Abstract: Some information retrieval systems, such as the Westlaw™ system, empower users to search thousands of databases. One problem with some systems is that the large number of databases makes it difficult for some users to identify the right database(s) to search. Thus, the inventors devised, among other things, new options for helping users target searches on the right databases. One option enables users to search sample-based database profiles. Another enables users to navigate to a category or subcategory in an online database directory and search databases or database profiles associated with the category. And, yet another enables users to select a query-category and receive a list of relevant database choices, a list of links into a database directory, or a sequence of follow-up questions. One or more of these or other disclosed innovations enable users to execute more effective search strategies, while potentially reducing computational burdens on information retrieval systems.

Abstract: The present inventors devised unique systems, methods, interfaces, and software for managing and leveraging knowledge in law firms and potentially other enterprises. For example, one system provides a single user interface for researching case law for online legal research service and identifying and accessing law-firm documents.

Abstract: Every year, professional classifiers at West Group manually classify over 350,000 headnotes, or abstracts of judicial opinions, across approximately 82,000 separate classes of the Key Number System. Although most headnotes are classified from the memory of the classifiers, a significant number are difficult and thus costly to classify manually. Accordingly, the inventors devised systems, methods, and software that facilitate manual classification of headnotes and documents generally and hard-to-classify headnotes particularly. One exemplary system provides a graphical user interface that concurrently displays an unclassified headnote, a ranked list of one or more candidate classes, a candidate class in combination with adjacent classes of the classification system, and at least one classified headnote that is associated with one of the candidate classes.

Abstract: On the Internet, millions of documents are electronically linked via embedded hyperlinks. The hyperlinks, which function as network addresses for specific documents, can be selected by a user to “jump” electronically from a document on one computer to a document on another computer. One problem with conventional hyperlinks is that they occasionally become out dated and ineffective, as documents are deleted, for example. Accordingly, the inventors devised software that automatically locates and marks specific portions of a document and defines hyperlinks including at least a portion of the marked text. An exemplary implementation, tailored for legal citations, processes the portion of the marked text as a search term, and allows completion of hyperlinks without the necessity of including complete file addresses. This implementation also defines a portion of the hyperlinks based on the cost or time of executing the hyperlink, to reduce the cost or time of executing the hyperlink.

Abstract: Hyperlinking or associating documents to other documents based on the names of people in the documents has become more desirable. Although there is an automated system for installing such hyperlinks into judicial opinions, the system is not generally applicable to other types of names and documents, nor well suited to determine hyperlinks for names that might refer to two or more similarly named persons. Accordingly, the inventor devised systems, methods, and software that facilitate hyperlinking names in documents, regardless of type. One exemplary system includes a descriptor module and a linking module. The descriptor module develops descriptive patterns for selecting co-occurent document information that is useful in recognizing associations between names and professional classes.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of processing transaction requests from client applications within a computer network having a plurality of client servers. Each client server has a work share and a set of attributes that including a name, an address and a list of services for fulfilling transaction requests. Each transaction request identifies attributes necessary for fulfilling the request. The method entails identifying a set of client servers having the necessary attributes and defining a work distribution function. The work distribution function, which distributes transaction requests, randomly selects a client server from the set of client servers, according to work shares of the client servers.

Abstract: An information retrieval system based on probabilities that documents meet information needs. The frequency of occurrence of a representation in a collection of documents is estimated by identifying the frequency of occurrence of the representation in a sample of documents and calculating the difference between the maximum and minimum probable frequencies of occurrence of the representation in the collection. If the difference does not exceed a limit, a midpoint of the maximum and minimum probable frequencies is the estimated frequency of occurrence of the representation.Document distribution probabilities are optimized and probability thresholds are established for the identification of documents. An initial probability threshold is established and is adjusted as the probabilities are scored for documents in samples. The document result list is iteratively adjusted through the samples.

Abstract: A computer implemented process of matching two lines of text produced by optical character readers analyzes words in the two lines to identify matching words in corresponding positions in the two lines. Lines are then identified as matching based on the number of matching words in corresponding positions.

Abstract: A computer implemented process for creating a search query for an information retrieval system in which a database is provided containing a plurality of stopwords and phrases. A natural language input query defines the composition of the text of documents to be identified. Each word of the natural language input query is compared to the database in order to remove stopwords from the query. The remaining words of the input query are stemmed to their basic roots, and the sequence of stemmed words in the list is compared to phrases in the database to identify phrases in the search query. The phrases are substituted for the sequence of stemmed words from the list so that the remaining elements, namely the substituted phrases and unsubstituted stemmed words, form the search query. The completed search query elements are query nodes of a query network used to match representation nodes of a document network of an inference network.

Abstract: A computer implemented process for creating a search query for an information retrieval system in which a database is provided containing a plurality of stopwords and phrases. A natural language input query defines the composition of the test of documents to be identified. Each word of the natural language input query is compared to the database in order to remove stopwords from the query. The remaining words of the input query are stemmed to their basic roots, and the sequence of stemmed words in the list is compared to phrases in the database to identify phrases in the search query. The phrases are substituted for the sequence of stemmed words from the list so that the remaining elements, namely the substituted phrases and unsubstituted stemmed words, form the search query. The completed search query elements are query nodes of a query network used to match representation nodes of a document network of an inference network.