Northeastern University Sues Google

Google's popular search engine allegedly uses technology invented by a Northeastern professor and patented by the university back in 1997.

While Google continues to expand with everything from Web 2.0 applications to cell phone operating systems, its profitable mainstay, search, is under attack. A professor at Northeastern University claims that Google’s search engine infringes on U.S. patent No. 5,694,593, which the university has held since 1997.

The patent describes a method for searching through a database using different “nodes” in a network to distribute the work. Its inventor is listed as Northeastern Professor Kenneth Baclawski, who works alongside fellow professor Michael Belanger at Jarg Corp., a start-up company. According to Reuters, Belanger said that the company was forced to delay the case while searching for a law firm that would pick it up for a contingency fee, due to lack of resources.

Documentation for the case was officially filed last week in the Eastern District of Texas. So far,  Google has offered few comments on the case, but spokesman Jon Murchison told Reuters that Google believes the suit it without merit.