Data processing: presentation processing of document – operator i – Presentation processing of document – Layout
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-27
2004-12-14
Shah, Sanjiv (Department: 2176)
Data processing: presentation processing of document, operator i
Presentation processing of document
Layout
C707S793000, C715S252000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06832349
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate generally to a method and system for providing effective, network-based transactions. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and system to remotely activate enhanced functionality in a viewer application using a viewed document.
2. Description of Related Technology
Network-based transactions have lent greater productivity to the business world. With network-based systems, namely the Internet, businesses and organizations are now able to optimize their transaction capabilities by conducting transactions with their clients and customers online. Transactions that were previously performed in person or through the mail are now routinely done over the Internet in an automated and more efficient manner. However, certain types of transactions cannot be performed or, at least, cannot be completely performed over the Internet. That is because certain transactions require the need for some type of enhanced functionality and such enhanced functionality cannot be reasonably included in the process.
Consider the annual tax forms distributed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) each year to collect taxes. This task is performed by a paper-based system that requires the taxpayer to obtain a form, complete it, sign it and send the form back to the IRS. The efficiency of performing each of these tasks could be increased if this paper-based system were converted to a network-based system. With a network-based system, once an electronic form is created and stored on a central server, it is made accessible to the public. Therefore, the need to reproduce, distribute and store voluminous amounts of paper is eliminated. Processing of the electronic forms is also made easier. Data from the electronic form is more easily extracted when entered as electronic text into an electronic form than when it is extracted from paper-based documents that contain the taxpayer's writings. Thus, if electronic forms were made available over the Internet, a forms processing application could be used for completing and submitting the completed electronic form back to the IRS with many of the inefficiencies eliminated. The problem in this example is that tax forms require the signature of the taxpayer. The problem does not arise from the fact that signatures are performed by hand on paper. Digital signatures have been recognized by the Federal Legislature for their reliability and have been given legal acceptability per The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. However, forms processing applications are typically unable to provide this enhanced functionality to a large segment of people at a cost that makes the process a reasonable endeavor. The reasons are related to the architecture of the forms processing application.
The electronic form is created using a base software application that, includes an electronic document design application, which in this instance is a form design application; but another application, which is essentially an enhanced viewer (viewer), is required by the person filling out the form (the taxpayer) to locally open a form on their computer for data entry. The viewer raises a cost barrier to the implementation of this forms processing application. Though it is fiscally reasonable for a business or organization (organization) to license a form design application from a vendor to implement the forms processing application, it is impractical to license the viewer for the numerous remotely located customers or clients of the organization. In cases where a form is made available to the general public (government forms), the government would need to pay for a viewer license fee for every citizen who might access the form. This is impractical. The numbers involved are too great making the costs exorbitant. Furthermore, the majority of the benefit of electronically processed form-based transactions is realized by the organization. For this reason, it is not realistic to expect that remote form users will pay a license fee for an enhanced viewer.
However, there does exist a legitimate business method where viewers can effectively be provided to an organization's client or customer base without the huge cost detriment involved with licensing those viewers. Under this business method, a vendor that owns a page description language (PDL) application that creates and converts forms to PDL may want to freely distribute viewers that read the PDL in an effort to increase sales of the PDL application. For example, this method is practiced by Adobe, Inc.'s (Adobe's) ACROBAT. With ACROBAT, a user can convert documents composed in a variety of formats into the Adobe's proprietary PDL, “Portable Document Format” or PDF. Adobe has another application called ACROBAT READER that allows an end-user to view and print the PDF document. ACROBAT READER is made freely available to the public. Through this practice, Adobe has made PDF documents the de facto format for portable documents. An end user can view any document if the original user creates or converts the document to PDF. If an end-user wants to take advantage of certain enhanced functionality (i.e., digital signature) at their remote location, the end-user would need to use ACROBAT. ACROBAT is not freely distributed to end-users. Licenses of this product must be purchased. What is needed is a method and system for allowing the free deployment of viewer software that, when presented with a document having certain necessary criteria (such as an embedded activation key), unlocks certain inherent features in the viewer that provide enhanced functionality.
SUMMARY
The present invention provides a solution to this problem that involves remotely activating enhanced functionality in the end-users application (e.g., the viewer). In this fashion, it is possible to implement an increased licensing cost for those organizations that wish to use enhanced functionality features. When enhanced functionality is needed by the organization, it can be imparted to a specific document. Viewers capable of carrying out the capabilities of the enhanced functionality can be freely distributed since those features can be made functional by organizations who distribute forms and who are willing to pay the added costs on behalf of their users in order to obtain the significant automation benefits. Tracking devices can be placed in a network to track document use for per document licensing schemes.
In the forms processing application, the digital signature capability is activated within the viewer. The viewer possesses the inherent capability to perform digital signatures, but only through activation and while the electronic form was active in the viewer. Activation is made possible by including in an electronic form developed with the form design application, form-specific data that controls activation of the value-added features for the given document. The data is embedded in the electronic form file and is accessed remotely by the viewer to determine what, if any, enhanced functionality features should be activated. A form design application capable of imparting enhanced functionality and embedding such functionality in the electronic form is utilized. Furthermore, by embedding form-specific and organization-specific identification information, licensing schemes can be established based on electronic form use.
A method and system for remote activation of enhanced functionality features in locally created documents comprise a base software application including an electronic document design application for creating electronic documents, a delivery mechanism included in the electronic document design application for imparting document features to the electronic document, a viewing application for viewing the electronic documents created by the electronic document creation application and carrying out the document features imparted to the electronic document by the delivery mechanism, a binary string generator for generating an activ
Cardiff Software, Inc.
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
Shah Sanjiv
LandOfFree
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