Querying joined data within a search engine index U.S. Patent 8,073,840
Abstract:
Techniques and systems for indexing and retrieving data and documents stored in a record-based database management system (RDBMS) utilize a search engine interface. Search-engine indices are created from tables in the RDBMS and data from the tables is used to create “documents” for each record. Queries that require data from multiple tables may be parsed into a primary query and a set of one or more secondary queries. Join mappings and documents are created for the necessary tables. Documents matching the query string are retrieved using the search-engine indices and join mappings.
Is anyone maintaining an index or topic map of search engine/technique patents?
If such a resource was public it might be of assistance to patent examiners.
I say “might” because I have yet to see a search technology patent that would survive even minimal knowledge of prior art.
Knowledge of prior art in a field isn’t a qualification or at least not an important one for patent examiners.
My suggestion is that we triple the estimated cost of a patent and start selling them on a same day basis. Skip the fiction of examination and make some money for the government in the process.
People can pay their lawyers to fight out overlapping patents in the courts.