IP Library Granted Patent US 7,333,966
Granted Patent B2
US 7,333,966 · App. 10/171,170 · Granted Feb 19, 2008

Systems, methods, and software for hyperlinking names

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,333,966
App. No.
10/171,170
Granted
Feb 19, 2008
Kind
B2
Abstract

Hyperlinking or associating documents to other documents based on the names of people in the documents has become more desirable. Although there is an automated system for installing such hyperlinks into judicial opinions, the system is not generally applicable to other types of names and documents, nor well suited to determine hyperlinks for names that might refer to two or more similarly named persons. Accordingly, the inventor devised systems, methods, and software that facilitate hyperlinking names in documents, regardless of type. One exemplary system includes a descriptor module and a linking module. The descriptor module develops descriptive patterns for selecting co-occurent document information that is useful in recognizing associations between names and professional classes. The linking module tags names in an input document, extracts co-occurent information using the descriptive patterns, and uses a Bayesian inference network that processes a (non-inverse-document-frequency) name-rarity score for each name along with the name and selected co-occurent document information to determine appropriate hyperlinks to other documents, such as entries in professional directories.

Claims (23)

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

identifying one or more person names in a set of one or more documents, with each identified person name more likely to refer to a single person in a profession than other person names in the document;

identifying descriptive language from one or more documents, based on the identified names; and

identifying within one or more documents other person names that refer to persons in the profession, based on one or more portions of the identified descriptive language.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying person names in a set of documents comprises:

identifying a plurality of person names in the set of documents, with each name including at least a last name;

calculating for each of the plurality of person names, a quantity based on a probability of drawing its last name at random from a set of last names in a search universe.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating for each of the plurality of person names a quantity based on the probability of drawing its last name at random from a set of last names, includes:

calculating a quantity based on a size of a human population, a probability of drawing a first portion of the name at random from all the first names in a relevant search universe, and a probability of drawing a second portion of the name at random from all the last names in the search universe.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying descriptive language from one or more documents, based on the identified names comprises identifying appositives related to the identified names.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying descriptive language from one or more documents, based on the identified names in the set of documents comprises:

identifying a set of terms, including one or more first terms preceding one or more of the identified names and one or more second terms succeeding one or more of the identified names.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more first terms includes one or more parts of speech and one or more of the second terms includes one or more parts of speech.

7. A machine-readable medium comprising machine executable instructions for:

identifying one or more person names in a set of one or more documents, with each identified person name more likely to refer to a single person in a profession than other person names in the document;

identifying descriptive language from one or more documents, based on the identified names; and

identifying within one or more documents other person names that refer to persons in the profession, based on one or more portions of the identified descriptive language.

8. A system comprising:

at least one processor

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory including instructions for:

identifying one or more person names in a set of one or more documents, with each identified person name more likely to refer to a single person in a profession than other person names in the document;

identifying descriptive language from one or more documents, based on the identified names; and

identifying within one or more documents other person names that refer to persons in the profession regardless of their name uniqueness, based on one or more portions of the identified descriptive language.

Assignments (6)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 5, 2020
From: THOMSON REUTERS GLOBAL RESOURCES UNLIMITED COMPANY
To: THOMSON REUTERS ENTERPRISE CENTRE GMBH
Reel/Frame 052024/0834 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 30, 2017
From: THOMSON REUTERS GLOBAL RESOURCES
To: THOMSON REUTERS GLOBAL RESOURCES UNLIMITED COMPANY
Reel/Frame 044262/0615 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Oct 6, 2008
From: THOMSON GLOBAL RESOURCES
To: THOMSON REUTERS GLOBAL RESOURCES
Reel/Frame 021630/0917 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 14, 2008
From: THOMSON LEGAL AND REGULATORY GLOBAL AG
To: THOMSON GLOBAL RESOURCES
Reel/Frame 020808/0007 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 21, 2004
From: WEST PUBLISHING COMPANY, DBA WEST GROUP
To: THOMSON LEGAL REGULATORY GLOBAL AG
Reel/Frame 015154/0328 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 13, 2002
From: DOZIER, CHRISTOPHER C.
To: WEST PUBLISHING COMPANY, DBA WEST GROUP
Reel/Frame 013010/0778 →