[GSDI Legal Econ] Geographic Search Patented

[Roger Longhorn]

FYI.

*AGIPNEWS4570*

25/6/2007 13:41 GMT
ag-IP-news
*Local.com Granted US Patent for Location-Based Search *

IRVINE, CA - Local.com Corporation announced in a Monday press release 
that the company has been awarded patent No. 7,231,405 by the US Patent 
and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the process of indexing and retrieving 
web-related information by geographical location

The patent covers local search technology related to identifying 
location information from web documents, indexing that information and 
making it searchable geographically. In Local.com's commercial 
implementation of the technology, the search results are ranked by 
search term, LocalRank score, location prominence, among other factors.

The system then extracts matches and indexes web pages from the Internet 
and generates web references where applicable on more than 16 million 
local businesses listed nationwide on Local.com.

"We are very pleased to announce the granting of the patent number 
7,231,405 as we believe the methods covered have subsequently become the 
de-facto standard for information retrieval in the local search 
industry," Chairman and CEO, Local.com Heath Clarke said.

"This patent represents our continued commitment to developing products 
and services at the forefront of local search innovation. The unique 
technology related to geographical searching and indexing of web data 
gives us an advantage over conventional search technologies by providing 
improved relevance and better overall performance," he added.

"We encourage other local search companies that are interested in using 
our intellectual property to enter into licensing agreements with 
Local.com," Clarke further noted.

Local.com is a top US website attracting approximately 10 million 
visitors each month seeking information on local businesses, products, 
services, people and jobs. Powered by the company's patent-pending 
Keyword DNA and patented local web indexing technologies, Local.com 
provides users with targeted, relevant local search results.

Further comment (3 July):

Local.com was awarded a patent on Geocoding & Geographic search (filed 2005)

This seems like an amazing patent to be awarded, especially since the 
idea of geographic indexing and search is not new. How was this awarded, 
and is this for real?

If so, a huge number of geographic companies, software, and formats are 
infringing. In fact, I would assume anyone reading this email is 
directly affected by this wrongly-awarded patent.

Abstract:
A local search engine geographically indexes information for searching 
by identifying a geocoded web page of a web site and identifying at 
least one geocodable web page of the web site. The system identifies a 
geocode contained within content of the geocoded web page of the web 
site. The geocode indicates a physical location of an entity
associated with the web site. The system indexes content of the geocoded 
web page and content of the geocodable web page. The indexing including 
associating the geocode contained within content of the geocoded web 
page to the indexed content of the geocoded web page and the geocodable 
web page to allow geographical searching of the content of the web pages.

TechCrunch coverage of Local.com's patents
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/07/02/patent-wars-localcom-nabs-local-search-patent/

Patent Filing:
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7231405.html

Analysis - but only from the point of view about how much Local.com
will cash in on the patents:
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070629/39741_id.html?.v=1
-- 
Andrew Turner
ajturner at highearthorbit.com      42.2774N x 83.7611W
http://highearthorbit.com              Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA


 

 

 

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