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Google in patent dispute over AdSense and AutoLink
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The US Court of Appeals has upheld an appeal by Hyperphrase Technologies alleging that Google's AdSense and AutoLink features from their popular browser toolbar infringe on their patents.The original dispute was brought against Google in April 2006 alleging that Google infringed on four patents held by Hyperphrase, each concerning 'contextual linking and the display of information'. However, the U.S. District Court dismissed the case in Google's favour. Hyperphrase then appealed to the US Court of Appeals.
The Court decided that two of the allegations relating to AdSense did not apply and were dismissed again. The Court did however question the lower courts interpretation of 'data reference' (describing how links are created between text in a website and an element contained in a database which contains actual link information) for the remaining two allegations. This finding could mean that AutoLink does infringe on Hyperphrase's patents.
The AutoLink feature reads text from a web page, such as an ISBN number and then parses the information against a database into a useful format such as online bookshops or book reviews etc. This link between the keywords and the database is what Hyperphrase has argued conflicts with their patents.
Neither Google nor Hyperphrase Technologies have made any comment on the case. IP Review Online will report with any developments as soon as they happen.
