Abstract: A method and apparatus for market-based document layout selection use an automated auction or bartering system, i.e., an automated page layout system, to place objects within a page and automatically generate a page layout that is pleasing to a user. An object refers to any item that can be individually selected and manipulated, and may include shapes and pictures that appear on a display screen. The method and apparatus improve the quality of page layout in terms of user preferences, and optimize the speed at which various objects are arranged on a page in a pleasing manner. In addition, the resulting page layout may be consistent among pages because all pages are arranged according to a common algorithm.

Abstract: A method and corresponding apparatus for document content trading use a content trading system (CTS) to automatically allocate publication resources in a production workflow or manufacturing process. The CTS acts as a marketplace infrastructure for providing goods, services and processes for CTS vendors and CTS customers. Specifically, the CTS enables the CTS customers, such as advertisers, to buy publication spaces from the CTS vendors, such as publishers. The CTS also enables the advertisers to trade among other advertisers for the other advertisers' publication spaces. Publication spaces thus become a fungible entity, and the publishers no longer need to manually lay out content of a publication.

Abstract: A method and corresponding apparatus for content risk management use a content risk management (CRM) system to automatically quantify content risk of documents and construct the documents with improved document value. The CRM system creates a risk profile using a combination of publisher and user preferences, and then automatically constructs the documents (content collections and layouts of the content) using the risk profile. As a result, the CRM system automatically reduces content risk of a badly perceived document, efficiently constructing a high value document.

Abstract: A method and corresponding apparatus for market-based graphical grouping use an automated auction or bartering system, i.e., an automated graphical grouping system, to automatically group graphical and text elements. The automated graphical grouping system enables trading of document elements to generate more valuable and informative groupings for documents. Different characteristics of document elements may be used by the automated graphical grouping system for trading among the document elements. Examples of such tradable characteristics include: physical proximity, type of element (such as text, graphic, or number), style (such as font size), color or the like. The system affords reuse of graphical and text elements in other format in subsequent reflowing documents.

Abstract: A method and corresponding apparatus for market-based document content selection use an automated auction or bartering system, i.e., an automated content selection system, to automatically select content for document presentation. The system takes simple criteria from a user and automatically constructs virtual documents from a much larger underlying database of content. By trading among the virtual documents, the automated content selection system affords a flexible and scalable method for selecting high-value content. The trading among the virtual documents can be adjusted to accommodate particularly complicated user preferences in order to improve content search efficiency. Additional criteria for incorporating user preferences is easy to accomplish. Therefore, users are shown relevant content in a usable form to help with decision making process.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for market-based document layout selection use an automated auction or bartering system, i.e., an automated page layout system, to place objects within a page and automatically generate a page layout that is pleasing to a user. An object refers to any item that can be individually selected and manipulated, and may include shapes and pictures that appear on a display screen. The method and apparatus improve the quality of page layout in terms of user preferences, and optimize the speed at which various objects are arranged on a page in a pleasing manner. In addition, the resulting page layout may be consistent among pages because all pages are arranged according to a common algorithm.

Abstract: A method and corresponding apparatus for market-based document content and layout selection use an automated auction or bartering system, i.e., an automated content and layout coordination system, to automatically coordinate content and layout selection for document presentation. The system takes simple criteria from a user and automatically constructs virtual documents from a much larger underlying database of content and layout. By trading among the virtual documents, the automated content and layout coordination system affords a flexible and scalable method for coordinating the selection of high-value content and layout and generating a high value document.

Abstract: A copyright revenue allocation system that identifies copyrighted works after they are copied. Each copying service within the system informs a copyright revenue allocation service of each page or sheet it copies via document signals representing a portion of the copied document. The copyright revenue allocation service uses the document signals to determine whether the document copied is part of a copyrighted work, and, if so, identifies the owners of the intellectual property contained within that document. After identifying the intellectual property owners, the copyright revenue allocation system increments their associated revenue counters. These revenue counters are used to allocate copyright revenues from the copying services among the intellectual property owners entitled to compensation.

Abstract: An auction-based apparatus and method for supplying temperature conditioned air. Each room in an office building makes a bid based on a difference between an actual temperature of the room and a desired temperature of the room. Each room submits the respective bid to a centralized computer that consummates sales based on an auction price. The centralized computer controls the amount of temperature conditioned air supplied to each of the respective rooms based on the consummated sales.