You can freely build on How Computers Automatically Detect and Act on Data Like Phone Numbers

What this patent covers

This patent describes a system that scans text in real-time to identify specific structures, such as email addresses, dates, or phone numbers. Once identified, the system highlights these items and provides a menu of relevant actions, like opening a calendar or dialing a number. It uses an analyzer server that works alongside other applications to parse data and link it to specific functional tasks. For example, if you receive an email containing a date, the system recognizes the date structure and lets you click it to immediately create a calendar event.

What is now free to use

All 0 claims of US 5946647 are in the public domain. Specifically:

The 0 dependent claims add narrowing limitations and are also free.

What is NOT covered

Patent expiry frees this specific invention. Separately-patented improvements made after expiry may still be protected.

• Does not cover manual selection of text where the computer performs no automated pattern recognition.

• Does not cover data structures that are not defined by grammars or string libraries within the system.

• Does not cover actions that are not explicitly linked to a detected structure by the analyzer server.

Who is building on this today

Apple continues to refine this technology within iOS and macOS. Other major operating system developers like Google have implemented similar functionality in Android to provide context-aware suggestions for text.

Products built on expired version of this technology

How to cite this patent in your documentation

Apple Computer Inc. US Patent 5946647. System and method for performing an action on a structure in computer-generated data. Granted 1999, expired 2016. Now in the public domain.

Note: This is a convenience citation. Consult a patent attorney for formal freedom-to-operate analysis.

PatentBrief is an educational resource and does not provide legal advice. Patent expiration information is derived from USPTO records and may not reflect continuation patents, divisional filings, or separately-patented improvements. For commercial use or production decisions, obtain a formal freedom-to-operate (FTO) opinion from a registered patent attorney.