Obviousness — US Patent 7603382

Here's an analysis of the obviousness of US Patent 7,603,382 under 35 U.S.C. § 103, based on the provided prior art. The analysis identifies combinations of prior art references that would render the independent claims obvious and explains the motivation for a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) to combine them.

Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art (PHOSITA):
A PHOSITA in the field of the invention around the priority date of May 26, 1998, would be a professional with expertise in web development, network programming, database management, and user interface design. They would be familiar with existing web technologies, protocols (e.g., HTTP, cookies), server-side and client-side scripting, and common usability challenges faced by Internet users, such as navigation difficulties and the desire for personalized content.

Obviousness Analysis of Claim 1

Claim 1: A system for providing web pages accessed from a web site in a manner which presents the web pages tailored to an individual user, comprising: an interactive interface configured to provide dynamic web site navigation data to the user, the interactive interface comprising: a display depicting portions of the web site visited by the user as a function of the web site navigation data; and a display depicting portions of the web site visited by the user as a function of the user's personal characteristics.

Combination of References: US6128663A (Invention Depot) in view of US6195679B1 (Netscape).
Teaching:
- US6128663A teaches a method and apparatus for "customization of information content provided to a requestor over a network using demographic information". This directly anticipates a system for providing web pages "tailored to an individual user" based on "user's personal characteristics" (demographic information). It also describes providing "dynamically changing content", which implies an interactive interface capable of providing dynamic content.
- US6195679B1 teaches a "browsing session recording playback and editing system for generating user defined paths". This clearly anticipates "a display depicting portions of the web site visited by the user as a function of the web site navigation data." Such a system would inherently include an interactive interface for displaying and interacting with these paths. The display of visited portions as a function of user's personal characteristics would be an obvious refinement if user profiles are already in use.
Motivation to Combine: A PHOSITA in 1998 would have been motivated to combine the personalized content capabilities of US6128663A with the advanced navigation features of US6195679B1 to enhance the overall user experience. The background of US7603382 itself acknowledges the problem of users encountering a "tedious 'virtual gauntlet' of boring questions" and difficulty obtaining relevant information. Combining personalized content (US6128663A) with clear visualization of navigation paths (US6195679B1) would provide a more efficient and less frustrating experience. Furthermore, if content is already tailored to a user's characteristics, it would be an obvious design choice to extend this personalization to the navigation display, for example, by highlighting previously visited pages relevant to the user's current profile or interests.

Obviousness Analysis of Claim 7

Claim 7: A method of generating a web page comprising: generating a plurality of data streams, wherein each data stream is associated with a particular portion of the web page, and wherein each data stream is stored in a computer memory; and changing at least one of the particular portions of the web page as a function of time.

Combination of References: General knowledge of web development in 1998 in view of US6041360A (International Business Machines Corporation) and common web practices.
Teaching:
- By 1998, a PHOSITA understood that a web page typically comprised distinct "portions" (e.g., header, footer, content area, advertisement blocks), each fed by "data streams" (e.g., image files, text from databases, dynamic scripts). Storing these data streams in "computer memory" is a fundamental aspect of any digital system.
- The concept of "changing at least one of the particular portions of the web page as a function of time" was a common and well-established practice in web development. Examples included:
  - News websites updating headlines and articles.
  - Weather forecast displays reflecting current conditions.
  - Rotating banner advertisements that changed periodically.
  - Simple "Good morning/afternoon/evening" greetings.
  - US6041360A describes "Web browser support for dynamic update of bookmarks", demonstrating prior art awareness of dynamic updating of web-related information. The patent US7603382 itself illustrates this with a logo changing based on the time of day (FIGS. 6A, 6B; col. 8, lines 40-57).
Motivation to Combine: A PHOSITA would have been highly motivated to implement time-dependent changes to web page portions to keep content "fresh," relevant, and engaging for users, as acknowledged in US7603382 (col. 8, lines 40-41). This practice addressed the need to provide up-to-date information, cycle through various promotional messages, or simply make the user experience more dynamic. The technical means to achieve this, such as server-side scripting (e.g., Perl, ASP) and client-side scripting (e.g., JavaScript) interacting with server-side data, were widely available and commonly understood.

Obviousness Analysis of Claim 16

Claim 16: A method comprising: receiving data which defines a plurality of user profile attributes in each of a plurality of user profiles; storing the plurality of user profiles, each user profile comprising data descriptive of a user; in response to a request from an information provider, transferring data from a specified user profile to the information provider; and providing dynamic web site navigation data via an interactive interface, the interactive interface comprising: a display depicting portions of a web site visited by the user as a function of web site navigation data; and a display depicting portions of a web site visited by the user as a function of the plurality of fields having data descriptive of a user.

Combination of References: US6185614B1 (International Business Machines Corporation) in view of US6195679B1 (Netscape) and Kristol et al. (RFC 2109).
Teaching:
- US6185614B1 teaches "collecting user profile information over the world-wide web" and "maintaining the user profile...so that the information may be collected only once". This directly covers "receiving data which defines a plurality of user profile attributes" and "storing the plurality of user profiles." The patent also states that profiles are used "to modify subsequent web page interactions", which inherently involves "transferring data from a specified user profile to the information provider."
- Kristol et al., "HTTP State Management Mechanism" (RFC 2109), published in February 1997, describes the fundamental mechanism of HTTP cookies. Cookies were the standard and widely adopted method for web servers to store state information, including user profile identifiers or attributes, on the client and retrieve them in subsequent requests. This explicitly teaches a mechanism for "transferring data from a specified user profile to the information provider."
- US6195679B1 teaches a "browsing session recording playback and editing system for generating user defined paths". This directly anticipates "a display depicting portions of a web site visited by the user as a function of web site navigation data" via an interactive interface.
Motivation to Combine: A PHOSITA would be motivated to combine the robust user profiling and data transfer capabilities (US6185614B1 and Kristol et al.) with the enhanced navigation visualization (US6195679B1). The goal of improving user experience through personalization and efficient navigation was paramount. If users maintain "multiple personalities" or profiles (e.g., business vs. personal, as discussed in US7603382; col. 6, lines 52-60), it would be an obvious extension to use the active profile to filter or highlight elements within the navigation display, guiding the user more effectively based on their current context. Kristol et al. provided the established technical means (cookies) for efficiently managing and transferring such profile information. This combination provides a cohesive experience where content and navigation are both dynamically tailored to the user's attributes.

Obviousness Analysis of Claim 21

Claim 21: A method comprising: receiving data from a user profile associated with a user; in response to a request associated with the user, sending a data stream that is selected based at least in part on the received data from the user profile; and displaying the data stream via an interactive interface, the interactive interface comprising: a display depicting portions of a web site visited by the user as a function of web site navigation data; and a display depicting portions of a web site visited by the user based at least in part on the received data from the user profile.

Combination of References: US6128663A (Invention Depot) in view of US6195679B1 (Netscape).
Teaching:
- US6128663A teaches "customization of information content provided to a requestor over a network using demographic information". This directly teaches "receiving data from a user profile associated with a user" and, in response to a user's request, "sending a data stream that is selected based at least in part on the received data from the user profile." The customized content is then "displayed... via an interactive interface."
- US6195679B1 teaches a "browsing session recording playback and editing system for generating user defined paths", which provides "a display depicting portions of a web site visited by the user as a function of web site navigation data."
Motivation to Combine: Similar to Claim 1 and Claim 16, a PHOSITA would be motivated to integrate the personalized content selection from US6128663A with the advanced navigation features of US6195679B1. If content is being actively chosen for a user based on their profile, it is an obvious enhancement to also provide navigation tools that are similarly informed by that profile. Tailoring the navigation display itself based on the user's profile (e.g., highlighting or filtering visited pages by relevance to the currently selected content or active profile) would further streamline the user's interaction. This combination creates a more coherent and intuitive experience where both the information presented and the tools for navigating it are optimized for the individual user, directly addressing the need for "useful information" and reducing user frustration, as stated in the patent's summary.