Module 16: Comprehensive Structured Data & Schema Patents

200+ patents across 20 categories of structured data — the most complete patent reference for schema markup and rich results.

Overview: 20 Categories of Structured Data Patents

This module covers how Google interprets, validates, and uses every major schema type. Understanding these patents reveals why certain schema implementations work and others fail.

#	Category	Patent Count
1	Schema.org Interpretation & Vocabulary	7+
2	JSON-LD Processing & Validation	8+
3	Microdata Extraction & Parsing	8+
4	RDFa Parsing & Resource Description	8+
5	Rich Snippet Generation	15+
6	Knowledge Panel Data Extraction	10+
7	FAQ Schema Processing	5+
8	HowTo Schema Implementation	5+
9	Product Schema & E-Commerce Data	20+
10	Review & Rating Schema	10+
11	Event Schema Processing	8+
12	Recipe Schema Implementation	5+
13	Video & Multimedia Schema	12+
14	Article & News Schema	10+
15	LocalBusiness & Location Schema	15+
16	Organization Schema	8+
17	Person/Author Schema	8+
18	Breadcrumb & Navigation Schema	5+
19	Sitelinks Search Box Schema	3+
20	Schema Spam Detection & Validation	10+

CATEGORY 1: Schema.org Interpretation & Vocabulary

Key Patents:

Patent	Filed	Innovation
US 20220292143A1	2021	Dynamic website characterization using LLMs
US 9268820B2	2012	Knowledge panels from schema
US 20140280084A1	2013	Semantic deduplication via schema
US 20200279151A1	2018	Graph neural networks for schema
WO 2018106974A1	2017	Content validation via schema

How Google Uses Schema.org:

Schema.org defines 800+ types and 3,000+ properties
Type hierarchies enable inheritance (LocalBusiness extends Organization extends Thing)
Properties nested for complex relationships
Extracts entity type from primary markup
Validates against schema.org vocabulary
Maps properties to knowledge graph fields

CATEGORY 2: JSON-LD Processing

Why JSON-LD Is Google's Preferred Format:

JavaScript in <script> tags — no HTML structure dependency
Multiple JSON-LD blocks on single page supported
Easier for JavaScript frameworks to generate
Preferred for Google Assistant integration
Portable — can be injected without modifying HTML

Google's JSON-LD Processing Steps:

Parse JSON structure
Validate against schema.org vocabulary
Extract typed properties
Resolve nested objects
Map to entity/content indexes

CATEGORY 3: Microdata Extraction

Microdata HTML Structure:

html

<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person">
  <span itemprop="name">Bill Slawski</span>
  <span itemprop="jobTitle">Director of SEO Research</span>
  <span itemprop="worksFor" itemscope
        itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization">
    <span itemprop="name">Go Fish Digital</span>
  </span>
</div>

Processing: DOM tree parsing → scope boundary detection → property value extraction.

CATEGORY 5: Rich Snippet Generation (15+ Patents)

Rich Result Eligibility Requirements

ALL of these must be true:
1. Schema markup present and valid
2. Marked-up content visible on page (not hidden)
3. Schema accurately reflects actual page content
4. Page passes quality threshold
5. Page is indexed and crawlable
6. No spam violations

Rich Result Types by Schema Type

Schema Type	Rich Result	SERP Feature
FAQPage	Expandable Q&A pairs	SERP accordion
HowTo	Numbered steps	Step-by-step rich result
Product	Price, rating, availability	Shopping carousel
AggregateRating	Star ratings	Stars under title
Event	Date, location, tickets	Event rich result
Recipe	Cook time, calories, rating	Recipe card
VideoObject	Thumbnail, duration, key moments	Video carousel
Article	Author, publish date, image	Top stories
BreadcrumbList	Path hierarchy	Breadcrumb in SERP
WebSite + SearchAction	Search box	Sitelinks search box

CATEGORY 6: Knowledge Panel Data Extraction

US9268820B2 - Knowledge Panel Creation (2016)

Knowledge Panel Triggers:

Entity has significant web presence
Schema.org markup confirms entity type
Wikidata/Wikipedia page exists
Sufficient inbound citations

Data Sources (Priority Order):

Official website structured data (JSON-LD)
Wikipedia / Knowledge Graph internal data
Wikidata properties
High-authority third-party sources
Web-crawled facts with high confidence

Building Toward a Knowledge Panel

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "@id": "https://yourdomain.com/#organization",
  "name": "Your Company Name",
  "url": "https://yourdomain.com",
  "logo": "https://yourdomain.com/logo.png",
  "description": "Clear entity description",
  "foundingDate": "2010",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Company",
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12345",
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/yourcompany",
    "https://www.facebook.com/yourcompany"
  ],
  "knowsAbout": ["Topic 1", "Topic 2", "Topic 3"]
}

CATEGORY 7: FAQ Schema Processing

Implementation Requirements

html

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is the question text?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "The complete answer text."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

FAQ Rich Result Rules:

Questions must be actual H2/H3 on the page (or prominently visible)
Answers must be complete in the schema (not just references)
Max ~10 Q&A pairs for display
Do not use for self-promotional content (Google rejects)

CATEGORY 8: HowTo Schema

Implementation Pattern

json

{
  "@type": "HowTo",
  "name": "How to [do task]",
  "totalTime": "PT30M",
  "estimatedCost": {"@type": "MonetaryAmount", "currency": "USD", "value": "0"},
  "step": [
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Step 1 Name",
      "text": "Step 1 description",
      "image": "https://example.com/step1.jpg"
    }
  ]
}

CATEGORY 9: Product Schema (20+ Patents)

Required Product Properties

json

{
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Product Name",
  "description": "Product description",
  "sku": "SKU123",
  "brand": {"@type": "Brand", "name": "Brand Name"},
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "29.99",
    "priceCurrency": "USD",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
    "url": "https://example.com/product"
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.5",
    "reviewCount": "127"
  }
}

CATEGORY 15: LocalBusiness Schema

Complete LocalBusiness Implementation

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": ["LocalBusiness", "RoofingContractor"],
  "@id": "https://example.com/#business",
  "name": "Business Name",
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "telephone": "+1-555-000-0000",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Main Street",
    "addressLocality": "City",
    "addressRegion": "State",
    "postalCode": "12345",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": "25.7617",
    "longitude": "-80.1918"
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": [
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday"],
      "opens": "08:00",
      "closes": "18:00"
    }
  ],
  "hasMap": "https://goo.gl/maps/[your-link]",
  "priceRange": "$$",
  "servesCuisine": "N/A",
  "sameAs": ["https://maps.google.com/?cid=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"]
}

CATEGORY 17: Person/Author Schema

Author Schema for E-E-A-T

json

{
  "@type": "Person",
  "@id": "https://example.com/#author-name",
  "name": "Author Name",
  "jobTitle": "SEO Expert",
  "description": "15-year SEO professional specializing in...",
  "url": "https://example.com/author/name",
  "image": "https://example.com/author-photo.jpg",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.linkedin.com/in/authorname",
    "https://twitter.com/authorhandle"
  ],
  "worksFor": {
    "@id": "https://example.com/#organization"
  },
  "knowsAbout": ["SEO", "Content Marketing", "Technical SEO"]
}

CATEGORY 20: Schema Spam Detection

What Triggers Schema Spam Flags

Google Rejects Schema When:

Marked content is not visible on the page
Schema claims do not match actual page content
AggregateRating on pages without actual reviews
Fake or incentivized reviews in schema
FAQ content that's self-promotional advertising
Schema irrelevant to page purpose

The Entity Schema Stack (Priority Implementation Order)

For any business or author entity, implement in this order:

1. Organization / LocalBusiness — Entity establishment
2. Person (Author) — Author attribution and E-E-A-T
3. WebSite + SearchAction — Sitelinks search box
4. WebPage / Article / BlogPosting — Page-level metadata
5. BreadcrumbList — Navigation hierarchy
6. FAQPage — Q&A rich results
7. Service / Product — Service/product schema
8. AggregateRating — Reviews (only if real reviews exist)

Key Patents Referenced

Patent	Title	Year
US9268820B2	Knowledge Panel from Schema	2012-2016
US8594996B2	Entity Disambiguation via NLP	2012-2014
US20150127617A1	Entity Salience	2015
EP3005168A1	Featured Snippet Eligibility	2015
US20120158633A1	Knowledge Graph	2012
WO 2018106974A1	Content Validation via Schema	2017-2018

Next Steps

YouTube & Video SEO Module — Video schema
Local SEO Module — LocalBusiness schema in depth
E-E-A-T Module — Author schema and trust

Module 16: Comprehensive Structured Data & Schema Patents ​

Overview: 20 Categories of Structured Data Patents ​

CATEGORY 1: Schema.org Interpretation & Vocabulary ​

CATEGORY 2: JSON-LD Processing ​

CATEGORY 3: Microdata Extraction ​

CATEGORY 5: Rich Snippet Generation (15+ Patents) ​

Rich Result Eligibility Requirements ​

Rich Result Types by Schema Type ​

CATEGORY 6: Knowledge Panel Data Extraction ​

US9268820B2 - Knowledge Panel Creation (2016) ​

Building Toward a Knowledge Panel ​

CATEGORY 7: FAQ Schema Processing ​

Implementation Requirements ​

CATEGORY 8: HowTo Schema ​

Implementation Pattern ​

CATEGORY 9: Product Schema (20+ Patents) ​

Required Product Properties ​

CATEGORY 15: LocalBusiness Schema ​

Complete LocalBusiness Implementation ​

CATEGORY 17: Person/Author Schema ​

Author Schema for E-E-A-T ​

CATEGORY 20: Schema Spam Detection ​

What Triggers Schema Spam Flags ​

The Entity Schema Stack (Priority Implementation Order) ​

Key Patents Referenced ​

Next Steps ​

Module 16: Comprehensive Structured Data & Schema Patents

Overview: 20 Categories of Structured Data Patents

CATEGORY 1: Schema.org Interpretation & Vocabulary

CATEGORY 2: JSON-LD Processing

CATEGORY 3: Microdata Extraction

CATEGORY 5: Rich Snippet Generation (15+ Patents)

Rich Result Eligibility Requirements

Rich Result Types by Schema Type

CATEGORY 6: Knowledge Panel Data Extraction

US9268820B2 - Knowledge Panel Creation (2016)

Building Toward a Knowledge Panel

CATEGORY 7: FAQ Schema Processing

Implementation Requirements

CATEGORY 8: HowTo Schema

Implementation Pattern

CATEGORY 9: Product Schema (20+ Patents)

Required Product Properties

CATEGORY 15: LocalBusiness Schema

Complete LocalBusiness Implementation

CATEGORY 17: Person/Author Schema

Author Schema for E-E-A-T

CATEGORY 20: Schema Spam Detection

What Triggers Schema Spam Flags

The Entity Schema Stack (Priority Implementation Order)

Key Patents Referenced

Next Steps