicates:
Information (in); Science & Technology (sc); Visual (vi);
and Use with Attribution (03). Ifa page contains information
about treating sports injuries and the creator wants to inform
viewers that permission from the copyright owner is needed,
then the categorization label would be "inmesp04," which
indicates: Information (in); Medical (me); Sports & Recreation (sp); and Permission of Copyright Owner Needed (04).
FIG. 2 is an example of a user interface showing the
categorization label "inmesp04."
A page that offers access to pornographic pictures and
movies for a fee would have a categorization label that
included the indicia for Commerce, Explicit, Visual, and
Multimedia. The categorization label would be "coexvimu,"
which indicates: Commerce (co); Explicit (ex); Visual (vi);
and Multimedia (mu). The Explicit category 42, identified
by the "X" icon and the "ex" code, can be refined into
subcategories through the use of first tier 12 and third tier 16.
The Explicit category 42 is not combinable with other
categories of second tier 14, however, because it is intended
that the Explicit category 42 be restricted to pornographic
materials. Other types of sexually explicit material, which
may be appeared in information related to medical studies
and scientific research, and material related to pornography
which may be appeared in information related to governmental initiatives and news, may be accessed through the
other categories of second tier 14 using "pornography" as a
keyword.
The categories of the three tiers 12, 14, and 16 and the
copyright-status categories 17 may be used individually or

together in any combination. The creator may or may not
choose to include the copyright-status categories. Likewise,
if the primary interest is in placing the copyright status on
the page or site, then the three tiers 12, 14, and 16 need not
be included. If no categories are chosen from the first,
second, or third tiers, then the categorization label would
include only the copyright status; for example, a categorization label of "04" indicates Permission of Copyright
Owner Needed.
The copyright-status indicia may also be linked to additional information or definitions pertaining to the copyright
status. For example, "01" may also include a definition of
public domain, "02" may also include a definition of fair use,
"03" may also include instructions on how to show attribution, and "04" may also include instructions on how to
contact the copyright owner and required terms.

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Categorization Label for the Entire Site or Portion Thereof
The categorization label for a single page can be made to
apply to the entire site or a portion thereof with the addition
of a character or symbol, such as an exclamation point, "!,"
at the end of the categorization label. When added to the
categorization label, the exclamation point makes the categorization label the default code for the remainder of the
site that contains the same root URL from where the
categorization label containing the exclamation point is
placed.
If the exclamation point is placed on the categorization
label for the index, home, or default page (such as .com, net,
and .org), the entire site will be categorized with the same
label. For instance, if a hypothetical site with the fictional
name ..www.abcde.com.. has as its purpose the teaching of
the alphabet and includes pictures as well as audio on its
pages, the categorization label for the page "www.abcde.com" would be "inedviau," which indicates: Information
(in); Education & Social Science (ed); Visual (vi); and Audio
(au). To make the categorization label "inedviau" for the
page ..www.abcde.com..applicabletotheentiresite.an
exclamation point is added, such that the categorization
label is "inedviau!," which indicates: Information (in); Education & Social Science (ed); Visual (vi); Audio (au); and
that the categorization label applies to all pages that contain
the root URL www.abcde.com/.
If the categorization label with the exclamation point is
placed on a secondary branch of the root URL, the categorization label will apply for all pages that start with that
URL. For instance, if a govemment institution involving
medical research has a large number of Web pages containing research papers that are text-only, it could have a root
URL such as "www.institution.gov/medical/docs." This root
URL could have hundreds of web pages that contain
research papers (such as "www.institution.gov/medical/
docs/sept" or "www institution. gov/medical/docs/heart"). If
the Web page "www.institution.gov/medical/docs" is given
the categorization label "ingomete," only that single page
would be categorized. If an exclamation point is added, such
that the categorization label is "ingomete! ," all of the Web
pages that contain "www.institution.gov/medical/docs" as
part of their URL would be categorized with the same label.
Thus, the method does not require the individual categorization of each Web page containing research papers and
automatically categorizes new Web pages as they are added.
Level of Importance Given to Each Category
The order that indicia are placed in the categorization
label denotes the level of importance of the categories to
which a page is assigned. For instance, in the categorization
label "inmespvi," which indicates: Information (in); Medical

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(me); Sports & Recreation (sp); and Visual (vi), the Medical
category is given a higher level of importance than the
Sports & Recreation category, meaning that the page emphasizes medical content more than sports and recreation content. If the placement of the indicia were reversed, such that
the categorization label was "inspmevi," then this would
mean that the page emphasizes sports and recreation content
more than medical content. This will be reflected in how the
search results are displayed. For example, if a searcher
selects categories that reflect the categorization label
"inmespvi" by clicking on the Medical icon before the
Sports & Recreation icon, search results will first list those
pages that are categorized with the label "inmespvi" and
then list the pages categorized with the label "inspmevi."

restricted to only those Web pages that are categorized as
Commerce 18. This will include all pages in the Commerce
category 18 as well as the subcategory that is both Commerce 18 and Information 20. Pages only in the Information
category 20, and not also in Commerce 18, will automatically be excluded. If the user selects "i," the search will be
restricted to only those Web pages that are categorized as
Information 20. This will include all pages in Information
category 20 as well as the subcategory that is both Information 20 and Commerce 18. Pages only in the Commerce
category 18, and not also in Information 20, will automatically be excluded. If the user selects both "$" and "i," as
shown in FIG. 4, the search will be restricted to only those
Web pages that are categorized as both Commerce 18 and
Information 20. Only subcategory 56 of Commerce and
Information will be searched. Pages only in Commerce 18
and pages only in Information 20 will be excluded. If none
of the categories of first tier 12 are selected, the search
results will include Web pages of both categories and the
subcategory and will not be narrowed based on whether the
page is involved in transacting business or providing information.
The user next may select one or more categories from
second tier 14: Govemment 22, Medical 24, Education &
Social Science 26, News 28, Sports & Recreation 30,
History 32, Science & Technology 34, Arts & Humanities
36, Finance & Business 38, Reference 40, Explicit 42, and
Other 44. As shown in FIG. 3, each of these twelve categories may be conveniently represented on the user's screen by
a different indicium, for example, as is preferred: a flag for
Govemment, a caduceus for Medical, a mortarboard for
Education & Social Science, a satellite dish for News, a
bicycle for Sports & Recreation, a pyramid for History, a
microscope for Science & Technology, an artist's pallette for
Arts & Humanities, a briefcase for Financial, a book for
Reference, an "X" for Explicit (pornographic or sexuallyexplicit material), and a "7" for Other. A list of sample topics
included in each category may be provided to the user who
may view the list by, for example, clicking on the icon for
the category. The twelve subject matter categories and their
corresponding topics are shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. Ifnone
of the categories are selected, the search results will include
Web pages of all twelve categories and will not be narrowed
based on the subject matter contained in the page.
Next, the user may select one or more categories from
third tier 16: Visual 46, Audio 48, Multimedia 50, Text-only
52, and Communication 54. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the
five categories may be conveniently represented on the
user's screen by a different indicium, for example, as is
preferred: an eye for Visual, an ear for Audio, a lightning
bolt for Multimedia, a text page for Text-only, and a mouth
for Communication. If no selection is made from this tier,
the results from the search will include Web pages that are
associated with file-types of text, visual, audio, multimedia,
and communications and will not be narrowed based on the
types of files contained on the page.
Then, the user may select one of the copyright-status
categories 17: Public Domain, Fair Use Only, Use with
Attribution, and Permission of Copyright Owner Needed. As
shown in FIG. 3, each of the four categories may be
represented on the user's screen by a different indicium,
such as a two-numeral indicium as is shown. If none of the
categories are selected, the search results will include Web
pages of all four categories and will not be narrowed based
on the copyright-status of the material on the page.
Combining categories restricts the search results to only
the relevant categories and subcategories. The greater the

Placement of Categorization Label on Web Page
The categorization label is preferably placed, typed, or
pasted on the bottom of the page being categorized so that
it is the last item on the page. This provides a uniform
location for crawlers, spiders, and others to search and read
or recognize. Alternatively, the categorization label can be
placed in a Metatag.
Automated Reading of Categorization Labels
Using existing technologies known in the art, search
engines, Web crawlers, and other automated devices will be
able to make the simple programming adjustments needed to
read and recognize the categorization labels of Web pages as
dictated by each of their individual hardware and software
configurations. For example, the search engines may instruct
their crawlers to look for the categorization labels in pages
that they automatically scan. In most cases, the categorization labels will be found at the end of the page being
scanned. The categorization labels will then be read and
each category assigned to the page recognized by its twoletter or two-numeral indicium. The URL or another identifier for the page will then be placed in a database under
each category and subcategory for which it is categorized.

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Method for Searching
40

The second embodiment of the invention is a method for
searching for and locating information on a network. The
method allows the user to search pages on a network that
have already been categorized into any of three tiers of
categories 12, 14, and 16, and copyright-status categories
17. The categorization may have been done by the creator of
a page at the time the page was created or during editing at
a later time.
The method provides the user with the opportunity to
limit the search by selecting one or more categories from
three tiers 12, 14, and 16, and one of the copyright-status
categories 17, and by utilizing a keyword search. A graphical
user interface, such as is shown in FIG. 3, may be provided.
The user may select one or more categories from each of
one, two, or three of the category tiers 12, 14, and 16, and
from one or none of the copyright-status categories 17, or
from none of tiers 12, 14, and 16 and from one of the
copyright-status categories 17, and mayor may not use the
keyword search function. For convenience, as is well known
in the art, when an icon is selected, its appearance may
change such that it is emphasized, such as by highlighting.
The user may select, from first tier 12, the category of
Commerce 18, the category of Information 20, or both
categories 18 and 20. The categories may be conveniently
represented on the user's screen by an indicium, for
example, as is preferred: "$" for Commerce 18 and "i" for
Information 20. If the user selects "$," the search will be

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provided with the option to exclude the indicium for the
number of categories chosen, the more refined the search
Explicit category from the user interface. This will serve two
and the greater the number of pages that are excluded from
the search. When the user selects several categories, the user
purposes. It will eliminate the category from search use and
it will also remove any indication alluding to the access of
does not get results from each of those categories, but only
pornographic or sexually explicit material. Other types of
from the subcategory that is created from the combination of
the selected categories. Combining categories acts as a
sexually explicit material, which may be appeared in inforfiltering process, eliminating irrelevant material from the
mation related to medical studies and scientific research, and
search and from subsequent results. This method allows the
material related to pornography which may be appeared in
information related to governmental initiatives and news,
user to exclude unwanted material, such as pornography,
10 may be accessed through the other categories of second tier
which is contained in Explicit category 42.
14 using "pornography" as a keyword.
The user may next enter a keyword 58, which can be a
single word or multiple words. The keyword search can be
The foregoing detailed disclosure of the inventive method
formulated by using either Boolean logic terms or natural
is considered as only illustrative of the preferred embodilanguage.
ments of, and not a limitation upon the scope of, the
For example, a searcher who wanted to find information 15 invention. Those skilled in the art will envision many other
on sports-related knee injuries that could be used with the
variations of the method disclosed that nevertheless fall
permission of the copyright owner would make the selecwithin the scope ofthe following claims. Alternative uses for
tions shown in FIG. 8. By selecting the combination of the
this inventive method may later be realized. Accordingly, the
Information, Medical, and Sports & Recreation categories,
scope of the invention should be determined with reference
as well as the category that contains Permission of Copy- 20 to the appended claims and not by the examples that have
right Owner Needed, the search and subsequent search
been given.
results will be limited to the subcategory shown in FIG. 9
The invention claimed is:
and will not include pages and sites from the larger Infor1. A computer implemented method of categorizing a
mation, Medical, Sports & Recreation, and Permission of
Copyright Owner Needed categories that are not contained 25 network page, comprising:
providing a list of categories, wherein said list of categowithin the much smaller subcategory.
ries include a category for transacting business and a
After making the selections, the user initiates the search.
category for providing information, and wherein said
The indicia for the categories selected and the keyword
list of categories include a category based on copyright
preferably remain visible on the user's screen during the
status of material on a page;
30
search.
assigning said network page to one or more of said list of
After a user initiates a category-limited search, existing
categories;
technologies known in the art will allow an identification to
be made of all pages that have been assigned to all of the
providing a categorization label for the network page
categories to which the search was limited. This may be
using the copyright status of material on the network
accomplished by a search engine reviewing a database 35
page; and
corresponding to a subcategory that is equal to the combicontrolling usage of the network page using the categonation of categories selected by the user. If the search has
rization label and the copyright status of the network
been limited using keyword, an identification is made of all
page.
pages containing the keyword. If the search is both category2. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories include
limited and keyword-limited, an identification is made of all 40 a plurality of categories based on subject matter.
pages that have been assigned to all of the categories to
3. The method of claim 2, wherein said categories comwhich the search was category-limited, which also contain
prise categories related to government, medical, education
the keyword.
and social science, news, sports and recreation, history,
Searchers will also be able to make use of the categoriscience and technology, arts and humanities, finance and
zation code by treating the categorization label as a keyword 45 business, reference, and explicit.
element in combination with actual keywords. For instance,
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories include
by treating the categorization label "ingovi" as a keyword
a plurality of categories based on the type of files associated
and combining it with the keyword "Pentagon," using the
with a page.
Boolean qualifier "AND" to search "ingovi" AND "Penta5. The method of claim 4, wherein said categories comgon," the searcher would receive results from the subcat- 50 prise visual, audio, multimedia, text-only, and communicaegory created by the combination of the Information, Govtion.
ernment, and Visual categories that also contain the keyword
6. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of
"Pentagon."
categories based on the copyright status of material on a
Existing technologies known in the art will allow all sites
page comprise categories related to public domain, fair use
identified by the search to be reported as search results to the 55 only, use with attribution, and permission of copyright
user, by network address, such as a Web page's "uniform
owner needed.
resource locator" CURL), so that the user can access any
7. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories include:
identified page. Other information, such as the first line, may
a plurality of categories based on subject matter.
also be reported. For each site reported, the results may show
8. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories include:
all of the indicia corresponding to all of the categories to 60
a plurality of categories based on the type of files assowhich that page had been assigned.
ciated with a page.
Searches for pornographic sites will be handled in the
9. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories include:
same manner as other searches with one exception: The
a plurality of categories based on the copyright status of
Explicit category is not combinable with any other second
the material on a page.
tier category. Also, search engines can be instructed to 65
exclude from the search results pages contained in the
10. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories
Explicit category if desired by the user. The user is also
include:

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a plurality of categories based on subject matter; and
24. The method of claim 23, wherein said categorization
a plurality of categories based on the copyright status of
label is recognizable by a search engine.
the material on a page.
25. The method of claim 19, wherein said categorization
11. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories
label further includes an identifier to indicate that said label
include:
is part of said categorization code.
a plurality of categories based on subject matter; and
26. The method of claim 19, wherein said categorization
a plurality of categories based on the type of files assolabel can be made to apply to an entire Web site.
ciated with a page.
27. The method of claim 19, further comprising making
12. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories
10 said categorization label recognizable by a search engine.
include:
a plurality of categories based on subject matter; and
28. The method of claim 1, further comprising making
a plurality of categories based on the copyright status of
said categories to which a page is assigned recognizable by
the material on a page.
a search engine.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories
29. The method of claim 1, wherein said list of categories
15
include:
is provided on a graphical user interface.
a plurality of categories based on subject matter;
30. A computer implemented method for categorizing a
a plurality of categories based on the type of files assonetwork page, comprising:
ciated with a page; and
a plurality of categories based on the copyright status of
providing a list of categories, wherein said list of categothe material on a page.
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ries include a category for transacting business and a
14. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories
category for providing information, and wherein said
include:
list of categories include a plurality of categories based
a plurality of categories based on the type of files assoon the copyright status of material on a page;
ciated with a page; and
providing a categorization code for labeling the network
a plurality of categories based on the copyright status of 25
page with a categorization label, wherein said categothe material on a page.
rization label indicates a set of categories and subcat15. The method of claim 1, wherein said categories
egories to which the network page is assigned, and
include:
wherein said categorization label indicates the copya plurality of categories based on subject matter;
right status of material on the network page; and
a plurality of categories based on the type of files asso- 30
ciated with a page; and
controlling usage of the network page using the categoa plurality of categories based on the copyright status of
rization label and the copyright status of the network
the material on a page.
page.
16. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing
35
31. A computer implemented method of categorizing a
an indicium for each of said categories.
network page, comprising:
17. The method of claim 16, wherein said indicium
providing a list of categories, wherein said categories
comprises an icon.
include a category based on the copyright status of
18. The method of claim 16, wherein said indicium
material on a page, and wherein the copyright status
comprises two letters.
comprises categories related to public domain, fair use
19. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing 40
only, use with attribution, and permission of copyright
a categorization code that can be used to label the page with
the categorization label that indicates the categories to which
owner needed;
the page is assigned.
assigning said network page to one or more of a plurality
20. The method of claim 19, wherein said categorization
of said list of categories;
45
code comprises an indicium for each of said categories.
providing a categorization label for the network page
21. The method of claim 20, wherein said indicium
using the copyright status of material on the network
comprises two letters.
page; and
22. The method of claim 20, wherein said categorization
controlling usage of the network page using the categolabel includes the indicia for each category to which a page
rization label and the copyright status of the network
50
is assigned.
page.
23. The method of claim 19, wherein said categorization
label denotes the level of importance of the categories to
which a page is assigned.
* * * * *