Oh no they didn’t: BrightEdge has sued rival Searchmetrics using multiple SEO patents, which were granted last year. The concern being expressed by some today is that this could be the beginning of a wave of litigation as BrightEdge seeks to capitalize on its newly granted IP or goes after competitors that it perceives to be infringing.
The patents in question broadly pertain to various automated SEO software tools:
- 8,577,863: “Correlating web page visits and conversions with external references” Granted 11/5/2013
- 8,478,700: “Opportunity identification and forecasting for search engine optimization” Granted 7/2/2013
- 8,478,746: “Operationalizing search engine optimization” Granted 7/2/2013
- 8,135,706: “Operationalizing search engine optimization” Granted 3/13/2012
Reading the complaint (embedded below) doesn’t clarify much about the specific factual allegations of infringement other than plaintiff’s contention that infringement is happening and ongoing. The complaint asks for standard IP-related damages (i.e., monetary damages, injunctions, etc.).
It goes without saying there are lots of SEO-related software tools in the market. Doing simple keyword searches in the USPTO database or in Google Patent Search reveals thousands of documents that discuss or in some way implicate search optimization. Google itself has filed and been granted many patents on SEO-related software and inventions.
Bill Slawski has written extensively about SEO patents and only scratched the surface.
As a basic legal matter, the existence of a patent does not mean there will be a finding of liability by a judge or jury. Patent litigation is complex and can be confusing and messy. Patents can also re-examined by the US PTO upon request with the submission or citation of alleged “prior art” (earlier, related patents).
Regardless, this will be a case to watch. We’ve asked both companies for a comment and will update if we hear back.
Postscript: We have a statement now from Searchmetrics founder and chief technology officer Marcus Tober who emailed:
Postscript 2: We now have a statement from BrightEdge CEO and founder Jim Yu:
The case is below:
bright edge-technologies-v-searchmetrics-et-al from gesterling
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