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Searchking Loses Suit Against Google

Posted by michael on from the master-of-your-own-domain dept.

An anonymous reader submits this story that Searchking has lost its suit against Google for lowering search rankings. Silly lawsuit, good riddance. See our original story.

5 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Lesson by silvaran · · Score: 5, Informative

    Did you read the article? This had nothing to do with patents or copyrights, it had to do with SearchKing getting pissed because Google was reducing the rank of its links. Even the article synopsis indicates it's not about patents: "...a suit that alleged the company manipulated search results in its powerful Web index."

    The judge dismissed the case because Google's system "constitutes opinions protected by the First Amendment."

    SearchKing wanted to be "restored to its previous PageRank and to be awarded $75,000 in damages."

  2. Have you noticed? by danila · · Score: 5, Informative

    While the lawsuit was dismissed by the court, Google had to restore (voluntarily) the Searchking rankings. That means those damn search engine spammers can continue their evil doings. :( Google tried to adapt its system to abuse, but failed. Unfortunately, it seems that the more important Google becomes, the less freedom they will have to arbitrarily change (fine-tune) the system. Users lose as usual. :(

    --
    Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
  3. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  4. Re:Talk about conflict of interest... by Dr.+Photo · · Score: 4, Informative

    The reason why Google didn't come up first when you searched for "search engine" is that you weren't specific enough.

  5. Re:Lesson by dcollins · · Score: 4, Informative
    Did you read the article? This had nothing to do with patents or copyrights...

    Actually, that's not true. If you read the actual judgement here , you'll find that the strongest argument centered around patents, in the following vein:

    (1) Google claimed its rankings were opinion and thus protected by the First Amendment.
    (2) Search King claimed that they couldn't be opinions precisely because Google holds a patent on the process used to make them.
    (3) The judge found Search King's argument "not wholly without merit" (p. 6), but that Google could still alter the result of that patented process in a subjective manner and thus it was protected as free speech.

    The critical argument by Search King (p. 5):

    First, Search King notes that Lawrence Page ("Page"), the founder of Google and the inventor of the PageRank system, holds a U.S. patent on the system. Search King argues that... because patented products or processes must be replicable... the PageRank system must be objective in nature, and therefore capable of being proven true or false.

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    We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes