Google's "historical data" patent - USPTO has changed or lost it?

[tedster]

This is really frustrating. Back in March 2005 there was a much discussed Google patent application about using historical data. We had a good thread about it here [webmasterworld.com], and most SEO forums and websites have referenced it.

I just tried clicking on the links to the patent app, both here and elsewhere -- and the url at the USPTO now holds a DIFFERENT Google patent from June 21, 2007 - ENTITY DISPLAY PRIORITY IN A DISTRIBUTED GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM.

Even Google's own search results now point to the one from 2007, not 2005. Can anyone locate the Google Historical Data patent?

[Marcia]

My link to it on my Google patents/papers page stopped working, so I went hunting and none of the links I found are working. I do have a printed out hard copy; printing them out creates paper clutter, but his happens often enough so that it's worth it.

Added:
I've got a PDF copy on my computer, can those be converted to HTML, and is it permissable to put online, since Gov't documents are public domain?

[edited by: Marcia at 9:22 am (utc) on Aug. 29, 2007]

[1script]

I've got a PDF copy on my computer, can those be converted to HTML, and is it permissable to put online, since Gov't documents are public domain?

Not only permissible. I've seen a few people make it their business model to re-publish patents interspersed with AdSense ads of course ;-)

[Miamacs]

The TrustRank patent seems to have been renamed too ( not sure how recently ), and also a whole series of related patents have been added using the phrase since the last time I checked ( half a year ago ). Not Google though, assignee name: Yahoo! Inc. in all cases.

But, *cough*, yeah, so the average use of Google trademarked phrases like PageRank and TrustRank per document is: about 125 (*grin*)
Not in the titles though. Never. Is it that a Patent is like a book, you can write whatever you want in there?

eg.

[0020] TrustRank is a link analysis technique related to PageRank. TrustRank is a method for separating reputable, good pages on the Web from web spam. TrustRank is based on the presumption that good documents on the Web seldom link to spam. TrustRank involves two steps, (...)

There're some very interesting stuff in the new patents too, btw. These aim at using community / user data for ranking. Sounds familiar, right? Personal links, community links, well, whatever it is it's finally looking into the phenomenon of being popular. Do a search for trustrank in the patents database, all 5 should show up. ( I hope. *click* *save* )

...

look for the trademark [uspto.gov] by following the TESS link.

look for (related?) patents [appft1.uspto.gov] by entering trustrank into the search field.

tedster, the patent you were looking for... I suppose you already found a copy but...
try this search [google.com] ... the last result is funny.

...

Regarding why I keep looking at Yahoo! patents when learning about a method which Google trademraked the name of, partially written by someone at Stanford ( I know, that doesn't mean anything but also, the pdf presentation shows Google results ), and which methods I know to be in practice at both SEs... do you think this is...

a.: cold war ( just utilizing the basic idea on both ends )
b.: collaboration
c.: a conspiration theory by me

...

Probably all three combined.

[edited by: Miamacs at 11:42 am (utc) on Aug. 30, 2007]

[tedster]

Update: Here's a copy of Google's original Historical Data patent [webmasterwoman.com].

<added later>
Further update, Feb 20, 2008: The Patent Office copy is now online:
USPTO version [appft1.uspto.gov]