<<Gawker reports Google’s home page patent application, which was filed back in March 2004, has finally been approved yesterday, September 1, 2009. The patent is for the simplicity of the Google home page. Here is a picture of the patented home page:>>
http://searchengineland.com/googles-home-page-clears-united-states-patent-office-25106
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3433/3881546187_3285be3ec8.jpg |
I think its because it was filed in 2004 |
5 years to approve a patent? Wow! |
It seems that Google submitted an application to patent its results page at the same time as it submitted this application. The "results page" patent was approved quickly; this one took more time.
These are design patents, not the more usual kind of patents which protect functionality. The consensus seems to be that this is a defensive patent for Google, to avoid the risk of someone else patenting the design and trying to stop Google from using it. Google does not have a history of using the threat of a patent suit obnoxiously.
In any case, it's clear that there is prior art. This AltaVista page from 1997 (before AltaVista became a portal) shows these same design elements as the Google home page:
1. A search box in the middle
2. Two buttons underneath
3. Some options above
4. Some links at the bottom
5. A logo at the top
http://web.archive.org/web/19971210060408/http://altavista.digital.com/ |
