US 6,269,336 · Granted 2001-07-31

The Markup Language That Taught Phones to Listen and Respond

Motorola invented a way to write instructions for voice-controlled services using special tags, kind of like HTML but for talking to computers. Instead of clicking buttons, you'd call a number, the system reads prompts out loud, and you respond with your voice—all controlled by this markup language code.

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The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a markup language system where documents contain dialog elements made up of steps, each step holding a prompt (text to be read aloud) and an input field (data the user speaks). What's protected is the specific way these elements nest together and interact—the architecture that connects voice announcements to user voice inputs through tagged markup code. Anyone building a voice service system using this exact structure and method would be infringing on this patent.

Why it matters

This patent captures an early technical approach to voice-driven interactive services when most phones were still tethered to keypads. By codifying voice prompts and voice input into a structured markup language, Motorola staked a claim to a core piece of voice-user-interface infrastructure. This kind of patent mattered commercially because voice services—directory assistance, banking, order systems—were a growing market, and owning the technical framework meant licensing revenue or blocking competitors from using the same approach.

Real-world use

When you called your bank in the early 2000s and heard 'Press 1 for checking, or say checking,' that interactive voice response system likely used similar markup-based architecture to route your voice input to the right service.

Original USPTO abstract

The present invention relates to a markup language to provide interactive services. A markup language document in accordance with the present invention includes a dialog element including a plurality of markup language elements. Each of the plurality of markup language elements is identifiable by at least one markup tag. A step element is contained within the dialog element to define a state within the dialog element. The step element includes a prompt element and an input element. The prompt element includes an announcement to be read to the user. The input element includes at least one input that corresponds to a user input. A method in accordance with the present invention includes the steps of creating a markup language document having a plurality of elements, selecting a prompt element, and defining a voice communication in the prompt element to be read to the user. The method further includes the steps of selecting an input element and defining an input variable to store data inputted by the user.

Patent details

Publication number: US 6,269,336
Filing date: 1998-10-02
Grant date: 2001-07-31
Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
Inventor(s): LADD DAVID, JOHNSON GREGORY
CPC class: H04M3/4938

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