Google

**redhits** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:15

Can i build a google like search engine if I am in Europe? I mean in US there are patents law, so I can't build a search engine that will use page-rank for example? Until where are this patents are going? If Microsoft has been the first one to give away free mail service (hotmail.com) on the internet... then , are the owning the right all the free web mail service? Just because they where the first one with this idea?

**petertdavis** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:28

Why not just build a search engine without violating anyone's trademark/patent/copyright?

**redhits** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:36

Try to guess why ! You got many websites, and I am very sue that you are violating lot's of trademark/patent/copyrights !!! Why ? Because everything we can do , is to "copy" a part of what others did in the past
hey , you wasn't the first one inveting the idea of selling text links online!!!

**petertdavis** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:41

No, actually I'm not violating anyone's trademark/patent/copyrights. If I discovered that I was, I'd remedy the situation as soon as I could. Google doesn't own the rights to searching on the web. They do have a trademark on PageRank, for example, but you could legally make a similar system but just don't call it PageRank.

**redhits** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:47

aha, so I can make a similar system ... but my question is how similar?

**redhits** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:47

I am asking you this, because I will change something in the windows xp fiels, and call it, Red XP , I will get into troubles, no ?

**Tyhe** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:50

Originally Posted by redhits

Try to guess why ! You got many websites, and I am very sue that you are violating lot's of trademark/patent/copyrights !!! Why ? Because everything we can do , is to "copy" a part of what others did in the past
hey , you wasn't the first one inveting the idea of selling text links online!!!

Ofcourse you are right. But in the interest of capitalism we do try to maintain a certain degree of copyrights. But these copyrights aren't on general ideas, but rather specific ideas.
So Microsoft does not have the copyright on operating systems, but they do have copyright on windows and all the operating systems that seem as a copy of the OS.
Same for Google (like petertdavis said), they don't have a copyright on the idea of the search enigen, however, they do have the copyright on the PageRank and more of their features.

(Now you are correct in saying the entire concept of copyright is not consistent, however, that is an entire different discussion all together.)

**Tyhe** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:51

Originally Posted by redhits

I am asking you this, because I will change something in the windows xp fiels, and call it, Red XP , I will get into troubles, no ?

Yes you will, because not even knowing what it looks like, you are infringing on copyright by naming it XP.
If you name it RedOS that might be different (unless linux redhat has a problem with that

)

**redhits** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:55

Ok , but can somebody , do knowadays a cool search engine, without using the pagerank algoritm ? Do I have the right to make something that will count all the back links from the database to agiven website, and implement it into the SERP algoritm ?

**redhits** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:55

I am asking this question , that seems a little bite like stupid ... but take a look at Yahoo , it used a lot of time time Google Algoritm ... so are doing others search engines as weel ... why everybody likes google?

**Anat** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:57

Unless you use terms like PageRank, I doubt that anyone would come after you. Good luck in trying to index and rate the internet :P

**stymiee** · Dec 22, 2004, 08:59

Google is the only search engine that uses PageRank but they are not the only good search engine. PageRank is not a necessarily part of a good search algorithym. And using backlinks in various ways in an algorihtym is probably ok to do and I'm sure it is a part of many search engines' algorithym. They just can't use PageRank in their alogorithym because that specific formula is copyrighted.

**someonewhois** · Dec 22, 2004, 09:11

Redhits, don't take this personally, but do you really think you could write a search engine? The database algorithms are difficult enough as they are. On top of that, it can't just be written in PHP/MySQL. You need to do it in C (or any compiled language), with your own database. Then you have to worry about actually getting 10 billion pages into your database, and still be quickly searchable. Your algorithm has to be air tight and expandable. I don't think you quite realize what that means...

**Tyhe** · Dec 22, 2004, 09:32

Originally Posted by redhits

I am asking this question , that seems a little bite like stupid ... but take a look at Yahoo , it used a lot of time time Google Algoritm ... so are doing others search engines as weel ... why everybody likes google?

You are allowed to use ideas and change them into your own... look at cars, if a really nice model comes out you will see parts of that design in other cars, but that's not illegal...

If you start a search engine called Hoogle with PageRep you will get in trouble.
If you start a search engine called SearchSolution and you have a ranking system called S-factor, you would be fine...

comprende?

**helioaug** · Dec 22, 2004, 13:55

The site http://www.benedict.com has good information about copyrights.

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