Obviousness

Based on the provided patent text for US11036371 and its identified prior art, an obviousness analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 reveals potential combinations of references that a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) would have been motivated to combine. The core inventive concept of US11036371 revolves around Information Objects (IOs) displayed in a uniform "card" format with extracted content and various interactive and collaborative features, and Information Views (IVs) that render these IOs differently.

Understanding the Claims of US11036371 (as inferred from the Abstract and Description)

While the full claims of US11036371 are not provided, the abstract and detailed description highlight several key elements:

1. Information Objects (IOs): Data items configured into distinct objects.
2. Automated Extraction: Extracting a picture, heading, and a link from each data item to form an IO.
3. Standardized Representation: Displaying IOs in a uniform "card" format.
4. Uniform Layout: Within the card, uniform locations for the extracted picture, heading, a set of indicators, and a set of graphically accessible functions.
5. Database Storage: Storing data for IOs in a database.
6. Collaborative Features: IOs include features such as instant messaging, commenting, voting, and access logs, enabling hosted conversations among participants.
7. Information Views (IVs): IOs can be displayed and modified differently across various IVs (e.g., Workspace View, News View, Map View, Project View, Graph View, List View), which can be shared, visible, or private.
8. Spatial Relationship Analysis: The system analyzes the spatial arrangement of IOs in a Workspace View to infer relationships and suggest other relevant IOs.

Identified Prior Art

The patent US11036371 explicitly states that it is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/118,301, filed Apr. 29, 2005 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,640,511, issued Dec. 29, 2009), which itself claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/566,723, filed Apr. 29, 2004. The "Prior art date" listed for US11036371 is 2004-04-29. This establishes U.S. Patent 7,640,511 (hereinafter "Keel '511" or "US7640511B1") as prior art.

U.S. Patent 7,640,511 (Keel '511): This patent, titled "METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING AND INFERRING RELATIONSHIPS FROM INFORMATION," discloses a system that manages information objects (referred to as "cards" or "IOs") displayed on a graphical user interface, typically a workspace view. It describes how users can arrange these information objects in a spatial manner, and how the system can infer relationships between these objects based on their spatial arrangement, as well as contextual and chronological factors. The system stores these relationships in a database and uses algorithms to suggest other related information objects to the user.

Key disclosures in Keel '511 pertinent to US11036371 include:

• Information Objects (IOs) / Cards: Represents various portions of information graphically, such as files, documents, applications, email messages, or appointments.
• Graphical User Interface (GUI): Allows users to spatially arrange these IOs on a "Workspace View."
• Spatial Relationship Analysis: Algorithms analyze spatial arrangements (proximity, alignment, overlap) to deduce relationships between IOs.
• Database: Stores IO records and discovered relations.
• Automated Information Retrieval: Based on the analyzed relationships, the system can identify and suggest other relevant information objects (IOs) from the database or other sources (e.g., news feeds) not currently displayed.
• Dynamic Content: IOs can dynamically update to reflect changes in their associated information sources.
• Collaborative Context: Mentions analysis of collaborative context, such as common access or sharing of cards by multiple users.

Obviousness Analysis: Keel '511 in combination with general knowledge and conventional GUI practices

A PHOSITA in the field of computer-implemented information management systems and graphical user interfaces, as of the 2004 priority date, would have been familiar with object-oriented programming, database management systems, and various graphical user interface paradigms.

Combination 1: Keel '511 + Conventional GUI Design Principles + Common Web Scraping/Parsing Techniques

• Keel '511's Foundation: Keel '511 already teaches the core concept of Information Objects (IOs) or "cards" that graphically represent information sources, are spatially arranged on a GUI, and whose relationships are analyzed by the system to suggest new information.
• Missing Elements from Keel '511: While Keel '511 describes IOs and their graphical representation, it does not explicitly detail the uniformity of format with automatically extracted picture, heading, and link within uniform locations on the card, as emphasized in US11036371's abstract. It also does not explicitly detail the array of "graphically accessible functions" on the card face.
• Motivation for Combination: A PHOSITA would be motivated to enhance the usability and clarity of the IOs in Keel '511.
  • Uniform Format for Comparisons: The problem of information existing in different formats and locations, making it difficult to compare, is acknowledged in US11036371. A standardized, uniform "card" format for presenting diverse information sources, as described in US11036371, would be an obvious design choice for improving user comprehension and comparison, especially in a system designed to help users "collect, compare, and organize" information, as explicitly mentioned in Keel '511. Standardizing the visual representation reduces cognitive load and distraction from format, allowing users to focus on content, a problem US11036371 itself highlights in conventional systems.
  • Automated Extraction: Given that IOs in Keel '511 can represent various information sources like web pages or documents, it would be a routine matter for a PHOSITA to implement automated content extraction (like title/heading, main image, and URL) from these sources. Techniques for web scraping, parsing documents, and automatically generating previews or summaries were well-known in 2004. Tools and libraries for extracting metadata and content from structured or semi-structured data (HTML, XML, document formats) were available. Automating this process reduces the manual burden on the user and enhances the "quick visual location" and "recollection of IO meanings and contents" that US11036371 emphasizes.
  • Uniform Placement of Elements: Once content (picture, heading, link) is extracted, placing it in consistent, uniform locations on the card (as in US11036371) is a basic principle of good GUI design. This improves learnability and usability, allowing users to quickly scan and understand information across many different IOs. This is analogous to how real-world index cards, credit cards, or business cards have standardized layouts for quick information retrieval, a concept US11036371 explicitly draws upon.
  • Graphically Accessible Functions/Indicators: Keel '511 describes IOs with attributes and functionality, including instant messaging capabilities. Making these functions "graphically accessible" via indicators (e.g., icons that change color based on status or display counters for messages/votes, as detailed in US11036371) is a common GUI technique for providing immediate feedback and access to features without requiring the user to open a separate editor. This enhances the interactive nature of the IOs, which Keel '511 already supports (e.g., users adding comments).

Therefore, the enhancements of a uniform "card" format with automatically extracted and uniformly placed content (picture, heading, link), along with graphically accessible functions, would be an obvious design improvement to the information objects (cards) described in Keel '511, driven by the desire to improve user experience, reduce cognitive burden, and facilitate information comparison and collaboration, using known GUI design principles and content extraction techniques.

Combination 2: Keel '511 + Existing Instant Messaging/Collaboration Systems

• Keel '511's Foundation: Keel '511 already teaches collaboration in the context of information objects, including the analysis of "collaborative context" (e.g., multiple users accessing the same cards) and the presence of an "instant messaging capability allowing to users in a distributed system to share access to an IO in order to exchange comments or messages between themselves concerning information associated with the IO."
• Missing Elements from Keel '511: While collaboration is mentioned, US11036371 elaborates on "hosted conversations," "threaded discussion windows," "lists of participants linked to the information object," "collaborative ratings," and "buddy lists" within the IO or IV context.
• Motivation for Combination: A PHOSITA, observing the existing instant messaging capability in Keel '511, would be motivated to integrate more robust and feature-rich collaboration tools, common in stand-alone instant messaging and groupware applications of the time, directly into the IO/IV framework.
  • Enhancing "Instant Messaging Capability": Keel '511 states that its IOs include an instant messaging capability. Expanding this to a full "hosted conversation" environment, as described in US11036371, is a natural progression. Features like threaded discussions, lists of participants, and collaborative ratings are standard in many collaboration platforms (e.g., forums, chat rooms, project management tools) prevalent before 2004. Integrating these features into the existing IO-based messaging system would make the collaboration more organized and effective, especially for "collaborative brainstorming, problem-solving, information collecting and decision-making processes" which Keel '511 aims to support.
  • Buddy Lists/Contact Lists: The concept of "buddy lists" or "contact lists" for managing communication partners was well-established in IM systems (e.g., AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger) by 2004. Integrating these into the IO system allows users to easily manage participants for hosted conversations and exchange IOs. US11036371 explicitly mentions dragging and dropping an IO onto a user icon to send a copy, which directly leverages existing IM paradigms.
  • Collaborative Ratings/Voting: Keel '511 mentions analysis of "use patterns" and "activity associated with a card" to determine importance. Providing explicit voting or rating mechanisms (e.g., "vote function" in US11036371) for IOs is an obvious way to directly capture user feedback on relevance and importance, feeding into the system's ability to prioritize information or identify influential users.

Therefore, extending the existing "instant messaging capability" of Keel '511's information objects with well-known collaborative features from contemporary communication and groupware applications, such as threaded discussions, participant lists, and explicit rating/voting, would have been obvious to a PHOSITA aiming to enhance the collaborative aspects of the system.

Combination 3: Keel '511 + General Knowledge of Data Visualization and Information Filtering

• Keel '511's Foundation: Keel '511 discusses displaying IOs in different views (e.g., Workspace View, News View) and organizing them by time, information sources, or geographic locations. It also mentions filtering for user-specific keywords.
• Missing Elements from Keel '511: US11036371 introduces a broader and more diverse set of "Information Views (IVs)" beyond just Workspace and News, including Map View, Project View, Graph View, and List View, each tailored for different visualization and analysis tasks.
• Motivation for Combination: A PHOSITA would be motivated to provide different visual metaphors and analytical tools for viewing and interacting with the managed information, depending on the user's task or context.
  • Multiple Information Views (IVs): Given that Keel '511 already differentiates between a "Workspace View" and a "News View" for displaying IOs, it would be an obvious extension to create other specialized "views" (IVs) for visualizing information objects according to different attributes or analytical needs. For example, if IOs can be associated with geographic locations (as allowed by the "location function" in US11036371), displaying them on a map (Map View) is a straightforward application of geographical information systems. Similarly, if IOs have time-related parameters, a timeline-based "Project View" or "calendar display" would be a common visualization. Representing statistical data in graphs (Graph View) or displaying parameters in a spreadsheet-like format (List View) are standard data visualization and presentation techniques. The goal, as stated in US11036371, is to allow users to "manage information in a customized format and in environments suited to particular tasks and circumstances," which is a known benefit of offering multiple views of data.
  • Adaptors for News Feeds and Chronological Organization: Keel '511 already mentions a "News View" that provides information feeds and organizes IOs by time and information sources. The specific mention in US11036371 of a "News View having an adaptor for receiving news feeds and the user interface chronologically organizes information chronologically in a subject-time matrix" and "zoomable, graphical timeline including automatic compression" are specific implementations of known techniques for managing and visualizing dynamic, time-series data, particularly syndication feeds (RSS), which were common by 2004.

Therefore, the expansion of Keel '511's system to include a broader range of specialized "Information Views" (e.g., Map, Project, Graph, List) for visualizing IOs in task-specific ways, along with incorporating known data visualization and filtering techniques (like chronological organization of news feeds), would be obvious to a PHOSITA seeking to provide a more versatile and adaptable information management system.

Conclusion

Based on the analysis, a PHOSITA, starting with the robust information object and relationship management framework taught by Keel '511, would have been motivated to combine its teachings with conventional GUI design principles, existing collaboration software features, and common data visualization techniques to arrive at the inventions claimed in US11036371. The improvements in US11036371, such as the uniform "card" format with automated content extraction, enhanced collaborative tools, and a variety of specialized "Information Views," are extensions and applications of known technologies and design practices to address recognized usability and functionality challenges within the context of an information object management system already broadly disclosed in Keel '511.