{
  "patent_number": "US 6901559",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Handheld Devices Organize Recently Used Files and Contacts",
  "original_title": "Method and apparatus for providing recent categories on a hand-held device",
  "summary": "A 2000-era Microsoft patent for showing a 'Recent' category on handheld devices, allowing users to interact with recent items exactly like they would with any other file.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent describes a way to organize data on early handheld devices by creating a 'Recently Accessed' category alongside standard folders. When a user selects this category, the device displays a list of the most recently used contacts or tasks. The core innovation is that these items are not just shortcuts or links; they are fully functional database entries. This means a user can edit, delete, or modify an item while viewing it in the 'Recent' list, and those changes are applied directly to the original record in the database, just as if the user had accessed it through a standard category folder.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover predictive or AI-based suggestions that guess what a user might want next.",
    "Does not cover displaying 'Recent' items as read-only shortcuts or static links.",
    "Does not cover cloud-synced history that tracks usage across multiple different devices.",
    "Does not cover voice-activated retrieval of recent files or contacts."
  ],
  "filed": "2000-04-27",
  "granted": "2005-05-31",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Microsoft Corp",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/microsoft-corp",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Ido Ben-Shachar",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/ido-ben-shachar"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jeffrey R. Blum",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/jeffrey-r-blum"
    },
    {
      "name": "Elizabeth A. Bastiaanse",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/elizabeth-a-bastiaanse"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 73,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software"
  ],
  "abstract": "The present invention adds a new category of contacts and tasks to hand-held devices. This new category provides a list of the most recent contacts or tasks that the user has accessed. Under most embodiments, the contacts and tasks shown in the RECENT list may be manipulated by the user in the same manner in which contacts and tasks are manipulated in other lists on the hand-held device. Thus, the user is shown the actual contacts or tasks entries and not just a link to those entries. Under most embodiments, the user is able to display a list of recent contacts and tasks by accessing a “RECENT” entry in a categories list provided on many hand-held devices.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/6901559/microsoft-office-ribbon-ui",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/6901559/microsoft-office-ribbon-ui/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US6901559",
  "relatedPatents": []
}