IBM Patents Web Page Templates 420
jalefkowit writes: "More follies from the US Patent & Trademark Office ... now IBM has been awarded US Patent #6,304,886 for software that automatically "generates [a] customized Web site without the Web site creator writing any HTML or other programming code", based on "a plurality of pre-stored templates, comprising HTML formatting code, text, fields, and formulas" that are then customized through the process of asking the user a few questions. In other words, they've patented the ubiquitous wizards found in FrontPage and other newbie-oriented HTML editors. This was submitted to the USPTO on June 19, 1998 -- surely someone out there knows of prior art for this?"
Prior Art (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Sorry IBM (Score:1, Interesting)
I created HTML templates and then permitted users to modify the data sent to those templates via a web-based UI. That was sometime around 1995.
I'm sure that a zillion other people have done the same long before me.
Perhaps there's an aspect of the claim that I'm missing?
Prior art ... (Score:3, Interesting)
"customized Web site without the Web site creator writing any HTML or other programming code", based on "a plurality of pre-stored templates"
In 1996 I wrote JavaScript that would give a different action based on browser detection. This did require "programming."
I recently wrote a content manangement system (1999) and e-commerce site, the creator does no programming. Steuben.com [steuben.com].
Same workaround: different browsers see different-looking page (CSS or simplified version for IE 3.0, which cannot deliver different colored links on the same page). Similar effects for other features, pop-up windows etc. Also different menu actions. Many done with included page fragments ("templates").
Perhaps a lawyer would say I am the creator, although the tools were handed over to non-techies, they loaded all the images, content and products and now run the site.
Another answer is browser detection sending to a Flash or vanilla html site. Which are "templates."
Am I missing the point?
A modest suggestion (Score:5, Interesting)
I see it every day (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Sorry IBM (Score:2, Interesting)
Web-based content management tools? (Score:2, Interesting)
(I tried reading the claims of the patent to see if this is true, but got lost in legalese. The patent has 24 claims, and I'm assuming each of those claims must be violated in order to be considered patent infringement.)
Re:Sorry IBM (Score:5, Interesting)
I was in a patent meeting when we were discussing filling a bunch of patents so that we would have amunition to fire back should some company come and fire at usthe patents that they orginialy filed for the same reason.
The reason I don't like doing that sort of thing is that besides being essentially fraudulent the fact is that no company has prospered long on the basis of a patent portfolio alone. Polaroid and Xerox are two prime examples of the long term effect of management thinking they have a monopoly in their market.
Online Merchant (Score:3, Interesting)
a quick and dirty product that uses a Paradox database engine under Windows to generate a mass of perl scripts to auto generate a simple web store, complete with graphics, etc., which are then uploaded by the program to you site on a Unix server.
By Stumpworld Services, the owners of which have since sold the company and got out while the getting was good. It is now integrated with a hosting service [sfcommerce.com], which cuts out the hassle of mom and pop businesses trying to deal with clueless ISPs.
The date of the original software press release to market was July 15, 1998, and there was an extensive beta period before then.
I think there is enough prior art to have this covered.
????????/ (Score:3, Interesting)
The birth of computers obviated the USE of computers to automate tasks that previously would have been done manually or with another device. Thus any use of a computer to automatically do anything that would have previously been done by hand or with another tool is obvious. This also applies recursively. In other words, any use of a computer to automate the operations of a computer to do work that would have previously been done through manual usage of a computer is also obvious.
This one simple, OBVIOUS rule would strike down just about every software patent in existence, and only grant software patents that were truly deserving. I can't think of a truly deserving software patent off the top of my head, but methinks the posibility COULD exist.
Either way. Why all the drama,
Re:Prior Art (Score:5, Interesting)
There's your prior art, and it's from Microsoft no less.
Re:Interning at IBM (Score:1, Interesting)
Nando.net had this in 1994 (Score:3, Interesting)
I seriously doubt that they still use the same system, though.
Re:Prior Art (Score:5, Interesting)
Tyler, Denise. Laura Lemay's Web Workshop: Microsoft FrontPage 97. Sams, Macmillan Computer Publishing. ISBN 1575212234, published Jan. 17, 1997. .COPYRGT.1997. Introduction, Chapters 3 and 5.*
Re:Interning at IBM (Score:1, Interesting)
How is that bad again?
And checking every angle. Again, how is that bad? Sounds like good business to me. Often in meetings, really off-the-wall ideas get thrown out. Most turn out to be real duds. And occasionally some will turn out to be awesome.
Remember, patents are rather expensive to pursue. I bet most of those patent ideas were never executed on.
Tom
btw- if you truly have IBM stock, you'd know the value IBM's patents play in their bottom line. Not just cross-licensing deals, but they also play a big part in building customer confidence and gaining wins. (fyi, customers like the fact that you won't be sued out of the marketplace)
Re:What can be done? (Score:2, Interesting)
Be like McSpotlight - do the research and force the main offenders into a public forum like a court.
Prior art? Think 1992-1993 (Score:2, Interesting)
Looked on sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/www/converters for old code. (sunsite's been a linux host since '93 at least - or at least that's how long I've been using it
t2htmll.tgz - Aug 29 1997
webtex-0.96.tar.gz - May 29 1997
info2www-1.2a.tar.gz - Mar 2 1997
What this suggests to me is there's a lot of prior art. I'm using sunsite as an example as it's dating is fairly accurate btw.
Check perhaps postgresql95, MySQL, NCSA HTTPD-1.0 (perhaps), and maybe even original Netscape server and Netscape composer - circa '95 IIRC.
But I think the best connection is TeX/LaTeX WWW formatters which probably first came into existance in '92-93 when the physicists developed WWW. After all TeX is fairly common for documentation under unix...
Public Review. (Score:2, Interesting)
We desperately need better public review as such errors are immensely detrimetal to the advancement of society. This is the only way that the interests of the public can be more effectively protected against the horridly selfish and capitalistic schemes of these corporations.
Re:Sorry IBM (Score:3, Interesting)
They've also patented caching (Score:2, Interesting)
"Method of saving a web page to a local hard drive to enable client-side browsing"
Granted almost a year ago on December 19, 2000.
Why didn't THAT make the slashdot news?
Re:Interning at IBM (Score:3, Interesting)
Indeed, it's one of the reasons I finally quit IBM. They even acknowledged that the crap only had to be "patentable, not rocket science." And that it "doesn't even matter if the patents stick, nobody challenges them anyway. Just as long as our stack is higher than theirs." This kind of egregious abuse of the patent system just made me sick, so I will no longer contribute to their portfolio. I wonder how much creative talent they're missing out on for the same reason?
Re:Prior Art: 1995 (Score:5, Interesting)
Visual tools make modifications as simple as dragging-and-dropping.
...
- Drag-and-drop hyperlink editing
Desktop publishing features create professional-looking results.
...
- Hide HTML code with WYSIWYG editor
- Create "hotspots" on images with clickable image editor
- Add interactive forms with just a few mouse clicks
WebBots (tm) eliminate programming tasks while Web Wizards guide you through the creation process.
Built in WebBots let you:
...
- Create bulletin boards for threaded discussion groups
- Save information from fields automatically
Web Wizards simplify the development of:
- External Web sites
- Internal Web sites for corporate information distribution
Select from over twenty page templates or create your own.
So is this prior art or what?
Re:Sorry IBM (Score:2, Interesting)
Prog. Language, it is totaly template based.
Sorry
CU
H9000