Variably controlling access to content

摘要

A software module is presented that enables a person to determine the relevance of a document while preventing the person from making a copy of the entire document. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by programmatically controlling which portions of a document will be presented to a user and which portions will not be presented to the user. In one embodiment, the software module is used in conjunction with a search engine to present a document search result.

主权项

1. A method implemented by a computer comprising at least one processor for providing controlled access to a document, the method comprising:
receiving a search query; identifying a document responsive to the search query; identifying a plurality of search excerpts in the document, wherein a search excerpt of the plurality of search excerpts is a portion of the document that satisfies the search query; accessing usage data describing how many times a plurality of users have accessed the plurality of search excerpts in the document; determining that the usage data indicates that the search excerpt of the plurality of search excerpts has not been accessed by any of the plurality of users; and determining, based on the usage data, whether to present the search excerpt in response to the search query.