University Claims Patent for Distributed Search, Licensee Sues Google
A Boston-area company named Jarg has
filed
suit against Google in defense of a 1997 patent surrounding distributed
search.
The patent is for a method for breaking up search queries into multiple portions
and having each part processed by a different computer. This technology powers
a very large part of the business that Google does.
Jarg claims that Northeastern University associate professor Kenneth Baclawski
filed the patent and assigned rights to the university. Jarg, which Baclawski
co-founded, then licensed the patent back from Northeastern. The company filed
the lawsuit in a Texas venue that has a reputation for plaintiff-friendly decisions.
My experience in tech research is that it can be difficult to tell who invented
something and when because there's an awful lot of back-and-forth among technologists
-- to say nothing of the market's serendipity. Do you think there's anything
here? Give me your opinion at pvarhol@redmondmag.com.
Posted by Peter Varhol on November 13, 2007 at 11:57 AM