Abstract: A method, system, and devices for controlling distribution and use of digital works based on one or more usage rights associated with and specifying how a digital work can be used or distributed and created from a grammar suitable for defining instances of usage rights. A plurality of devices store and exchange digital works and include a requestor device to request access to a digital work, the request specifying a usage right including a manner of use for the digital work. A server device processes the request to access the digital work based on the usage right specified in the request. Access to the digital work is granted in accordance with the manner of use specified by the usage right. The request to access the digital work is granted only if the usage right specified by the request is associated with the digital work for which the access is requested.

Abstract: Systems and methods for enhancing recognizability of objects/groups in a workspace are provided, wherein the objects/groups are free-format. In an exemplary method, it determines whether a first object/group is moved to a location within a predetermined distance of a second object/group, and a display cue of the second object/group is assigned to the first object/group upon placement of the first object/group in the workspace, whereby the first object/group and the second object/group form a group. In addition, the display cue of the second object/group may be temporarily assigned to the first object/group when the first object/group is moved to a location within the predetermined distance of the second object/group.

Abstract: Methods and systems for supporting presentation using a zoomable space. In an exemplary method, a structure, such as a hierarchy, of presentation information is provided. The presentation information may include slides, text labels and graphical elements. The presentation information is laid out in the zoomable space based on the structure. A path may be created based on the hierarchy and may be a sequence of the presentation information for the slide show. When a modification is received in at least one of the hierarchy and the layout, the path may be automatically updated based on the modification. During a presentation, the presentation information is displayed based on the path.

Abstract: A method for interactive foraging for documents within a corpus of documents includes forming a working set of documents which are a subset of the corpus of documents. A visual representation of the working set and a portion of the corpus other than the working set are generated, and a visual representation of a retrieval boundary, between the working set and the portion of the corpus other than the working set, is presented. A further embodiment provides a system for interactive foraging of documents within a corpus of documents which includes, a visualization foraging subsystem, and an analytical repository containing a plurality of documents. The documents have been analyzed and are provided with associated dimensional data. A search mechanism of the visualization foraging subsystem is configured to form a working set of documents from the corpus of documents.

Abstract: A system for controlling the distribution and use of digital works using digital tickets. In the present invention, a “digital ticket” is used to entitle the ticket holder to exercise some usage right with respect to a digital work. Usage rights are used to define how a digital work may be used or distributed. Each usage right may specify a digital ticket which must be present before the right may be exercised. Digital works are stored in repositories which enforce a digital works usage rights. Each repository has a “generic ticket agent” which punches tickets. In some instances only the generic ticket agent is necessary. In other instances, punching by a “special ticket agent” residing on another repository may be needed.

Abstract: A system, method and device for controlling the use of digital content in accordance with usage rights information associated with the digital content and specifying a manner of use for the digital content, including generating a request, from a client device, for digital content; receiving the request at a content distributor repository; downloading the content and usage rights information associated with the content from the content distributor repository to the client device; enforcing the usage rights information with a repository coupled to the client device to render the content by a rendering engine of the client device only in accordance with the manner of use.