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Google Wins Rights to Aussie Algorithm
rcbutcher writes to tell us the Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Google has just acquired the rights to a brand new text search algorithm invented by a University of NSW student. From the article: "Orion works as an add-on to existing search engines to improve the relevance of search and won praise from Microsoft founder Bill Gates last year. [...] Orion finds pages where the content is about a topic strongly related to the key word. It then returns a section of the page, and lists other topics related to the key word so the user can pick the most relevant."
First, it is funny how various countries are putting a nationalistic spin on it. Israeli newspapers are focusing on the fact that the inventor is an Israeli. Australian newspapers are focusing on the fact that he is Australian. Only the national newspapers are spinning this as "revolutionary technology."
Second, the description sounds alot like what Google and others do already.
Third, buying a single algorithm is not generally such a big deal. Maybe it is reasonably valuable. Maybe so valuable that Google paid ten million dollars for it. In the big scheme of things, that's chump change for them and for their competitors.
The whole thing sounds overhyped to me.
Only Women Bleed (Sex, Sharia remix)
At an auction, or any time multiple parties are competing to buy something. From TFA:
I highly doubt the novelty/effectiveness of this "algorithm" if it has been patented before being published in a peer-reviewed journal.
In nearly every country other than the US, publication disqualifies an invention from patent eligibility.
Laissez lire, et laissez danser; ces deux amusements ne feront jamais de mal au monde. - Voltaire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyer-Moore_algorithm
Not a bad algorithm.
This is pretty standard for universities. And they are pretty good at making sure the people who did the actual work get something out of it too.
This is pretty standard for universities.
This part is true.
And they are pretty good at making sure the people who did the actual work get something out of it too.
Unfortunately, this part is only true in some locations and some departments. Specific terms for this are rarely written into contracts, and it is usually up to the discretion of a dean or other official. This is unfortunate, because it keeps a lot of bright people out of academia.
It's rather frustrating for researchers to do their work at lower-than-industry salaries, and then when they develop something of value, the university takes all the royalties, or maybe at most returns a miniscule fraction as a travel grant, or some other token gesture.
These rules vary from school to school. At Penn State, as an undergrad, I am almost 100% sure that if you come up with something, even if you use school resources to develop and prototype it, it's still yours.
If you're a grad student though, it belongs to them.
If you work for the University while an undergrad, the lines get murky.
I don't have access to the patent applications as they were only filed late last year, but the the two relevant patents are:
Australian Application Number 2005906358
Applicant(s) Newsouth Innovations Pty Ltd
Inventor(s) Allon, Ori
Martin, Eric
Title A method and a system for facilitating ranking of textual information
Status Filed
Filing Date 16 November 2005
Date of Patent 16 November 2005
Patent Application Type Provisional
Australian Application Number 2005905853
Applicant(s) Newsouth Innovations Pty Ltd
Inventor(s) Allon, Ori
Martin, Eric
Title Methods and systems for facilitating ranking of an advertisement
Status Filed
Filing Date 20 October 2005
Date of Patent 20 October 2005
This makes me suspect that there is more to this story the SMH is reporting!
Automated DNA sequencing software
And really, other than the novelty can, Fosters isn't really that good of a beer. Somewhere between Bud and Miller, (which is pretty darn low) on my scale...
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