Google seeks patent on networking site

New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) World's most visited Internet search site Google has filed a patent application in the country for its recently developed social network site based on user preferences and format performance data.

The U.S.-headquartered firm has filed a patent
application before the Controller General of Patents, Designs
and Trade Marks, following which the authorities have issued a
public notice in its recent journal and has sought public
opinion.

In its application filed on June 27 this year, Google has
claimed that a user network site could be formed on the basis
of preferences and format performance data, which means a
website could be developed on the basis of some personal
information that would be helpful in many ways.

A social network site based on this technique would help
a user to find out friends and groups in better ways than a
general site using universal criteria for the same, it said.

Developed by Alexandra Baugher, Google has already
registered this invention with the Geneva-based World
Intellectual Property Organisation in November, 2006.

When contacted, a Google spokesperson in India said, "We
file patent applications on a variety of ideas that our
employees come up with. Some of those ideas later mature into
real products or services some don not".

Founded by two-young men --Larry Page and Sergey Brin--
Google Internet search engine turned 10 on September 27.

In Google's social network site-based, user preferences
and format performance data would help a company to display
only relevant advertisements to a user, meaning maximising the
advertisement revenue opportunity for host. A similar
criterion is being used by many search engines in finding
search results.

As per details available on Internet regarding this
method, personal information includes the country or region in
which a user is living, age group, education level and gender.

On the other hand, format performance data means further
development of site on the basis of different indicators such
as how long a particular web page has been viewed by a user,
which kind of information is more popular and some similar
factors.

At W.I.P.O., Google had submitted that the format
preference information of its invention comprises information
about groups based on their size, layout, shape, colour or
timing of display.

Google further said that by using those data,
advertisement format criteria would be also automatically
determined for the website, based on the format preference.

The company further added that the software wizard may
configure the colour, size, and placement of ads in a manner
that will maximise viewers' selections of the advertisement,
click through rate, ad revenue or other performance metrics.

"Once the network site is formatted, it may be published
to other users. When other users access the network site, the
resulting web page may display content such as ads and other
electronic documents in accordance with the determined
format," Google said in its description about the invention
before the W.I.P.O. PTI SKR K