Shutterfly Patent Grants

Proactive creation of image-based products

Granted: August 6, 2019
Patent Number: 10372749
A method for proactively creating an image product includes capturing an image of an object in a first environment by a device, storing a library of personalized products each characterized by a product type, automatically recognizing the object in the image as having a product type associated with the library of personalized products, automatically creating a design for the personalized product of the product type using personalized content, automatically displaying the design of the…

Real time customer recategorization

Granted: June 11, 2019
Patent Number: 10318972
A computer-implemented method for responding to user behaviors includes storing category specifications for a plurality of categories configured to characterize users, storing categories for users in a computer network system, detecting behaviors of a user in real time, and determining in real time if the behaviors of the user is within a first category specification associated with a first category that the user is tagged with. If the behaviors of the user exceed the first category…

Cloud storage for image data, image product designs, and image projects

Granted: May 21, 2019
Patent Number: 10298781
A method for proactively creating a photobook includes identifying a group of images by a computer system and automatically creating a design for a photobook by the computer system without receiving a user's request for designing a photobook if the number of images in the group is determined to be within a predetermined range. Pages of the photobook incorporate a plurality of images in the group. The method further includes presenting the design of the photobook to a user for preview and…

System and method for intelligently determining image capture times for image applications

Granted: April 16, 2019
Patent Number: 10261962
A method for organizing images from multiple image capture devices includes automatically determining a coarse offset between image capture times recorded in a first image capture device and image capture times recorded in a second image capture device. The coarse offset is determined by a computing a correlation between image counts of images captured by the first image capture device and images captured by the first image capture device. The method also includes adjusting the image…

Proactive creation of photo products

Granted: April 9, 2019
Patent Number: 10255707
A method for proactively creating a photobook includes identifying a group of images by a computer system and automatically creating a design for a photobook by the computer system without receiving a user's request for designing a photobook if the number of images in the group is determined to be within a predetermined range. Pages of the photobook incorporate a plurality of images in the group. The method further includes presenting the design of the photobook to a user for preview and…

Intelligent prevention of spam emails at share sites

Granted: January 1, 2019
Patent Number: 10171396
A computer-implemented method for preventing spam emails from a share site includes providing a network-based computer system to enable users to set up share sites and to send emails from the share sites, detecting potential spam emails based on one or more spam detection rules, identifying false positive emails in the potential spam emails based on one or more false alarm reduction rules, removing false positive emails from the potential spam emails to produce a list of verified spam…

Unified picture access across devices

Granted: November 13, 2018
Patent Number: 10127248
A method for creating a design for an image product includes registering a group of image sources by a network based image service system, wherein the group of image sources comprise a first device and a second device, receiving a notification, by the network based image service system, from the image sources about availabilities of the image sources, representing the second device and a local storage of the first device at a user interface on the first device, indicating an availability…

Assisted photo-tagging with facial recognition models

Granted: August 7, 2018
Patent Number: 10043059
Embodiments of the invention perform assisted tagging of images, including tagging of people, locations, and activities depicted in those images. A batch of images is received comprising images of faces, including at least some faces that have not yet been tagged. A facial recognition algorithm is applied to the faces to determine matching data comprising possible tags for each untagged face. A logic engine applies logic rules to reduce the likelihood that certain matches are correct.…

Adaptive and fast image collage creation

Granted: June 5, 2018
Patent Number: 9990697
A computer-implemented method for creating an image collage includes automatically selecting a first image from the group of images that best fits image-collage template based on predetermined criteria, placing and fitting the first image in the image-collage template, automatically selecting one or more additional images from the group of images that best fits the image-collage template including one or more already placed images that include the first image, and placing and fitting the…

System and method for automatically displaying variable image content in an image product

Granted: April 10, 2018
Patent Number: 9940975
A computer-implemented method for automatically displaying variable image content in an image product includes automatically obtaining markers in photos or videos in a user account which includes detecting features in image content of the photos or the video frames and obtaining a marker for one of the photos or the video frames, automatically identifying a sequence of similar photos or videos if the markers detected in the photos or the associated video frames include more than a…

System and method for creating a collection of images

Granted: April 3, 2018
Patent Number: 9934450
System and method for creating a collection of images are described, the method comprising: receiving images from at least one source of images; processing the images to produce an output collection of images, the processing comprising grouping the images to clusters of related images and selecting the preferred images in the clusters; and outputting the output collection of images, the output collection of images comprising the clusters of related images and indication of the preferred…

Automatic image product creation for user accounts comprising large number of images

Granted: February 13, 2018
Patent Number: 9892342
A computer-implemented method of grouping faces in large user account for creating an image product includes adding the face images obtained from an image album in a user's account into a first chunk; if the chunk size of the first chuck is smaller than a maximum chuck value, keeping the face images from the image album into the first chunk; otherwise, automatically separating the face images from the image album into a first portion and one or more second portions; keeping the first…

Proactive creation of photo products

Granted: February 6, 2018
Patent Number: 9886787
A method for proactively creating a photobook includes identifying a group of images by a computer system and automatically creating a design for a photobook by the computer system without receiving a user's request for designing a photobook if the number of images in the group is determined to be within a predetermined range. Pages of the photobook incorporate a plurality of images in the group. The method further includes presenting the design of the photobook to a user for preview and…

System and method for creating and sharing photo stories

Granted: February 6, 2018
Patent Number: 9886420
A system and method are described for creating, managing and sharing photo stories. For example, one embodiment of a computer implemented method for selecting among a plurality of different photo story templates comprises: receiving a plurality of new photos from a user the photos having metadata associated; analyzing the photos and the metadata associated with the photos; responsively grouping the photos into a plurality of different photo stories based on the analysis of the photos and…

System, method and graphical user interface for managing contacts and calendars within an online card system

Granted: January 30, 2018
Patent Number: 9881330
A system, a method, and a user interface are described for personalizing and sending stationery/cards. A reminder list on the user interface includes a list of reminder entries each identifying an upcoming event including events generated based on a specified relationship between the user and one or more contacts of the user. A recommendation region is populated one or more recommended stationery/card designs associated with one of the entries in the reminder list. A stationery/card…

Proactive creation of personalized products

Granted: December 19, 2017
Patent Number: 9846957
A method for proactively creating an image product includes capturing an image of an object in a first environment by a device, storing a library of personalized products each characterized by a product type, automatically recognizing the object in the image as having a product type associated with the library of personalized products, automatically creating a design for the personalized product of the product type using personalized content, automatically displaying the design of the…

Intelligent prevention of spam emails at share sites

Granted: December 5, 2017
Patent Number: 9838344
A computer-implemented method for preventing spam emails from a share site includes providing a network-based computer system to enable users to set up share sites and to send emails from the share sites, detecting potential spam emails based on one or more spam detection rules, identifying false positive emails in the potential spam emails based on one or more false alarm reduction rules, removing false positive emails from the potential spam emails to produce a list of verified spam…

Automatic image product creation for user accounts comprising large number of images

Granted: October 17, 2017
Patent Number: 9792535
A computer-implemented method of grouping faces in large user account for creating an image product includes adding the face images obtained from an image album in a user's account into a first chunk; if the chunk size of the first chuck is smaller than a maximum chuck value, keeping the face images from the image album into the first chunk; otherwise, automatically separating the face images from the image album into a first portion and one or more second portions; keeping the first…

System and method for intelligently determining image capture times for image applications

Granted: October 10, 2017
Patent Number: 9785653
A method for organizing images from multiple image capture devices includes automatically determining a coarse offset between image capture times recorded in a first image capture device and image capture times recorded in a second image capture device. The coarse offset is determined by a computing a correlation between image counts of images captured by the first image capture device and images captured by the first image capture device. The method also includes adjusting the image…

Proactive creation of image-based products

Granted: October 10, 2017
Patent Number: 9787861
A method for proactively creating an image product includes capturing an image of an object in a first environment by a device, storing a library of personalized products each characterized by a product type, automatically recognizing the object in the image as having a product type associated with the library of personalized products, automatically creating a design for the personalized product of the product type using personalized content, automatically displaying the design of the…