US 9218414

The US patent 9218414, titled "System, method, and user interface for a search engine based on multi-document summarization," was invented by Dmitri Soubbotin. [cite: The full patent text] It was filed on June 29, 2012, and issued on December 22, 2015. [cite: The full patent text] The current assignee is Semantic Engines LLC. [cite: The full patent text]

The patent describes a method for searching multiple documents on a computer system. It involves sending a query to a system core, which then passes it to a search component. The system core receives search results and sends a specified number of related documents to a summarization component. This summarization component processes these documents, which can include various media formats and non-textual elements, to create a multi-document summary. This summary is a digest on the topic specified by the query, produced by analyzing the syntax, semantics, and textual content of the documents and associated non-textual media. The system then extracts sentences and text fragments with attached reference links from the related documents and combines them into the digest. This multi-document summary is then displayed to the user as a product of the query, alongside the original search results. The system also extracts and displays semantic concepts to the user. [cite: The full patent text]

The user is empowered to interact with this displayed information in various ways, including:

• Refining the original query. [cite: The full patent text]
• Navigating specific parts of the multi-document summary. [cite: The full patent text]
• Viewing the original related documents by clicking on the attached reference links within the digest or choosing from the search results. [cite: The full patent text]
• Requesting another multi-document summary, with options to exclude or include specific sentence fragments or related documents. [cite: The full patent text]
• Choosing display preferences for the reference links. [cite: The full patent text]
• Modifying or regrouping the contents of the summary, and organizing the content. [cite: The full patent text]
• Selecting a language for the query and related documents. [cite: The full patent text]
• Saving the currently displayed summary. [cite: The full patent text]
• Rating the summary based on satisfaction and quality, providing feedback to the system core. [cite: The full patent text]

Independent Claims Overview:

• Claim 1 (Method Claim): This claim details a method for generating and displaying a multi-document summary in response to a user query. Key aspects include processing documents with a plurality of media formats (including non-textual elements), analyzing syntax, semantics, and textual content to produce a digest. The digest combines extracted sentences and text fragments, each with an attached reference link to its source document. The method further involves displaying both the summary and the raw search results, extracting semantic concepts, and providing extensive user interaction capabilities to refine the query, navigate the summary, access source documents, customize summary generation, and provide feedback for system learning. [cite: The full patent text]

• Claim 5 (Method Claim): Similar to Claim 1, this method claim focuses on the user's interaction with a search system producing a multi-document summary. It describes the steps a user takes: sending a query, receiving and displaying a multi-document summary (which incorporates various media formats and non-textual elements, along with reference links), displaying the raw search results, extracting and displaying semantic concepts, and enabling user actions to refine the query, navigate the summary, view documents via links or results, request modified summaries with specific inclusions/exclusions, control display preferences for links, modify/regroup summary content, organize content, set language, save the summary, and rate it for feedback. [cite: The full patent text]

• Claim 8 (System Claim): This claim describes a system designed to perform the functions outlined in the method claims. It comprises various "means for" achieving the desired functionality: means for user interfacing, means for searching documents, means for generating a multi-document summary (including media formats and non-textual elements, with references to source documents), means for presenting and displaying the summary, means for receiving the summary, means for extracting and displaying semantic concepts, means for presenting the original search results, and means for enabling user interaction. These user interaction means cover refining queries, navigating the summary, viewing source documents via reference links or search results, requesting modified summaries, choosing display preferences, modifying/regrouping summary content, organizing content, saving the summary, and providing feedback for system learning based on satisfaction and quality. [cite: The full patent text]

CAFC 2026 Dockets:

A search of CAFC 2026 dockets did not reveal any cases specifically listing US patent 9218414. The provided patent information does indicate that there is family litigation, specifically a US case filed in the Texas Eastern District Court (2:26-cv-00339) [cite: The full patent text], but this is not a CAFC docket.