Legal research system
View Patent ↗Methods, systems, and user interfaces for accessing, retrieving, storing, and presenting information stored in computer readable media. Information stored on a computer readable media may be searched using selectable items representing an index of information. In response to selection of one of the selectable items, information is presented which is related to the selected item, concurrently with display of the index and at least one least one previously-selected item in a hierarchical display. The invention has particular application to the legal field, but is also applicable to other fields, e.g., accounting, medicine, business and finance, engineering, scientific fields, merchandising fields, fulfillment fields, inventory fields, etc.
1. A method of presenting information stored on computer readable media on at least one display device with the aid of at least one computer and an input device for selecting information displayed on the at least one display device, comprising, in a presentation session:
the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display thereon, from information stored in the computer readable media, a first plurality of selectable items from a first index that comprises a plurality of levels, at least one of the selectable items in the first plurality being from a different level of the index from at least one other of the selectable items in the first plurality, and, concurrently therewith, at least one selectable item in the first index not included in the first plurality of selectable items or in a second index;
in response to receiving via the input device selection of an item of the first plurality of selectable items, the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display information related to the selected item of the first plurality of items concurrently with display of the first plurality of items and the at one least selectable item; and
in response to receiving via the input device selection of the at least one selectable item, the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display, in place of the first plurality of selectable items, a second plurality of selectable items, in the first index or in the second index, that is at least partially different from the first plurality of selectable items concurrently with display of at least one other selectable item that was previously selected in the presentation session;
wherein the first plurality of selectable items is displayed in a group such that it is visually apparent which selectable items are in the first plurality of selectable items and which selectable items are not, the first plurality of selectable items comprising all of the selectable items that are displayed in the group;
wherein the first plurality of selectable items is displayed in a manner that indicates the relative levels of the respective selectable items in the first plurality of selectable items;
wherein causing the at least one display device to display information related to the selected item of the first plurality of items comprises causing the at least one display device to display in association with the information displayed related to the selected item of the first plurality of items
a source or sources of the information displayed, each source being a database or a publisher, and
an indicator associated with each displayed source indicating a number of items of information of a respective source related to the selected item; and
wherein, in response to receiving the selection of an item of the first plurality of selectable items, the computer system neither adds any selectable items to the display of the first plurality of selectable items nor removes any selectable items from the display of the first plurality of selectable items.
2. The method of claim 1 , comprising the at least one computer causing the display of the first plurality of items, the at least one selectable item, and the information related to the selected item on a same display device.
3. The method of claim 1 , comprising the at least one computer causing the display of the first plurality of items, the at least one selectable item, and the information related to the selected item on at least two display devices.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one selectable item comprises a plurality of items in a hierarchical first or second index consisting of items previously selected in the session.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the information related to the selected item of the first plurality of items comprises a summary of at least one document stored in the computer readable media.
6. The method of claim 1 , comprising the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display at least one selectable item relating to information displayed on the at least one display device that can be updated with updated information, wherein in response to selection of the at least one selectable item, the displayed information is updated with the updated information.
7. A method of presenting results on at least one display device of a search for legal information stored on computer readable media with the aid of at least one computer and an input device for selecting information displayed on the at least one display device, comprising, in a presentation session:
the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display thereon, from information stored in the computer readable media, a plurality of selectable items from an index of legal information that has more than one level, at least one selectable item in the plurality being from a different level of the index from at least one other selectable item in the first plurality;
in response to receiving via the input device selection of one of the plurality of selectable items, the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display, concurrently with the plurality of selectable items, information associated with the selected one of the plurality of items; and
the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display, concurrently with and in addition to the plurality of selectable items and the displayed information, a hierarchical index of selectable items representing levels of the index previously selected in the session;
wherein the first plurality of selectable items is displayed in a group such that it is visually apparent which selectable items are in the first plurality of selectable items and which selectable items are not, the first plurality of selectable items comprising all of the selectable items that are displayed in the group;
wherein the first plurality of selectable items is displayed in a manner that indicates the relative levels of the respective selectable items in the first plurality of selectable items;
wherein causing the at least one display device to display information related to the selected item of the first plurality of items comprises causing the at least one display device to display in association with the information displayed related to the selected item of the first plurality of items
a source or sources of the information displayed, each source being a database or a publisher, and
an indicator associated with each displayed source indicating a number of items of information of a respective source related to the selected item; and
wherein, in response to receiving the selection of an item of the first plurality of selectable items, the computer system neither adds any selectable items to the display of the first plurality of selectable items nor removes any selectable items from the display of the first plurality of selectable items.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein causing the at least one display device to display information associated with the selected one of the plurality of items comprises causing the at least one display device to display summary information.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the hierarchical index of selectable items representing levels of the index previously selected in the session includes the currently-selected one of the plurality of selectable items.
10. The method of claim 7 , comprising:
in response to receiving via the input device selection of a second one of the plurality of selectable items from the plurality of levels of an index of legal information, the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display information associated with the second selected item.
11. The method of claim 7 , comprising:
in response to receiving via the input device selection of the selected one of the plurality of selectable items, the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display one or more selectable items from at least one level of the index of legal information subordinate to the level of the selected item.
12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of selectable items and the information associated with the selected one of the plurality of items are displayed in two or more user interface areas of the at least one display device.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein at least one of the two or more user interface areas is displayed on a different display device.
14. The method of claim 7 , comprising the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display at least one selectable item relating to information displayed on the at least one display device that can be updated with updated information, wherein in response to receiving via the input device selection of the at least one selectable item, the at least one computer causes the displayed information to be updated with the updated information.
15. The method of claim 7 , comprising the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display, concurrently with the plurality of selectable items and the displayed information, at least one source of the displayed information and a plurality of selectable source-related items available from the source that are associated with the selected one of the plurality of selectable items, each source being a database or a publisher.
16. A method of presenting legal information stored on computer readable media on at least one display device with the aid of at least one computer and an input device for selecting information displayed on the at least one display device, comprising:
the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display concurrently a first display comprising (a) a first plurality of selectable items from an index of legal information stored in a computer readable media that comprises a plurality of levels, at least one of the selectable items in the first plurality being from a different level of the index from at least one other of the selectable items in the first plurality, (b) information associated with a selected one of the first plurality of selectable items, and (c) a hierarchical index of selectable items representing previously-selected levels of the index of legal information;
in response to receiving via the input device a selection of a second selected one of the first plurality of selectable items, the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display a second display, the second display comprising a plurality of selectable items representing at least a portion of the index of legal information corresponding to the second selected one of the first plurality of selectable items, information associated with the second selected one of the first plurality of selectable items, and a hierarchical index of selectable items representing previously-selected levels of the index of legal information, including the first selected one of the first plurality of selectable items; and
in response to receiving via the input device a selection of one of the items of the hierarchical index, the at least one computer causing the at least one display device to display a third display comprising a plurality of selectable items representing at least a portion of an index of legal information corresponding to the selected item of the hierarchical index;
wherein the first plurality of selectable items is displayed in a group such that it is visually apparent which selectable items are in the first plurality of selectable items and which selectable items are not, the first plurality of selectable items comprising all of the selectable items that are displayed in the group;
wherein the first plurality of selectable items is displayed in a manner that indicates the relative levels of the respective selectable items in the first plurality of selectable items;
wherein causing the at least one display device to display information related to the selected item of the first plurality of items comprises causing the at least one display device to display in association with the information displayed related to the selected item of the first plurality of items
a source or sources of the information displayed, each source being a database or a publisher, and
an indicator associated with each displayed source indicating a number of items of information of a respective source related to the selected item; and
wherein, in response to receiving the selection of an item of the first plurality of selectable items, the computer system neither adds any selectable items to the display of the first plurality of selectable items nor removes any selectable items from the display of the first plurality of selectable items.