GB2385450A

GB2385450A - Reviewing documents

Info

Publication number: GB2385450A
Application number: GB0203628A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lawrence Milner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-02-14
Filing date: 2002-02-14
Publication date: 2003-08-20
Anticipated expiration: 2022-02-14
Also published as: GB0203628D0; GB2385450A9; GB2385450B

Abstract

A document is searched to identify terms matching those contained in associated database(s). The system distinguishes matching terms by highlighting or otherwise emphasising them. The user can then select any such terms so as to view relevant commentary linked with those terms. The system will therefore assist a user to identify a range of options associated with a document which a user might not otherwise have considered. This will enable the quick and efficient review of issues arising from a document reflecting the user's particular circumstances or area of technical expertise. The system may be used by lawyers or scientists.

Description

DESCRIPTION SYSTEM OR METHOD FOR REVIEWING DOCUMENTATION [Technical Field] THIS INVENTION RELATES TO A SYSTEM OR METHOD FOR REVIEWING DOCUMENTATION [Background] (A) EXISTING SYSTEMS THERE ARE VARIOUS EXISTING MEANS OF REVIEWING DOCUMENTS USING ELECTRONIC OR OTHER MEANS. THESE INCLUDE SOFTWARE PROGRAMMES USED TO CHECK SPELLING OR GRAMMAR, ELECTRONIC DICTIONARIES AND DATABASES, AS WELL AS PROGRAMMES USED TO IDENTIFY OCCURRENCES OF WORDS SPECIFIED BY USERS. REFERENCES IN THIS SPECIFICATION TO"DOCUMENTS"MEANS ANY DOCUMENTATION WHETHER IN PAPER OR ELECTRONIC FORM.

EXISTING ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT REVIEW SYSTEMS TYPICALLY REQUIRE USERS TO IDENTIFY A SPECIFIC ISSUE (E. G. SPELLING AND/OR GRAMMAR) TO BE ADDRESSED. THE SYSTEM THEN PERFORMS THE REQUESTED FUNCTION (E. G. TO IDENTIFY INCORRECT SPELLING OR GRAMMAR). IT TYPICALLY DOES THIS BY USING SOFTWARE TO COMPARE THE WORDS OF A DOCUMENT BEING REVIEWED AGAINST AN ASSOCIATED DATABASE. THE RELEVANT DATABASE MIGHT INCLUDE, FOR EXAMPLE IN THE CONTEXT OF A GRAMMAR CHECKING SYSTEM, COMMONLY CONFUSED OR SIMILAR SOUNDING TERMS (E. G."THEY'RE"INSTEAD OF "THEIR").

EXISTING DOCUMENT REVIEW SYSTEMS DO NOT PROVIDE USERS WITH THE ABILITY TO ADDRESS A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES OR PROVIDE MANY OPTIONS AS TO THE MANNER IN WHICH RESULTS OF A REVIEW CAN BE ACCESSED BY THE USER. FOR EXAMPLE, SUCH SYSTEMS TYPICALLY IDENTIFY RELEVANT TERMS (E. G. MIS-SPELLINGS) ONE AT A TIME, THE USER MAKING OR IGNORING SUGGESTED CHANGES TO A RELEVANT HIGHLIGHTED TERM AS APPROPRIATE BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT TERM. USERS CANNOT"JUMP"BACKANDFORTH AROUND THE DOCUMENT ACCESSING RELEVANT TERMS AND COMMENTARY HIGHLIGHTED BY THE SYSTEM IN NON-CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER NOR CAN THEY ACCESS OR VIEW A NUMBER OF OR ALL SUCH TERMS AND COMMENTARY AT THE SAME TIME. THIS REFLECTS THE LIMITED NATURE

OF EXISTING REVIEW SYSTEMS, THERE BEING NO ADVANTAGE IN ADDRESSING, FOR EXAMPLE, SPELLING OR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS OTHER THAN ONE AT A TIME IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER THROUGH THE DOCUMENT.

IN SHORT, THE USER MUST: * FIRST IDENTIFY A SPECIFIC ISSUE HE WISHES TO ADDRESS IN THE DOCUMENT IN QUESTION (E. G. SPELLING AND/OR GRAMMAR); * THE SYSTEM WILL THEN ADDRESS THAT ISSUE ONLY AND WILL NOT ADDRESS A NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANTLY DIVERGENT ISSUES CONCURRENTLY; . THE USER HAS LIMITED OPTIONS AS TO THE MANNER IN WHICH HE CAN ACCESS THE RESULTS OF THE REVIEW.

. THE RESULTS THEMSELVES ARE LIMITED IN SCOPE, REFLECTING THE LIMITED NATURE OF THE REVIEW.

(B) ISSUES EXISTING SYSTEMS DO NOT ADDRESS ALTHOUGH HELPING TO ADDRESS SPECIFIC ISSUES (E. G. SPELLING OR GRAMMAR), EXISTING SYSTEMS FAIL TO HELP USERS ACTUALLY TO IDENTIFY OR ADDRESS A WIDE VARIETY OF ISSUES THAT A DOCUMENT MIGHT GIVE RISE TO OR THAT A USER MIGHT WISH OR NEED TO CONSIDER IN A PARTICULAR CONTEXT.

IN REVIEWING A DOCUMENT A WIDE RANGE OF DIVERSE ISSUES MAY ARISE. IN MANY CASES THESE DEPEND ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES, NATURE AND CONTENT OF THE RELEVANT DOCUMENT (RATHER THAN JUST FOR EXAMPLE, SPELLING OR GRAMMAR). AS A RESULT RELEVANT ISSUES: (A) MIGHT NOT BE IDENTIFIED BY THE PERSON REVIEWING THE DOCUMENT; OR (B) MIGHT NOT REQUIRE OR GIVE RISE TO CLEAR-CUT OR CONSISTENT RESPONSES IN ALL CASES.

FOR EXAMPLE, A LAWYER REVIEWING A LEGAL DOCUMENT MAY NEED TO (BUT MAY FAIL TO) CONSIDER A VARIETY OF ISSUES RELATING TO THE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF A DOCUMENT (OVER AND ABOVE MERE RULES OF SPELLING AND GRAMMAR) INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING: WHETHER THE DRAFTING IS SUFFICIENTLY CLEAR AND PRECISE (E. G. WHETHER TERMS ARE CORRECTLY DEFINED), WHETHER DEFINED TERMS ARE USED CONSISTENTLY, WHETHER ABBREVIATIONS ARE APPROPRIATE, WHETHER OBLIGATIONS OR RIGHTS NEED TO BE QUALIFIED OR EXTENDED, WHETHER ARCHAIC LANGUAGE SHOULD BE REMOVED OR CLARIFIED AND IF SO HOW,

WHETHER APPROPRIATE SYNONYMS OR ALTERNATIVES ARE SET OUT IN THE DOCUMENT, WHETHER USE OF PUNCTUATION (FOR EXAMPLE SQUARE BRACKETS) IS APPROPRIATE IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, WHETHER CLAUSES OR SCHEDULES ARE APPROPRIATELY CROSS-REFERENCED, WHETHER NUMBERS OR CURRENCIES FOR PAYMENT ARE CORRECT, WHETHER REFERENCES TO APPLICABLE LEGISLATION OR CASE-LAW OR OTHER REGULATIONS OR CODES ARE CORRECT AND WHETHER THE DOCUMENT CONTAINS ALL RELEVANT PROVISIONS THAT ONE WOULD TYPICALLY EXPECT TO FIND IN A DOCUMENT OF THIS KIND.

IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS THESE AND OTHER ISSUES THE PERSON REVIEWING THE DOCUMENT MAY REQUIRE A HIGH LEVEL OF TECHNICAL SOPHISTICATION, EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE. RULES OF SPELLING AND GRAMMAR COVERED BY EXISTING SYSTEMS ARE BY DEFINITION BROADLY CONSISTENT FROM DOCUMENT TO DOCUMENT.

HOWEVER OTHER RELEVANT ISSUES MAY VARY SIGNIFICANTLY DEPENDING ON THE CONTEXT IN WHICH DOCUMENTS ARE REVIEWED.

FOR EXAMPLE, A LAWYER MAY REVIEW A DOCUMENT FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE TO AN ACCOUNTANT OR DOCTOR AND WOULD BE EXPECTED TO IDENTIFY AND FOCUS ON DIFFERENT ISSUES AND SUGGEST AN APPROPRIATE LEGAL RESPONSE TO THOSE ISSUES.

AN INDIVIDUAL REVIEWING A DOCUMENT THEREFORE NEEDS FIRST OF ALL TO IDENTIFY (OR HAVE IDENTIFIED TO HIM) ISSUES THAT THE DOCUMENT GIVES RISE TO AND THEN TO DETERMINE APPROPRIATE RESPONSES TO THOSE ISSUES. EXISTING DOCUMENT REVIEW SYSTEMS TEND TO PERFORM SPECIFIC AND LIMITED FUNCTIONS TO ADDRESS SPECIFIC ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE USER AND ARE THEREFORE OF LIMITED ASSISTANCE IN THIS PROCESS.

(C) NATURE OF THE CURRENT INVENTION THE CURRENT INVENTION IS A SYSTEM OR METHOD WHEREBY A PERSON REVIEWING A DOCUMENT CAN: (A) REVIEW THE DOCUMENT BY REFERENCE TO A WIDE RANGE OF DIVERGENT ISSUES REFLECTING THAT PERSON'S SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES AND REQUIREMENTS AND/OR THE NATURE OF THE DOCUMENT TO BE REVIEWED; (B) BE INFORMED OF THE VARIOUS RELEVANT ISSUES THAT THE DOCUMENT GIVES RISE TO AND WHICH THE RELEVANT PERSON MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE HAVE THOUGHT OF OR BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE ; AND (C) CHOOSE THE ORDER IN WHICH AND MANNER IN WHICH HE ADDRESSES DIFFERENT ISSUES.

AS A RESULT OF THIS INVENTION DOCUMENTS CAN BE REVIEWED MORE COMPREHENSIVELY, MORE QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY BY REFERENCE TO A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES. THE SYSTEM OR METHOD WILL PROVIDE SOLUTIONS WHICH REFLECT THE PARTICULAR CONTEXT OF THE REVIEW AND THE CONCERNS OF THE REVIEWER. THIS INVENTION ENABLES THE USER TO ADDRESS ISSUES WHICH HE WOULD NOT OTHERWISE HAVE THOUGHT OF. THIS HAS A CLEAR TECHNICAL BENEFIT FOR THOSE WHOSE JOBS DEPEND ON THE EFFICIENT, COMPREHENSIVE AND TIMELY REVIEW OF DOCUMENTATION (FOR EXAMPLE, LAWYERS OR SCIENTISTS).

THE APPLICATION MAY BE OBJECTED TO ON THE GROUNDS THAT THE APPLICATION MERELY RELATES TO THE USE OF A COMPUTER PROGRAMME. IN THE APPLICANT'S OPINION THE INVENTION RELATES NOT TO MATTERS DISQUALIFIED BY SECTION 1 (2) OF THE PATENT ACT BUT ENABLES PEOPLE REVIEWING DOCUMENTS TO BE INFORMED OF THE VARIOUS AND DETAILED ISSUES THAT THE DOCUMENT GIVES RISE TO AS WELL AS APPROPRIATE RESPONSES TO THOSE ISSUES.

THE TECHNICAL RESULTS OR CONTRIBUTION THEREFORE OF THIS INVENTION IS TO ENABLE DOCUMENTS TO BE REVIEWED MORE QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY THAN WOULD OTHERWISE BE THE CASE. THIS IS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ART IN A NON-EXCLUDED FIELD (FOR EXAMPLE THE MANNER IN WHICH LAWYERS, MEDICS, SCIENTISTS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS AND SPECIALISTS REVIEW DOCUMENTATION AS PART OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES). THE INVENTION PRODUCES, IN PARTICULAR, AN ADVANCE IN SPEED AND EFFICIENCY IN VARIOUS DIFFERENT FIELDS OF SPECIALIST ACTIVITY. IN THIS IT DIFFERS FROM GRAMMAR AND SPELL-CHECKERS WHICH DO NOT TO ANY SIGNIFICANT DEGREE REFLECT THE CIRCUMSTANCES OR ACTIVITY OF THE USER OR THE NATURE OF THE DOCUMENT BEING REVIEWED AND DO NOT PROVIDE A CONTRIBUTION IN A TECHNICAL FIELD.

THE APPLICATION IS'NOVEL", NOT BEING ANTICIPATED IN THE PRIOR ART RELATING TO, FOR EXAMPLE, SPELL-CHECKERS. THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT THIS SYSTEM OR METHOD FOR REVIEWING DOCUMENTS ENABLES A REVIEW OF DOCUMENTS TO BE TAILORED TO ADDRESS A WIDE RANGE OF DIVERGENT ISSUES, AS WELL AS ADDRESSING THE USER'S SPECIFIC CONCERNS AND THE NATURE OF THE DOCUMENT BEING REVIEWED. AS A RESULT IT IS POSSIBLE TO AUTOMATICALLY AND CONCURRENTLY ADDRESS A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES THAT ARE OF PARTICULAR CONCERN TO A PARTICULAR USER IN A PARTICULAR CONTEXT. THIS INVENTION CAN THEREFORE BE USED FOR A WIDE RANGE OFPURPOSES, FOR EXAMPLE TO IDENTIFY TO A LAWYER RELEVANT ISSUES TO FOCUS ON IN A LEGAL DOCUMENT. EXISTING SYSTEMS DO NOT DO THIS.

[Essential Technical Features 1. FIRST ASPECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION ACCORDING TO THE FIRST PREFERRED VERSION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION THERE IS PROVIDED A SYSTEM OR METHOD FOR ASSISTING IN THE REVIEW OF DOCUMENTS CHARACTERISED BY A REVIEW MECHANISM COMPRISING : (A) ELECTRONIC DATABASE (S) CONTAINING TERMS TO BE SEARCHED.

RELEVANT DATABASE (S) WILL CONTAIN ONE OR MORE WORDS, LETTERS, NUMBERS OR OTHER SYMBOLS (REFERRED TO THROUGHOUT THIS DOCUMENT AS"TERMS") WHICH HAVE BEEN INCLUDED ON THE BASIS THAT THEY MAY BE RELEVANT OR ARE LIKELY TO APPEAR IN A CONTEXT SPECIFIC TO THE USER OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD (E. G. TERMS WHICH ARE LIKELY TO APPEAR IN OR BE SIGNIFICANT IN A DOCUMENT WHERE IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE USER WILL BE A LAWYER). ALTERNATIVELY OR ADDITIONALLY DATABASES MAY CONTAIN TERMS WHICH HAVE BEEN INCLUDED ON THE BASIS THAT THEY MAY BE RELEVANT OR ARE LIKELY TO APPEAR GIVEN THE SPECIFIC NATURE OF THE DOCUMENT TO BE REVIEWED (E. G. TERMS WHICH ARE LIKELY TO APPEAR OR BE SIGNIFICANT IN A PATENT ASSIGNMENT WHERE IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THIS IS THE DOCUMENT TO BE REVIEWED).

(B) ASSOCIATED COMMENTARY AND OTHER TEXT OR ELECTRONIC DATABASE (S) CONTAINING COMMENTARY AND OTHER TEXT LINKED WITH RELEVANT TERMS REFERRED TO IN (A) ABOVE ("ASSOCIATED TEXT"). ASSOCIATED TEXT MAY BE EXTENSIVE AND TECHNICAL IN NATURE AND CROSS REFER TO OTHER DOCUMENTS OR REFERENCE SOURCES.

(C) AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR CARRYING OUT A MATCHING OR COMPARATIVE PROCESS USING AT LEAST THE FOLLOWING STEPS: (a) SEARCHING DATABASE (S) FOR TERMS MATCHING THOSE TERMS CONTAINED IN A DOCUMENT BEING REVIEWED ("MATCHING TERMS") (OR VICE VERSA); (b) CREATING TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT LINKS BETWEEN THE RETRIEVED TERMS IN THE RELEVANT DATABASE (S) AND MATCHING TERMS IN THE DOCUMENT (OR VICE VERSA); (c) SEARCHING FOR ASSOCIATED TEXT AND CREATING TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT LINKS BETWEEN TERMS AND/OR ASSOCIATED TEXT RETRIEVED FROM RELEVANT DATABASES AND MATCHING TERMS IN THE DOCUMENT;

(d) ARRANGING, DISPLAYING OR OTHERWISE HIGHLIGHTING THE RETRIEVED TERMS AND/OR ASSOCIATED TEXT AND/OR MATCHING TERMS; (e) DEFINING USER INTERACTION CONTEXTS BASED ON SAID TERMS, ASSOCIATED TEXT AND MATCHING TERMS. IN PARTICULAR, THE USER MAY HAVE THE OPTION TO REVIEW ONLY MATCHING TERMS AND NOT TERMS AND/OR ASSOCIATED TEXT RETRIEVED FROM RELEVANT DATABASES.

(ENABLING USER INTERACTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH USER INTERACTION CONTEXTS * THE STEPS IDENTIFIED ABOVE CAN BE CONDUCTED AT THE SAME TIME OR SEPARATELY AT THE USER'S OPTION. FOR EXAMPLE, THE USER MAY CHOOSE TO SEE ONLY MATCHING TERMS AND NOT ASSOCIATED TEXT. ALTERNATIVELY THE USER MAY CHOOSE TO CONDUCT A SEARCH AND REVIEW THE RESULTS OF THE SEARCH AT A LATER DATE.

* THE USER HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE TO CONDUCT A SEARCH BY REFERENCE ONLY TO A PARTICULAR DATABASE (OR RELEVANT ISSUE) OR BY REFERENCE TO A VARIETY OF DATABASES (OR RELEVANT ISSUES ISSUES) SELECTED BY THE USER AT THE SAME TIME.

RELEVANT DATABASES AND THE TERMS AND ASSOCIATED TEXT THEY CONTAIN MAY BE ACCESSED, CREATED, MODIFIED, ADDED TO OR DELETED BY THE USER TO ADDRESS A VARIETY OF ISSUES (WHETHER OR NOT ADDRESSING SIMILAR ISSUES AS EXISTING DATABASES). THE USER CAN THEREBY INFLUENCE THE NUMBER OF MATCHING TERMS AND ASSOCIATED TEXT IDENTIFIED IN THE REVIEW PROCESS SO AS TO REFLECT THE SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE USER'S REVIEW. AS A RESULT THE SYSTEM OR METHOD HAS THE ABILITY TO ADDRESS IN DETAIL A WIDE RANGE OF SPECIFIC ISSUES LIKELY TO BE OF INTEREST TO THE PERSON REVIEWING THE DOCUMENT IN QUESTION.

THESE PROCESSES ARE DESCRIBED IN MORE DETAIL BELOW.

A. SEARCH FOR MATCHING TERMS THE USER DECIDES WHICH DATABASE (S) HE WISHES TO USE IN THE REVIEW OF A DOCUMENT. THE USER HIMSELF MAY NOT KNOW PRECISELY WHICH TERMS OR ASSOCIATED TEXT THE RELEVANT DATABASE (S) MAY CONTAIN. FOR EXAMPLE, A USER MAY CHOOSE TO REVIEW A DOCUMENT MERELY BY REFERENCE TO THE DATABASE OPTION"LEGAL TERMS" WITHOUT A CLEAR IDEA OF THE PRECISE NATURE OF THE TERMS OR ASSOCIATED TEXT CONTAINED IN THE RELEVANT DATABASE (S) THAT

THIS OPTION RELATES TO. DIFFERENT DATABASE (S) CONTAIN TERMS THAT MAY APPEAR IN RELATION TO A SPECIFIC SUBJECT OR ISSUE (E. G.

LEGAL ISSUES) OR COVERING A VARIETY OF ISSUES OR SPECIFIC SUBJECTS (E. G. LEGAL AND GRAMMATICAL ISSUES).

A DOCUMENT BEING REVIEWED IS SEARCHED (ELECTRONICALLY OR OTHERWISE) TO IDENTIFY TERMS MATCHING OR SIMILAR TO (IN WHOLE OR IN PART) THOSE CONTAINED IN RELEVANT DATABASE (S) SELECTED BY THE USER. ANY SUCH MATCHING TERMS ("MATCHING TERMS") ARE DISTINGUISHED, EMPHASISED OR OTHERWISE HIGHLIGHTED (SUCH ACTIVITY BEING REFERRED TO HEREAFTER AS"HIGHLIGHTING", "HIGHLIGHTED"ETC. AS APPROPRIATE) IN THE RELEVANT DOCUMENT.

THIS HIGHLIGHTING CAN, AT THE USER'S OPTION, BE PERFORMED IN DIFFERENT WAYS TO REFLECT THE DATABASE (S) IN WHICH THE RELEVANT TERMS APPEAR. MATCHING TERMS OR ASSOCIATED TEXT CAN BE HIGHLIGHTED IN A VARIETY OF FONTS, COLOURS, HIGHLIGHTS, UNDERLINING AND OTHER MEANS SO AS TO HELP IDENTIFY RELEVANT ISSUES INVOLVED (E. G. SHOWING DIFFERENT COLOURS OR FONTS FOR NUMBERS, SYMBOLS OR TEXT). THE USER CAN CHOOSE THE MANNER IN WHICH TERMS ARE HIGHLIGHTED.

THE PROCESS OF SEARCHING FOR AND IDENTIFYING MATCHING TERMS CAN BE CARRIED OUT TERM BY TERM OR BY IDENTIFYING ALL RELEVANT MATCHING TERMS AT THE SAME TIME. THE USER MAY CHOOSE TO REVIEW A DOCUMENT ONLY BY REFERENCE TO CERTAIN DATABASES OR TERMS (E. G. TO REVIEW A DOCUMENT FOR LEGAL TERMS ONLY).

ALTERNATIVELY THE USER MIGHT, FOR EXAMPLE, CHOOSE TO REVIEW A DOCUMENT FOR LEGAL TERMS, NUMBERS, SYMBOLS, CAPITALISED TERMS AND MEDICAL TERMS, DEPENDING ON USER PREFERENCE AND THE DATABASES AVAILABLE TO THAT PARTICULAR USER. THE USER HAS THE ABILITY TO SAVE THE RESULTS OF A SEARCH (E. G. HIGHLIGHTED MATCHING TERMS OR ASSOCIATED TEXT).

B. ACCESSING ASSOCIATED TEXT ONCE RELEVANT MATCHING TERMS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THE DOCUMENT (E. G. THROUGH HIGHLIGHTING) THE USER CAN THEN CHOOSE TO SEE ASSOCIATED TEXT LINKED WITH ANY OR ALL SUCH HIGHLIGHTED TERMS. THIS CAN BE DONE AUTOMATICALLY (E. G. TERM BY TERM IN THE MANNER OF A SPELL-CHECKER SYSTEM). ALTERNATIVELY ASSOCIATED TEXT MAY BE VIEWED, FOR EXAMPLE, BY THE USER USING THE POSITION OF HIS COMPUTER MOUSE OR CLICKING ON A MATCHING TERM SO AS TO DISPLAY ASSOCIATED TEXT (E. G. THROUGH A POP-UP BOX) RELATING TO THE RELEVANT TERM). IN THIS WAY THE USER CAN CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT TO ACCESS OR VIEW ANY OR ALL ASSOCIATED TEXT LINKED

WITH ANY OR ALL MATCHING TERMS HIGHLIGHTED IN RESPECT OF THE DOCUMENT BEING REVIEWED. THE USER CAN"JUMP"AROUND THE DOCUMENT IN A NON-CHRONOLOGICAL WAY TO ADDRESS RELEVANT ISSUES. THE USER CAN CHOOSE TO ACCESS MATCHING TERMS AND ASSOCIATED TEXT EITHER CHRONOLOGICALLY THROUGH THE DOCUMENT BEING REVIEWED OR NOT.

IN ORDER TO SPEED UP AND ASSIST IN THE REVIEW PROCESS THE USER CAN IDENTIFY OR ACCESS ANY OR ALL MATCHING TERMS OR ASSOCIATED TEXT LINKED TO A NUMBER OF MATCHING TERMS AT THE SAME TIME (WHETHER ELECTRONICALLY OR IN PAPER (E. G. PRINTED) FORM). THE USER CAN CHOOSE THE MANNER IN WHICH AND TIME AT WHICH RELEVANT MATCHING TERMS OR ASSOCIATED TEXT ARE HIGHLIGHTED OR ACCESSED, INCLUDING SAVING THE RESULTS OF A SEARCH SHOWING MATCHING TERMS FOR REVIEW AT A LATER DATE..

ASSOCIATED TEXT LINKED WITH MATCHING TERMS MAY BE ACCESSED, AT THE USER'S OPTION, IN A NUMBER OF FORMS (FOR EXAMPLE, POP-UP BOXES, BEFORE/AFTER/ABOVE OR BELOW THE RELEVANT MATCHING TERM OR TERMS OR AS A FOOTNOTE OR IN A SEPARATE"WINDOW OR DOCUMENT). ASSOCIATED TEXT LINKED WITH MATCHING TERMS HIGHLIGHTED AS PART OF THE REVIEW PROCESS MIGHT INCLUDE TEXT ACCESSED OR ACCESSIBLE AURALLY, BY MEANS OF HYPERTEXT OR SIMILAR LINKS OR USING THE INTERNET. ASSOCIATED TEXT MAY ALSO CONTAIN SUGGESTED DRAFT WORDING OR CLAUSES OR SUGGESTIONS RELATING TO THE STRUCTURE OF THE DOCUMENT OR A VARIETY OF OTHER ISSUES BASED ON TERMS USED IN THE DOCUMENT HIGHLIGHTED AS PART OF THE REVIEW PROCESS.

HAVING REVIEWED RELEVANT ASSOCIATED TEXT THE USER MAY DECIDE TO ADD TO, DELETE OR OTHERWISE ACT ON OR IGNORE THE RELEVANT TEXT. THE USER CAN CHOOSE TO IGNORE OR REMOVE ALL OTHER OCCURRENCES OF HIGHLIGHTING OF A MATCHING TERM WITHOUT REVIEWING ASSOCIATED TEXT OR REMOVE ALL SUBSEQUENT HIGHLIGHTING OF A PARTICULAR TERM OR ASSOCIATED TEXT OR CAN WHEN MODIFYING A TERM REQUIRE THAT CORRESPONDING CHANGES ARE MADE THROUGHOUT THE DOCUMENT TO ALL OTHER OCCURRENCES OF THE RELEVANT TERM.

THE ENTIRE SYSTEM WILL THEREFORE OPERATE SO AS TO USE MULTIPLE DATABASES IDENTIFYING A VARIETY OF ISSUES OR OPTIONS LIKELY TO BE RELEVANT IN A PARTICULAR CONTEXT TO HIGHLIGHT KEY WORDS IN THE DOCUMENT TO BE REVIEWED. THE USER CAN SELECT ONE OR MORE OF A SELECTION OF DATABASES SO AS TO SEARCH TERMS OR ISSUES OR OPTIONS POTENTIALLY ASSOCIATED WITH A DOCUMENT WHICH A USER MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE HAVE CONSIDERED.

C. CAPITALISED TERMS AS AN ADDITIONAL FUNCTION, SOFTWARE CAN BE USED TO SEARCH THROUGH A DOCUMENT TO IDENTIFY SOME OR ALL TERMS COMMENCING WITH A CAPITAL LETTER ("CAPITALISED TERMS"). THIS MAY BE SIGNIFICANT IN, FOR EXAMPLE, A LEGAL DOCUMENT WHERE IT MAY BE IMPORTANT TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN CAPITALISED OR UNCAPITALISED TERMS.

IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS PROCESS MORE TARGETED IN A PARTICULAR CASE, THE SOFTWARE MAY, AT THE USER'S OPTION, SEARCH ONLY FOR CERTAIN CAPITALISED TERMS (E. G. THOSE APPEARING IN INVERTED COMMAS) OR IGNORE CERTAIN TERMS (SUCH AS THOSE APPEARING AFTER A FULL STOP, IN A HEADING OR PLACE NAME OR WHICH ARE OTHERWISE PART OF A GROUP OF EXCLUDED CAPITALISED TERMS).

ON IDENTIFYING A RELEVANT CAPITALISED TERM THE SOFTWARE WILL RECORD THAT TERM IN A DATABASE. IF, HAVING SEARCHED THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT IT IS ESTABLISHED THAT THE RELEVANT TERM IS UNIQUE (E. G. IT APPEARS ONCE ONLY IN THAT FORM WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE SEARCH) THE SOFTWARE WILL DISTINGUISH OR OTHERWISE HIGHLIGHT THE RELEVANT TERM ACCORDINGLY TO SHOW THIS.

IF HAVING IDENTIFIED THE RELEVANT CAPITALISED TERM THE SOFTWARE SUBSEQUENTLY IDENTIFIES OTHER UPPER OR LOWER CASE OCCURRENCES OF THE SAME TERM IT CAN DISTINGUISH OR OTHERWISE HIGHLIGHT THOSE OTHER OCCURRENCES ACCORDINGLY.

AS A RESULT OF THIS PROCESS, THE SYSTEM CAN BE USED TO HELP SHOW UNIQUE, CONSISTENT OR INCONSISTENT USE OF CAPITALISED TERMS, THEREBY ASSISTING IN THE EFFICIENT AND TIMELY REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENT BY THE USER.

2. SECOND ASPECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION (A) ACCORDING TO A SECOND ASPECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION THERE IS PROVIDED A METHOD OF REVIEWING TERMS IN A DOCUMENT COMPRISING THE STEPS OF: - SELECTING A TERM IN THE DOCUMENT; - COMPARING THE SELECTED TERM IN TURN WITH TERMS IN A FIRST LISTING OF AT LEAST TWO LISTINGS OF TERMS, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TERMS IN EACH LISTING BEING UNIQUE TO THAT LISTING;

- PROVIDING FOR AN INDICATION WHEN THE COMPARISON STEP REVEALS AN IDENTITY OR OTHER RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SELECTED TERM AND A TERM IN THE LISTING WITH WHICH THE COMPARISON IS BEING MADE.

(B) ACCORDING TO A FIRST PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SECOND ASPECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION THE COMPARISON STEP BETWEEN THE TERMS OF THE DOCUMENT AND THE TERMS FORMING THE FIRST OF THE GIVEN LISTINGS IS CARRIED OUT BEFORE OR INSTEAD OF THE COMPARISON STEP BETWEEN THE TERMS MAKING UP THE DOCUMENT AND THE TERMS FORMING THE SECOND OF THE GIVEN LISTINGS OR ANY SUBSEQUENT LISTINGS AND VICE VERSA.

C) ACCORDING TO A SECOND PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SECOND ASPECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION OR OF THE FIRST PREFERRED VERSION THEREOF THE, OR AT LEAST SOME, OF THE TERMS MAKING UP AT LEAST THE FIRST LISTING OR ANY SUBSEQUENT LISTING INCLUDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SUCH AS MEANING, ALTERNATIVE SPELLINGS, ACRO-OR SYNO-NYMS, RELATIONSHIP OR OTHER INFORMATION ASPECTS RELATING TO THE TERM INVOLVED.

(D) ACCORDING TO A THIRD PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SECOND ASPECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION OR OF THE FIRST PREFERRED VERSION THEREOF THE FIRST OF THE GIVEN LISTINGS OR ANY SUBSEQUENT LISTING COMPRISES A LIST OF MATCHING TERMS AFTER THE MANNER OF A DICTIONARY OR THESAURUS.

(E) ACCORDING TO A FOURTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SECOND ASPECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION OR OF THE FIRST PREFERRED VERSION THEREOF THE FIRST, SECOND OR OTHER OF THE GIVEN LISTINGS COMPRISE A LISTING OF ASSOCIATED TEXT SUCH AS CASE LAW, TECHNICAL INFORMATION, DATA OR OF FURTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION RELATED TO THE SELECTED TERM FROM THE DOCUMENT SUCH AS WEB SITES OR OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED TYPICALLY DURING OR FOLLOWING THE COMPARING STEP.

[Example] A SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION WILL NOW BE DESCRIBED BY WAY OF EXAMPLE BY REFERENCE TO THE FOLLOWING SAMPLE TEXT.

THE SAMPLE TEXT TO BE REVIEWED IS AS FOLLOWS: "It is essential to ensure that when reviewing a Document [all] relevant issues are identified, 100% of the time".

A PERSON REVIEWING THIS TEXT WILL USE SOFTWARE TO SEARCH THE TEXT FOR TERMS WHICH MATCH THOSE IDENTIFIED IN RELEVANT DATABASE (S). FOR EXAMPLE, RELEVANT DATABASE (S) MIGHT CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING TERMS (AND ASSOCIATED TEXT):

TERMS SEARCHED ASSOCIATED TEXT ESSENTIAL OR DESIRABLE/NECESSARY ? SEE THE FOLLOWING HYPERTEXT LINK [WWW. WEBSITE. COM] ENSURE OR USE REASONABLE ENDEAVOURS TO ENSURE? [IS THIS APPROPRIATE? ] IS THIS APPROPRIATE? 100 IS THIS THE CORRECT NUMBER ? % OF WHAT? OVER WHAT PERIOD? THE SOFTWARE HAVING IDENTIFIED MATCHING TERMS CONTAINED IN BOTH THE DOCUMENT TO BE REVIEWED AND RELEVANT DATABASE (S), WILL HIGHLIGHT MATCHING TERMS AS FOLLOWS: "It is essential to ensure that when reviewing a Document [all] relevant issues are identified, 100% of the time".

THE USER REVIEWING THE TEXT WILL THEN BE ABLE TO, FOR EXAMPLE, POINT TO OR CLICK ON PARTICULAR HIGHLIGHTED TERM (S) SO AS TO VIEW TEXT ASSOCIATED WITH THAT TERM. IN THE ABOVE EXAMPLE, ASSUMING THE USER POINTS TO OR CLICKS ON THE TERM"ESSENTIAL" THE FOLLOWING TEXT WILL BE DISPLAYED (FOR EXAMPLE BY MEANS OF A POP-UP BOX):

OR DESIRABLE/NECESSARY SEE THE FOLLOWING HYPERTEXT LINK [WWW. WEBSITE COM] I I "It is essential to ensure that when reviewing a Document [all] relevant issues are

identified, 100% of the time".

ALTERNATIVELY THE USER MAY CHOOSE TO REVIEW ALL TEXT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY OR ALL HIGHLIGHTED TERMS AT THE SAME TIME AS FOLLOWS:

(OR DESIRABLE/NECESSARY SEE THE FOLLO ! B ! tHvppp-rpYT T rwww W. R < ; rrF, r'r)] L) < ! 'AMMLH HNAVUUi TU HSn'RE 1 "It is essential to ensure that when reviewing a Document MS THIS APPRf) tATR'3 BS THIS THE CORRBCMgEEN (OF WHAT OVER KHAT PERIOD (OF WHAR-if {allrelevant issues are identiiiedOQttot the time".

IF THE REVIEW OF THE SAMPLE TEXT ALSO INCLUDES A SEARCH FOR CAPITALISED TERMS (EXCLUDING, FOR EXAMPLE, CAPITALISED WORDS APPEARING AFTER FULL-STOPS) THE RESULT MIGHT BE AS FOLLOWS: "It is essential to ensure that when reviewing a Document [all] relevant issues are identified, 100% of the time".

IF THE USER CLICKS ON THE WORD"DOCUMENT"THE FOLLOWING STANDARD TEXT MIGHT, APPEAR: "THIS TERM IS UNIQUELY CAPITALISED IS THIS CORRECT ? IS THIS A DEFINED TERM ?" THE ENTIRE SYSTEM WILL THEREFORE OPERATE SO AS TO ASSIST A USER TO IDENTIFY A VARIETY OF OPTIONS OR ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH A DOCUMENT WHICH A USER MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE HAVE CONSIDERED.

THIS RESULTS IN INCREASED SPEED AND EFFICIENCY WITH WHICH PEOPLE WHO REVIEW DOCUMENTS IN DETAIL AS PART OF THEIR JOB OR STUDIES (SUCH AS LAWYERS OR SCIENTISTS) CAN DO THEIR JOBS.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. ACCORDING TO THE FIRST PREFERRED VERSION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION THERE IS PROVIDED A SYSTEM OR METHOD FOR ASSISTING IN THE REVIEW OF DOCUMENTS CHARACTERISED BY A REVIEW MECHANISM COMPRISING: (a) ELECTRONIC DATABASE (S) CONTAINING TERMS TO BE SEARCHED.

RELEVANT DATABASE (S) WILL CONTAIN ONE OR MORE WORDS, LETTERS, NUMBERS OR OTHER SYMBOLS (REFERRED TO THROUGHOUT THIS DOCUMENT AS"TERMS") WHICH HAVE BEEN INCLUDED ON THE BASIS THAT THEY MAY BE RELEVANT OR ARE LIKELY TO APPEAR IN A CONTEXT SPECIFIC TO THE USER OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD (E. G. TERMS WHICH ARE LIKELY TO APPEAR IN OR BE SIGNIFICANT IN A DOCUMENT WHERE IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE USER WILL BE A LAWYER). ALTERNATIVELY OR ADDITIONALLY DATABASES MAY CONTAIN TERMS WHICH HAVE BEEN INCLUDED ON THE BASIS THAT THEY MAY BE RELEVANT OR ARE LIKELY TO APPEAR GIVEN THE SPECIFIC NATURE OF THE DOCUMENT TO BE REVIEWED (E. G. TERMS WHICH ARE LIKELY TO APPEAR OR BE SIGNIFICANT IN AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT WHERE IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THIS IS THE DOCUMENT TO BE REVIEWED).

(b) ASSOCIATED COMMENTARY AND OTHER TEXT OR ELECTRONIC DATABASE (S) CONTAINING COMMENTARY AND OTHER TEXT LINKED WITH RELEVANT TERMS REFERRED TO IN (a) ABOVE ("ASSOCIATED TEXT"). ASSOCIATED TEXT MAY BE EXTENSIVE AND TECHNICAL IN NATURE AND CROSS REFER TO OTHER DOCUMENTS OR REFERENCE SOURCES.

(c) AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR CARRYING OUT A MATCHING OR COMPARATIVE PROCESS USING AT LEAST THE FOLLOWING STEPS: (a) SEARCHING DATABASE (S) FOR TERMS MATCHING THOSE TERMS CONTAINED IN A DOCUMENT BEING REVIEWED ("MATCHING TERMS") (OR VICE VERSA); (b) CREATING TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT LINKS BETWEEN THE RETRIEVED TERMS IN THE RELEVANT DATABASE (S) AND MATCHING TERMS IN THE DOCUMENT (OR VICE VERSA); (c) SEARCHING FOR ASSOCIATED TEXT AND CREATING TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT LINKS BETWEEN TERMS AND/OR ASSOCIATED TEXT RETRIEVED FROM RELEVANT DATABASE (S) AND MATCHING TERMS IN THE DOCUMENT ; (d) ARRANGING, DISPLAYING OR OTHERWISE HIGHLIGHTING THE RETRIEVED TERMS AND/OR ASSOCIATED TEXT AND/OR MATCHING TERMS;

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(e) DEFINING USER INTERACTION CONTEXTS BASED ON SAID TERMS, ASSOCIATED TEXT AND MATCHING TERMS. IN PARTICULAR, THE USER MAY HAVE THE OPTION TO REVIEW ONLY MATCHING TERMS AND NOT TERMS AND/OR ASSOCIATED TEXT RETRIEVED FROM RELEVANT DATABASES.

ENABLING USER INTERACTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH USER INTERACTION CONTEXTS.
2. ACCORDING TO THE SECOND PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS DESCRIBED IN CLAIM 1 ABOVE, THE USER HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE TO CONDUCT A SEARCH BY REFERENCE ONLY TO A PARTICULAR DATABASE OR ISSUE OR BY REFERENCE TO A VARIETY OF DATABASES OR ISSUES AT THE SAME TIME. RELEVANT DATABASES AND THE TERMS AND ASSOCIATED TEXT THEY CONTAIN MAY BE ACCESSED, CREATED, MODIFIED, ADDED TO OR DELETED BY THE USER TO ADDRESS A VARIETY OF ISSUES (WHETHER OR NOT ADDRESSING SIMILAR ISSUES AS EXISTING DATABASES).
3. ACCORDING TO THE THIRD PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIMS 1 AND 2, THE USER CAN CHOOSE (FOR EXAMPLE USING THE COMPUTER MOUSE POSITION OR MOUSE"CLICK") WHETHER OR NOT TO ACCESS OR VIEW ANY OR ALL ASSOCIATED TEXT LINKED WITH ANY OR ALL MATCHING TERMS.
4. ACCORDING TO THE FOURTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 3, THE USER CAN CHOOSE TO ACCESS MATCHING TERMS OR ASSOCIATED TEXT EITHER CHRONOLOGICALLY THROUGH THE DOCUMENT BEING REVIEWED OR NOT.
5. ACCORDING TO THE FIFTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 1 DIFFERENT DATABASE (S) CONTAIN TERMS THAT MAY APPEAR IN RELATION TO A SPECIFIC SUBJECT OR ISSUE (E. G. LEGAL ISSUES) OR COVERING A VARIETY OF ISSUES OR SPECIFIC SUBJECTS (E. G. LEGAL AND GRAMMATICAL ISSUES).
6. ACCORDING TO THE SIXTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 1 MATCHING TERMS OR ASSOCIATED TEXT CAN BE HIGHLIGHTED BY A VARIETY OF FONTS, COLOURS, HIGHLIGHTS, UNDERLINING OR OTHER MEANS SO AS TO HELP HIGHLIGHT RELEVANT ISSUES (E. G. USE OF DIFFERENT COLOURS OR FONTS FOR NUMBERS, SYMBOLS OR TEXT).
7. ACCORDING TO THE SEVENTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 1 OR CLAIM 6 THE USER CAN CHOOSE THE MANNER IN WHICH AND TIME AT WHICH RELEVANT MATCHING TERMS OR

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ASSOCIATED TEXT ARE HIGHLIGHTED OR ACCESSED, INCLUDING SAVING THE RESULTS OF A SEARCH SHOWING MATCHING TERMS FOR REVIEW AT A LATER DATE.
8. ACCORDING TO THE EIGHTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 1 THE USER CAN IDENTIFY OR ACCESS ANY OR ALL MATCHING TERMS OR ASSOCIATED TEXT WITH A NUMBER OF MATCHING TERMS AT THE SAME TIME AND WHETHER ELECTRONICALLY OR IN PAPER (E. G. PRINTED) FORM.
9. ACCORDING TO THE NINTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 1 THE USER CAN HIGHLIGHT UNIQUE, CONSISTENT OR INCONSISTENT USE OR OCCURRENCES OF CAPITALISED TERMS WITHIN A DOCUMENT.
10. ACCORDING TO THE TENTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 1 ASSOCIATED TEXT LINKED WITH MATCHING TERMS HIGHLIGHTED AS PART OF THE REVIEW PROCESS INCLUDES TEXT ACCESSIBLE OR ACCESSED AURALLY, BY MEANS OF A HYPERTEXT OR SIMILAR LINK OR USING THE INTERNET.
11. ACCORDING TO THE ELEVENTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 1 ASSOCIATED TEXT LINKED WITH MATCHING TERMS MAY INCLUDE SUGGESTED DRAFT WORDING, CLAUSES OR SUGGESTIONS RELATING TO THE STRUCTURE OF A DOCUMENT OR A VARIETY OF OTHER ISSUES BASED ON TERMS USED IN THE DOCUMENT HIGHLIGHTED AS PART OF THE REVIEW PROCESS.
12. ACCORDING TO THE TWELFTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 1 ASSOCIATED TEXT LINKED WITH MATCHING TERMS CAN BE ACCESSED, AT THE USER'S OPTION OR OTHERWISE, IN A NUMBER OF FORMS (FOR EXAMPLE, AS POP-UP BOXES, BEFORE/AFTER/ABOVE OR BELOW THE RELEVANT MATCHING TERM OR AS A FOOTNOTE) OR IN A SEPARATE DOCUMENT OR"WINDOW".
13. ACCORDING TO THE THIRTEENTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 1 A USER CAN CHOOSE TO IGNORE OR REMOVE HIGHLIGHTING OF MATCHING TERMS WITHOUT REVIEWING ASSOCIATED TEXT
14. ACCORDING TO THE FOURTEENTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM OR METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIMS 1 AND 13, A USER CAN CHOOSE TO REMOVE ALL SUBSEQUENT HIGHLIGHTING OF A PARTICULAR MATCHING TERM OR CAN, WHEN MODIFYING A TERM, REQUIRE THAT CORRESPONDING CHANGES ARE MADE THROUGHOUT THE DOCUMENT FOR SOME OR ALL OCCURRENCES OF THE RELEVANT TERM.

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15. A METHOD OF REVIEWING TERMS IN A DOCUMENT THEREOF COMPRISING THE STEPS OF: - SELECTING A TERM IN THE DOCUMENT; - COMPARING THE SELECTED TERM IN TURN WITH TERMS IN A FIRST LISTING OF AT LEAST TWO LISTINGS OF TERMS, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TERMS IN EACH LISTING BEING UNIQUE TO THAT LISTING; - PROVIDING FOR AN INDICATION WHEN THE COMPARISON STEP REVEALS AN IDENTITY OR OTHER RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SELECTED TERM AND A TERM IN THE LISTING WITH WHICH THE COMPARISON IS BEING MADE.
16. ACCORDING TO A FIRST PREFERRED VERSION OF THE METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIM 15 THE COMPARISON STEP BETWEEN THE TERMS MAKING UP THE DOCUMENT AND THE TERMS FORMING THE FIRST OF THE GIVEN LISTINGS IS CARRIED OUT BEFORE OR INSTEAD OF THE COMPARISON STEP BETWEEN THE TERMS MAKING UP THE DOCUMENT AND THE TERMS FORMING THE SECOND OF THE GIVEN LISTINGS OR ANY SUBSEQUENT LISTINGS AND VICE VERSA.
17. ACCORDING TO A SECOND PREFERRED VERSION OF THE METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIMS 15 OR 16 THE, OR AT LEAST SOME OF THE TERMS MAKING UP AT LEAST THE FIRST LISTING OR ANY SUBSEQUENT LISTING INCLUDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SUCH AS MEANING, ALTERNATIVE SPELLINGS, ACRO-OR SYNO-NYMS, RELATIONSHIP OR OTHER INFORMATION ASPECTS RELATING TO THE TERM INVOLVED.
18. ACCORDING TO A THIRD PREFERRED VERSION OF THE METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIMS 15 OR 16 THE FIRST OF THE GIVEN LISTINGS OR ANY SUBSEQUENT LISTING COMPRISES A LIST OF TERMS AFTER THE MANNER OF A DICTIONARY OR THESAURUS.
19. ACCORDING TO A FOURTH PREFERRED VERSION OF THE METHOD AS CLAIMED IN CLAIMS 15 OR 16 THE FIRST, SECOND OR OTHER OF THE GIVEN LISTINGS COMPRISE A LISTING OF ASSOCIATED TEXT SUCH AS CASE LAW, TECHNICAL INFORMATION, DATA OR OF FURTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION RELATED TO THE SELECTED TERM FROM THE DOCUMENT SUCH AS WEB SITES OR OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED TYPICALLY DURING OR FOLLOWING THE COMPARING STEP.