Getty Images, Inc.

Anna Bjarnestam

Monika MacGuffie

Steven F Heck

Jason Staczek

Nate Gandert

Mary Forster

William G Kuhn

Ziji Huang

David Carothers

Alan Capel

Alvin Nance

Karina Holm

Thomas M O'Leary

A hardware and software facility for classifying media content units using keywords from a structured vocabulary. Metadata associated with each media content unit is segmented into a series of descriptive phrases. The descriptive phrases are mapped to keywords in a structured vocabulary, and the identified keywords associated with the media content units. Descriptive phrases that are not found in the structured vocabulary are tracked as candidate phrases for later addition to the structured vocabulary. A keyword index to the media content units may be constructed. The index is used to identify specific media content units that are responsive to search queries in a reliable and accurate fashion.

Method and system for classifying media content

A search facility provides searching capabilities in languages such as Japanese. The facility may use a vocabulary knowledge base organized by concepts. For example, each concept may be associated with at least one keyword (as well as any synonyms or variant forms) by applying one or more rules that relate to identifying common main forms, script variants, alternative grammatical forms, phonetic variants, proper noun variants, numerical variants, scientific name, cultural relevance, etc. The contents of the vocabulary knowledge base are then used in executing search queries. A user may enter a search query in which keywords (or synonyms associated with those key words) may be identified, along with various stopwords that facilitate segmentation of the search query and other actions. Execution of the search query may result in a list of assets or similar indications being returned, which relate to concepts identified within the search query.

Content search in complex language, such as Japanese

A computer-based method and system for classifying and locating media content is provided. In preferred embodiments, a dynamically modifiable, structured vocabulary system is used to drive a media classification and search system. An exemplary embodiment of the media classification and search system includes media content unit classification services, a media content unit search engine, and one or more data repositories, including typically a media content unit collection, metadata, the vocabulary, and a term-to-media content reverse index. The structured vocabulary provides a classification system, whose structure and relationships can be altered independently of the media content being classified, thus enabling tuning of the system without needing to reclassify data. The use of the structured vocabulary also increases the rate of success and efficiency in matching search requests to locate media content.

Method and system for classifying and locating media content

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Norberg, Sweden

Anna Bjarnestam