Google Patents Search Results UI

Google said it had been awarded a patent regarding the design of it's search pages, although don't expect a rush of infringement lawsuits. This patent and over seven million others will be searchable through Google Patent Search, also announced Thursday.

The design patent (No. 533,561) surrounds the formatting of the Mountain View, Calif. search company's result pages. Google first filed for the patent in March 2004.

On the screen shots included with the filing, the lists of search results are listed down the left, with advertising links on the top and side. The trademark Google logo with the number of 'O's representing more search results appears at the bottom.

Unlike a standard patent, a design patent protects the overall look, somewhat like a trademark. Those who copy Google's look could put themselves at risk for a patent infringement lawsuit. However, some criticize such patents as a reason why the system should be reformed.

Those critics claim that the patent can be abused, and the decision as to whether another product is infringing on that design is completely subjective. However, in the end, suits based on copying a design are sometimes hard to win.

In order for such a case to be successful, the design has to be almost an exact copy of the other, say experts. But that hasn't stopped Google from patenting five designs on various aspects of its pages.

In separate news, Google also announced a new search product called Google Patent Search. Released in beta Thursday, the company said it will make the process of searching through the more than seven million patents awarded by the US Patent and Trademark Office easier.

"It's a natural extension of our mission to make this public domain government information more easily accessible using Google's search technology," software engineer Doug Banks said. He said that the service used the same technology as its book search product.