Cygnus Systems, Inc., the holder of the '850 patent, has asserted the patent in litigation against Google, Microsoft and Apple alleging their use of document preview icons - thumbnails - in their operating systems and browsers. If successful in this action, this patent may be asserted against other operating systems and browsers. The '850 patent claims continuation from a patent application filed June 12, 1998.
#82Picons
Applies to Claims 1
Last updated: 3 months ago
Summary / Description
Summary / DescriptionPicons are icons that are used to represent persons and other entities. From 1990?
 
Basic Information
Type of Prior ArtOnline Publication
 
URLhttp://www.cs.indiana.edu/picon...
 
Author/CreatorSteve Kinsler
 
Title
 
Publication Date1990
 
Publisher
 
Directions to Document Location
 
Additional InformationNot exactly a thumbnail, but clearly in the ballpark for associating a custom icon for specific content, as opposed to a standard icon for the content type. Since "thumbnails" have been common in photography for ages, they can't be unique by the
 
Notes / To Do
Notes
 
Excerpt
1. What are picons? "picons" is short for "personal icons". They're small, constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net, organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picons databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are in either monochrome XBM format or color XPM and GIF formats.
Relevance
Claims
Graphical representation of files and method for accessing

A method of accessing one or more computer files via a graphical icon, comprising the steps of: capturing automatically one or more graphical representations of one or more portions of information content of one or more computer files while an application is manipulating the one or more computer files; creating automatically an icon including selected portions of the captured one or more graphical representations of the information content of the one or more computer files wherein the icon graphically depicts at least a portion of the information content from the one or more computer files and wherein the icon is created while the application was manipulating the icon's corresponding one or more computer files and includes selected portions of the captured one or more graphical representations of the information content; linking the icon to the application and to the one or more computer files based on the ability of the application to manipulate the information content of the one or more computer files corresponding to the icon; storing the icon in a memory; displaying the icon in a window on a display screen; invoking the application for manipulating the information content of the one or more computer files upon selection of the icon by accessing the more or more computer files by reference to an underlying file system corresponding to the icon and opening the one or more computer files within the application.
Relevance
Picons represent a way to automatically associate a custom icon based on content, e.g. an email message. The icon is a graphical representation of, e.g. the author, and can be used to access that particular message.
Picons represent a way to automatically associate a custom icon based on content, e.g. an email message. The icon is a graphical representation of, e.g. the author, and can be used to access that particular message.
Claim Chart
Some